Free interactive tool
Award True-Cost Comparer
The award true-cost comparer prices a “free” award ticket honestly: the cash the award still charges in taxes, fees, and carrier surcharges, plus the real value of the points it consumes at your own cents-per-point figure. Putting that total next to the plain cash ticket shows whether the award is genuinely cheaper, roughly a wash, or — as surcharge-heavy awards sometimes are — the more expensive way to buy the same seat.
The formula
true cost of award = award taxes & fees + (points × your value per point) compare against: the cash ticket price implied cpp = (cash price − award taxes & fees) ÷ points × 100
The implied cpp line is the same math read backwards: what this award pays you per point. If it is below what your points are worth to you, the cash ticket wins automatically.
Run your numbers
Same flight, paid with money.
The cash line at award checkout.
What these points are worth to you elsewhere — 1.4 is an example placeholder, not a valuation.
- What the points are worth to you
- $672.00
- True cost of the award (fees + points value)
- $759.00
- Cash ticket, for comparison
- $642.00
- Implied value per point of this award
- 1.16¢
The pre-filled numbers are a hypothetical example, not a quote. High award surcharges are program- and route-specific — the award checkout screen is the only source of truth for today’s cash line.
Worked example (hypothetical numbers)
A cash ticket costs $642; the award is 48,000 points + $87 in fees, and you value the points at 1.4¢ (hypothetical numbers, not a quote). True cost = 87 + 48,000 × $0.014 = $759 — $117 more than just paying cash, because the award only returns about 1.16¢ per point. The “free” flight is the expensive one here.