One of the amazing things about the miles and points game is how far your miles can go if you know what you’re aiming for. It’s one thing to rack up miles from bonuses and promotions, but actually redeeming miles can be more complicated.
Ben has written extensively about how to redeem miles in the various programs, but as there are so many new people this week I thought it would be helpful to give an overview of how many miles you need for a an award ticket. For longtime readers this will mostly be review, but maybe you’ll notice a sweet spot you’d missed before.
I’m going to focus on business class as that gives us a good general range, but you can of course redeem for first class as well in many cases! Similarly, these charts are focused on routes to/from North America. There are great values in other regions as well, so we’ve included links to the award charts so you can dig in further.
Finally, not every program out there is included below. If you want a more comprehensive view of award charts, make sure to check out the section on Loyalty Programs.
All prices are one-way, except those marked with an “*” — these programs only allow you to book round-trip awards, so there’s no discount in price for a one-way. It’s also worth noting that Delta no longer publishes award charts, and has a very complicated pricing scheme, so those prices are really educated guesses.
What are all these transfer partners?
Several rewards programs offer the option to transfer points to an airline partner. These are referred to as “flexible points” or “transferable points.” They are most easily accrued through credit card spending/bonuses, but there are often opportunities to leverage shopping portals and other bonuses as well.
Before anyone asks, you generally can’t transfer miles from one airline to another. So while you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Air Canada Aeroplan or Delta SkyMiles, you can’t transfer points from Aeroplan to SkyMiles.
Why aren’t you talking about domestic flights? Or economy?
While there are some good values to be found in redeeming miles for domestic flights, it’s honestly not the best use of your miles. Similarly, given that international economy tickets can often be purchased for a very low cost, it generally doesn’t make sense to spend your hard-earned miles to sit in the back of the plane.
There are exceptions, of course, but here at One Mile At A Time we like to focus on the ridiculous and aspirational things you can do with your miles.
Business Class to Europe
There are hundreds of flights a day between North America and Europe, so if you’re flexible with your routing or schedule it’s typically not too tough to find award availability, particularly if you’re booking well in advance.
Airline Program
Miles Required - Business
Transfer Partners
Air Canada Aeroplan
Europe 1: 45,000
Europe 2: 52,500
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Air France FlyingBlue
62,500
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Citi ThankYou Points
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Air France: 62,500
American: 50,000
British Airways: 60,000
Delta: 125,000*
Emirates: 75,000
Starwood Preferred Guest
Alitalia Milemiglia
Alitalia: 100,000†
SkyTeam Partners: 80,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
American Airlines AAdvantage
50,000
Starwood Preferred Guest
Avianca LifeMiles
52,500
British Airways Executive Club
Distance Based
37,500-75,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Delta SkyMiles
No longer publishes award charts
~62,500
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Korean Air SkyPass
80,000*
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Lufthansa Miles & More
52,500
Starwood Preferred Guest
Singapore KrisFlyer
Singapore Only: 48,875
(includes 15% online booking discount)
Partners: 65,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Citi ThankYou Points
Starwood Preferred Guest
United Mileage Plus
United: 57,500
Partners: 70,000
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Virgin Atlantic
Distance Based
40,000-50,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
† One note on Alitalia. They changed their award chart for their own flights back in 2012, but have been offering a “promotional” chart that matches their SkyTeam chart since then. That has technically expired, but whether you pay the promo rates or the “correct” rates really depends on the agent you get.
Aeroplan has hands-down the best value for business class travel, particularly if you can redeem miles on carriers that don’t levy fuel surcharges. They also allow either two stopovers or a stopover and open-jaw on a round trip, and you can always get reimbursed for the fuel surcharges.
Turkish Business Class has no fuel surcharges when booked through Aeroplan
Singapore KrisFlyer also has fantastic rates for awards on their own metal. You receive a 15% discount by booking online, which lowers the price of those awards dramatically.
Business Class to Central and South America
For some reason, every airline seems to divide this region up differently, so there’s not really a way to make a clean and easy chart here. This should give you a general idea, but if you’re planning award travel to South America you probably want to look at the specific award chart for the program you’re interested in so you know which zone your destination country is in.
