When Is It Worth Buying Points and Miles?

📩 Join the newsletter: https://go.departuredigest.com/subscribe

🧭 Free points & miles beginner's guide: https://www.departuredigest.com/p/points-miles-beginners-guide

🛍️ Shop Departure Digest merch: https://shop.departuredigest.com

🤑 Get a $50 bonus at Rakuten: https://go.departuredigest.com/rakuten

👑 Our favorite credit cards: https://www.departuredigest.com/p/best-credit-cards

———

Ever see a points sale and think, wow, that looks like a bargain? Before you buy, there's one question to ask: What would you actually pay in cash for this trip? If a business-class ticket costs $4,000 but you'd really only pay $500 for economy, that $500 is the number that matters. We break down how to tell when buying points and miles makes sense, when it doesn't, and why a sale isn't automatically a deal.

Hilton's co-branded credit cards are also offering elevated welcome bonuses right now, and two cards in particular caught our attention with some of the best offers we've seen: the Hilton Honors American Express® Surpass® Card and Hilton Honors American Express® Aspire Card. We look at what these offers actually get you, from Hilton elite status to free night certificates, and whether either card belongs in your wallet.

TSA may also be getting closer to letting some PreCheck travelers bring full water bottles through security at airports with newer scanners, although nothing is confirmed yet. We explain what TSA is considering and what it could mean for your next trip. 

Explore Hilton's limited-time card offers: https://go.departuredigest.com/hilton

Timeline

0:00 Start Here

0:23 Hilton Amex Card Offers

2:04 The Reality Check on Buying Points

3:47 TSA and Full Water Bottles

4:48 Sign-Off

———

Advertiser Disclosure: Departure Digest may receive compensation through our partnership with advertisers when you click on links to offers on this page. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain. Terms apply. The information is valid at the time of posting.

———

Stay up to date:

→ Newsletter: https://go.departuredigest.com/subscribe

→ YouTube Subscribe: https://yt.departuredigest.com

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/departuredigest

→ X: https://x.com/departuredgst

→ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/departuredigest

→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@departuredigest