Are there sweet spots in airline award charts worth knowing?
50% FrequentMiler
50% Other
Yes—airline award charts contain several “sweet spots” where you can snag premium‑cabin seats for a fraction of the usual mileage cost.
Domestic U.S. routes with Turkish Airlines
- 10,000 miles one‑way in economy or 15,000 miles one‑way in business for any point‑to‑point flight within the United States Live and Let’s Fly .
Trans‑Pacific premium cabins
- ANA First‑Class between the U.S. and Japan via Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for just 55,000–60,000 miles one‑way Your Mileage May Vary .
- ANA business‑class round‑trip between the U.S. and Japan (or other Asian destinations) for 90,000 miles or less FrequentMiler .
- ANA business‑class round‑trip to Japan from 75,000 miles (high‑season pricing up to 90,000) FrequentMiler .
Around‑the‑World business class
- ANA’s Star Alliance around‑the‑world award chart can be booked for as little as 115,000–125,000 miles in business class FrequentMiler .
Alaska Airlines mileage sweet spots (post‑2024 overhaul)
- Europe (business) from the U.S. North/East Coast for 45,000 miles FrequentMiler .
- Middle East and Africa (business) for 55,000 miles FrequentMiler .
- Icelandair “business” for 30,000 miles FrequentMiler .
- LATAM business to South America for 35,000 miles FrequentMiler .
- New Zealand (business) for 75,000 miles FrequentMiler .
- Singapore Air to Asia for 85,000 miles FrequentMiler .
Other notable patterns
- Sweet spots generally involve long‑haul routes that cross an ocean or continent and cost under 50,000 miles one‑way for premium cabins Miles to Memories .
- Many programs (e.g., American Express Membership Rewards, Aeroplan, Etihad Guest) have occasional partner‑specific sweet spots that appear when award charts are favorable, though the exact mileage values vary Boarding Area FrequentMiler .
The 10 Best Airline Award Ticket Sweet Spots [2024]
Earlier I wrote about how some of the most lucrative award travel redemptions are often the most boring. Here, I want to point out my current list of the 10 best airline award ticket sweet spots. There’s a dividing line between aspirational and practical and my list below takes both into account. Generally speaking, I prefer to pay more to redeem via a program that I trust and find easy to work with. For example, I’ll spend 100K Air Canada Aeroplan miles for Lufthansa First Class versus 50K Asiana Club miles because Aeroplan makes it simple and easy to
The Hidden Truth About Airline Award Sweet Spots
I’ve been traveling around the United States—and the world—for years using points and miles. While I’ve never managed to snag some of the most legendary sweet spot redemptions, I’ve had a few memorable wins: flying from New York to Frankfurt on Singapore Airlines in business class and using a Marriott suite upgrade to stay in the Chambers Wing of the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this:Sweet spot redemptions only exist because loyalty programs allow them to exist. That may sound a little cynical, but it’s also true. Programs design
Around the world in business class for 115K [Sweet spot spotlight]
Flights crossing either the Atlantic or Pacific ocean usually cost in the neighborhood of 60K miles one-way in business class with most award programs. What if you could cross both oceans — and connect the dots to also fly around the rest of the world for 115K total miles? If that piques your interest, you need to check out the ANA around the world award chart. We had a reader who recently reached out in the midst of his ANA around the world trip and he gave us a few good tips we’ll include in this sweet spot spotlight (see
Unlock Travel Rewards: Amex Transfer Partners Made Easy
I’ve always been fascinated by how one small piece of plastic—a credit card—can propel me to far-off destinations in style. Over the years, I’ve observed that American Express (Amex) Membership Rewards remains a top-tier program for gathering points and redeeming them for incredible travel value. With a lineup of 18 airline partners and 3 hotel partners, there’s a wide world of possibilities to transform everyday spending into meaningful journeys. Transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to airline and hotel programs often delivers significantly better bang for your buck compared to simply booking through the Amex travel portal. By converting points
Chasing great hotels, common transfer partners, and multiple seats up front [Week in Review]
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The Best First Class & Business Class Sweet Spots For Each Program
If you’re looking to fly in style, these are the best first class & business class sweet spots for each award program. We’ll look at each of the major award programs and find their best sweet spot for first and business class bookings. For those wanting to fly in style without spending a ton of miles, this is for you. I’ll admit this word probably gets overused in this hobby. For me, a “sweet spot” is a route in the airline’s award chart where you get outsized value. If an 8-hour flight normally needs X amount of miles, but
Practical Sweet Spot Awards
The show must go on. After almost 3 years of Frequent Miler on the Air without missing an episode, I was determined to make it work this week despite some challenges on my end. Listen to this week’s “Giant Mailbag” stand-in for more on that and accept my apologies for unideal sound quality this week as we discuss our favorite practical sweet spots — those you can actually find available and that we have booked. Elsewhere on the blog this week, we’ve updated some excellent resources including our Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide and some sweet spot best uses
Strengths Membership Rewards has over Ultimate Rewards
When it was discovered last month that Chase would be losing Korean as a transfer partner, I offhandedly mentioned that the announcement increased the value of Membership Rewards in my mind. A reader challenged me as to why a change at Chase would change my mathematical value of Membership Rewards points. He’s right that there isn’t a direct relationship, but the comment caused me to consider which currency is more valuable to me. Are Membership Rewards more valuable than Ultimate Rewards? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But here are 5 strengths Membership Rewards has over Chase Ultimate
Ultimate Guide to Airline Award Charts and How to Use Them?
There are endless possibilities. Once you have earned credit card points or those Airmiles, you will probably be interested in redeeming them for the next flight. How many miles would you need to travel from India to Europe or Within your country? This is where Airline Award Charts help. Not all airlines publish an award chart. However, airlines which do so are quite popular among travellers. It is because there are many Sweet Spots that arise because of it. So, let’s see everything about the Airline Award Chart and how to use it for your next travel. An airline
Swapping my Bilt points for Alaska miles
On Monday, July 1, for that day only, Bilt will be offering up to a 100% transfer bonus to Alaska Mileage Plan. That’s awesome. Yes, I know that previous Bilt transfer bonuses have been up to 150% but that has been for programs where there are plenty of other ways to get the miles. Don’t get me wrong, 150% transfer bonuses to Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Emirates Skywards, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club were amazing. But with each of those programs, there are several transferable points programs that support them so if you have transferable points, it’s