Calculators

Cash Value or Best Redemption: how are my points valued?

Cash Value counts your points at their statement credit rate. Best Redemption counts them at the highest value the program offers, often travel. The setting changes the dollar figures and the order of cards on Compare cards, and the annual fee comes off in both.

Updated Nov 4, 2026

On the Compare cards page, the Points Redemption Type setting decides how we turn a points card's points into dollars. It sits with the other card preferences in the side panel (on a phone, tap Spending & Preferences, then open Card Preferences). It only shows when Reward Type is Points or Both, because cash back cards are already in dollars.

The two choices

This is the setting you start on. Your points are counted at the highest value the card's program offers, typically a travel booking or another premium redemption. Those often (not always) give 1.5 to 2 times the value of cash.

The dollar figures are an upper estimate: they assume you redeem your points that way.

How the dollar figure is worked out

The steps are the same for both settings. Only the value of one point changes.

  1. Count the points

    Each purchase earns whole points, rounded once per purchase.

  2. Value them

    Points multiplied by the value of one point, in dollars. A value of 2 cents per point means $0.02.

  3. Take off the annual fee

    The card's annual fee comes off the total. If you entered spending in a foreign currency, the card's foreign transaction fee comes off too.

The value of one point is its for that redemption.

Each program's page on the points calculator shows its estimates, for example American Express Membership Rewards.

Worked example
One example card over a year
Example card and spending

Example card

2 points per $1 on groceries, 1 point per $1 on everything else

Groceries

$500 a month

$6,000 a year

Everything else

$2,000 a month

$24,000 a year

Annual fee

$120

Cash Value rate

the statement credit rate

1 cent per point

Best Redemption rate

the best travel redemption

2 cents per point

Cash Value

Points from groceries

$6,000 × 2

12,000

Points from everything else

$24,000 × 1

24,000

Total points

12,000 + 24,000

36,000

Value of the points

36,000 × $0.01

$360

Annual fee

-$120

Rewards for the year

$360 - $120

$240

Example numbers, not a real card. Each card's page shows its own rates and fee. Points are rounded to whole points on every purchase, so a real total can differ from this by a few points.

Compare cards both ways

Switch the Points Redemption Type setting and watch the dollar figures change.

Open Compare cards

Frequently Asked Questions

With Cash Value, we hide points cards whose program doesn't let you redeem points for cash. A banner on the page says so. Switch back to Best Redemption to see every card again.

No. Cash back is already in dollars, so both settings show the same amount. The setting is hidden when Reward Type is Cash Back.

Use Cash Value if you plan to take your points as a statement credit. Use Best Redemption if you plan to book travel or use the program's best options. Best Redemption only holds if you really redeem that way.

Each rewards program's value estimates are shown, redemption by redemption, on its points calculator page. They are averages, so your own result depends on what you book.

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