Airline award charts and sweet spots
How each of the 22 programs we buy prices its awards, with representative one-way prices, the fees and surcharges that come with them, and the redemptions that return the most per mile. Programs that still publish a chart come first; the ones that price their own flights dynamically follow.
Written and reviewed by the Points Plug team. Last reviewed .
| Program | Pricing | Headline sweet spot | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Atmos Rewards | Award chart | US East Coast to Europe in business class: 45,000 points | Chart |
| ANA Mileage Club | Award chart | ANA business class, Japan to North America in Low season: 100,000 miles round trip | Chart |
| British Airways Club | Award chart | Short-haul Reward Flight Saver in Europe: 10,000 Avios + £2.50 | Chart |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Award chart | Hong Kong to Southeast Asia in business: 27,000 miles | Chart |
| JAL Mileage Bank | Award chart | US West Coast to Japan in business on American or Alaska: 60,000 miles | Chart |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | Award chart | Korean Air First Class, Seoul to New York: 80,000 miles | Chart |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | Award chart | Short flights on Qantas or American: 9,200 points | Chart |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | Award chart | Qsuite business class US to Doha: 70,000 Avios off-peak | Chart |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Award chart | Business class Singapore to Japan: 54,500 miles | Chart |
| Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | Award chart | United domestic business class: 22,500 miles | Chart |
| Virgin Australia Velocity | Award chart | Short Virgin Australia domestic flights: 5,900 points | Chart |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Dynamic own flights, chart for partners | Short hops within North America: 6,000 points | Chart |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | Dynamic own flights, chart for partners | Business class to Japan or Korea on JAL: 60,000 miles | Chart |
| Etihad Guest | Dynamic own flights, chart for partners | American Airlines short-haul first class: 20,000 miles | Chart |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | Dynamic own flights, chart for partners | Lufthansa First Class before departure: flexible pricing | Chart |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Dynamic own flights, chart for partners | ANA first class, US to Japan: 72,500 points | Chart |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Dynamic pricing | Promo Rewards business class to Europe: from 45,000 miles | Chart |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Dynamic pricing | Avianca sale awards from the US to Central and South America: from 5,550 miles | Chart |
| Delta SkyMiles | Dynamic pricing | Domestic SkyMiles Deals: from 5,000 miles | Chart |
| Emirates Skywards | Dynamic pricing | Premium economy to Dubai: from 15,000 miles one way | Chart |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | Dynamic pricing | United flights through Blue Sky: priced in search | Chart |
| United MileagePlus | Dynamic pricing | Star Alliance business class to Europe: 80,000 miles | Chart |
How to read these pages
Prices are one way, per person, in the program's own miles or points, and exclude taxes and fees. Where a program prices dynamically we show the ranges it publishes or the prices we observed on its own site on the review date, and say so. Every page links the program's chart, calculator or terms so you can confirm a price before transferring points.
The sweet spots are the awards that return the most cash value per mile according to the chart itself, not promotions. Whether they are worth chasing depends on finding award space, which is the hardest part. If your balance is larger than the trips you will realistically book, the valuation pages show what the miles are worth on paper and the quote form shows what they are worth in cash today.
Award chart FAQ
- What is an airline award chart?
- An award chart is a published table of how many miles a flight costs, usually by region or distance and by cabin. Programs that keep a chart give members a predictable price; programs that price dynamically set the miles cost from the cash fare, demand and other factors, so the same seat can cost very different amounts on different days.
- Which airline programs still have award charts?
- Among the programs on this site, American AAdvantage (partners), Alaska Atmos Rewards (partners), Air Canada Aeroplan (partners), the Avios programs at British Airways and Qatar Airways, Cathay, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Turkish Airlines, Singapore KrisFlyer, Korean Air, Emirates, Etihad (partners) and Virgin Atlantic (partners) publish charts for at least some awards. United, Delta and Lufthansa price their own flights dynamically, and most programs now price their own flights dynamically while keeping a partner chart.
- Why do the same partner flights cost different amounts in different programs?
- Each program sets its own partner chart. A Cathay Pacific business class seat from the US to Hong Kong is the same seat whether it is booked with Alaska, American, British Airways or Cathay miles, but each program charges its own price and its own fees. Comparing charts before transferring bank points is how frequent flyers pay the least.
- Do award prices on these pages include taxes and fees?
- No. The miles prices here are the program's published amounts, and every award also carries government taxes and, on some programs and partners, carrier-imposed surcharges that can run from a few dollars to several hundred. Each program page lists which partners add surcharges.