An OMAAT reader recently posed an interesting question to me, which I figured I’d address in a post. If I could only ever redeem miles through five airline frequent flyer programs again, which would they be? I’ll share my picks, and then I’m curious to hear how my choices compare to those of others.
In this post:
What makes a frequent flyer program useful?
Admittedly this question is entirely theoretical. For those of us in the United States with access to credit cards, the reality is that you never really have to commit to just a handful of frequent flyer programs, as the major transferable points currencies give you access to dozens of partners. That kind of flexibility is invaluable. Furthermore, lots of loyalty programs sell miles at a discount, in a way where it can make sense to outright purchase miles and then immediately redeem.
But still, if you had to commit yourself to only redeeming points through five airline frequent flyer programs, how would you go about picking them? Essentially I’d try to find the programs that offer the best balance between good redemption rates, a lot of airlines and routes you can potentially redeem on, access to as much award availability as possible, and an easy booking process.
Furthermore, I’d want to consider which routes I frequently fly and want to redeem on, rather than just the general value of a program. However, I wouldn’t base my choice on whether a program has a particular sweet spot, but rather would base it on the overall value and flexibility offered.
Admittedly a major issue with making a choice is acknowledging that programs change over time. I’m not sure I’d want to be locked into any program for a lifetime, so I’m basing my choices on the current realities of redemption options.
The frequent flyer programs I find to be most valuable
With the above out of the way, let me share what I’d currently consider to be the most valuable programs for award redemption opportunities. If I could only redeem through these five programs again, I actually wouldn’t feel like I’m losing out that much (at least based on current conditions).
With that in mind, below are my picks, roughly in order, starting with my favorite.
Air Canada Aeroplan
I consider Air Canada Aeroplan to be the single most useful frequent flyer program. Aeroplan has reasonable redemption rates, an amazing array of airline partners, and allows stopovers for 5,000 points. Simply put, I think Aeroplan leaves one best positioned for aspirational redemptions. On top of that, there are no fuel surcharges through Aeroplan.
I book a ton of awards through Aeroplan, ranging from a “simple” Lufthansa first class award across the Atlantic, to a complicated round the world journey with stopovers.
American AAdvantage
I’m surprised to be including a US frequent flyer program on this list, given that I’d consider Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus to both be pretty uncompetitive when it comes to redemption value. But the reality is that AAdvantage has excellent partner redemption rates, especially on Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. These are among the most useful for traveling to the Middle East, India, Africa, Central Asia, etc., and AAdvantage miles leave you best positioned for those redemptions.
Furthermore, I love how AAdvantage has no change and cancelation fees, so you can speculatively lock in itineraries that work best for you.
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
Air France-KLM Flying Blue is the most useful SkyTeam frequent flyer program, in my opinion. A lot of us like to fly across the Atlantic, and Flying Blue has access to more Air France and KLM business class award space than partner programs.
I’d say that Air France and KLM are probably the two best airlines at releasing transatlantic premium award space regularly, and I frequently redeem this way for travel to Europe. While there are carrier imposed surcharges through Flying Blue, they’re quite mild.
Furthermore, in many cases Flying Blue has fair transpacific award redemption rates, including for China Airlines business class.
Emirates Skywards
Ironically Emirates Skywards isn’t a useful program in terms of partner redemptions, as Skywards has no efficient partner redemption opportunities. However, there’s no denying that Emirates is a global force to be reckoned with, and being able to redeem miles for Emirates first class is awesome.
I typically redeem on Emirates multiple times a year, whether I’m just taking the fifth freedom flight between New York and Milan, or am traveling to the Middle East and beyond via Dubai. It takes some work, but it’s worth it for those inflight showers. 😉
British Airways Executive Club
British Airways Executive Club has a unique distance based award chart, which is valuable in many markets where other points currencies aren’t. Personally I don’t use Executive Club quite as often as others do, but there’s no denying that the program is very useful for short haul awards, especially between regions.
Furthermore, you can transfer Avios between all the programs that use Avios as their rewards currency. For example, you could also transfer your Avios to Qatar Airways Privilege Club, allowing for redemptions on airlines like Middle East Airlines, RwandAir, and more.
Other useful frequent flyer programs
While the above are probably the five most versatile and generally useful programs for my travel patterns, they’re not the only programs that offer a lot of value, or that I frequently redeem through. Just to add to this, I figured I’d call out the four programs I’d personally consider to otherwise be most valuable:
- Alaska Mileage Plan has some valuable partner redemption opportunities, but isn’t as widely useful as AAdvantage, given that you can’t mix and match partners, and can only redeem in select regions
- Avianca LifeMiles is great for simple, point-to-point Star Alliance redemptions; the miles are easy to acquire at a cheap cost, but the program isn’t quite as versatile as Air Canada Aeroplan
- Turkish Miles&Smiles has attractive redemption rates, especially for travel on Turkish Airlines, though the airline isn’t very consistent about making award seats available
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club not only has some attractive niche redemption options, like industry leading award rates on ANA, but also has a valuable distance based award chart for travel on SkyTeam partners
Bottom line
Everyone has different frequent flyer programs that they value most based on their own redemption patterns. Personally the five programs I redeem through most are Air Canada Aeroplan, American AAdvantage, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Emirates Skywards, and British Airways Executive Club. Between those programs, I’d say most kind of awards are pretty well covered.
