Don’t Use Miles for Non-Airline Awards
Every time you look there’s another offer for them. One of the most tempting is redeeming miles for hotel stays. Don’t give in: It’s a bad return on your miles, even if you book a five-star hotel such as the St. Regis in New York (see table below). We advise redeeming miles only when you can get a return of at least 2.5 cents per mile or more, the price at which most American carriers sell miles.
Hotel awards usually have a return of less than 1¢ per mile!
Redeeming airline miles for most hotel stays yields a return well under one cent, and even at luxury hotels it’s only about one and half cents. Moreover, once you book the stay, you cannot get the miles back if you cancel. The last column of the table highlights the folly of trading miles for hotel nights. The cost of replacing the SkyMiles required for a one-night stay at the St. Regis would give you six nights at the hotel.
Mileage Cost of One-Night Stay at St. Regis, NYC
[table_opt style="gray-header" id="420" width="" alignment="center" responsive="all" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter"]