As a new parent, there’s a lot to learn about traveling with an infant. That’s especially true if you’re into miles & points, since adding infants to award tickets can be complicated and costly.
In this post I wanted to provide a rundown of what you can generally expect when trying to add lap infants to airline award tickets. While I’m a new parent, over the years I’ve helped people book a countless number of award tickets with infants, so I do have some experience with this. I of course still welcome feedback and thoughts from parents, who may have more firsthand experience with actually traveling on these kinds of tickets.
In this post:
Basics of flying with an infant in your lap
Let’s start with the very basics. Generally speaking, airlines will let you travel with an infant in your lap as long as they’re under two years old (meaning under 24 months old, not until their third birthday). Generally speaking:
- The infant won’t cost you anything when traveling domestically
- The infant will cost you 10% of the adult fare when traveling internationally
Let me emphasize that if you travel with an infant in your lap, they won’t be entitled to a seat. In other words, you’re going to be holding them the whole flight, and that might not be fun, especially if they’re not newborns. Some long haul planes have bassinets, but you can’t consistently count on that working out.
Many people prefer to just buy a seat for their infant, both because it’s safer and more comfortable:
- It’s safer because you can put the infant in an approved car seat, so that they’re properly secured
- It’s more comfortable, as you’ll have more room to stretch out, and don’t have to worry about holding the baby the whole flight
- Oh, this is also a great way to get your infant into miles & points, so they can start earning rewards with their own travel 😉
If you do buy a seat for an infant, you can generally expect it will cost the same as an adult fare. So as I talk about airline infant policies below, I’m talking specifically about if you choose to have them travel in your lap.
Infant award tickets usually cost 10% of revenue fare
Want to add an infant in your lap to an award ticket? Generally you can expect that you’ll be on the hook for paying 10% of the revenue fare for the class of service you’re traveling in. There are some airlines and frequent flyer programs that have much better deals policies, which I’ll address below.
10% might not sound like a lot, but it sure can add up, especially if you’re redeeming miles for first & business class. Booking a roundtrip international first class ticket that would cost $20,000? Well, you could be out of pocket $2,000 for the privilege of traveling with your infant.
Adding infants to award tickets can be frustrating
While the cost of adding an infant to an award ticket is one thing, I think it’s also important to note how frustrating the process of adding an infant to an award ticket can be:
- I’d highly recommend adding an infant to an award ticket during the actual ticketing process, rather than after the fact (even though it can be done)
- I’d highly recommend booking through a program that just lets you add infants to award tickets online, rather than having to book by phone
While you absolutely can add infants to award tickets after the initial ticketing, it can be extremely frustrating. Why?
- If you have an award ticket involving travel on a partner airline, you might find that you’re bounced around between the airline you booked through and the airline you’re actually flying with, as to which airline should ticket the infant reservation (it should be the airline you booked with)
- While the general policy is that an infant costs 10% of the revenue fare, you’ll find that pricing can vary significantly; sometimes agents try to charge you 10% of the current lowest fare, sometimes they try to charge you 10% of the full fare ticket cost, etc.
The best frequent flyer programs for infant award travel
The above covers the basic policies you can expect for adding infants as a lap child to an award ticket. As you can see, the general policy is that an infant will cost you 10% of the revenue fare for the cabin you’re traveling in, even if you’re redeeming miles.
The great news is that some frequent flyer programs have especially infant-friendly policies, which could save you a lot of money. So let me share the very best programs for booking infant award travel. I’ll specifically be sharing programs that partner with at least one major transferable points currency in the United States, so that the points are at least somewhat attainable for the average traveler.
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air Canada Aeroplan is the best frequent flyer program in the world for adding an infant to an award ticket. You’ll pay just 2,500 Aeroplan points or 25 CAD to add an infant to any award ticket one-way. This includes for travel on all of Aeroplan’s partners (and Aeroplan has more airline partners than any other frequent flyer program).
This is simply an unheard of good deal, and the best part is that you can ticket the infant award online the same time you book the adult’s ticket. For example, take a one-way business class award for travel on Lufthansa from Chicago to Frankfurt. As you can see, the cost to add an infant is just 2,500 points.
Air Canada Aeroplan is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards.
All Nippon Airways Mileage Club
While not as good as Air Canada Aeroplan, All Nippon Airways Mileage Club is another Star Alliance program with pretty good infant award policies. For infant lap travel, ANA Mileage Club charges just 10% of the mileage of an adult traveler, plus taxes & fees. ANA has some great sweet spot redemption opportunities, so for some this could be a worthwhile opportunity.
