Many people have a credit card that earns reward points every time you use it. But when it comes time to cash them in, how do you get the most for your money? CTV consumer reporter Lynda Steele crunched the numbers to see what the best deals are.

If you've been accumulating the points with every dollar you spend and are now ready to cash them in, airline tickets are usually your best bet.

"Hands down, the best value for your miles is an airline ticket. The way we calculated the value is to compare the miles you spend to the actual cost of the item," said Chris Fichera of Consumer Reports.

For example, flying from Vancouver to Toronto this fall will cost you around $500 dollars before tax. Divide that by the 25,000 Aeroplan points it can take to get a ticket and each point is worth about two cents.

If you are an RBC Avion Visa customer that same flight will force you to cash in 35,000 points. That means your points are worth about 1.5 cents each.

"Buying merchandise with points or miles is generally a worse deal. One flat-screen TV we looked at cost more than 78,000 points," said Fichera.

That television retails for about $400. Divide that by 78,000 and your points are now worth just half a cent.

You also don't get a lot when it comes to gift cards.

Avion offers a $50 HBC gift card for 6,000 points. That means your points are worth less than a penny. It's a similar deal for CIBC Aeroplan. It offers a $100 Future Shop gift card for 13,000 points. That's also worth about 0.8 of a cent.

When it comes to hotel stays, it may be worth it to use your points, but do the math because deals vary.

And while air travel may be the most cost effective way to spend your reward points, beware that airlines don't always make it easy to cash those points in. Some carriers have blackout dates and other restrictions so sometimes you need to be flexible.

Even if your airline doesn't have blackout periods, you'll want to double check rules regarding flying one-way. Some airfares can be just as many points for one way, as a return ticket.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lynda Steele