Running the honest math…
The plain-language rules for using Honest Points. We've written them the way we write everything here: straight, and only as long as they need to be.
Honest Points ("Honest Points," "we," "us") is a free travel-rewards research and education tool, operated by an individual. By using the site, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree with them, please don't use the site. There are no accounts: using the tools is all the agreement there is.
Not financial advice
The site uses dated figures for point valuations, signup bonuses, fees, credits, and award prices. We label dates "Source date"; a source date does not establish a new issuer re-review. Card offers and airline award charts change constantly and without notice, so our numbers can be out of date the moment an issuer changes a deal. They are planning estimates, never guaranteed prices or live availability.
Always confirm the current offer, fee, and terms on the issuer's or provider's own site before you apply or book. If what you see there differs from what we show, the source is right and we're stale. The site and its content are provided "as is," without any warranty that a figure is accurate, current, or complete.
Some links on the site are affiliate links: if you apply for a card or book a stay through one, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Our recommendation engine is deliberately blind to those payouts: it never reads which option pays us: and a "pay cash" verdict earns nothing by itself (if you then book a stay through one of our links, we may earn a commission). Monetized links are marked as sponsored. The full breakdown is on how we make money.
The cards we discuss are U.S. consumer and small-business credit cards. They require you to be at least 18 (or the age of majority in your state) and to meet the issuer's own eligibility and identity requirements. Approval is always at the issuer's discretion and is never guaranteed: any "approval odds" we show are an honest estimate based on typical requirements, computed in your browser from a score you enter, not a decision and not a promise. The issuer's published terms and decision are the only ones that count.
Please use the site normally and in good faith. Don't try to break, overload, or attack it; don't scrape it at scale or hammer the tools or APIs to drive up costs; don't misrepresent it, repackage its data as your own, or use it for anything unlawful. We may rate-limit or block abusive traffic to keep the site working for everyone.
The site's content: the writing, the methodology, the conservative valuations, and the way the data is organized: is original work that belongs to Honest Points. Citation is genuinely welcome, and encouraged: quote a figure or a finding with credit and a link to the source page: this site is the primary source for these numbers. What's not OK is copying it wholesale, presenting it as your own, or scraping the compiled dataset to republish it, train a model on it, or seed a competing product. The software and compiled data are proprietary. All rights reserved. The repository is available for reading and evaluation only; copying, modification, distribution, or other use requires prior written permission from the copyright holder, as stated in LICENSE.
We link out to third-party sites: card issuers, booking and flight-search partners, award-availability tools. We don't control them and aren't responsible for their content, accuracy, prices, availability, or practices. Once you follow a link, that site's own terms and privacy policy apply. A link is not an endorsement of everything on the other end.
The site is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including any implied warranties of accuracy, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. We don't warrant that the site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that any figure is current.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Honest Points and its operator will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential losses, or for any decision you make using the site: including applying for a card, opening or closing an account, or booking travel. You are responsible for confirming the facts and for your own financial decisions. Some places don't allow certain limitations, so parts of this may not apply to you.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the U.S. state in which the operator resides, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest still applies.
We may update these Terms as the site changes; we'll revise the "Source date" above and note significant changes on the site. Continuing to use the site after a change means you accept the updated Terms. For questions, check the contact page for the current inbox status.
See also our Privacy Policy.