All Nippon Airways Mileage Club is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards.
British Airways Executive Club
British Airways Executive Club is the best oneworld frequent flyer program for adding an infant to an award ticket. You’ll pay just 10% of the cost in Avios for adding an infant, and this applies whether you’re traveling on British Airways or a partner airline. You can add infants to your ticket during the initial booking process.
For example, take a one-way business class award for travel on British Airways from New York to London. As you can see, the cost to add an infant is just 5,000 Avios plus $38.30 in taxes & fees.
British Airways Executive Club is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Turkish Miles&Smiles
Turkish Miles&Smiles is a program with lots of sweet spot redemptions, especially for travel on Turkish Airlines. The program is great for infants as well. For travel on Turkish Airlines, Miles&Smiles charges just 10% of the mileage of an adult traveler, plus taxes & fees. These awards can be booked directly on Turkish Airlines’ website.
For example, take a one-way business class award for travel on Turkish Airlines from Atlanta to Istanbul. As you can see, the cost to add an infant is just 4,500 miles (since the adult award costs 45,000 miles).
Turkish Miles&Smiles is transfer partners with Capital One and Citi ThankYou.
United MileagePlus
While I wouldn’t consider the policy to be quite as good as that of Air Canada Aeroplan, United MileagePlus still has a good infant award travel policy, especially for first & business class. United charges 10% of the revenue fare for lap infants, but that’s capped at $250 total. This applies both for travel on United and for travel on partner airlines, and these awards can be booked directly on united.com. When you consider that many first & business class tickets regularly cost $5,000+, that represents quite some savings.
For example, take a one-way business class award for travel on United from Boston to London. As you can see, the cost to add an infant is exactly $250, including all taxes & fees.
United MileagePlus is transfer partners with Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is another great program for infant award travel. When traveling on Virgin Atlantic flights, you’ll pay the following for adding an infant to an award ticket one-way:
- In economy, you’ll pay 1,000 points, plus taxes & fees
- In premium economy, you’ll pay 2,000 points plus taxes & fees
- In business class, you’ll pay 5,000 points plus taxes & fees
There are also fixed costs to adding infants to partner airline award tickets, with the cost varying anywhere from 1,000 points to 14,000 points one-way, depending on the partner or class of service. In the grand scheme of things, I’d consider that to be reasonable, but it’s not quite as good as some other programs.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou.
The worst frequent flyer programs for infant award travel
As you can see, worst case scenario you’ll generally be on the hook for up to 10% of the adult revenue fare when taking a lap infant on an award. Some programs are significantly more generous than that.
Then there’s a program that takes it to the other extreme — Cathay Pacific Asia Miles charges up to 25% of the adult revenue fare to take a lap infant with you on Cathay Pacific flights. That can be really, really expensive, especially in a premium cabin (and I suspect that might be by design).
Bottom line
If you’re traveling internationally with an infant, booking through the right program can save you a ton of money. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect that traveling with an infant in your lap on an award ticket will cost you 10% of the revenue fare for the cabin you’re traveling in.
Fortunately there are some programs that do much better than that. You can’t beat Air Canada Aeroplan, which charges just 2,500 points or 25 CAD to add an infant to your award ticket, regardless of which airline you fly with. Meanwhile programs like British Airways Executive Club and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club have great policies as well.
Booking through the right program can make a huge difference, especially if you’re traveling in international first & business class.
For those of you that have young kids, have award infant fees impacted which airlines you accrue miles with?
Does anyone know if I am able to just pay the 10% on British airways instead of paying avios? Short a few thousand but don’t want to lose the seat.
Any advice on how to book a seat for an infant using Avios for Qatar Airways in economy class? We are looking at booking award seats in economy class but cannot seem to book our infant their own seat when searching online!
Please add a note that on ANA this is only true when you fly ANA metal. Fly TAP for instance and your ANA points booking will need about $1000 to get your lap infant on board.
"If you have an award ticket involving travel on a partner airline, you might find that you’re bounced around between the airline you booked through and the airline you’re actually flying with, as to which airline should ticket the infant reservation (it should be the airline you booked with)"
Which is "the airline you booked with"? I'm still confused.
As a bad example, I'm trying to book an award flight through Qantas portal, for China...
