Some of the best values for Delta miles are available by booking short - haul
domestic economy awards on routes with expensive cash prices.
However, there are many alternatives available which allow us to book round - trip
domestic economy awards for cheaper prices than this when the flights are short enough to fall under certain mileage thresholds.
The best values are for
domestic economy awards within Brazil, and for flights throughout South America.
I like earning and redeeming Avios and have done so for some extremely valuable
domestic economy awards (on a value - per - point basis).
Domestic economy awards under 700 miles cost 10K miles each way as opposed to the base rate of 12.5 K miles for flights longer than that threshold.
In addition, Alaska recently announced an improved award chart for
domestic economy awards.
This is in line with low price
domestic economy awards from the major legacy carriers.
While award flight costs for Delta can be quite volatile, 70K miles is enough for approximately three round - trip
domestic economy awards, or one long haul international economy award.
First, by carrying a Chase United card (even the fee - free version) you have access to more saver level
domestic Economy award availability (HT: bluecat who correctly points out the availability extends to international flights on United metal) I haven't found the difference that noticeable for the most part, but while doing some research for an upcoming Brandon Asks post I noticed it was quite useful for positioning flights.
Their domestic economy award availability at the saver level isn't perfect, but it is decent.
The Aviator Red's sign - up bonus is enough for two round - trip
domestic economy award tickets on American Airlines.
Domestic economy award flights on United will run you 20,000 — 25,000 United miles round - trip.
Most people redeem their miles using
the domestic economy award.
Not exact matches
So if I am earning miles from credit card spending to use for a
domestic round trip
economy award that requires 25,000 miles, it has to be for a flight that I would have paid at least $ 500 for.
Here, we'll dive into the different
economy and
domestic first class
award booking options you have.
But there are still decent deals like
Economy Class to Europe and some
domestic awards for as few as 5,000 miles one way.
For example, a one way
domestic business class
award ticket in the contiguous U.S. redeemed through Singapore Airlines will cost 20,000 miles, 17,500
economy to Hawaii or 30,000 business to Hawaii.
The most common
award redemption is a
domestic flight for 25,000 miles round trip in
economy class.
Downgrade to the Chase MileagePlus Card (no Explorer in the name) and you'll still have [ever so slightly] expanded
domestic saver level
Economy award availability, no fee, and the ability to switch back to the $ 95 annual fee Explorer card if your travel patterns change in the future.
Round - trip
economy is 25,000 miles, same as a US
domestic award.
Saver level
economy award tickets for
domestic flights can offer good value for your miles, but they may be difficult to find.
Keep in mind: Having the card only unlocks
domestic *
Economy *
award space on United metal.
United has a traditional airline
award chart that charges 12,500 miles each way for a
domestic economy saver
award within the lower 48 states.
Domestic awards from Kuala Lumpur to East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo) come to 30,000 miles in
economy and 50,000 in business class.
For example,
domestic round - trip
awards from Kuala Lumpur to the West Malaysia region (Malay Peninsula) come to just 20,000 miles in
economy class and 40,000 miles in business.
Typical
domestic awards in
economy class will cost 12,500 miles — the same as most carriers.
Right now the new
award chart shows one way domestic Everyday Awards in economy capped at 32,500 versus the Standard Award price of 25
award chart shows one way
domestic Everyday
Awards in
economy capped at 32,500 versus the Standard
Award price of 25
Award price of 25,000.
Domestic business
awards are double the price of
economy, so you could get one business class
award seat for 50,000 United miles.
United
award redemptions are best for an
economy ticket and good deals can be found for
domestic U.S. flights.
For example, you can get a
domestic award flight in Portugal for only 7,500 miles roundtrip, or a flight between the U.S. and Portugal for 50,000 miles in
economy and 90,000 miles in business.
As I mentioned above, it costs 25K points for a round trip,
domestic United
Economy award if you transferred your UR points to United.
This puts short haul
economy awards within international regions more in - line with
domestic awards which have had reduced pricing for years.
Thanks to tons of last - minute
award availability, United miles are a great bet for spur - of - the - moment
domestic trips in
economy class.
Though I'm primarily discussing
economy redemptions here, I also wanted to mention that booking through Virgin Atlantic, you can get first - class
award tickets for
domestic travel in the U.S. for an absolute steal: just 45,000 miles.
While we all enjoy booking an extravagant first class
award to Asia and getting a massive amount of value out of our miles, the truth is
award tickets simply aren't available every time we want to book and some travel needs like
domestic economy tickets don't offer such great value.
Most
economy class redemption levels, with the exception of Taiwan
domestic awards and flights between North and South / Central America, are less competitive than what's offered by U.S. - based programs.
Alaska's
award chart for
domestic economy is displayed below (note that this includes the state of Alaska, by the airline's definition).
Alaska recently overhauled its
award chart for
domestic economy travel on its own metal, and in a rare win for travelers, actually made the chart more valuable.
For example, the standard one - way price for a
domestic award in
economy class is 12,500 miles.
Though Miles & More
awards carry high fuel surcharges, their redemption rates are relatively comparable to the main
domestic airlines, though occasionally with a bit of a discount, such as 50,000 miles for round - trip flights between the U.S. and Europe in
economy class.
I haven't listed
economy prices because many are now somewhat competitive with the US
domestic airline
award prices, but in many cases are still cheaper.
Domestic economy class tickets are a good value at 15,000 miles, but the real bargains are domestic economy plus and business class
Domestic economy class tickets are a good value at 15,000 miles, but the real bargains are
domestic economy plus and business class
domestic economy plus and business class
awards.
Award seats can be cheaply upgraded for cash to Exit Seats (like comfort
economy) or Big Front Seats (like
domestic first class)
However at a value of 2 cents a mile, you would still have to book an
award ticket that normally costs $ 250 one way in
Economy to get that value per mile on a
domestic flight.
On the redemption side, the program offers very cheap short - haul
awards (as low as 4,500 miles in
economy or 9,000 in business class), thus perfect for
domestic flights within Japan (with no taxes!)
In terms of comparison to other airlines, two
domestic roundtrip
award tickets in
economy class on United would require 50,000 miles.
These are the two best cards for
domestic economy flights since they can be used for the cheapest or most convenient itinerary without having to search for
award space AND you get all the perks of a paid ticket like earning miles and status.
You'll need more lead time for premium
awards, such as an international first - class ticket, than you will for a
domestic economy flight.
However, United said it will continue to offer MileagePlus
domestic Saver
awards (which are subject to capacity controls) at levels of 10,000 or 12,500 miles one - way for
economy class seats, depending on distance.
These passes are usually
awarded annually and are good for a
domestic economy class flight.