{"id":188,"date":"2020-10-05T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/how-to-decide-when-to-use-your-points\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T19:46:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:46:04","slug":"how-to-decide-when-to-use-your-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/how-to-decide-when-to-use-your-points\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Decide When to Use Your Points"},"content":{"rendered":"
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October 2020<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

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Ideally, the answer is, \u201cAll the time, because I have millions of them.\u201d But for those of us who haven\u2019t crossed the 7-figure points mark, a little strategy is involved.<\/p>\n

The weird thing about this dilemma \u2013 when to pay with points and when to pay with cash so you can earn<\/em> more<\/em> points \u2013 is that it becomes an emotional one, when in reality, the system that should guide our decision-making is actually quite algorithmic. <\/p>\n

That is to say: I\u2019ve found myself agonizing over whether I should burn the points on a certain trip or just use \u201creal money,\u201d even when it\u2019s clearly a good redemption value, just like I\u2019ve found myself burning points like they\u2019re Monopoly money when I knew the redemption value wasn\u2019t all that great.<\/p>\n

Often times the financial context of our life from month to month can impact this decision \u2013 if you\u2019re already over-budget, it can be painful to tally another few hundred bucks in the Travel category when your points bank is sitting there staring at you from Loophole Central. <\/p>\n

Acknowledging that it\u2019s not always cut-and-dry (even when it technically should be), let\u2019s talk through how you can decide whether or not you should pay with points or dollars.<\/p>\n

When to pay with cash<\/h4>\n

The magic number you want to isolate here is redemption value<\/strong>. Luckily, all you need to find it is:<\/p>\n