"If you have an award ticket involving travel on a partner airline, you might find that you’re bounced around between the airline you booked through and the airline you’re actually flying with, as to which airline should ticket the infant reservation (it should be the airline you booked with)"
Which is "the airline you booked with"? I'm still confused.
As a bad example, I'm trying to book an award flight through Qantas portal, for China Airlines plane. Which is the airline that I booked with in this case?
Keep in mind if you pay for the 10% it would likely count as an airline incidental which many credit cards give credit to.
I'm looking at booking LH (SEA-FRA) on Lifemiles, has anyone added a lap infant to one of these awards before? Do you call LH or Avianca?
Lifemiles should help you.
Hi OMAAT,
I've recently used my AA miles to redeem two J tickets on Qatar. My itinerary's first leg operates by AA and second leg is on QR. When I requested to add a lap child onto my reservation with an AA agent, she was telling me my baby cant be added due to the two airlines cant price my trip. This is so frustrating to hear, I would truelly appreciate if you have any advice for this situation?
Hi OMAAT!
I have an award ticket with ANA miles. On the way there it is on EVA (ORD -TPE) and the way back is with ANA. Should I try and add the infant ticket with ANA or EVA?
I just had a nightmare experience using ANA miles with flights on Egypt Air and United. When we went to check in for the first flight (DTW-IAD) the United agent would not print the infant boarding...
Hi OMAAT!
I have an award ticket with ANA miles. On the way there it is on EVA (ORD -TPE) and the way back is with ANA. Should I try and add the infant ticket with ANA or EVA?
I just had a nightmare experience using ANA miles with flights on Egypt Air and United. When we went to check in for the first flight (DTW-IAD) the United agent would not print the infant boarding pass. The infant ticket was purchased through Egypt air using cash (10% of fare). I kept getting the bounce back between united, Egyptair, and Ana. We ended up missing the flight because no one could “unrestrict” the infant ticket.
What would you do? I do not want to end up with the same situation where EVA won’t let us on the first flight because it was not booked with them.
Appreciate any advice!
Thanks
Very timely post for me. Had to add our 1-year-old daughter to an award flight to Munich operated by United, bought with ANA miles. Wow, that was painful. To your point, it's f-r-u-s-t-r-a-t-i-n-g. Note: After hours and hours on the phone and multiple phone calls being handed back and forth between United and ANA (with tons of incorrect info on the way) it became clear that I had to pay up with United NOT ANA....
Very timely post for me. Had to add our 1-year-old daughter to an award flight to Munich operated by United, bought with ANA miles. Wow, that was painful. To your point, it's f-r-u-s-t-r-a-t-i-n-g. Note: After hours and hours on the phone and multiple phone calls being handed back and forth between United and ANA (with tons of incorrect info on the way) it became clear that I had to pay up with United NOT ANA. So, despite ANA often being listed as a good program for infant lap seats -- it only is if it's also operated by ANA. United charged me $500 as per your point...
Are we only going to hear stuff about babies and kids now that you have one?
Yes. Sad times for OMAAT. The idea of “Don’t click if you don’t want to read it” doesn’t apply either. The blog game is zero-sum and these TPG articles take away from Lucky’s time to write other ones. Curious what’s being cut.
@ Sel, D. -- So I publish one post about how infant award travel works, and that suddenly makes it "sad times?" I've been helping people maximize points since long before TPG was around, and that's what I plan to continue to do, in many forms.
I know you love constantly comparing me to TPG, and that gets a bit tiresome. If you don't think my blog adds any value, that's totally fair, and you...
@ Sel, D. -- So I publish one post about how infant award travel works, and that suddenly makes it "sad times?" I've been helping people maximize points since long before TPG was around, and that's what I plan to continue to do, in many forms.
I know you love constantly comparing me to TPG, and that gets a bit tiresome. If you don't think my blog adds any value, that's totally fair, and you don't have to read it. But at least you could realize that this site is also my passion -- I work on it every morning (seven days a week) from the minute I get up until (almost) the minute I go to sleep, and I take pride in publishing all my own content.
Comparing that to a venture capital owned site with dozens of writers (hundreds over time?) that has spent I don't know how many tens of millions of dollars on advertising is a bit... unfair?
@Lucky Fair enough at 3%. You’re the GOAT, but as a non-breeder it was nice to have a space without any child content. To be clear, the TPG comparison was regarding content type, not quality or business model.
