The 8 Best Airline Award Ticket Sweet Spots

I do what I can to write about the best deals for earning and redeeming miles. In this post I wanted to share what I consider to be some of the most useful sweet spot award redemptions right now. I wanted to provide a fresh look at how you can get the most bang for your buck when redeeming points.

The thing about sweet spot awards is that they tend to get pulled over time. Loyalty programs undergo periodic devaluations, and as you’d expect, the best value redemptions are often the ones to see the biggest price hikes. Fortunately there are still some great deals to be had.

Aspirational vs. practical award sweet spots

Before I share my top picks, I want to emphasize that my goal is to make a list of sweet spot awards that are practical. This means that there’s wide use for them, the points are pretty easy to accrue, the redemption process is fairly easy, etc.

I’ll intentionally be leaving out some niche redemptions that make a great headline, but won’t be useful for a vast majority of OMAAT readers. Let me give an example, just to demonstrate why.

Assuming you wanted to redeem miles for Lufthansa first class, you can redeem just 50,000 Asiana Club miles for a one-way award between the United States and Europe. That’s an incredible price, on the surface much better than the 87,000 LifeMiles or 90,000-100,000 Aeroplan points you’d pay for similar redemptions. That being said:

• Asiana Club isn’t transfer partners with any of the major transferable points currencies, so the points are hard to rack up
• Asiana Club passes on carrier imposed surcharges, which total nearly $1,000 one-way between the United States and Europe in Lufthansa first class, which basically negates the mileage savings, by most reasonable points valuations
• You need to book by phone through the Asiana Club call center, and it’s not even open 24/7
• Asiana Club requires you to ticket awards at least 72 hours in advance, and often Lufthansa only opens first class awards last minute

Of course redeeming just 50,000 miles for Lufthansa first class makes a great headline (and is a good value overall), but practically speaking it’s not something most people will use.

My favorite airline mileage sweet spots

I wanted to share some of my favorite airline mileage sweet spots. I’m specifically focusing on redemptions with points that are easy to accrue (ideally with transferable points currencies), where the booking process is fairly easy, and where there’s wide appeal.

With that out of the way, here are some of my favorite award redemptions, in no particular order.

ANA first & business class using Virgin Atlantic points

All Nippon Airways has a phenomenal new first class and business class product, and the best way to book this is through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Specifically, redemption rates are as follows (one-way):

• Flying between the US West Coast and Japan costs 52,500 Flying Club points in business class or 72,500 Flying Club points in first class
• Flying between the US East Coast and Japan costs 60,000 Flying Club points in business class or 85,000 Flying Club points in first class

This is an incredible redemption value, though the major catch is finding award availability, especially for multiple passengers. While there are fuel surcharges on these redemptions, they’re quite mild.

How do you book All Nippon Airways awards? You can search award availability through another program (Aeroplan, MileagePlus, etc.), and then call Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to book — they can be reached at 800.365.9500.

How do you earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points? Virgin Atlantic is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou, so there are quite a few ways to earn their points. Also look out for transfer bonuses, which can stretch your points even further.

Qatar Airways business class using American miles

Qatar Airways’ Qsuites is one of the best business class products in the world, and the most economical way to book this is with American AAdvantage miles. For one-way travel, you can redeem just 70,000 AAdvantage miles from the United States to the Middle East or India, or 75,000 AAdvantage miles from the United States to Africa.

There are no fuel surcharges on these redemptions. This can be useful whether you’re looking to travel to India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, South Africa or wherever else. Note that for those redemption rates you can also fly Etihad Airways, though I do have a slight preference for Qatar.

While not to or from the United States, I’d note that you can also redeem just 40,000 AAdvantage miles between the Middle East and Asia on Qatar Airways, which is arguably an even btter deal.

How do you book Qatar Airways awards? These awards can be booked directly on aa.com.

How do you earn American AAdvantage miles? American has several co-branded credit cards, and AAdvantage also frequently sells miles directly at a reasonable cost.

Air France & KLM business class using Flying Blue miles

Air France business class and KLM business class are both solid products, and they’re among the most practical options for crossing the Atlantic with miles. Flying Blue has standardized award pricing, and you’ll pay 50,000 Flying Blue miles for a one-way business class award across the Atlantic. On top of that, Flying Blue even allows stopovers on one-way awards, which makes this an even better opportunity.

While Flying Blue does have fuel surcharges, they’re not too bad compared to some other programs. You can expect to pay around $200 one-way in business class across the Atlantic. Given the otherwise good value in redeeming for these kinds of awards, I’d say that’s fair enough.

How do you book Flying Blue awards? These awards can be booked directly on flyingblue.com (unless you want a stopover, in which case you need to book by phone). Use the secret award calendar to find availability.

How do you earn Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles? Air France-KLM is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou, so there are quite a few ways to earn their points. Also look out for transfer bonuses, which can stretch your points even further. Flying Blue also often sells miles at a discount.

Iberia business class using Iberia Plus Avios

While there’s generally not a whole lot to get excited about with the Iberia Plus program, there is one premium cabin sweet spot that’s worth planning around. Specifically, you can potentially cross the Atlantic in Iberia business class for 34,000 Avios, plus minimal taxes and fees.

Iberia Plus has a distance based award chart, and awards that cover a distance of 3,001-4,000 miles cost just 34,000 Avios in business class, assuming you’re traveling during an off-peak period. For example, this would include Iberia’s routes to Boston, New York, and Washington.

Being able to redeem just 34,000 Avios for a transatlantic business class award is an incredible deal. While there are some carrier imposed surcharges on these awards, they’re mild, and you can expect them to cost you around $100 per direction.

How do you book Iberia awards? These awards can be booked directly on iberia.com.

