Points and miles glossary

Airline alliance

A group of airlines that let members earn and redeem miles across each other's flights and share lounges and status benefits. The three global alliances are Star Alliance (United, Lufthansa, Air Canada, Singapore, Turkish), oneworld (American, British Airways, Qatar, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, JAL) and SkyTeam (Delta, Air France-KLM, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic).

See also: Partner award, Elite status

Avios

The shared points currency of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Qatar Airways and Finnair. Balances can be moved between these programs, usually at 1:1, so a member can book through whichever program prices a flight lowest. Points Plug buys Avios held in any of them.

See also: Transfer partner, Fuel surcharge (carrier-imposed surcharge)

Award availability

The seats an airline chooses to make bookable with miles on a given flight. It is separate from whether the flight has empty seats: an airline can sell a cabin for cash while releasing no award seats at all, which is why a large balance can be hard to use on popular routes.

See also: Saver award, Partner award

Award chart

A published table of how many miles an award flight costs, usually by region and cabin. Programs with a fixed chart (Air Canada Aeroplan for partners, Turkish Miles&Smiles, JAL Mileage Bank) let you know the price in advance. Most large US programs have replaced their charts with dynamic pricing.

See also: Dynamic award pricing, Saver award, Sweet spot

Cents per point (CPP)

The value you get from a redemption, calculated as the cash price you avoided, in cents, divided by the number of points spent. A $400 flight for 25,000 miles returns 1.6 cents per point. It is the standard yardstick for deciding whether to redeem, transfer or sell.

See also: Points valuation, Dynamic award pricing

Close-in booking fee

A fee some programs once charged for award tickets booked within about three weeks of departure. Most US programs have removed it, but it survives in some partner programs and for certain elite tiers, so check before booking a last-minute award.

See also: Award chart

Co-branded credit card

A credit card issued by a bank in partnership with one airline, such as the United Explorer card from Chase or the AAdvantage cards from Citi and Barclays. Spending earns that airline's miles directly rather than transferable points, which is why large single-program balances build up.

See also: Transferable points, Transfer partner

Dynamic award pricing

Setting award prices by demand, date and cash fare instead of a fixed chart. Delta, United, American and Air Canada (for their own flights) price this way. It makes cheap awards possible on quiet dates and very expensive ones on peak dates, and it means the value of a mile changes constantly.

See also: Award chart, Cents per point (CPP)

Elite qualifying miles, dollars or points

The separate tally a program keeps toward elite status, distinct from redeemable miles. Examples are United's Premier qualifying points, American's Loyalty Points, Delta's Medallion Qualification Dollars and British Airways' Tier Points. These cannot be redeemed or sold.

See also: Elite status

Elite status

A tier a member earns by flying or spending enough in a year, bringing perks such as upgrades, lounge access, bonus miles and waived fees. Status makes miles easier to earn and sometimes stops them from expiring, but it does not change what a mile is worth when redeemed or sold.

See also: Elite qualifying miles, dollars or points, Airline alliance

Excursionist Perk

A United MileagePlus feature: on a multi-city award that starts and ends in the same region, one one-way segment within another region can be free. It is one of the better-known sweet spots in a program that otherwise prices dynamically.

See also: Sweet spot, Stopover

Fifth-freedom route

A flight an airline operates between two countries other than its own, such as Emirates from New York to Milan or Singapore Airlines from New York to Frankfurt. These routes often have better award availability and lower surcharges than the airline's flights from its home hub.

See also: Sweet spot, Fuel surcharge (carrier-imposed surcharge)

Fuel surcharge (carrier-imposed surcharge)

A cash fee added to some award tickets on top of government taxes, labelled YQ or YR on the fare breakdown. British Airways, Lufthansa, Emirates and Qantas add large ones on their own long-haul flights; United, American (on most partners), Air Canada and Turkish add little or none. Surcharges can cut the real value of an award in half.

See also: Cents per point (CPP), Avios

Hard expiry

A mile that dies on a fixed date regardless of activity, typically three years after it was earned. Emirates Skywards, JAL Mileage Bank, Turkish Miles&Smiles and Lufthansa Miles & More (for members without status) work this way. Balances nearing a hard expiry are the strongest case for selling.

See also: Mileage expiration, Inactivity expiry

Hub

An airport where an airline concentrates connections, such as Istanbul for Turkish Airlines or Doha for Qatar Airways. Awards to and from a hub are the easiest to find, and most long-haul partner awards route through one.

See also: Airline alliance

Inactivity expiry

A rule that cancels a balance if the account sees no earning or redemption for a set period, commonly 18, 24 or 36 months. Any qualifying activity, even a small purchase through a shopping portal, usually resets the clock.

See also: Mileage expiration, Hard expiry

Loyalty Points

American AAdvantage's single measure for elite status since 2022, earned from flying, co-branded card spend, shopping and dining. They accrue alongside redeemable miles but cannot be spent or sold.