Very obvious why no one wants to "breed" with you.
@ Yiannis -- No, and I'm not sure what would lead you to that conclusion? In the roughly 100 posts I've published since becoming a parent, three of them have had anything to do with "babies and kids." So that's 3%... I'd expect a similar ratio going forward.
Also, Ben, can't wait to see what swag Miles gets. My oldest got a KLM bib on his first KLM business flight. They also let "him" (cough, me) have a blue house even though he was a lap child.
The Hyatt Olive 8 in Seattle gave him a branded rubber ducky!
@ Nat -- Hahahah, not going to lie, I'm kind of excited to learn more about airline and hotel amenities for kids!
We tend not to accrue specifically for where we can get the best infant deals. We accrued for the trips we wanted to take and then would charge the fees on the Barclays Arrival+ to defray them.
Most times we've flown award seats with lap infants, there's been a LOT of typing and clicking upon check-in at the airport. Not sure what's going on in airline systems, but on a KLM award flight they...
We tend not to accrue specifically for where we can get the best infant deals. We accrued for the trips we wanted to take and then would charge the fees on the Barclays Arrival+ to defray them.
Most times we've flown award seats with lap infants, there's been a LOT of typing and clicking upon check-in at the airport. Not sure what's going on in airline systems, but on a KLM award flight they actually asked us if we had paper tickets on check in.
Just wait for the fun that happens when you want to buy them their own seat before they are 2 (or get an award seat under 2). I've had some experiences where the airline doesn't load a meal for the toddler because they're under 2 and the computer assumes that the kid is a lap child despite the fact that they have their own seat (looking at YOU, Air France). I've always confirmed ahead of time that my kids will have kids meals loaded for them.
As Miles gets older and flys in his own seat, I wonder if you will change your mind on certain business class seats.
Sure reverse herringbone seats are great for solo travellers but they absolutely suck for families with young kids.
As a father of 2 young kids, my favourite business class when I travel is actually 2-2-2 or 2-3-2s like Turkish Airlines old seats so my wife and I can be with 1 child who each gets a window.
+1. Lucky does cover this a bit by his recent commentary about business class seats that work better for people traveling together.
We did learn the hard way on EVA airlines that we don't want to book 3 or 4 seats in the same row. We need 2 and 2 so we can use the same aisle. We didn't think on that EVA flight about how we'd have to go through the galley to get to the other side if the other parent needed assistance.
You're forgetting qantas which is free for infants. Except taxes
One thing to factor in about infant travel is when they infant turns a mom infant during the return trip. Singapore airlines mentioned that in this case, when infant is flying out when still an infant and returning or on other legs of itinerary when no longer an infant, the infant fare will apply yet a full seat will be provided
Qantas and Virgin Australia don't charge any points for infants, just the taxes, including on partner airlines.
When I booked once an award ticket with Miles&more it was completly free.
La Premiere…no award tickets possible for infants. Only paid tickets with 10% discount on the adult fare (ie not 10% of the adult fare).
Let's not forget about Flying Blue. They charge 100% of a revenue ticket for a lap infant in Air France La Premiere. As a side note; the La Premiere lounge in Paris doesn't have any changing rooms or changing tables and can't provide high chairs. They are definitely trying to keep kids away. Silly policy considering they only have four first class seats. A family with two kids would book the whole cabin.
I just wanted to say that I really appreciate watching this blog evolve over the years. I don't have kids but enjoy the new content!
Thanks for this content. It’s quite relevant for us at least, as we have a 7 mo. I’ve just started research on international travel in business and the best way to book lap child, as we may not have enough miles for both adult tickets to be award tickets, so I have been trying to figure out whether to attach kiddo to the paid fare or award. I don’t think I’d be able to handle...
Thanks for this content. It’s quite relevant for us at least, as we have a 7 mo. I’ve just started research on international travel in business and the best way to book lap child, as we may not have enough miles for both adult tickets to be award tickets, so I have been trying to figure out whether to attach kiddo to the paid fare or award. I don’t think I’d be able to handle lap child in economy for long haul (2 hours has been easy with babe…but i cringe thinking about a flight to Europe) but business class I think would be totally fine.
Ben seriously you need to try a few trips and if miles hates flying,( some infants don't care some do you need not to take him on long road trips). If Miles is a fussy traveler on a 12 hour flight, he wont be happy you and your spouse will be miserable along with those around you. I myself can tolerate fussy babies because I fly economy and there are usually a few moms or...
