This gives you much more flexibility when looking for
the award flights you need.
Find
the award flights you need — Alaska's site will show you awards for SkyPass partners Delta, Emirates and of course Alaska itself.
Not exact matches
However, the United
award chart shows that business class saver tickets only cost 60,000 each way, or 120,000 round - trip for the same exact
flight, a quarter of how many miles or points you would have
needed with cash back or a statement credit.
Pacing aside, this is a fairly smooth
flight and one you'll
need to make a reservation for soon to know what everyone is buzzing about as we enter
award season.
However, if you
need a few points to buy an
awards flight, you can consider it.
With a distance - based
award chart, you also
need to remember that any connecting
flights will add to the total
flight distance used to calculate the number of miles required for your
award ticket.
Just remember that British Airways Avios utilize a distance - based
award chart, so connecting
flights could increase the number of Avios
needed to book your
award ticket.
Now that we have taken a look at some of the best ways to book
award flights, we
need to discuss an important aspect of booking trips to London: the Air Passenger Duty (APD) fee.
Hot Tip: If you
need some inspiration for future
award flights, check out the best ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards.
For instance, just because you fly 1,504 miles from San Francisco to Austin doesn't mean that you have now earned enough miles for another trip; rather, the 1,500 - odd miles you just flew have earned you a mere fraction of what you'll
need to book an
award flight.
You can also do your own check to see how many miles you
need from the airline's website: Just look under the reservations page, and search for the section that mentions
award flights.
This can include those who rarely travel and others who just drive to their destinations and stay with friends and family, and have no
need for
award flights or hotel stays.
They offer the most flexibility because you don't
need to deal with
award flights (booking
flights with points / miles) or airline loyalty programs.
They are especially useful if you are booking with Delta SkyMiles and
need a few more miles to book your
award flight.
If you can find
award space on Delta or Alaska Airlines on the outbound
flight but not on the dates you
need to return, you could book a one - way
award with Flying Blue and a one - way
award on United Airlines or American Airlines with another program.
Whither you
need to top up your account for an
award flight or you have a few unused miles that could be put to good use by someone else, pooling miles is a great way to maximize your buying power.
To find
award space on United
flights to Sydney (SYD) and book with ANA Mileage Club miles, you simply
need to run a search for partner
awards on ANA's website.
Here's what you
need to look for when booking an
award flight to Australia on either Delta or their partner Virgin Australia.
Let's check out how many miles you will
need to book a round - trip
award, as well as the taxes and fees you can expect to pay when booking a
flight on Qantas with Alaska Mileage Plan miles.
If you are thinking about earning some SkyMiles to book an
award flight, you'll
need to keep a few things in mind about Delta.
Unless you're already a member of one of these airlines and just
need a little bit more to reach an
award flight.
Cardholders
need at least 15,000 points to be able to redeem
award flights.
There's also a handy calculator that will tell you how many points you'll
need for
flights without logging in, but it won't tell you whether
award seats are available on the day you want to travel.
With elite status, you'll
need fewer miles for market fare
flight awards.
To book an
award flight, you
need at least 10,000 miles.
There is no
award chart - the number of points
needed depends on how much the
flight costs.
The only reason to really go for this transfer is if you
need a few more miles for an
award flight.
For an online
award on Etihad
flights only, you can purchase as many as 25 % of the total miles
needed for an
award flight.
Additionally, American Express often runs transfer bonus promotions with individual transfer partners which can be very useful if you
need to book an
award flight.
Just beware you
need to stick to
flights that have the
award seats open.
Let's check out how many miles you will
need to book a round - trip
award, as well as the taxes and fees you can expect to pay when booking a
flight on Qantas with Alaska Mileage Plan miles.
It's an easy way to determine how many points you'll
need for your next
flight award!
To find
award space on United
flights to Sydney (SYD) and book with ANA Mileage Club miles, you simply
need to run a search for partner
awards on ANA's website.
While we often talk about booking United business class and first class, this extra economy
award space can be extremely useful when you
need to book a
flight but ticket prices are sky high.
If you don't see the
flights you want or see the airlines you
need, you can always call their North American service line at (312) 843-5333 to book your
award.
Similarly, for customers
needing more than 1
award seat on a particular
flight (maybe a family of 4), booking requires a great deal more points and more work to find multiple
award seats.
Here's what you
need to look for when booking an
award flight to Australia on either Delta or their partner Virgin Australia.
To find
award availability and book a Royal Air Maroc
flight, you will
need to contact the Etihad Guest Service Center at +1 (0) 877-690-0767.
Take a look at the
award charts and see if anything meets your
needs for upcoming
flights.
Try to avoid this unless you are very close to the required mileage for an
award, you have found
award space, and you
need the
flight on a very specific date.
Are you close to an
award flight but
need a few extra Qantas Points?
Since the off - peak
award pricing only applies to
awards on US Airways operated
flights, we
need to check US Airways
flights only.
Unfortunately, American does not allow for stopovers, so if you'd like to visit Hawaii on your way to Fiji or someplace else in the Pacific afterwards, you'd
need to book two separate
award flights.
If you
need to connect on American Airlines (or another partner airline) to get to your
flight on Japan Airlines, you will
need to use the partner
award chart to determine the number of miles required.
Keep an eye on the partners of your Host program, and learn which search engines show partner
flights, and when you'll
need to call in to book an
award.
See related: How to nab scarce
award flights, Rewards card switch: from fee to no - fee, 7 signs you
need to cash in your rewards — now!
Since the ANA Bookings rely on United
award space (and until they leave Star Alliance US Airways) we
need to find
flights home from AMA - FSD with United.
Even if you
need award space for a
flight within 3 or 4 months, it is not uncommon to find business class space for 1 to 3 people.
Delta also has no fee for last - minute
award bookings and opens up a larger percentage of seats last minute than most airlines, so if you
need an
award flight on short order, it's a great option.
The biggest downside to the FlexPerks Select + card is that you
need at least 20,000 points to redeem for an
award flight.