Beginner Series: Part 8
Intro to airline miles
In Part 8 of the Freequent Travel beginner series, I will cover airline miles and how you can build them so that you can redeem them for free flights. While I won't cover every airline program, the examples below can be applied to your airline program of choice.
Earning Airline Miles
Similar to hotels, to use airline miles, you must earn them in the hotel's respective loyalty program. There are many ways to earn airline program points, and I will cover the most common ones below. Also similar to Part 7: How to Use Hotel Points, this article will not cover every unique airline program, but the principles covered here will apply to all airline programs.
Earn by Flying
The most common way to earn airline miles is to fly! And it doesn't necessarily have to be with the actual airline whose program you want to earn miles with. What makes earning airline miles different from earning hotel points are two distinct features:
1. You don't have to book a flight directly with the airline whose program you want to earn miles or credit towards status, whereas with hotels, you will only earn hotel points when booking directly with the hotel (in most cases). You can book flights through travel portals such as Chase, American Express, and Travelocity as long as:
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the fare class you are booking is eligible to earn miles and credit towards status (check the airline's fare class page before booking - some basic economy fares prohibit you from earning miles)
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you include your frequent flier number on the booking (see below for an example from the AMEX travel booking portal)
When selecting your flight, AMEX Travel tells you if your selection is eligible for earning miles
When booking through AMEX Travel, make sure to input your frequent flier number when prompted.
2. You can fly with other airlines and still earn miles and credit towards status, as long as:
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the airline you book with is part of the same alliance as the airline with which you want to earn miles and/or credit toward status
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you include your frequent flier number on the booking with the partner airline with which you're flying
Since Air Canada is part of the Star Alliance, along with United, I can input my United loyalty number and earn United miles and credit toward status even when not flying United.
Earn with Cobranded Airline Credit Cards
You can also earn airline miles points with cobranded airline credit cards. Each of the major US airlines has partnered with a bank to offer a cobranded card that allows you to earn airline miles on your everyday spending. However, when earning airline miles with credit cards, they are not credited immediately to your airline loyalty account -- they are credited at the end of your credit card billing cycle after you have paid at least the minimum payment from that same billing cycle.
To start earning this way, you simply need to provide an airline loyalty program account number to earn airline miles with the cobranded card (if you don't have an account set up, or if you forget to add it to your application, the bank will assign a new one for you)
When applying for an airline cobranded card, you will be prompted to provide your airline loyalty program number. If the bank is unable to match the number you provide, then a number will be automatically generated for you.
Transfer Flexible Points from a Credit Card
Cards that earn flexible credit card points allow you to transfer them to their respective airline partners. Each issuer has specific relationships with airline transfer partners, so be very mindful of the card issuer you choose to spend with. Below is a list of the major issuers and the airline programs their points can be transferred into. Transfer ratios are denoted as (# of credit card points to transfer: # of airline miles).
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American Express
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Aer Lingus AerClub (1:1 ratio)
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Aeromexico Rewards (1:1.6 ratio)
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Air Canada Aeroplan (1:1 ratio)
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Air France-KLM Flying Blue (1:1 ratio)
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All Nippon Airways Mileage Club (1:1 ratio)
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Avianca LifeMiles (1:1 ratio)
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British Airways Executive Club (1:1 ratio)
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Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (1:1 ratio)
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Delta Air Lines SkyMiles (1:1 ratio)
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Emirates Skywards (1:1 ratio)
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Etihad Airways Guest (1:1 ratio)
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Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles (1:1 ratio)
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Iberia Plus (1:1 ratio)
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JetBlue TrueBlue (250:200 ratio)
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Qantas Frequent Flyer (1:1 ratio)
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Qatar Airways Privilege Club (1:1 ratio)
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Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (1:1 ratio)
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Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (1:1 ratio)
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Bilt Rewards
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Alaska Airlines: (1:1 ratio)
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Avianca Lifemiles: (1:1 ratio)
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United MileagePlus: (1:1 ratio)
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Air France/KLM Flying Blue: (1:1 ratio)
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Virgin Red: (1:1 ratio)
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Emirates Skywards: (1:1 ratio)
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British Airways Executive Club: (1:1 ratio)
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Cathay Pacific: (1:1 ratio)
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Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles: (1:1 ratio)
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Aer Lingus AerClub: (1:1 ratio)
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Iberia Plus: (1:1 ratio)
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Air Canada Aeroplan: (1:1 ratio)
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TAP Miles&Go: (1:1 ratio)
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Chase
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Aer Lingus AerClub (1:1 ratio)
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Air Canada Aeroplan (1:1 ratio)
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Air France-KLM Flying Blue (1:1 ratio)
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British Airways Executive Club (1:1 ratio)
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Emirates Skywards (1:1 ratio)
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Iberia Plus (1:1 ratio)
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JetBlue TrueBlue (1:1 ratio)
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Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (1:1 ratio)
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Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards (1:1 ratio)
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United Airlines MileagePlus (1:1 ratio)
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Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (1:1 ratio)