Airline Program
Miles Required - Business
Transfer Partners
Air Canada Aeroplan
Central America: 30,000
Northern South America: 37,500
Southern South America: 47,500
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Air France FlyingBlue
Central America: 30,000
Northern South America: 43,750
Southern South America: 62,500
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Citi ThankYou Points
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Aeromexico: 35,000 - 45,000
American: 30,000 - 50,000
Delta: 60,000 - 125,000*
LAN: 45,000
Starwood Preferred Guest
Alitalia Milemiglia
Central America: 60,000*
Northern South America: 60,000
Southern South America: 75,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
American Airlines AAdvantage
Central America & South America 1: 30,000
South America 2: 50,000
Starwood Preferred Guest
Avianca LifeMiles
North of Central America: 30,000
South of Central America: 27,500
North of South America: 35,000
South of South America: 50,000
British Airways Executive Club
Distance Based
American Express Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Delta SkyMiles
Central America: ~30,000
Northern South America: ~45,000
Southern South America: ~62,500
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Korean Air SkyPass
Korean only: 52,500
Latin America 1 SkyTeam partners: 75,000*
Latin America 2 SkyTeam partners: 110,000*
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Lufthansa Miles & More
Central America: 30,000
South America: 52,500
Starwood Preferred Guest
Singapore KrisFlyer
Central America: 30,000
South America: 50,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Citi ThankYou Points
Starwood Preferred Guest
United Mileage Plus
Central America: 30,000
Northern South America: 35,000
Southern South America: 55,000
Chase Ultimate Rewards
LAN offers lie-flat seats in business class to South America
Business Class to the Middle East, Africa, and Indian Subcontinent
This is another region where there is a wide range of geographical definitions, particularly as many mileage programs seem to have rather arbitrary ways of dividing Africa.
In general, when redeeming miles for travel to India or Africa look at routing through Europe or the Middle East whenever possible. You’ll make some additional connections, but will generally get a better product in exchange.
Airline Program
Miles Required - Business
Transfer Partners
Air Canada Aeroplan
Middle East & North Africa: 82,500
East, West, & South Africa: 75,000
India: 75,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Air France FlyingBlue
100,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Citi ThankYou Points
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Air France: 70,000
British Airways: 70,000
Cathay Pacific: 62,500
Delta: 140,000
Delta South Africa: 160,000*
Emirates India/Middle East: 72,500
Emirates Africa: 77,500
Korean India/Middle East: 140,000*
Starwood Preferred Guest
Alitalia Milemiglia
India/Middle East: 120,000*
North Africa: 80,000*
Central/Southern Africa: 120,000*
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
American Airlines AAdvantage
Africa: 75,000
India/Middle East: 67,500
Starwood Preferred Guest
Avianca LifeMiles
65,000
British Airways Executive Club
Distance Based
American Express Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Delta SkyMiles
Africa/India/Middle East: ~70,000
South Africa: ~80,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Korean Air SkyPass
Partners: 120,000*
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Lufthansa Miles & More
Middle East/North & Central Africa: 67,500
Southern Africa/India: 92,500
Starwood Preferred Guest
Singapore KrisFlyer
Africa/Middle East on Singapore: 80,750
West Coast to India on Singapore: 76,500
East Coast to India on Singapore: 87,125
Middle East/North Africa on Partners: 57,500
Central/South Africa on Partners: 72,500
India on Partners: 97,500
American Express Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Citi ThankYou Points
Starwood Preferred Guest
United Mileage Plus
United: 70,000
Partners: 80,000
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Virgin Atlantic
Middle East/North Africa: 80,000
India/South Africa: 90,000
Qatar Airways has dine-on-demand catering, and lie-flat seats
For business class, United offers a great value to these regions. You won’t pay any fuel surcharges, and can have open-jaws and a stopover on a round-trip itinerary. Combined with the sheer numbers of Star Alliance partners, there are possibilities for great redemptions.
Business Class to Asia
There are so many good business class redemption opportunities here it’s hard to pick a favorite. There is a bit of a balance between things like stopovers and fuel surcharges, but for the most part I think most of the business class prices are pretty reasonable, so it’s hard to go wrong here.
