MileVerdict

Methodology

Every number on this site should be reproducible by hand. Here is exactly how each one is produced, and what it does not mean.

Redemption value

MileVerdict calculates cents per point as:

(cash price − award taxes and fees) ÷ points used × 100

Use the cash price you would genuinely have paid for the same or a reasonably comparable trip. Inflated refundable or premium fares can make a points redemption look artificially valuable. This is the single largest source of self-deception in points math, and no calculator can protect you from it.

We round the displayed figure to two decimals and keep full precision internally, so the number you see always reconciles exactly to the formula shown beside it.

Verdict bands

Where a program has a reference value, we compare your result against it and label the outcome:

  • 1.25× the reference or better: Strong relative value
  • 0.90× to 1.249×: Around typical value
  • 0.65× to 0.899×: Below typical value
  • Under 0.65×: Weak relative value

These bands are our own editorial rules, not objective market categories. They exist to give a beginner a sense of scale. Nobody in the industry agrees on thresholds, and a redemption we call “below typical” may still be exactly the right decision for you.

Reference valuations

MileVerdict displays third-party reference valuations to give context to a calculated redemption. Our source is AwardWallet's published valuation data, which is based on actual award booking data and is available for third-party use with attribution. Our current snapshot is dated 2026-08-01.

We use their numbers rather than inventing our own because we have no comparable booking data, and a valuation invented from opinion would be worse while looking equally authoritative.

A reference valuation is not a promise that your points can be redeemed at that rate. Route, cabin, dates, availability, program rules and fees all matter. It is also not a cash-out value - most programs will convert points to cash or statement credit at a far lower rate.

Transfer data

Transfer partners and ratios are maintained from official issuer and program sources. Every row has a last-verified date, and that date advances only when a person has actually re-confirmed the rule against the source. We never advance it because a source URL happened to load.

Rows are shown with a freshness state:

  • Fresh - verified within the last 45 days.
  • Review soon - 46 to 75 days. Shown with a prompt to check.
  • Stale - over 75 days. Shown with a prominent warning.
  • Needs review - flagged by hand when a source has changed or disappeared.

Before transferring, verify current terms and confirm the award you want is actually available, because transfers are usually final.

Path finding

Our points-to-airline tool claims a direct transfer only where a verified ratio row exists, and a partner-booking route only where a curated relationship row says so. Shared alliance membership is never treated as evidence of a path. Anything else returns “no supported path known” - which may mean no path exists, or that we have not verified one yet. We distinguish those in the wording rather than guessing.

What none of this can tell you

Whether a seat is available on your dates. Whether the trip is worth taking. Whether you should have saved the points for something else. Whether an award routing with two connections is really equivalent to the nonstop you priced it against. Our math handles the arithmetic; the judgement stays yours.

Corrections

If a ratio, rule or valuation here is wrong, we want to know. We treat a material program change as a data correction to be made promptly, not as an occasion for an article.