Fortunately most of us don’t have to limit ourselves to just a handful of programs, given the flexibility afforded by transferable points currencies.
I’m curious — what five frequent flyer programs do you value most and/or redeem through most?
Great guide on frequent flyer programs! It's a valuable resource for choosing the right program and maximizing travel rewards. check out t.ly/Zoxr for more insights on miles
Very disappointed with Aeroplan and Air Canada. I just finished a one way trip from San Diego to Bangkok using orphaned Aeroplan miles. (My account had been hacked over the pandemic period and they finally redeposited the miles in my account). Because of Aeroplan's devaluation I needed to pull additional miles from my Amex account for the same routes. Aeroplan booked me on Air Canada metal from San Diego to Vancouver to Narita and ANA...
Very disappointed with Aeroplan and Air Canada. I just finished a one way trip from San Diego to Bangkok using orphaned Aeroplan miles. (My account had been hacked over the pandemic period and they finally redeposited the miles in my account). Because of Aeroplan's devaluation I needed to pull additional miles from my Amex account for the same routes. Aeroplan booked me on Air Canada metal from San Diego to Vancouver to Narita and ANA from Narita to Bangkok. Traveling over to Asia, you always get two bags free traveling economy. Not the case with Air Canada. I arrived at the airport and was told that because I have no status with Air Canada, I must pay $75 per bag. Really? Had to burn more miles, more taxes and now pay for 2 checked bags. I will avoid Air Canada and Aeroplan at all costs!
Air France business class miles now cost hundreds of thousands of points one way. Last year for this July, I got round trip to Oslo for 60,000 each way. This year for next October it’s 230,000 to over 300,000 each way. Is that still good value in your mind?
You are insane for including the Emirates on this list, given their trash tier redemption rates and their promises to increase them further.
Im shocked lifemiles is not in top 3
Why would you pick Emirates and not Qantas Frequent Flyer?
AFAIK Qantas has the same access to Emirates’ award inventory, but also can access oneworld (though poor Qatar availability), also a few others eg China Airlines.
Thank you for sharing your perspective! While Qantas Frequent Flyer does offer access to Emirates' award inventory and the oneworld alliance, each airline has its unique offerings and benefits. Emirates provides a world-class travel experience with its renowned service, extensive route network, and luxurious amenities.
Sorry but aeroplan is absolutely the worst programme I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with
It's all good and well to sing high praises about their partners and redemption rates but what use is that when thkng go wrong and you royally get fucked over??
I am still chasing missing credit for 2 flights over 1 year now. And another flight I was downgraded from F to J for equipment swap and 9...
Sorry but aeroplan is absolutely the worst programme I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with
It's all good and well to sing high praises about their partners and redemption rates but what use is that when thkng go wrong and you royally get fucked over??
I am still chasing missing credit for 2 flights over 1 year now. And another flight I was downgraded from F to J for equipment swap and 9 months in with countless hours wasted on phone emails still no resolution .
I value my free time and if I accounted for my normal hourly rate I charge my clients aeroplan owe me €€€€s for essentially robbing my time and miles
Please beware people
To me, American Advantage is the winner by a mile, pun intended.
Reasonable ability to redeem, great value for flying from US to Asia and Middle East, and an extremely flexible cancel policy. And you can do almost all transactions on miles.
United MileagePlus has some uses but seats are harder to find and the number of miles required varies considerably.
Emirates Skywards are good if you live in Dubai and/or use Emirates as your primary carrier.
Rich man’s list, should be titled best FFPs if you generate a shit ton of miles. If you cared at all about value, you’d have ANA on the list.
Truth is some ppl can manufacture business spend and generate lots of miles per year. I'm a pleb. Generating 30k points a year is a lot.
What am I missing about Aeroplan?
Every single time I have looked to redeem, both domestic and international, they have cost more in terms of miles and or taxes and fees than alternate programs, even including United in a few instances (lol?) and Avianca, let alone airlines in other alliances. Yet Lucky sings their high praise every chance he gets.
What are you all using Aeroplan for?? I've found it wildly expensive...
This blog seems to be really pushing Aeroplan without ever addressing the very real pitfalls of the program
Check the FT thread where all the people got duped by blogs transferring their chase etc only to find out noone picks up the phone ....
Emirates fuel surcharges make most bookings cost prohibitive. I literally just burned the rest of my stash on a JAL LAX-BKK booking.