Ben seriously you need to try a few trips and if miles hates flying,( some infants don't care some do you need not to take him on long road trips). If Miles is a fussy traveler on a 12 hour flight, he wont be happy you and your spouse will be miserable along with those around you. I myself can tolerate fussy babies because I fly economy and there are usually a few moms or grandmothers that will be glad to help calm a fussy baby down. I don't see you flying in the back and I really doubt a 8 person first class section will have a mom or grandmother to help you out. Is it really right to force 7 or 7 other passengers to listen to a fussy baby or one that screams at the top of their lungs for the duration of the flight?
Most babies will calm down after take off or landing if their little ears are neutralized by giving them a pacifier or bottle during that time. The total flight meltdown is almost always a sign of a sick baby with a cold, as it cannot neutralize it’s ears and will be miserable the entire flight and no amount of TLC from other Moms or Flight Attendants will help the poor little thing. Number One rule,...
Most babies will calm down after take off or landing if their little ears are neutralized by giving them a pacifier or bottle during that time. The total flight meltdown is almost always a sign of a sick baby with a cold, as it cannot neutralize it’s ears and will be miserable the entire flight and no amount of TLC from other Moms or Flight Attendants will help the poor little thing. Number One rule, do not fly with a sick infant. Miserable for all involved, particularly the baby. But not to worry, they do grow up quickly and move past this phase.
Some babies don’t like flying period I’ve also seen stressed parents with 2-3 kids and a baby and the moment a women offers to help and holds the baby it instantly calms down
BA is also unique in that if your infant turns two during your travels, they'll provide them their own seat for no additional fee (for the return).
"If your infant turns 2 during their journey, you’ll have to book them a seat for any flights on and after their 2nd birthday. We won’t charge you extra for this, you’ll pay the infant fare for the entire journey. This booking can’t be made online at the moment, so please contact us and we’ll happily arrange it for you."
Another "hack" is BA (and maybe Virgin?) If your child turns 2 during the trip they'll be booked into a seat for their return for no extra charge
I recently had an incredibly painful experience adding a lap infant to a LH operated TK issued miles and smiles ticket. It is possible and I think if you HUACA enough you'll find someone who will sell it at 10% of the cash fare on sale that day. Unfortunately for me they announced a strike before my travel date was confirmed and the flight the night before was cancelled and my flight went J0 Y0...
I recently had an incredibly painful experience adding a lap infant to a LH operated TK issued miles and smiles ticket. It is possible and I think if you HUACA enough you'll find someone who will sell it at 10% of the cash fare on sale that day. Unfortunately for me they announced a strike before my travel date was confirmed and the flight the night before was cancelled and my flight went J0 Y0 which flummoxed everyone as I believe they first set up a new 1A+1INF PNR but they couldn't as there was no availability to book into.
By some miracle I sent an email to the ticket office in my departing country and just as I was going to give up and book AF instead a very competent agent called me and constructed a ticket at 10% of the lowest fare filed in my cabin and linked it to my PNR. Ended up getting 1AC and a bassinet which made for a very comfortable flight
This is a good tip especially as they get older - ask if there are any spare seats and if they could be blocked for you. The LH agent proactively offered it to me.
Singapore Airlines no problem getting the agent to issue a ticket at 10% of the fare on sale that day and the double bed double bassinet setup in row 91 on the A380 looks great !
Easyjet I called in as instructed as we wanted a seat . The call centre just booked it as a child which I could have done myself online. I knew from a previous flight where this had caused a reconciliation issue to point out to the gate that it was an infant in a seat and they corrected it
To be honest if we fly at all we'll likely stick to PE or even econ once they're 2+ depending on seating configuration, the downside to cabins like BA club suite is they're really not suited for travelling with young children . Currently in France from the UK via Brittany Ferries - my own car to carry as much as I want, no airport queues and a cabin onboard - easiest travel experience ever !
One time, I was trying to score 2 First Class tickets on CX for myself, my wife and our 1.5 year old. I went about it booking my ticket via BA Avios in order to take advantage of the better infant booking rate.
Lo and behold, we arrive at 11pm for our 1am BOS-HKG Flight and was told at the CX check in that BA didn't process it correctly, and my daughter was never...
One time, I was trying to score 2 First Class tickets on CX for myself, my wife and our 1.5 year old. I went about it booking my ticket via BA Avios in order to take advantage of the better infant booking rate.
