Should You Use Points or Pay Cash for Your Next Flight?

You’ve got enough points for a flight to Fiji. You could also just pay cash.

You’re leaning towards using points because it saves you the cash, right? But how do you know how much value you’re actually getting from those points — or whether they’d go further on a different flight?

The answer changes every time. The same points balance can represent $300 of value on one flight and $1,500 on another — depending on the route and cabin.

One number tells you

The way to compare points against cash is cents per point — cpp. It measures how much value you’re extracting from each point on a specific flight.

A higher cpp means each point is doing more work. A lower cpp means you’re getting less value from those points on that particular flight — and paying cash might leave your balance intact for a trip where the points stretch further.

The same points, different value

Here’s what this looks like on real flights from the Qantas program, based on PointMate’s data.

Sydney to Fiji in economy: 20,700 Qantas Points plus $115 in taxes, versus a cash fare of $456. That works out to roughly 1.65 cpp — which is actually below the median of 2.2 cpp for Qantas international economy redemptions. Your points are covering about $341 in airfare value, but they could do more on a different route.

Melbourne to Tokyo in economy: 36,200 points plus $162 in taxes, versus a cash fare of $1,420. That’s 3.5 cpp — well above the same median. The difference is the cash fare. Tokyo costs more to fly to, so the gap between cash and taxes on an award ticket is much wider.

Velocity works the same way

PointMate’s data shows the same pattern across programs. A Velocity Reward Seat from Perth to Doha in business class delivers around 6.7 cpp — well above the international business median of 4.8 cpp. The same program’s domestic economy redemptions on shorter routes sit closer to 1.2–1.5 cpp, around the median of 1.5 cpp.

What to do with the number

Cpp doesn’t exist in isolation. It only means something when you compare it to what you’d typically get from that program.

PointMate’s median cpp for Qantas Classic Rewards in domestic economy is 1.4 cpp. For international economy it’s 2.2 cpp. For international business, 4.3 cpp. If a particular flight comes in well above those medians, the points are delivering above-typical value. If it comes in below — like the Fiji example at 1.65 cpp against the international economy median of 2.2 cpp — paying cash and holding the points for a future trip may deliver more total value from the same balance.

That’s a calculation most people aren’t going to do at the booking screen. It requires knowing the points cost, the taxes, the cash fare, and the median range for that program and cabin — then doing the maths before the fare changes.

How PointMate helps

PointMate’s Flight feature does this in a few taps. Enter the points required, the taxes and fees, and the cash fare for any Qantas or Velocity flight. The app returns the cpp and compares it against PointMate’s benchmark range for that program.

You’ll see whether the value you’d extract from that specific flight sits above, within, or below the typical range — so you can weigh up whether to use points now or hold them.

The free version shows the general benchmark. PointMate Premium narrows it to a specific booking type — domestic economy, international business, and so on — for a more targeted comparison.

Using points to book that Fiji flight might feel like a win — but you won’t know until you check the numbers.