references/points-and-miles.md

Points and Miles Reference

Last verified: September 2026. Everything here changes: partners get added and dropped, ratios move, surcharges rise, and award charts disappear. Items marked (verify) were uncertain or are known to be in flux. Before advising any transfer, confirm the partner, ratio, and any active bonus on the card program's own transfer page.

Contents

1. How award pricing works now
2. Transferable card points and airline partners
3. Transfer times
4. Search and alert tools
5. Valuing points: cash or points?
6. Carrier-imposed surcharges
7. When award space appears
8. Cancelling and rebooking awards
9. Pitfalls

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1. How award pricing works now

Dynamic pricing (no fixed chart). The price moves with the cash fare, so these awards rarely beat about 1.0–1.3 cents per mile. Sales and close-in drops still happen.

• Delta SkyMiles: fully dynamic; watch for flash sales
• United MileagePlus: no published chart. "Saver" means capacity-controlled space, not a fixed price. Elites and United cardholders can see extra saver space (verify)
• American AAdvantage on American-operated flights: dynamic, from about 7,500 miles one-way (verify)
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue: dynamic, with tiered award levels added in 2026 (verify)

Charts still exist, and that's where outsized value lives:

• American AAdvantage partner awards (JAL, Qatar, Cathay, and others): region-based chart
• Alaska Atmos Rewards partner awards: distance-based; a $20 partner award fee applies to tickets issued from July 2026 (verify)
• Air Canada Aeroplan partner awards: zone and distance chart; widely considered the best way to see and book United saver space

2. Transferable card points and airline partners

Ratios are 1:1 unless noted. (verify all)

Chase Ultimate Rewards. Only the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, and Ink Business Preferred can transfer. Aer Lingus, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways, Iberia, JetBlue, Singapore, Southwest, United, Virgin Atlantic. Emirates was removed in October 2025.

American Express Membership Rewards Aer Lingus, Aeromexico (1:1.6), Aeroplan, Flying Blue, ANA, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, Cathay (5:4), Delta, Emirates (5:4), Iberia, JetBlue (5:4), Qantas, Qatar, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic. Etihad was removed in June 2026.

Capital One Aeromexico, Aeroplan, Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, Cathay, Emirates (4:3), Etihad, EVA (4:3), Finnair, JAL (4:3), JetBlue (5:3), Qantas, Qatar, Singapore, TAP, Turkish, Virgin Red.

Citi ThankYou. American Airlines transfers only from the Strata Premier, Strata Elite, or Prestige cards. Includes American, Turkish, Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, Cathay, Qatar, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue, and others.

Bilt Rewards Aer Lingus, Alaska, American, Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, Cathay, Emirates, Etihad, Flying Blue, Iberia, JAL, Qatar, Southwest, Spirit, TAP, Turkish, United, Virgin Atlantic.

Transfer bonuses (for example, +20–30% to one partner) run for a few weeks at a time. Mention one if it's active, but never let a bonus push someone into transferring before the seat is confirmed.

3. Transfer times

• Most airline transfers are instant or complete within minutes.
• Known slow ones: Singapore KrisFlyer from Chase or Amex (about 1–2 days), ANA (up to about 48 hours) (verify).
• The name on the card account must match the airline account exactly, or the transfer can stall.
• Transfers are permanent. Points can't be moved back. For a slow transfer, the seat can disappear while points are in transit; say so when recommending one, and consider a program that can hold the award first.

4. Search and alert tools

Prices change; (verify all).

Third-party results are leads, not confirmations. Always confirm in the booking program's own search.

5. Valuing points: cash or points?

Cents per point (cpp) = (cash fare − award taxes and fees) ÷ points required.

Also subtract what the cash ticket would earn. Note that basic economy no longer earns miles on American, Delta, or United (verify).

Rough decision rule:

• Transferable card points (Chase, Amex, Capital One, Citi, Bilt): use points above about 1.3–1.5¢
• Airline miles (United, Delta, American, etc.): use points above about 1.1–1.2¢
• Below that, pay cash and keep the points for a better redemption

Published valuations are optimistic ceilings (for example, about 2¢ for transferable points and about 1.2–1.4¢ for Delta, United, and American miles as of September 2026) (verify). Use them as upper bounds, not floors.

Cash usually wins for: cheap economy fares, dynamic awards on Delta, United, and American that simply track the cash price, and any award with heavy surcharges.

Points usually win for: long-haul business and first class through partner charts, peak-season dates when cash spikes, and last-minute trips where cash fares are extreme.

6. Carrier-imposed surcharges

Some programs add large "carrier-imposed" fees to award tickets. The same seat can often be booked through a different partner without them. (verify)

• High surcharges: British Airways Avios (raised again in 2026), Virgin Atlantic, Flying Blue, Lufthansa Miles & More (first class can exceed $900), ANA, Delta on flights departing Europe
• Low or none: United, Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, Alaska on most partners, Singapore on partner flights

Always show the all-in cost: miles + taxes + surcharges.

7. When award space appears

• Schedule opening: American, Delta, and JetBlue about 331 days out; United about 337; British Airways and Singapore about 355 (verify). Premium partner space often appears the day the schedule opens, so schedule one check that morning.
• Close-in releases: airlines often release unsold premium seats to partners in the last two weeks or so, especially Lufthansa Group and United saver space (verify). Increase check frequency inside 21 days for premium cabins.
• Flash sales: Delta and Flying Blue run periodic award sales. Programs announce them by email.

8. Cancelling and rebooking awards

• US programs (United, American, Delta for US and Canada departures, Alaska, Southwest, JetBlue): award tickets can generally be cancelled with miles redeposited free before departure (verify each). United charges for a no-show.
• Many foreign programs charge cancellation or redeposit fees.
• Because most US awards cancel free, booking a good award and continuing to watch for a better one is low-risk. The same isn't true once transferred points are sitting in a foreign program with fees.

9. Pitfalls

• Phantom availability: space that shows in a partner's search or a third-party tool but can't be ticketed. It became more common in 2026. Confirm in the operating or booking program, try a second partner, or call. Be suspicious of lots of premium seats on a route that rarely has any.
• Mixed-cabin awards: a "business" itinerary may include an economy segment. Check each flight.
• Positioning flights: a great award from another city needs a separate ticket to get there. Add its cost, and suggest flying in the day before.
• Metro-area codes: NYC (JFK, LGA, EWR), LON (LHR, LGW, STN, LTN, LCY, SEN), TYO (HND, NRT), CHI, WAS, PAR, MIL, SEL. Award tools often need individual airports. Watch for connections that require changing airports.
• Stale data: cached search results lag live inventory by hours. Re-check live before alerting, and timestamp the alert.
• Program rules move fast: in 2025–2026 alone, Emirates left Chase, Etihad left Amex, Chase's Hyatt ratio changed for some cards, and Alaska added a partner award fee. Re-check before advising.