5 great miles and points buying opportunities available in August 2024

Since the pandemic, travel has returned strong. As this happens, hotel and flight rates are sky-high, especially in the luxury segment. However, almost all major travel outlets, fortunately, often sell miles and points with bonuses or at a discount, which could make for a good deal on the rates these airlines and hotels offer.

It would be a great time to update all the hotel miles and points that are up for sale right now so that you can stock up on the right ones for your travels and start planning your travel for the times ahead.

Airline Miles bonus sales


Purchase Etihad Guest Miles with up to a 30% Bonus (Through August 25, 2024)

Through August 25, 2024, Etihad Guest is offering a tiered bonus on purchased miles. The promotion offered provides up to a 30% bonus at the top end. The bonus is as follows:

  • Buy 25,000-49,000 miles, get a 20% bonus
  • Buy 50,000-100,000 miles, get a 30% bonus

a woman wearing headphones and smiling

Etihad Guest ordinarily charges 2 US cents per purchased mile before any bonuses or discount. With the 30% bonus, if you maxed out this promotion you’d receive a total of 130,000 Etihad Guest miles at a cost of USD 2,000, which is a rate of 1.54 US cents per Etihad Guest mile.

Purchase Etihad Guest Miles with up to a 30% Bonus (Through August 25, 2024)


Purchase United Mileage Plus Miles with up to a 100% Bonus (Through August 25, 2024)

Through August 25, 2024, United MileagePlus is offering a tiered bonus on purchased miles. The promotion offered provides up to a 100% bonus at the top end. My tiered bonus is as follows:

  • Buy 5,000 – 19,000 miles, get a 25% bonus
  • Buy 20,000 – 49,0000 miles, get a 60% bonus
  • Buy 50,000 – 100,000 miles, get a 100% bonus

a blue and white card with a picture of a river

With the 100% bonus, one can buy, at the top end, 200,000 miles for USD 3,762.50, a rate of 1.88 cents per MileagePlus mile (or INR 1.58). Note that United MileagePlus limits members to purchasing 200,000 MileagePlus miles per account per calendar year, including any bonuses offered. All the details are in this post.

Purchase United Mileage Plus Miles with up to a 100% Bonus (Through August 25, 2024)


Hotel Points bonus sales

Purchase Marriott points with a Mystery bonus (till September 23, 2024)

Marriott Bonvoy is now offering a Mystery Bonus on the purchase of Marriott Bonvoy Points until September 24, 2024. I’ve seen 40% to 45% bonuses on various accounts. You must buy at least 2,000 Marriott Bonvoy points in a transaction to trigger the promotion.

Marriott Bonvoy had also doubled its cap on the points one could buy in 2023. The limit was 50,000 points, but now it has become 100,000 points. For this promotion, the limit has been moved up further to 150,000 points.  In this case, I can buy a total of 210,000 points for USD 1,875 (INR 1,04,000), making the per point cost of purchase at US Cent 0.89 (INR 0.75) — full details in this post.

a couches on a balcony overlooking a city

Buy Marriott Points with a Mystery Bonus (Through September 23, 2024)


Buy Hilton Honors Miles with a 100% Bonus (Through September 24, 2024)

Hilton Honors is offering a 100% bonus on Hilton Honors Points purchased through September 24, 2024. In this round of points sale, you get your bonus if you buy a minimum of 5,000 points. The price of each Hilton point drops to 0.5 US cents or INR 0.42 during the sale.

Hilton Honors members can usually buy up to 80,000 points each calendar year. This means you can buy 80K points and receive 160K points. However, members can buy up to 240,000 points for this promotion and get 480,000 points in their accounts. All the details are in this post.

a blue text on a white background

Buy Hilton Honors Points with a 100% Bonus (Through September 24, 2024)


Purchase World of Hyatt points with a 20% discount (till October 8, 2024)

Through October 8, 2024, World of Hyatt is offering a 20% discount on points purchased when you buy at least 5,000 points in one transaction. The promotion allows you to purchase a maximum of 55,000 points. At the top end, it costs 1.92 USD cents per World of Hyatt point after the 20% discount is factored in. Full details in this post.

a long dock over water

Purchase World of Hyatt points with a 20% discount (till October 8, 2024)


Which credit card should you use to buy miles and points?

Typically, these point purchases are processed through Points.com and not directly by the hotel or airline. However, you will almost always pay in USD/EUR/GBP, not INR. So, the best cards to earn a bonus are Axis Olympus, American Express Platinum Charge Card and Axis Bank Reserve Credit Card, as these cards offer an international spending bonus. Beyond these, you might look at any card that provides a reduced foreign exchange spend conversion or one where you want to meet minimum spend requirements.


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About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

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