How Inflation Affects Your Credit Card Rewards

Advertising Disclosure: When you buy something by clicking links on our site, we may earn a small commission, but it never affects the products or services we recommend.

Woman excited about her credit card rewards and using a laptop to book travel
Dean Drobot / Shutterstock.com

The value of credit card points and miles is often nebulous, allowing card issuers to continuously tweak their offers into things that sound more compelling and competitive.

In practice, NerdWallet notes, this usually means our credit card rewards are losing value behind the scenes, as the number of points needed to redeem savings is regularly increased. And with rampant inflation lowering our purchasing power everywhere else, it’s natural to expect credit card rewards are experiencing the same thing.

But an analysis by NerdWallet says it “found something unexpected in a sea of bad inflation news: Many rewards programs’ points have become more valuable this year compared with the previous year.”

For example, this year:

  • American Airlines miles grew in value from 1.2 cents per mile to 1.5 cents (a 25% increase)
  • United Airlines miles grew from 1 cent per mile to 1.2 cents per mile (20%)

The analysis found that, overall, airline miles are worth 8.7% more on average than they were in 2021. The rewards of “almost every domestic airline” stayed the same or grew in value.

The catch is that redeeming those rewards is harder right now because of high demand, and the heightened value could disappear as economic conditions change.

Want to compare current offers and start racking up more of those extra-valuable points? Head over to the Money Talks News Solutions Center to find the best credit cards for travel rewards.

Get smarter with your money!

Want the best money-news and tips to help you make more and spend less? Then sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter to receive daily updates of personal finance news and advice, delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our free newsletter today.