Buying points: when it beats cash and where to buy

Buying points is the fastest way from zero to a business class seat, and the easiest way to lose 1,000 EUR. The seat is the same either way. What differs is whether you bought in a sale, whether the seat existed before you paid, and whether the program repriced the week after. Every program that was a bargain in 2024 devalued in 2026, so the numbers here matter more than the habit.

How points sales work

Almost every program in this chapter sells through one vendor, Points.com, which runs the storefronts for more than 60 loyalty programs. American Airlines sells directly. Three things follow.

The headline bonus is a maximum. Offers are targeted. Alaska’s October 2026 sale advertised “up to 120 percent”; most accounts saw 100 percent, and some members in Germany, the UK and Australia saw no bonus at all. The “mystery bonus” works the same way everywhere: you log in on the storefront and your personal tier is revealed, fixed for that window and attached to your account, not your browser. Nobody publishes the algorithm; community reports say accounts that have never bought tend to see the top tier. Treat that as anecdote.

The purchase is final. Bought points are non-refundable in every program. They post within minutes to 72 hours (Marriott usually under six hours, the Turkish bonus up to seven days after the campaign ends). Separate purchases are not combined to reach a higher tier.

It is not a travel purchase. Points.com transactions code as Points.com, so your card’s travel multiplier does not apply. US excise tax of 7.5 percent is added to Alaska and AA purchases for every buyer; Canadian addresses pay sales tax on Aeroplan.

What points cost in 2026

US cents per point. “Best” is the top 2026 sale tier a patient buyer could reach by waiting for the next sale; “typical” is what most accounts were offered. Caps are per account per year, before bonus, unless stated. The Marriott row is the cost per airline mile after transfer. IHG (2.5 cents a mile) and Hyatt (5.2) are omitted: never buy hotel points other than Marriott for flights.

The gap between best and typical decides whether a program is worth waiting for: LifeMiles, Aeroplan, Avios and Virgin are cheap for almost everyone, while Alaska at 1.88 and Turkish at 2.0 are cheap only for the lucky or the very rich. Flying Blue, AA, United and Etihad are not competitive for a from-zero premium booking in 2026, whatever their charts say.

The Avios trick

Avios are one currency held in five clubs: British Airways Club, Qatar Privilege Club, Iberia Club (formerly Iberia Plus), Finnair Plus and Aer Lingus AerClub. They move between them 1:1, free and instantly through “Combine my Avios”, with BA as the hub. So you buy wherever the sale is cheapest and spend wherever the award is cheapest.

In 2026 the cheapest storefront has been Finnair Plus. Its price displays in EUR, but the storefront lets you switch currency and JPY prices far lower: 2.22 JPY per Avios at the 50 percent tier, about 1.41 US cents (1.23 euro cents, 1.10 pence). Qatar’s quarterly 50 percent flash sales come second at 1.53 cents, BA’s 40 percent sales at 1.64. No Iberia sale was found in 2026 and there is no Aer Lingus sale data.

Then spend on the clubs with no fuel surcharges. Qatar Qsuite: Europe to Doha 42,500 off-peak, US to Doha 70,000, Europe to Australia via Doha 90,000. Iberia: Madrid to the US East Coast 40,500 off-peak plus about USD 127. Finnair: 62,500 from Helsinki to Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore or New York, plus EUR 100 to 120. BA’s own long-haul flights carry GBP 300 to 500 in surcharges and are the one place not to spend Avios; the 27 May 2026 surcharge rise made that worse.

Where it breaks: the JPY pricing is unofficial and could close any day. Finnair’s October 2026 sale was restricted to members who joined before 18 September with at least 50 Avios, so open every Avios account now, not during a sale. Iberia reportedly requires accounts to be 90 days old before combining (not confirmed for 2026). Finnair Avios expire after 18 months of inactivity, and moving Avios between clubs does not count as activity.

Marriott: the only door into ANA, JAL, Singapore, Cathay and Emirates

Marriott Bonvoy points transfer 3:1 to about 40 airlines, with 5,000 bonus miles per 60,000 points (United gets 10,000; AA, LifeMiles and Delta get none). At the 55 percent sale running to 23 November 2026, points cost 0.81 cents: 60,000 points cost USD 486 and become 25,000 miles, 1.94 cents a mile, or 1.62 for United. The cap is 200,000 purchased points a year, 310,000 with bonus, five blocks, 125,000 miles (150,000 United).