Virgin really should drop off the list completely. Their only major sweet spot was ANA, but after the devaluation, I'd say Aeroplan is a superior redemption 9.5/10 times. Between being able to book a few days further out at end of schedule (which is huge since availability gets snapped out fast as soon as they're released), being able to add stopovers and no YQ, Virgin just ain't that sweet anymore.
I would like more articles on best use of points for economy-premium economy redemptions…especially for those of us are not million milers. Also, articles on best use of intra-regional flying…ex. Peru to Argentina!
I agree with you.
If that helps Eurobonus (SAS) has great LATAM redemption, you can fly from Colombia to Ushuaia in business class for 20k miles.
Things can change in a blink of an eye. I held my nose and booked a Virgin America flight because I was not a participant in their program. The orphan miles turned out to be worth 10,000 Alaska miles when Alaska took over and converted Virgin miles + 10,000 to Alaska miles.
Do you look at the rewards of different tiers of status within that program as well?
Was interested in this post and made my own list before looking at yours. I also put Aeroplan, Aadvantage, Flying Blue, and Avios, but Emirates was a little surprising. I had Avianca, if only because the scale of Star Alliance Partners made me comfortable having a second S.A partner with differnt sweet spots to Air Canada. Also considered ANA in theory but haven't ever been able to make the math work on a redemption.
I don't claim to be an expert at miles and points, but I have been following recommendations from Lucky and others for several years, and have had some wonderful redemption values. Twice in the past couple of years I have planned to use transferable miles for trips, not planning to use United for the booking, and twice space opened up for United cardholders that beat the other options. For example, a week or so ago...
I don't claim to be an expert at miles and points, but I have been following recommendations from Lucky and others for several years, and have had some wonderful redemption values. Twice in the past couple of years I have planned to use transferable miles for trips, not planning to use United for the booking, and twice space opened up for United cardholders that beat the other options. For example, a week or so ago I booked RT for 2 to Australia from IAD (regular economy - didn't have enough miles for business, sadly) for 55K miles pp each way. I would be tempted to keep United in the mix.
My list is similar to yours, but I have Alaska instead of Emirates, even though Alaska overlaps with American (in terms of redemption partners) quite a bit. Alaska's still offers a number of advantages over American's.
Turkish is a sleeper program on certain routes. Event their anytime awards can be good value. I've seen some Y flights be $800 or 15k miles consistently. Also, 45k US to Europe in J is as good as it gets.
Aeroplan has lost Oman. Etihad, Thai and Lufthansa J are all lost or blocked. ANA or EVA is impossible. So yes, if you like to redeem for extortionate AC dynamic pricing, or on EgyptAir or Air India - Aeroplan is awesome.
If you are going to be needing to call in for anything (noone picks up) - change or cancel ($600 in fees for 2 people), or you will need assistance during your trip for...
Aeroplan has lost Oman. Etihad, Thai and Lufthansa J are all lost or blocked. ANA or EVA is impossible. So yes, if you like to redeem for extortionate AC dynamic pricing, or on EgyptAir or Air India - Aeroplan is awesome.
If you are going to be needing to call in for anything (noone picks up) - change or cancel ($600 in fees for 2 people), or you will need assistance during your trip for any reason (again, noone picks up the phone, and airport is not an option) - good luck!
I just redeemed on Etihad business using Aeroplan - there was lots of availability for my dates.
Ben - I also think you should talk about the ease of use of these programs. As I mentioned, I just booked using Aeroplan on Etihad J for next year, but it doesnt look like there's any way to make online changes to this booking if I need to. Are there?
That's why, even though you dont like...
I just redeemed on Etihad business using Aeroplan - there was lots of availability for my dates.
Ben - I also think you should talk about the ease of use of these programs. As I mentioned, I just booked using Aeroplan on Etihad J for next year, but it doesnt look like there's any way to make online changes to this booking if I need to. Are there?
That's why, even though you dont like United's program, I do find myself using it quite a bit. Ease of use cannot be understated, and I find the UA program extremely easy to use online with almost no need to ever call in.
@Jason, lol@online changes.
You cant do anything online.
You have to call. And good luck with that!
Come back and let us know how many hours you spent trying to get thru. And of course extortionate change fees.
Check the flyertalk thread about Aeroplan call center wait times.
Buyer beware with these scammers.
@Ann curious for which routes you're not seeing LH availability? I've seen lots of space in J for North American routes to MUC and FRA, and a fair amount of close-in F availability to/from MUC.
IMO, Aeroplan's biggest weakness is the extortionate change/cancellation fees but in a way I guess it gatekeeps the speculators and brokers from taking up all the available space. Otherwise in terms of versatility and availability, I'd agree it merits...
@Ann curious for which routes you're not seeing LH availability? I've seen lots of space in J for North American routes to MUC and FRA, and a fair amount of close-in F availability to/from MUC.
IMO, Aeroplan's biggest weakness is the extortionate change/cancellation fees but in a way I guess it gatekeeps the speculators and brokers from taking up all the available space. Otherwise in terms of versatility and availability, I'd agree it merits first position in any pound-for-pound ranking.