With a bit of searching and knowledge
of partner award charts, it is common to achieve redemption values of 3 - 4 cents per point.
Alaska miles can be redeemed for free tickets both on Alaska's award chart as well as a wide variety
of partner award charts.
In addition, Alaska has a variety
of partner award charts, though these typically price out at the standard 12,500 mile price each way.
The full table
of partner award chart changes is displayed below, with increased prices highlighted.
Not exact matches
While each
of these programs is
partnered with US based carriers, their
awards charts do not offer very compelling value in most cases, with Singapore and Air France / KLM Flying Blue being the two best options.
Europe is one region in United's
award chart allowing you to fly transatlantic with the multitude
of European - based Star Alliance
partners.
Alaska Airlines offers a vast range
of partner airlines as well as a very reasonable
awards redemption
chart, making this airline and its co-branded credit card a great investment.
JAL uses a distance - based
award chart and is not only part
of Oneworld; it also
partners with Emirates (and hasn't devalued first - class redemptions like Alaska, another SPG transfer
partner).
If you transfer your points to
partners with valuable
award charts, it is not very difficult to achieve redemption values
of at least 2 cents / point (often 3 - 4) which widens the value disparity even more.
However, if you can find
award space on
partners like American Airlines, you can get a lot
of value from their distance - based
award chart.
The mileage cost to fly one
of ANA's
partner airlines to Japan aren't as good redeeming miles for ANA flights, but the
award chart does have a few solid
partner redemption options.
Similar to Virgin Atlantic, this program has different
award charts for each
of its
partner airlines.
As mentioned earlier, Etihad has an
award chart for each
of their 24 airline
partners.
For ClassicFlight
awards, Air Canada's
award chart is usually better than many
of its
partners, including United, but the airline often passes on fuel surcharges levied by
partners.
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.
Additionally, remember you can now transfer your miles to Alaska Airlines and make use
of Alaska's
award chart and
partners.
Other OneWorld
partners tend to be less competitive in their
award charts, but are worth checking out if you find yourself with a large stockpile
of miles in a specific program.
As you search for
award availability with
partners, you can reference the Oneworld and other
partners» AA
award charts to determine the number
of AA miles you will need to book.
With several routes to the US, a competitive
award chart, and plenty
of partner booking options, let's dive into ANA first class.
Delta Air Lines devalued their
partner awards overnight without notice, Virgin Atlantic devalued their
award chart for flights on Delta, and Etihad cut one
of their coolest perks for premium cabin passengers: chauffeur service.
For
partner awards, Japan Airlines uses a distance - based
award chart that is divided into tiers based on the number
of flight miles.
In order to find the best values, you have to navigate the terms and conditions
of each transfer
partner — understanding the routing restrictions and keeping an eye out for fuel surcharges and other hidden fees — and you need to familiarize yourself with their
awards charts.
Awards are distance based and have different
award charts depending on the type
of partner you are flying.
The mileage cost to fly one
of ANA's
partner airlines to Japan aren't as good redeeming miles for ANA flights, but the
award chart does have a few solid
partner redemption options.
Promo
awards, offering 25 - 50 percent off the standard
award chart, are available each month for select flights, but most passengers will spend the bulk
of their miles on classic
awards, which can be used on any
partner airline but not on first class cabins.
As one
of Etihad's few airline
partners, most travelers will have no reasonable alternatives to the American Airlines
award chart.
Singapore Airlines has a pretty good Star Alliance
partner award chart right now, and Singapore miles are insanely easy to get ahold
of considering that they are 1:1 transfer
partners of American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints.
And Delta has done much to erode trust in recent years, most importantly by eliminating
award charts and becoming famous for devaluing the Skymiles program with no notice (for example, by charging significantly more Skymiles to fly a
partner airline within 21 days
of departure).
While economy class
awards aren't changing much, there will be some significant increases in the cost
of business and first class
awards on American Airlines»
partners — flights on American Airlines have their own
award chart.
There's no domestic carrier and many
of the
partners don't have great
award charts and / or require you to pay high fees.
With that said, let's take a look at some
of the
award chart redemptions for Avianca LifeMiles on Star Alliance
partners.
Revisions to its
partner award chart help United by reducing the amount
of money it has to pay
partner carriers for these easily - earned miles by its own customers.
Airlines like Delta (Amex MR transfer
partner), Southwest Airlines (Chase UR transfer
partner) and even United (Chase UR
partner) have adopted a variable
award chart for all or some
of their flights.
JAL, which uses a distance - based
award chart for redemptions on
partner airlines, has the same rate
of 40,000 miles for some routes, but it can go up to 55,000 miles or more to certain destinations.
Although United devalued their
award chart while I was «on the treadmill» racking up points & miles, and business class
awards on
partner airlines went from 100k to 140k round - trip I still felt it was a good use
of points.
American and it's
partner JAL offer plenty
of service to Japan, and American's
award chart is reasonable.
Korean Air is one
of those odd
partners not many travelers are familiar with, but the airline's
award chart is quite lucrative for those with Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
There are two types
of award chart that American Airlines uses; one for travel on American Airlines aircraft and the other is for travel on
partner airlines.
If planning to travel on AA Metal check out AA
awards and if traveling on a mixture
of AA planes and their
partners or only their
partner, check out AA's
Partner Award Chart.
In terms
of using them for air travel, you use the
award booking
chart for your airline which will let you know how many miles it will take to fly from say the U.S. to Europe or intra-Europe on a
partner.
For each
partner, they use a different
award chart, and one
of their best offerings is with Brussels Airlines.
While with many airlines the
award chart sweet spots are found using one airline to fly a
partner, Korean Air gives great rates to fly its own wonderful first - class suite from one
of its more than a dozen U.S. destinations, with first - class seats for 80,000 miles one way.
You can view a list
of these options by referencing your frequent flier program's
award chart for those
partner airlines or checking rewardexpert.com.
If your booking involves a connection on a
partner of Japan Airlines (such as American Airlines), your booking will fall under their
partner award chart, and you will need to call to complete the booking.
While one
of the
award charts did see a major valuation last year — that
of Emirates — there are still multiple
partner award charts which offer international premium cabin
awards for much less than the number
of miles that would be required by booking directly with the airlines» own
award programs.
The best parts
of the South African Airlines
award chart are
partner airline flights between the U.S. and South America.
You can do even better if you take advantage
of some opportunities to redeem points on international
partners using a more conventional
award chart.
Citi does not
partner with one
of the three US legacy carriers (Delta, American, United), therefore if you would like to you use your miles to book an international
award ticket you will need to navigate the
award chart of one
of the foreign carriers.
Compare that to the 120,000 United miles it will cost you to fly first class one way from the US to «North Asia» on one
of their
partner airlines (per their
award chart).
Also, here's a look at the SkyTeam
award chart and some
of my favorite Korean Air redemptions on SkyTeam
partners.