Finding flights at
the lowest award redemption level using Delta Sky Miles might take a lot of work.
Pros: Good transfer opportunities;
low award redemption requirements; one of the best search engines for Star Alliance award availability.
Not exact matches
Even a relatively
low value flight
award is still more valuable than
redemptions for hotels, cruises or rental cards which are only worth one cent per point.
5 least expensive airline
award redemptions — If you know where to look, airline
awards can sometimes ring in at prices much, much
lower than the «standard» 12,500 miles each way.
And oddly enough, the needlessly complicated 5 - tier Delta
award chart (which of course doesn't actually exist, wink, wink) means that when
lowest - level
redemptions aren't available on any airline and you're considering a more expensive
award, Delta may actually be cheaper than the others thanks to all their intermediate
award tiers.
In general, taxes are
low for most American Airlines
award redemptions.
This is why United didn't touch its 25,000 - mile domestic
awards (even though they make up the vast majority of their customers»
redemptions) and why many credit cards offer a sign - up bonus that can immediately provide a
low - level
redemption.
It is possible to find higher
redemption rates for your points, but in some cases (especially with
lower cost flights or hotel nights), the 1.5 cents per point value can be better than redeeming for an
award directly through the airline or hotel programs.
Even a relatively
low value flight
award is still more valuable than
redemptions for hotels, cruises or rental cards which are only worth one cent per point.
In theory, Delta offers the same deal as United or US Air for
redemptions to Hawaii:
low - level
awards begin at 20,000 miles each way.
5 least expensive airline
award redemptions — If you know where to look, airline
awards can sometimes ring in at prices much, much
lower than the «standard» 12,500 miles each way.
Do note that Flying Blue's best
award redemptions tend to be in economy class vs business and offer
low rates to places like Hawaii, Central and South America, and even Europe at costs less than many of their partner airlines included Alaska or Delta.
Offering the
lowest redemption thresholds for
awards, Best Western Rewards
award - winning loyalty program has continued to be one of the industry's most generous rewards programs for more than 25 years.
Offering the
lowest redemption thresholds for
awards, the Best Western Rewards program has continued to be one of the industry's most generous rewards programs for more than 25 years.
It has the
lowest redemption thresholds for
awards, and is one of few loyalty programs that is truly international.
Orion Hotels in Southern Africa will join more than 4,100 hotels worldwide that participate in Best Western Rewards, one of the richest and truly international loyalty programs in the industry, offering the
lowest redemption thresholds for
awards and points that never expire.
It has one of the
lowest redemption threshold for free nights globally & on
awards, and is one of few loyalty programs that is truly international.
Often the best flight, in terms of schedule, stops, or experience, is offered on a partner, so you want to make sure you see them.Click your preferred dates on the
award calendar, even if the days are marked in white, which implies there is no space in the
lowest redemption categories.
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card Among airline - branded cards, Southwest's rises to the top when it comes to point value thanks to the carrier's
low redemption requirements for
award seats.
One of the most interesting changes to the new
award chart, however, comes at the
lowest redemption level.
There are more categories where you see the uber
low redemptions that used to be known as American's off - peak
awards, like flying to Europe between October 15 and May 15 for 20,000 miles instead of 30,000 miles each way.
SPG has a plethora of airline transfer partners and
low cost
award redemptions at their properties.
Currently, you can search Hilton's website for
Award Redemption Bookings at the Grand Wailea and you will find that the
lowest available is 80,000 HHonors points for a single night throughout 2013.
While the number of miles needed for a Business Class
redemption isn't exactly
low (you're better off trying to get to / from Europe on United's own aircraft which will only cost 115,000 for roundtrip Business Class), the taxes for a premium cabin
award are
low for a European route.
However, American doesn't operate flights to India, which makes it not possible to take advantage of this
lower redemption levels (when compared to
awards with Etihad Airlines)
Unless you remember how many miles each
award to each region actually requires at the
lowest redemption level, there's no way of knowing whether you're overpaying.
In recent years, Delta has worked to clean up its online booking software and it has added tons of
award availability, though unfortunately not always in the
lowest redemption category.
Award redemptions are determined with buckets of miles traveled, typically in increments of 500 on the
lower end, 1,000 in the middle, and several thousand at the high end, rather than by geographic zones.
If American doesn't alter the cost of Economy or Business Class
awards then, depending on how Premium Economy is squeezed in, there could be some very good value
redemptions to be had (Premium Economy if the premium over Economy Class is
low or Business Class if the premium over PE is
low... it will be one or the other).
The combination of aggressive economy
award requirements with
low taxes and faxes make this program a great way to book Air France KLM metal and their partner
redemptions.
Arrival miles are also good to use when the
lowest or saver
redemption rate is not available for an
award flight using another program's miles, but the cash ticket price is
low.
For months I've been planning on this being a year of mileage
redemptions: this will be my last year as a Platinum Medallion, enjoying free
award redeposit and reissue, allowing me to maximize the value I get from my Skymiles by locking in «
low» - level
award space as it becomes available.
In a clumsy attempt to hide the stick behind the carrot, they promised «improved
low award availability» (whatever that means) and five new
redemption tiers instead of existing three.
For
award flights on partners this dynamic pricing wasn't a huge headache since partner
awards are subject to the
lowest tier of the dynamic pricing, so all you had to know is what the
lowest redemption rate is for a route and that would tell you the mileage requirement for a partner
award.
As shown on their Star Alliance partner
award chart, flights from North America to Europe can be booked as
low as 55,000 miles, but partner airlines are not given the 15 % discount and the
redemption rates are higher, so the deal is not to sweet (though still decent).
The
lowest Spirit's
redemption rates are unambiguously called Free Spirit Master Card, and contrary to what you might have heard about the lack of availability, finding these
awards is completely possible (please trust the guy who has done it on more than one occasion — me!).
Low level
award redemptions for premium business class international round - trip tickets can usually be found for 140,000 miles, but Delta occasionally has flash sales where those
awards cost just 110,000 miles.
American Airlines MileSAAver
awards allow for
redemptions to Europe as
low as 45,000 round trip.
Since TrueBlue points mostly interest me for travel to Mexico and the Caribbean, let's say my average
award would hover around 17,000 points, as I won't always be able to get the
lowest redemption rate.
If you can't find an
award flight on the dates you want at the
lowest redemptions rates, you'll just have to pay more or use your miles for something else.
Award nights at top category hotels can be expensive, but the
redemptions at
low - mid tier hotels a = offer a great value.
Award availability is great even at
lower redemption rates, and with JFK as one of the hubs, you should have no problem booking a flight.
Most partner flights are bookable online at the saver (
lowest)
award redemption rate.
Award availability is generally great, even at the
lowest redemption rates, which can be substantially less than other airlines thanks to AA's great off - peak rates.
Virgin Australia charges 70,500 each way for this route, if you manage to get an
award in the
lowest redemption bucket.
For years, fliers have complained about stingy
award availability on Delta flights at the
lowest redemption levels.
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!)
With first class partner
redemptions on United now pricing at 110,000 miles each way from the U.S. to Europe, the elimination of the
low 4,500 Avios level
award band for domestic short - hops via British Airways, and Southwest points worth less than ever before, it's hard to suggest that Ultimate Rewards still has the strongest stable of transfer partners.
In theory, economy
awards are offered at the
lowest redemption rates, but they just aren't available.
American Airlines» AAdvantage Loyalty Program offers five different types of mile
redemption award rates, but we suggest taking advantage of the most
low - priced of these
awards, the off - peak MileSAAver.