Buy bonus points and miles with these October promotions – The Points Guy

Flying, staying at hotels and spending on credit cards aren’t the only ways to earn valuable points and miles. You can also buy them directly from loyalty programs — but at a steep cost. It generally only makes sense to purchase points and miles when a discount or bonus offer is available, and, even then, you should do it strategically.

This roundup of points and miles promotions walks you through the current offers on purchasing airline miles and hotel points, including some that may be targeted. But first, when does it make sense to buy points and miles?

Should you buy points and miles?

There are a few things to consider before taking advantage of points and miles promotions.

First, buying points and miles — even on sale — is not always a good deal, as the price you’ll pay is often much higher than the value you can get. We always recommend calculating the price per point or mile and comparing it to our current valuations. You’re generally better off earning them for “free” through flights, stays, travel rewards credit cards and other means.

However, buying points and miles during good promotions can make sense for those who have tapped out their credit card options and can get high value from their rewards, or when you need a few more points to lock in a specific redemption. We generally only recommend buying points or miles if you have an immediate use in mind, in which case the purchase might save you thousands of dollars. We don’t recommend stockpiling your loyalty rewards, as programs frequently undergo unexpected devaluations.

With that, here are some current promotions for buying points and miles, and our take on whether they’re worthwhile. We’ve done the math for you, but keep in mind that our per-point prices are before tax, which will add a minimal amount.

Related: What are points and miles worth? TPG’s current valuations

Promotions for buying airline points and miles

Air Canada Aeroplan (targeted)

• Current promotion: Up to 90% bonus points
• Purchase rate: As low as 1.4 cents per point
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 1.4 cents per point
• End date: Oct. 29
• Buy Aeroplan points

Air Canada’s latest offer is tiered, and you may need to log into your account to see the best rate. We’ve seen a 40% bonus on purchases of 3,000 points or more, a 60% bonus on 15,000 points or more and a 90% bonus when you buy at least 40,000 points. The highest bonus drops the cost to around 1.4 cents per point based on the current exchange rate. That’s right on par with our October 2025 valuation, making this a deal worth considering.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

• Current promotion: Up to 80% bonus miles
• Purchase rate: As low as 1.7 cents per mile
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 1.3 cents per mile
• End date: Nov. 5
• Buy Flying Blue miles

With Flying Blue’s tiered bonus, you can get a 50% bonus when you purchase at least 4,000 miles, a 60% bonus when you purchase at least 12,000 miles and an 80% bonus when you purchase at least 24,000 miles. The maximum 80% bonus brings the cost down to roughly 1.7 cents per mile. Though this is higher than our current valuation of Flying Blue miles, it could be worthwhile if you already have a high-value redemption in mind and have confirmed award availability.

American Airlines AAdvantage

• Current promotion: A 10% to 40% discount
• Purchase rate: As low as 2.25 cents per mile
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 1.55 cents per mile
• End date: Unknown
• Buy AAdvantage miles

American Airlines AAdvantage is offering up to a 40% discount on miles, depending on how many you buy. You must purchase at least 3,000 miles to get the lowest 10% discount, and you’ll get the maximum discount of 40% when you buy 151,000 miles or more, dropping the price to 2.25 cents per mile. This is significantly higher than TPG’s current valuation of American miles, but buying American miles for specific high-end awards could still make sense.

Avianca LifeMiles

• Current promotion: A 145% to 165% bonus
• Purchase rate: As low as 1.25 cents per mile
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 1.4 cents per mile
• End date: Oct. 24
• Buy LifeMiles

Avianca LifeMiles has a sizable bonus offer right now, ranging from 145% bonus miles when you buy at least 1,000 miles to 165% bonus miles when you buy 200,000 miles (before the bonus). The cost per mile ranges from 1.25 to 1.34 cents, below our current valuation of 1.4 cents apiece, so this deal could be a good idea if you’re eyeing an Avianca redemption.

JetBlue TrueBlue (targeted)

• Current promotion: Up to 120% bonus points
• Purchase rate: As low as 1.36 cents per point
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 1.45 cents per point
• End date: Oct. 28
• Buy JetBlue TrueBlue points

JetBlue TrueBlue has one of the best offers on buying points right now, but it’s targeted, so your offer may vary. The highest example we’ve seen is a 120% bonus on 10,000-plus points. If you’re targeted for 120% bonus points, you could pay as little as 1.36 cents per point — not a bad deal compared to TPG’s valuation of 1.45 cents per point.

