Continental Airlines OnePass (Instructional)

Continental's OnePass program uses points to buy flights (or other, but not my focus).

One-way flight: 10,000 or 12,500 points.
Cost to book a OnePass flight: $10 total.

Ex.: Trip from Charlotte, NC to Buffalo, NY, - 10,000 points. Trip from Buffalo, NY to Charlotte, NC 12,500 points. To book this flight you need 22,500 points and $10.

Taxes and airport fees may also apply, but the aforementioned 22,500 points and $10 are the same as the $220 price you would see online for a flight, this $220 similarly does not include the taxes and airport fees.

Value: I found a flight from Greensboro, NC to Boston, MA leaving on a Thursday and returning on a Wednesday for $229, I also found the same flight available for 20,000 points and $10. The rough approximation is that points are worth about $.01 each. Points can be more valuable if you use them to buy upgrades (but these are overpriced and thus you get more $ per point but less value per $).