How do you earn Iberia Plus Avios? Iberia is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards, has the co-branded Iberia Visa Signature^® Card (review), and often sells Avios at a discount. If using points from a transferable points currency, be on the lookout for transfer bonuses.

Transatlantic Star Alliance business class using LifeMiles

I’d say the single most common “aspirational” award that people are looking for is a business class ticket to Europe. After all, that’s achievable, and covers a lot of destinations. For these kinds of awards, Avianca LifeMiles charges just 63,000 miles for one-way business class travel.

This can get you flights on a variety of Star Alliance airlines, ranging from Austrian, to LOT, to Lufthansa, to SWISS, to United. There are no fuel surcharges on these awards, so given how easy it is to rack up LifeMiles, I’d say that’s a great value.

Just don’t plan on booking anything too complicated through LifeMiles, and be aware that in some cases LifeMiles might not have access to the same availability as other programs. When you can find transatlantic business class availability through LifeMiles for 63,000 miles, I’d say it’s often the best value. That’s especially true since I usually acquire LifeMiles for just over a cent each, or with a transfer bonus from a partner.

How do you book Star Alliance awards? These awards can be booked directly on lifemiles.com.

How do you earn Avianca LifeMiles? LifeMiles is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, and Citi ThankYou, and often sells miles at a discount. Look out for consistent transfer bonuses, which can make your acquisition cost with LifeMiles really low.

Aeroplan long haul award with stopover for 5,000 points

I’m going to be less specific with this one than the other awards on the list. I consider Air Canada Aeroplan to be the single most useful frequent flyer program, and I particularly like how the program allows stopovers on one-way awards for an additional 5,000 points. That pairs beautifully with all the unique airline partners that Aeroplan has.

Aeroplan has a hybrid zone and distance based award chart, and generally has pretty lenient routing rules, so see my post on how to redeem Aeroplan points like a pro. Just to give a few examples of potential redemption opportunities (all prices are one-way and include the extra 5,000 points for a stopover):

• For 90,000 Aeroplan points you could fly from Newark to Paris to Bahrain on United and Gulf Air in business class, with a stopover in Paris
• For 90,000 Aeroplan points you could fly from from Toronto to London to Bangkok on Air Canada and Thai Airways in business class, with a stopover in London
• For 85,000 Aeroplan points you could fly from Paris to Mauritius to Cape Town on Air Mauritius in business class, with a stopover in Mauritius

Long story short, any time you want a stopover that’s somewhere around the middle of your journey, Aeroplan offers spectacular value.

Even without a stopover, the value is incredible. For example, I booked an Aeroplan adventure, where I flew in business class from Chicago to Vienna to Rome to Bahrain to Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi for 115,000 points, and then in business class from Hanoi to Frankfurt to Toronto to Miami for 87,500 points.

How do you book Aeroplan awards? These awards can be booked directly on aircanada.com.

How do you earn Air Canada Aeroplan points? Air Canada is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards, has the Aeroplan® Credit Card (review) in the United States, which is quite lucrative, and often sells points at a discount.

Alaska & American economy awards using British Airways Avios

While not as aspirational as some of the above options, British Airways’ distance based award chart can be useful for regional awards on Alaska Airlines and American Airlines. Specifically, you can expect to pay the following for one-way travel:

• Flying a single segment of up to 650 miles will cost you 8,250 British Airways Avios
• Flying a single segment of 651-1,150 miles will cost you 11,000 British Airways Avios
• Flying a single segment of 1,151-2,000 miles will cost you 14,500 British Airways Avios
• Flying a single segment of 2,001-3,000 miles will cost you 16,000 British Airways Avios

Unfortunately this isn’t quite as good of a deal as it used to be, but there are still situations where this could be worthwhile. For example, flying from Miami to most points in the Caribbean would cost just 8,250-11,000 Avios, while flying from the US West Coast to Hawaii would cost you just 16,000 Avios. If you can find award availability, this is a solid deal.

How do you book Alaska & American awards? These awards can be booked directly on ba.com.

How do you earn British Airways Executive Club Avios? British Airways is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards, has the co-branded British Airways Visa Signature® Card (review) in the United States, and often sells Avios at a discount. If using points from a transferable points currency, be on the lookout for transfer bonuses.

United domestic awards using Turkish miles

The Turkish Miles&Smiles program isn’t just useful for travel on Turkish Airlines, but it’s also great for domestic flights within the United States. Turkish Airlines is in the Star Alliance, so it’s possible to redeem Miles&Smiles miles for travel on United Airlines.

For domestic flights within the United States, Turkish charges just 10,000 miles in economy or 15,000 miles in business class (one-way). The best part is that this pricing is valid within all 50 United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

That’s an outrageously good deal. The catch? United isn’t great about making saver level award seats available on domestic flights. Furthermore, these awards aren’t consistently bookable online, and calling Turkish’s call center can be an adventure.

How do you book United Airlines awards? You can search award availability through another program (Aeroplan, MileagePlus, etc.), and then generally have to call Turkish Airlines to book — they can be reached at 800.874.8875.

How do you earn Turkish Miles&Smiles miles? Turkish is transfer partners with Bilt Rewards, Capital One, and Citi ThankYou.

Bottom line

While there are lots of amazing airline award redemptions out there, the above are some of my favorites. I didn’t just choose redemptions that have the lowest cost on “paper,” but rather redemptions that I think are largely actually valuable based on ease of accruing points, award availability, eligible routes, etc.

Unfortunately sweet spots do tend to get devalued over time, and that’s fair enough. A majority of the redemptions that were on my list a couple of years ago are no longer available. Fortunately new sweet spots do pop up every now and then, though nothing is forever.

What are your favorite airline award redemptions?