Lo and behold, we arrive at 11pm for our 1am BOS-HKG Flight and was told at the CX check in that BA didn't process it correctly, and my daughter was never issued a ticket number. This despite calling BA Avios multiple times and was assured it was done correctly.
Most North American and European BA call centers were closed but fortunately I was able to get someone on the line at the BA Singapore line and they sorted it out after an hour -- and about 30 minutes before they closed the boarding door.
Being able to travel with your child (in First!) is great but not all agents know how to process this correctly. Always make sure you infant gets a ticket number!
Wow, it looks brutal for premium cabin international travel redemptions for lap children. I can’t remember where I read the story a few years back but it involved a lap child and partner airline, with tickets issued through a US based carrier and child being dropped from the manifest and “not ticketed,” on the partner airline although I’m not sure if lap children are ever ticketed but have to be accounted for in some manner....
Wow, it looks brutal for premium cabin international travel redemptions for lap children. I can’t remember where I read the story a few years back but it involved a lap child and partner airline, with tickets issued through a US based carrier and child being dropped from the manifest and “not ticketed,” on the partner airline although I’m not sure if lap children are ever ticketed but have to be accounted for in some manner. In any event, it was a real nightmare for the family.
lap children need to be accounted for because some rows of seats have an extra oxygen mask for lap children
Scandinavian does offer a discount for children's tickets, although they do mention that some fares might not count:
"Children (2–11) who travel with a person over age 16 get a discount of up to 25%, depending on the destination, price and booking class."
Ben, as this reader points out, your below statement is slightly inaccurate, since you can buy a child fare which should give you usually the 25% discount :-) :
If you do buy a seat for an infant, you can generally expect it will cost the same as an adult fare.
Just a shame all their travel has to be accompanied by a parent ;-)
I very well could be wrong on this, but I think Cathay only charges 25% on redemptions made using AsiaMiles to travel on CX metal. I will be finding out soon () but some old FlyerTalk threads seem to suggest they follow partners' rules, so it still may be beneficial to book BA metal flights with CX AsiaMiles to avoid more than 50% of those ludicrous BA taxes and fees. Nick at Frequent Miler also...
I very well could be wrong on this, but I think Cathay only charges 25% on redemptions made using AsiaMiles to travel on CX metal. I will be finding out soon () but some old FlyerTalk threads seem to suggest they follow partners' rules, so it still may be beneficial to book BA metal flights with CX AsiaMiles to avoid more than 50% of those ludicrous BA taxes and fees. Nick at Frequent Miler also suggested using ITAMatrix to figure out what the lap infant fees should be before booking, for what it's worth. Seemed to suggest in an old blog post that those fees found on ITA Matrix should also be applicable to award travel too.
As the parent of a 7-month-old, I am loving this turn in blog focus! Ours got back from his first international flight a couple of weeks ago and we learned quite a bit! Huge congrats to you and Ford!
Lucky, this is a great start. I have 6 MO twins, and I have been doing research on this topics for a long time. Here are some additional points that may be helpful.
- ANA defines infant as under 3 years for domestic travel or under 2 years for international travel.
- Another decent program is United that charges anywhere between $0 (most domestic and short haul sun-country flights) to $250 (max) for long-haul international...
Lucky, this is a great start. I have 6 MO twins, and I have been doing research on this topics for a long time. Here are some additional points that may be helpful.
- ANA defines infant as under 3 years for domestic travel or under 2 years for international travel.
- Another decent program is United that charges anywhere between $0 (most domestic and short haul sun-country flights) to $250 (max) for long-haul international flights. I have taken advantage of this when United had saver availability for BOM-EWR-YYZ flight at 75k miles + US$250 for infant. Aeroplan was asking 100k points + C$39 partner booking fee + 2,500 miles for infant for the same award. I figured saving 27,500 Aeroplan points in exchange of US$220 in extra fees was worth the trade-off (effectively buying Aeroplan point at 0.8c per point). On other occasions, I have booked with Aeroplan instead of United (e.g. YYZ-SFO-BLR for 93.5k United + US$250 for infant vs. 94.8k Aeroplan + C$39 partner fee + 2,500 points for infant) when adult award pricing was similar.
