Get the Most Out of Your Travel Points

When redeeming points for travel, you may find you’ll get the most value sticking with economy. Here are three ways to book two round-trip tickets from Toronto to San Francisco.

You don’t get as many perks flying economy, but for a short flight it may be worth getting the flight for free.

The same flight but in business class is double the points, but it would likely cost you far more than double the cash if you were planning to purchase these tickets. If you paid cash for an upgrade it would cost you 3 to 4 times the price of an economy ticket. You also get a few extra perks, like additional legroom and complimentary cocktails when you upgrade. On the other hand, you forfeit a chunk of points in the process. The points it takes to upgrade from economy to business class are equivalent to the points you'd require to take another trip to a new destination.

You can pay cash and use points to upgrade to business class. In this example, you’re using almost the same number of points as the economy tickets, but less than half of business class. This strategy is best used for international flights where points alone or cash alone won’t get you to your destination.