Points.com
Buying, gifting and transferring airline and hotel points through Points.com storefronts, run from Toronto: non-refundable, priced per programme, and supported by the programme, not Points.
Verdict
Buy here
- A priced redemption whose missing points cost less than paying cash
- Clearest case: topping up a few thousand points during a bonus promotion
- Do the arithmetic on the checkout total, including tax, before you buy
Buy elsewhere
- Speculative buying with no priced, available redemption, whatever the bonus email says
- At standard rates the cost per point usually exceeds the saving
- Purchases are final: problems go to the airline or hotel, not Points
The rules
- Market
- Purchases are made on partner-branded Points.com storefronts and priced in the loyalty programme’s currency (USD for most US programmes); Points.com Inc., Toronto, is the seller.
- Verified · Sep 8
- Pricing
- Price per point is set per programme and shown at checkout; promotions change it
Details
There is no single Points.com price. Each programme’s storefront sells in blocks — Marriott Bonvoy’s terms, for example, quote US$12.50 per 1,000 points, bought in increments of 1,000 or 5,000, and add that “pricing varies during promotional periods”. Prices exclude taxes and fees; the total, including tax, is shown during checkout before you confirm, and Canadian residents pay GST/HST (QST in Quebec). Annual caps vary too: 100,000 points a year for Marriott, 160,000 for Hilton and 200,000 miles for United, counting purchases and gifts together. Whether a price is good depends entirely on the redemption you have in mind — the storefront shows a cost, not a value.
Published policy: Points.com Inc. terms for Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors and United MileagePlus storefronts, read 8 Sep 2026
- Verified · Sep 8
- Payment
- Credit card, charged by Points.com Inc. before the points post; no posting time promised
Details
You must be a member in good standing of the programme (new accounts wait — 30 days for Marriott, 10 days for United) and log in with that account. Points.com or its representative charges the credit card you enter, and the terms say the sale is accepted only when the points are actually delivered to the account; no posting time is given. A widely read guide (Upgraded Points, updated 19 May 2026) notes that these purchases do not code as travel on most cards, so travel bonus categories rarely apply — worth knowing, not something we have tested. The merchant on your statement is Points.com Inc., Toronto, not the airline or hotel.
Published policy: Points.com Inc. storefront terms (Marriott, Hilton, United); Upgraded Points guide to buying via Points.com, updated 19 May 2026 — read 8 Sep 2026
- Verified · Sep 8
- Returns
- Non-refundable; only the airline or hotel can authorise an exception
Details
Every Points.com storefront agreement we read says the same thing: “Purchases of Points are non-refundable” (Marriott), “Purchases of Miles are non-refundable” (United), and transfers are non-refundable too (Hilton). The Points help centre repeats it: if you bought in error, “only the airline or hotel can authorize a refund for your purchase”, so the request goes to the programme, not to Points. Treat the confirmation screen as the last exit — check the account number, the recipient of a gift and the quantity before you pay. Points bought for a redemption that then sells out stay in the account; they do not come back as cash.
Published policy: Points.com Inc. storefront terms (Marriott, United, Hilton) and Points help centre “I made a purchase in error” — read 8 Sep 2026
- Verified · Sep 8
- Support
- Support is the programme’s, not Points.com’s; BBB rating C- with unanswered complaints
Details
Points.com publishes no consumer phone line or email for purchases: its help centre says to “contact your loyalty program directly”, because the programme “provides the support to their Members for making purchases through their sites”. The Better Business Bureau profile for Points.com (Toronto) showed a C- rating on 8 September 2026, not accredited, with a note that the company failed to respond to three complaints; the few reviews there describe points not posting after payment. That is a tiny, self-selected sample. The practical rule: if points have not appeared within a day or two, call the programme with your Points.com confirmation number.
Customer feedback: Points help centre (questions.points.com) and BBB profile for Points.com, Toronto — read 8 Sep 2026
- Check first · Sep 8
- Safety
- Programme rules apply on top of Points.com’s; Ontario law; a white-label service, not a marketplace
Details
Each storefront runs under the loyalty programme’s rules and privacy policy as well as Points.com’s terms: you must be an active member in good standing, gifts go only to eligible members, and the programme decides eligibility and any exception. Points.com Inc. is an Ontario corporation at 111 Richmond Street West, Suite 700, Toronto, with a US office in San Francisco and a UK affiliate; it has been owned by Plusgrade (Montreal) since 30 June 2022, in a US$385 million deal. The storefront agreements are governed by Ontario law. None of this is a red flag — it is the normal structure of a white-label service, and the reason the programme, not Points, is your counterparty when something goes wrong.
Published policy: Points.com Inc. storefront terms; Points.com Terms of Use; Points/Plusgrade announcement, 30 Jun 2022 — read 8 Sep 2026
- Verified · Sep 8
Buying for yourself
Worth it
- A top-up completing a found redemption, where the missing points cost less than cash
- Bonus promotions, 40–100% extra per guides, are when the sums most often work
- The annual cap means a large purchase needs planning within the calendar year
Skip
- Points for “later”: award charts change without notice, and purchases are non-refundable
- Programmes with a waiting period on new accounts
- Any purchase you cannot immediately turn into a booking
Check first
- Checkout cost per point, including tax, against the cash price per point
- Award seat or room bookable now, not just shown on a chart
- Points already bought or received this calendar year against the programme’s cap
Gifting and transferring points
Worth it
- Gifts and transfers to finish someone else’s award that they can book today
- The recipient needs an eligible same-programme account, often past its waiting period
- The gift counts towards the annual cap on both sides
Skip
- Transfers, usually priced per point and non-refundable: Points cannot reverse a wrong account number
- Moving points between programmes: that is not what these storefronts do
- Gifting to an account you have not confirmed is active and in good standing
Check first
- The recipient’s exact membership number and that the account is active
- Transfer fee per point versus booking the award yourself and adding them
- Whether the programme treats gifted points as purchases for its annual cap
Questions
Is Points.com a real company?
Yes. Points.com Inc. has run buy-and-gift storefronts from Toronto since the early 2000s, owned by Plusgrade of Montreal since June 2022. Storefronts are white-label pages on storefront.points.com or the programme’s site; the airline or hotel sets the price, Points.com takes payment and delivers the points.
Can I get a refund on points I bought?
Not from Points.com: every storefront agreement we read says purchases and transfers are non-refundable, and its help centre says only the airline or hotel can authorise one. If you bought in error, contact the programme’s member services with your confirmation number; helping is their call.
How do I know whether buying points is worth it?
Price the redemption in cash, divide by the points needed, and compare with the checkout cost per point, tax included. Cheaper and bookable now may be worth it; a hypothetical future trip usually is not. We make no promise about what any point is worth.
How long until the points show up?
The terms promise no time, only that the sale completes when points reach your account. Storefront pages often show an estimate; BBB reviews we read complain of points not posting a day after payment. If nothing arrives in a day or two, contact the programme.
Do you earn from these links?
Yes. Links to Points.com storefronts are affiliate links and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That does not change the arithmetic: the storefront’s cost per point is the number that decides whether buying works.
About this page
Points.com publishes no product feed, so this page carries guidance only; the rules and verdict above are what to go on. Nothing here has been tested by us. Links to Points.com are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and stock shown with picks come from the merchant’s catalog feed and can change after we last checked them — the merchant’s page is the source of truth. Sources read Sep 8, 2026.