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Capital One
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Aeromexico Rewards: (1:1 ratio)
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Air Canada Aeroplan: (1:1 ratio)
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Air France-KLM Flying Blue: (1:1 ratio)
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Avianca LifeMiles: (1:1 ratio)
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British Airways Executive Club: (1:1 ratio)
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Cathay Asia Miles: (1:1 ratio)
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Emirates Skywards: (1:1 ratio)
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Etihad Guest: (1:1 ratio)
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EVA Airways Infinity MileageLands: (4:3 ratio)
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Finnair Plus: (1:1 ratio)
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JetBlue TrueBlue: (5:3 ratio)
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Qantas Frequent Flyer: (1:1 ratio)
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Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: (1:1 ratio)
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TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go: (1:1 ratio)
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Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles: (1:1 ratio)
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Virgin Red: (1:1 ratio)
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Citi
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Accor Live Limitless: (2:1 ratio)
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Aeromexico Rewards: (1:1 ratio)
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Air France-KLM Flying Blue: (1:1 ratio)
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Avianca LifeMiles: (1:1 ratio)
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Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: (1:1 ratio)
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Emirates Skywards: (1:1 ratio)
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Etihad Guest: (1:1 ratio)
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EVA Air Infinity MileageLands: (1:1 ratio)
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JetBlue TrueBlue: (1:1 ratio)
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Leaders Club: 5:1 ratio
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Qantas Frequent Flyer: (1:1 ratio)
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Qatar Airways Privilege Club: (1:1 ratio)
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Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: (1:1 ratio)
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Thai Royal Orchid Plus: (1:1 ratio)
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Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles: (1:1 ratio)
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Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: (1:1 ratio)
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This method is most valuable when you become more familiar with how to take advantage of airline alliances to find sweet spot redemptions. We will cover airline alliances in a different post, but all you need to know for now is that your card's transfer partners will play a huge part in how often you're able to find the most valuable redemptions on your preferred airline(s).
Check out the example below for transferring AMEX points to Delta.
Log into your AMEX account and navigate to Rewards & Benefits in the top ribbon. Hover over and click on the link.
A dropdown menu will appear, click the "Transfer Points" dropdown.
On the next page, you will see a list of airline and hotel transfer partners. Scroll down to the desired partner (Delta, in this case) and click "Show Details"
This will take you to a sub-page that prompts you to confirm the number of points you want to transfer to Delta. With AMEX, you will have to pay a small fee to offset taxes in order to transfer points. You can choose either points or a small fee to your card (I recommend paying with your card.)
Click "Review Transfer".
Finally, review and confirm the transfer and tax offset fee. Click "Submit Transfer"
Remember to be sure because you can't reverse this decision once it's made!
Redeeming Airline Miles
Now that you know how to earn airline miles, let's discuss how to redeem them for free flights. We will use United and Delta in the example below. Although they are different programs and slightly different processes, the same concepts apply to the other major airline programs.
Check Your Balance
Before you start checking dates and room availability, it's probably a good idea to first make sure you know how many airline miles you have in your account. It could save you some time when weighing options, and it will give you an idea of whether you will need to dip into any flexible points accounts to top off your balance to complete your award redemption.
To do so:
1. Log into your account
2. Once logged in, click on your name on the landing page, and you will see a summary profile page, which will include your miles balance.
Search Availability
Once you know your balance, start searching for options that fit your preferences. When entering your desired dates and destination, make sure you indicate that you are using miles to book your flight. MOST, but not all, flight options accept miles, so this step will ensure that you are presented with options that do allow point redemptions.
Make sure you select "Book/Shop with miles" to see all flights available for paying with miles.
Complete Your Booking
Once you've decided on a flight that suits you, book the flight the same way as you would if you were paying with a credit card. You will still be required to use a credit card to book the flight and cover any taxes or fees (if any). The only difference once you book using points is that your points balance will automatically be deducted to cover the cost, whereas when booking with a card, it is sometimes not automatically charged. Otherwise, the booking process is the same. I should also mention that cancellation policies are usually the same when booking with points, so if you decide to cancel within the allotted timeframe (usually within 24 hours after you book), you should receive a points refund as long as you follow the cancellation rules.
Delta miles redemptions checkout
United miles redemptions checkout
Key Points
Airline miles can be earned in a variety of ways, but the three most common ways are:
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Book flights either directly through the airline, fly with a partner airline, or book with a third party and make sure to include your account number on the reservation.
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**Booking through third parties can potentially prohibit you from earning miles. Certain fares also prohibit you from earning miles on flights.
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Use an airline cobranded credit card.
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Transfer credit card points to a frequent flier program account.
Once you've earned enough miles, you can book flights that are eligible for point redemptions. When selecting your date and destination, make sure to indicate that you want to pay with points to streamline your search -- not all reservations allow miles to book!
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Current Welcome Offer
100,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of card membership
The American Express® Gold Card
Current welcome offer
90,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $6,000 in the first 6 months of card membership
The American Express® Platinum Card
Current welcome offer
125,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $8,000 in the first 3 months of card membership
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