See also: Elite qualifying miles, dollars or points

Mileage expiration

The rule that removes miles from an account after a period, either a fixed life from the date earned (Emirates, JAL, Lufthansa for most members) or a period of inactivity that any earning or redemption resets (American, Qantas, Flying Blue). United, Delta, Alaska Atmos Rewards and Virgin Atlantic points do not expire under normal conditions. See do airline miles expire for every program's rule.

See also: Hard expiry, Inactivity expiry

Mileage run

A trip taken mainly to earn miles or status credits rather than to go somewhere. Once common, it has become less useful as programs moved to earning by dollars spent rather than distance flown.

See also: Elite qualifying miles, dollars or points

Miles and cash (Points plus Pay)

A redemption where part of a fare is paid with miles and the rest in cash, at a fixed rate the airline sets. The rate is usually below one cent per mile, so it is rarely the best use of a large balance.

See also: Cents per point (CPP)

Open jaw

An itinerary that returns from a different city than the one you flew into, or departs from a different city than the one you returned to. Many award programs allow one open jaw at no extra cost, which lets a single award cover a multi-city trip.

See also: Stopover

Partner award

A flight on another airline booked with your program's miles, made possible by an alliance or a bilateral partnership. Partner awards are often priced from a fixed chart even when the program prices its own flights dynamically, which is where many sweet spots live.

See also: Airline alliance, Award chart, Sweet spot

Points broker (mileage broker)

A company that buys miles and points from members for cash and uses them to book travel for its own customers. Points Plug is a points broker: it quotes a price per mile, pays after the booking completes, and never asks the seller for money. Read how it works.

See also: Cents per point (CPP)

Points valuation

A published estimate of what one mile or point is worth, in cents, based on typical redemptions. Sites such as The Points Guy and NerdWallet publish them monthly or yearly; they are averages, not guarantees, and the value you actually get depends on the flight you book. See what miles and points are worth.

See also: Cents per point (CPP)

Positioning flight

A separate ticket to get to the airport where an award actually starts, used when the best award availability leaves from a city other than your own. It adds cost and risk, and is a common reason a theoretical sweet spot is less useful than it looks.

See also: Sweet spot

Promo Rewards

Air France-KLM Flying Blue's monthly list of routes with awards discounted by 25 percent or more. It is the main way Flying Blue members get outsized value, and one reason Flying Blue is a popular transfer destination for bank points.

See also: Sweet spot, Transfer partner

Redeemable miles

The miles in an account that can be spent on flights, upgrades and other awards, as opposed to elite qualifying tallies. Only redeemable miles have cash value and only redeemable miles can be sold.

See also: Elite qualifying miles, dollars or points

Saver award

The lowest price level for an award seat, released in limited numbers. Saver space is what partners can book and what most valuations assume. Higher levels (Standard, Anytime, Flex) cost two to four times more and are what remains on popular dates.

See also: Award availability, Partner award

Stopover

A stop of more than 24 hours (or more than four hours on domestic itineraries) at a connecting city, allowed free or for a small fee on some awards. Aeroplan charges 5,000 points for one, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways offer stopover programs in Istanbul and Doha, and most US programs no longer offer them.

See also: Open jaw, Excursionist Perk

Sweet spot

A redemption that returns far more value than the program's average, usually because a partner chart has not caught up with cash fares. Well-known examples are ANA business class through Virgin Atlantic, Qatar Airways Qsuite through Privilege Club Avios and short-haul American Airlines flights through British Airways Avios. Sweet spots also die: Turkish Miles&Smiles' 7,500-mile United awards ended in 2024.

See also: Partner award, Award chart, Cents per point (CPP)

Transfer bonus

A limited-time promotion in which a bank program gives extra miles when you move points to an airline, typically 20 to 40 percent. Because bonuses recur, holding points in the bank program until one appears is usually better than transferring early.

See also: Transfer partner, Transferable points

Transfer partner

An airline or hotel program that accepts points from a bank program, usually at 1:1 and usually within minutes. Transfers are one way only: once points arrive at an airline they cannot go back. See the transfer partner matrix for which cards reach which airlines.

See also: Transferable points, Transfer bonus

Transferable points

Bank currencies that can be moved to many airline and hotel programs: Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou Points, Bilt Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards. They are more flexible than airline miles, which is why they hold their value better and why Points Plug buys them at a separate rate.

See also: Transfer partner, Co-branded credit card

Upgrade award

Using miles to move a paid ticket to a higher cabin. Most programs require a specific fare class and charge a cash co-pay, but on long-haul flights an upgrade can return more value per mile than an outright award.

See also: Cents per point (CPP)

YQ / YR

The fare codes under which carrier-imposed surcharges appear on a ticket. A high YQ is what makes some award tickets cost hundreds of dollars in cash. See fuel surcharge.

See also: Fuel surcharge (carrier-imposed surcharge)

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