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NCnextcard team
Should I book flights with cash or points?
NC
nextcard teamPublished Jun 29, 2025·Updated Feb 17, 2026
TLDR: To decide between cash or points for flights, calculate the Cent Per Point (CPP) value. Aim for a CPP of 1.5 or higher to maximize your rewards and travel smarter.
Should I book flights with cash or points?
Step 1: Scoping Out Cash Prices
Advertiser Disclosure: nextcard may receive compensation from card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain. For the most up-to-date terms & conditions, refer to the official credit card application on the issuer's website.
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When it comes to planning my travel adventures, I always make sure to reference multiple price points for the flights and accommodation that I need. Before I knew about the world of credit cards and points, I always thought about costs in terms of cash. I would often be bummed and get frustrated since I couldn’t afford paying cash for all the flights and hotels I would need.
Credit card points can be extremely useful and powerful when used correctly. However, as with cash, points aren’t unlimited and are finite. Whenever I redeem points, I always seek to make sure that I am attaining the highest value possible for the points. I don’t use my points in all situations, and I strategically use cash when the point redemption options aren’t optimal.
Step 1: Scoping Out Cash Prices
The first step I take when it comes to planning trips is going on Google Flights and scoping out cash prices. When determining the value of a point redemption, I need something to compare the point redemption against: the cash price. I also scope out cash prices to find the most optimal and cheapest route that I can take to reach my destination.
Google Flights is perfect for me because I can choose multiple cities to depart from and return to, and I also love using Google Flights’ Explore feature to look at the cheapest flights to and from a certain destination.