- Alaska add infants for free on its own metal (even those from non-US countries) and on American flights wholly within US. If there is any other partner or if AA flight is non-US, then Alaska requires you to purchase a separate ticket for infant. Otherwise, everything can be done online when booking (I have done this for PVR-LAX-JFK flight and infants are added for 0 miles + taxes)
- Qatar has same infant award policy as BA with the caveat that it won't let you book a business class seat using Avios if you are adding infant to that booking (economy is fine). So, the trick is to use BA to book Qatar flights since BA allows you to add infant while booking. This works great for flights to/from Doha but doesn't work that well if you have connecting itineraries
- Turkish M&S also allows infant booking on its website @ 10% mileage cost
Two additional clarifications -
1. United has the same infant policy (0$) even on its 10+ hour flights to/from Hawaii
2. This may be a remote possibility and not applicable for everyone, but Alaska restricts the # of lap infant there can be depending on the flight # (presumably this is driven by the aircraft). In some cases, you can only have one lap per row on either side of the isle (which...
Two additional clarifications -
1. United has the same infant policy (0$) even on its 10+ hour flights to/from Hawaii
2. This may be a remote possibility and not applicable for everyone, but Alaska restricts the # of lap infant there can be depending on the flight # (presumably this is driven by the aircraft). In some cases, you can only have one lap per row on either side of the isle (which is works for our family with twin infants) but in most cases, you can only have one infant per two (including both sides of the isle). This is driven by how many oxygen masks they have per row. This matters because you can't request a bassinet if you are not sitting in the bulkhead row (which will be me during our X'mas break this year, but fortunately on the short PVR-LAX flight)
@ DM -- Fantastic tips, thanks so much! Updating the post now to reflect some of these points.
@Lucky - No problem. Happy to contribute to the blog where I have learned so much. One quick correction in your updated post. Turkish M&S can also be earned from Capital One (your post just lists Citi)
Ben, you forgot to mention Lufthansa Miles& More as I find that one of the best ones because the infant is added totally free until the age of 2 years. You do not spend a single mile or pay any taxes. You need to decide on whose name to add the infant. However, this works only on the Lufthansa group flights and not on Star Alliance. In the worst categories, you forgot to add Singapore...
Ben, you forgot to mention Lufthansa Miles& More as I find that one of the best ones because the infant is added totally free until the age of 2 years. You do not spend a single mile or pay any taxes. You need to decide on whose name to add the infant. However, this works only on the Lufthansa group flights and not on Star Alliance. In the worst categories, you forgot to add Singapore air as they have no provision for infant reward tickets. Neither does Etihad have. It was a nightmare for me using my American Advantage miles for an Etihad flight and I got a variety of fares being quoted by their staff and some of these were just outrageously high. Using AA miles for BA flights was better and they gave a reasonable fare of 10% of published fares on that particular flight.
That is not correct.
Infant on Lufthansa M&M is 20€ - it can be added later once the ticket is issued…-and also removed in case the infant decides to stay home
Can confirm booking Etihad with AA miles is considerably painful and expensive. I have a current one-way booking for a business class at end of december and I am trying to add our infant. Even though the policy is 10% of adult fare I am being quoted above $2k!! Trying to find different ways to make the trip cheaper.
curious what you ended up doing here? any progress/luck? thanks!
Sure about the infants 2 years. But I don't know about other programs. Happy landings!
Sure about the infants under two years able to enroll in mileage programs? At least not at Miles&More, even with an own seat. Don’t know about other programs. Happy landings!
Oh yes, fondly remember calling the S7 call center in Novosibirsk for an award ticket booked through Iberia just because I didn‘t know better.
Hope you also cover taking infants with you in major hotel chains soon - much more fun but sometimes equally frustrating!
If this blog is taking a turn toward more content on traveling with kids, I am here for it!
MommyPoints (now part of TPG) is fine but became hyperfocused on Disney content.
Congrats, Ben.
@ Evan -- I'll do what I can! And unless our kid is super interested in Disney, I can assure you there won't be any Disney content (for better or worse).
One of my 6yo son's goals in TATL Delta One this summer was to watch Encanto 5 times. He almost accomplished it.
i didnt know you had a kid! wow cool!
+1! I really miss her baby and family travel content. It's hard to keep up with all of the content drowning in Disney now. It's a real bummer.
Infant lap seat = potential for a terrible flight.
Guaranteed bassinet or seat with child carrier is the only way to go.
On cash travel, I would say maybe Etihad The Residence?
@ LEo -- Hah, if only the Etihad Residence would make a comeback!