Airline Program
Miles Required - Business
Transfer Partners
Air Canada Aeroplan
Asia 1: 75,000
Asia 2: 77,500
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Air France FlyingBlue
100,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Citi ThankYou Points
Alitalia Milemiglia
Northern Asia: 90,000*
Southeast Asia: 95,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
American Japan/Korea: 50,000
American China: 55,000
Cathay Pacific: 50,000
Delta: 140,000*
Emirates: 75,000
Korean to North Asia: 105,000*
Korean to Southeast Asia: 120,000*
Starwood Preferred Guest
American Airlines AAdvantage
Asia 1: 50,000
Asia 2: 55,000
Starwood Preferred Guest
Avianca LifeMiles
North Asia: 62,500
South/Central Asia: 65,000
British Airways Executive Club
Distance Based
American Express Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Delta SkyMiles
~70,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
North Asia: 87,500
South/Central Asia: 97,500
Citi ThankYou Points
Korean Air SkyPass
Korea/China/Japan on Korean: 62,500
Southeast Asia on Korean: 75,000
Southwest Asia on Korean: 85,000
Northeast Asia on Partners: 140,000*
Southeast Asia on Partners: 155,000*
Southwest Asia on Partners: 170,000*
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Lufthansa Miles & More
67,500
Starwood Preferred Guest
Singapore KrisFlyer
West coast to Southeast Asia on Singapore: 68,000
East coast to Southeast Asia on Singapore: 72,250
West coast to South China: on Singapore: 63,750
East coast to South China: on Singapore: 78,625
East coast to North China: on Singapore: 87,125
West coast to Japan/Korea: on Singapore: 65,875
East coast to Japan/Korea on Singapore: 89,250
American Express Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Citi ThankYou Points
Starwood Preferred Guest
United Mileage Plus
United Japan: 65,000
United Central/South/North Asia: 70,000
Partners Japan: 75,000
Partners Central/South/North Asia: 80,000
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Virgin Atlantic
90,000 - 110,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Every business class seat on Cathay Pacific long-hauls has direct aisle access
Business Class to Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania
Award travel to the South Pacific is complicated — there isn’t a ton of capacity compared to other regions, and availability is generally poor on the few direct routes between North America and Australia. Given that, my favorite programs are the ones that allow you to route via Asia, as that expands options dramatically and gives you access to better products as well.
Delta and United offer some of the best values, in my opinion. United will allow you to route via Asia, and doesn’t levy fuel surcharges. Delta will allow routing via Asia as well, but more importantly they partner with Virgin Australia, which actually releases award space on routes to the US.
Airline Program
Miles Required - Business
Transfer Partners
Air Canada Aeroplan
80,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Air France FlyingBlue
120,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Citi ThankYou Points
Alitalia Milemiglia
150,000*
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Air France to Tahiti: 60,000
Cathay Pacific: 60,000
Delta: 160,000*
Fiji Airways: 55,000
Korean Air: 125,000
Qantas: 55,000
Starwood Preferred Guest
American Airlines AAdvantage
62,500
Starwood Preferred Guest
Avianca LifeMiles
67,500
British Airways Executive Club
Distance Based
American Express Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Delta SkyMiles
~80,000
American Express Membership Rewards
Starwood Preferred Guest
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
97,500
Citi ThankYou Points
Korean Air SkyPass
Korean: 97,500
Partners: 185,000*
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Lufthansa Miles & More
92,500
Starwood Preferred Guest
Singapore KrisFlyer
West coast to West Australia on Singapore: 80,750
East coast to West Australia on Singapore: 87,125
West coast to East Australia /New Zealand on Singapore: 85,000
East coast to East Australia /New Zealand on Singapore: 91,375
Partners: 97,500
American Express Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Citi ThankYou Points
Starwood Preferred Guest
United Mileage Plus
United: 70,000
Partners: 80,000
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Virgin Australia business class is one of the few options for direct flights using miles between Australia and North America
Bottom Line
Obviously award availability is going to be the determining factor in many cases, but hopefully this gives you a general idea of how many miles you’ll need as you’re building up your balances.
Do any of these rates surprise you? Anyone have a favorite redemption to share?
The post How Many Miles Are Needed For An Award Ticket? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.