Programs sell points and miles all year, but the discounted sales that make buying worthwhile run for only days or weeks at a time. A promotion is worth taking only when the price you pay per point comes in below what the redemption you already have in mind is worth to you.
How to Judge a Sale
Start with the cost per point or mile after any bonus. Then price the specific flight or hotel night you'd book with those points, and compare it with the cash price for the same trip. If the cash price is lower, pay cash.
Say a hotel sells points at one cent each after the bonus, and a free night costs 40,000 points. That night costs you $400 in purchased points, so it only makes sense if the room would otherwise cost more than that. Run the same math for every sale, because a bonus that looks big can still land above the cash price.
Read the Limits Before You Buy
Programs cap how many points or miles you can buy, and bonus tiers often climb with the size of the purchase. Check the annual limit, the bonus tiers, whether the sale is open to everyone or targeted to your account, and how long purchased points take to post. The buy page of the program itself is the place to confirm each one.
Buy for a Trip You've Priced
Points can lose value when a program changes its award prices, and most programs don't let you sell them back. Buy only what you need for a redemption you have already checked for availability, and don't buy a surplus on the chance you'll use it later.
Where to Find Current Sales
Programs announce sales on their own buy pages, in member emails and on social accounts, and some are targeted so you may see an offer a friend doesn't. We post the ones worth knowing about as they appear, including the Hilton Honors points sale and the Marriott Bonvoy points sale. For airline miles, our guides to buying United miles and buying JetBlue points show how to run the numbers.
Check the end date, run the math against a trip you've priced, and buy only if the sale beats the cash fare.
Updated October 17, 2026: buying points.