Southwest Rapid Rewards (targeted)

• Current promotion: A 50% discount
• Purchase rate: As low as 1.5 cents per point
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 1.4 cents per point
• End date: Oct. 29
• Buy Rapid Rewards points

Southwest Airlines’ 120,000-point business card welcome offer* isn’t the only deal going on for Southwest Rapid Rewards members. These offers may vary, but we’ve seen a 50% discount when you buy at least 5,000 Rapid Rewards points. The sale price of 1.5 cents per point is still above TPG’s current valuation of 1.3 cents, so purchasing points will only make sense if you’re planning a redemption soon.

*The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (see rates and fees) earns 120,000 points after spending $10,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Promotions for buying hotel points

Choice Privileges

• Current promotion: A 30% to 40% bonus
• Purchase rate: As low as 0.74 cents per point
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 0.6 cents per point
• End date: Nov. 10
• Buy Choice Privileges points

Choice Privileges is running a tiered offer for 30% bonus points when you purchase 4,000-plus points, 35% bonus points on 8,000-plus points and 40% bonus points on 14,000-plus points. The lowest you’ll pay is roughly 0.74 cents per point, which is still above our valuation, but it could make sense if you’re short a few points for your next redemption.

Hilton Honors (targeted)

• Current promotion: Up to 100% bonus points
• Purchase rate: As low as 0.5 cents per point
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 0.5 cents per point
• End date: Nov. 21
• Buy Hilton Honors points

With this offer from Hilton Honors, you can get up to a 100% bonus on the points you buy, allowing you to essentially pay half price per point. Offers may vary, but we’ve seen a 100% bonus on purchases of at least 5,000 points — meaning you could take advantage of this great deal even if you only need a few thousand points.

You’ll pay only 0.5 cents per point with this bonus, in line with TPG’s valuations, so it could be a good idea to buy the points you’ll need for your next redemption. For instance, you could purchase the 110,000 points needed for a night at the Waldorf Astoria Riviera Maya in Mexico for only $550 during this promotion — a great deal considering cash rates start around $650 per night.

Marriott Bonvoy (targeted)

• Current promotion: 30% to 35% bonus points
• Purchase rate: As low as 0.93 cents per point
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 0.7 cents per point
• End date: Dec. 7
• Buy Marriott Bonvoy points

This Marriott Bonvoy offer appears to be targeted, so yours may look different. We’ve found a 30% bonus when you purchase at least 2,000 points and a 35% bonus on 40,000 points or more. This drops the price to as low as 0.93 cents per point — not a great deal, considering we value Marriott points at 0.7 cents each in the wake of the program’s recent devaluation — so we wouldn’t advise purchasing points in most circumstances.

World of Hyatt (targeted)

• Current promotion: A 10% or 15% bonus
• Purchase rate: 2.3 cents per point
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 1.7 cents per point
• End date: Unknown
• Buy World of Hyatt points

Check your World of Hyatt account to see if you have a targeted offer (hopefully better than this one). We’ve seen a paltry 10% bonus on purchases of 3,000 points or more or a 15% bonus on 9,000 points or more. The 15% bonus gives you a purchase price of 2.3 cents per point, well above our current valuation, so we’d only recommend taking advantage of this promotion if you need a few extra points for your next redemption.

Wyndham Rewards

• Current promotion: Up to 90% bonus points
• Purchase rate: 0.68 cents per point
• TPG October 2025 valuation: 1.1 cents per point
• End date: Oct. 21
• Buy Wyndham Rewards points

With Wyndham Rewards’ latest promotion, you can score up to 90% bonus points when you purchase 3,000 points or more. This brings the price per point to 0.68 cents, a spectacular deal compared to our valuation of 1.1 cents. If Wyndham Rewards points are useful to you, you may want to jump on this offer.

For example, since Wyndham award nights start at 7,500 points, you could buy all the points you need for a one-night stay for only $52 — probably less than you’d pay in cash at most properties.

Which credit card should you use to buy points and miles?

Most of these promotions are processed through Points.com rather than directly by the hotel or airline, so you won’t earn bonus rewards with most travel rewards cards. Instead, you’ll want to use an everyday spending card that offers a solid return on nonbonus spending.

The main exception to this rule is American Airlines. This airline reportedly codes mileage purchases as airfare, so you may want to use a credit card that earns bonus miles on airfare for the highest return when buying AAdvantage miles.

Or, if you’re working toward a minimum spending requirement to earn a welcome bonus on a new card, using that card may be the way to go.

Remember that you could incur foreign transaction fees on some cards when buying points or miles from a program abroad. So, you may want to use one of the following cards:

Bottom line

Buying points and miles isn’t always a good idea, but it can make sense in some situations — especially if you can take advantage of a promotion. In most cases, it’s best to have a specific redemption in mind and confirm award availability before considering paying for points and miles.