That is more expensive than buying Aeroplan, LifeMiles, Avios, Virgin, Turkish or Alaska directly. It wins in three cases. United, at 1.62 versus 1.88 cents, bypassing United’s new cap of 50,000 miles per 90 days. Etihad, at 1.94 versus about 2.56, and about 1.39 in a 40 percent Marriott-to-Etihad bonus month such as October 2026. And any program that does not sell miles to the public: ANA Mileage Club, JAL Mileage Bank, Singapore KrisFlyer, Cathay Asia Miles and Emirates Skywards. Marriott is the only legitimate way to buy into those five.

Transfers take one to eight days, most two to three, so the seat you found may be gone when the miles land. Transfer in exact 60,000 blocks or you forfeit the bonus.

The regional rankings, with the math

All-in cost is points required, multiplied by the best realistic 2026 purchase price, plus typical taxes, fees and surcharges. One adult, one-way, business class, assuming saver space exists. “Not confirmed” means the research found no 2026 source for that price.

Europe to Asia

Turkish at 1.5 cents prices Europe to the Far East at 90,000 plus about USD 200, about USD 1,550, and only after a USD 7,500 purchase.

Europe to North America

LifeMiles at 1.35 lands at about USD 855 to 980 (Swiss NYC to Zurich 63,530, LOT 59,500, Lufthansa Boston to Frankfurt 69,000), but only when partner space appears: Lufthansa Group stopped releasing saver business to partners on 1 June 2026, so on Swiss and Lufthansa it now shows rarely. LOT and TAP are the realistic targets.

North America to Asia

AAdvantage at 1.88 to 2.26 puts JAL at USD 1,180 to 1,400. Marriott into ANA’s own program costs about USD 1,120 per direction on a 100,000-mile low-season round trip including surcharges, the only outright route into ANA Mileage Club, and competitive.

Australia

Alaska for Qantas US to Sydney is a conflict: one 2026 source says 55,000 (USD 945 to 1,105 all-in), the post-2024 distance chart says 85,000 (USD 1,420 to 1,670). Verify on alaskaair.com before buying.

Middle East

From the US, Qatar Qsuite to Doha at 70,000 costs about USD 1,040 with Finnair-bought Avios, versus about USD 1,630 with AA miles at 2.26 cents.

The pattern across all five: Aeroplan bought at a 100 to 110 percent bonus is the most versatile from-zero currency; Finnair-bought Avios on Qatar and Iberia is the best Qsuite and transatlantic play; LifeMiles is cheap but unstable; Alaska is the buy for JAL, Cathay and Qantas. Compare any of these with the cash fare before you spend. A 1,900 EUR sale round trip beats most of them.

Grey-market brokers

Sites advertising miles “below program price” with “no annual cap” are mileage brokers. Buying or selling miles breaks the terms of every program here, and the documented consequences are account closure, confiscation of the miles and cancellation of the ticket, sometimes at the airport. The saving is a few hundred dollars; the downside is the whole trip plus the balance you already had. The only legitimate third-party route that is sometimes cheaper is Marriott.

The rules

1. Never buy at list price. Every program here sells every six to eight weeks. The 30 percent discount tiers (Aeroplan in October at 1.85 cents) are not sales; wait for the bonus.
2. Seat first, points second. Find and, where possible, hold the award, then buy. Aeroplan has no holds, but online bookings cancel free for 24 hours, which does the same job if you transfer and book the same day; Qatar and Virgin hold policies are not confirmed for 2026.
3. Buy exactly what you need. Points are non-refundable, and three programs repriced without notice in the last twelve months. A leftover 20,000 is dead money.
4. Respect the caps. They are per account per year, not per transaction, and United’s is per 90 days. Buy under the traveler’s own name; programs cross-check, and purchased-mile tickets for third parties trigger audits.
5. Watch the clock. Turkish miles die at the end of the third calendar year regardless of activity; LifeMiles and IHG lapse after twelve idle months.

Where it breaks: round trips in shoulder season where a sale fare exists, routes where the only saver space is on surcharge-heavy metal (BA, Lufthansa via Miles & More, AF/KLM, Virgin, Etihad), and any purchase made before a seat is confirmed. The next chapter, The redemptions worth having, shows which awards are worth buying for in the first place.

Sources checked

• UpgradedPoints, current point purchase promotions, 7 Oct 2026
• verylvke, Alaska up to 120% bonus at 1.59 cents, 4 Oct 2026
• AwardWallet, buy Marriott points at 55% bonus, 29 Sep 2026
• LoyaltyLobby, Turkish buy miles up to 100% bonus, 29 Sep 2026
• Traveling For Miles, Finnair Avios 50% bonus in JPY, 22 Sep 2026
• MileLion, Aeroplan up to 110% bonus, 17 Jul 2026