Redeeming miles and points for “free” travel in First and Business Class is amazing – being able to fly around the world in luxury and style for little-to-none is incredible. Every frequent flyer program publishes their own award chart and that airline determines the cost of a flight award – not the actual airline you are flying. Some frequent flyer programs do not publish award charts anymore and price flight awards dynamically – based on demand and the cost of a ticket in cash. Traditional frequent flyer programs that do still publish award charts often have “sweet spots” in their award charts – these are flights you can book using miles at an incredible value, for example, the flight might be long or in a premium cabin but based on the regions and award chart, may not cost that many miles.
What is an Award Ticket Sweet Spot?
An award ticket sweet spot is a flight or itinerary you can book using miles at a phenomenal rate. For example, a certain frequent flyer program might price flights within one region the same – whether that is Boston to New York or Chicago to Honolulu (the ORD-HNL would be considered a sweet spot if the price in miles is amazing). Sweet spots can exist throughout an airline’s award chart in a few spots or they may not exist at all.
Airlines constantly update and revise their award charts and increase the amount of miles required for a certain flight award – sometimes these changes are announced in advance and sometimes they aren’t. There are a few airlines that allow you to cancel your award ticket for no charge and receive a refund of your miles – so if you see an amazing mileage deal and there are free refunds, you should lock it in.
Virgin Atlantic’s program offers many award ticket sweet spots
How Do You Find Award Sweet Spots?
You may stumble upon an award sweet spot just by searching a random route and find that the price is exceptionally good – or you may carefully study a given airline’s frequent flyer award chart and then their partners to find a route that is offered with miles for a great price. By now, all of us in the miles and points hobby have identified incredible sweet spots from different airlines worldwide and have talked about them a lot. Some sweet spots have been discontinued (the prices were increased) due to their popularity.
What If You Don’t Have Miles with the Sweet Spot Airline?
The airline issuing your ticket determines the cost of your ticket – not the airline you are flying. For example, if you are flying on British Airways but want to use American Airlines miles, then AA will price your ticket since you are using their miles.
If you do not have miles with the airline you want to redeem the sweet spot with, remember that many airlines these days are partners of major transferable bank points programs – check and see if you can transfer in some points from one of the major bank programs to that certain airline. Remember that Marriott Bonvoy also offers transfers to airlines, but these transfers aren’t instant (unlike with most major bank programs).
Awesome Flight Award Sweet Spots
Here is a list of our favorite award ticket sweet spots – keep in mind this list is not complete as many other sweet spots exist throughout the world. Remember that airlines constantly update award charts and change prices, so this information is valid at the time of publishing.
- British Airways Avios for Short-Haul Travel
- distance based award chart – the less you fly the less you pay
- great for domestic flights on American and Alaska Airlines
- great for short oneworld flights all around the world
- American Airlines Miles for Premium Flights
- redeem miles for Qatar Airways First and Business Class at great rates
- connect between Hawaii and Asia or South Pacific in Business Class for a great price
- fly between Europe and North America for a good deal
- Virgin Atlantic Miles for Economy Flights and Japan Flights
- redeem Virgin Atlantic miles for Economy flights on Air France/KLM/Virgin and others at good rates
- redeem on ANA First and Business Class to Japan for an incredible deal
- redeem for travel on Delta at good prices
- Avianca LifeMiles Mixed-Cabin Awards
- mix and match cabins on your itinerary and save miles (available online)
- great rates between North America and Europe in premium cabins
- Alaska Airlines Miles to the South Pacific
- fly Air Tahiti Nui, Fiji Airways, or Qantas in premium cabins for a good price
- free stopovers on one-way awards
- Lufthansa Miles & More Mileage Bargains
- redeem for a round-trip award at half of the cost
- each month new city-pairs are added
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue Promo Awards
- discounted mileage tickets between various regions
- updated frequently with new city-pairs
- Delta SkyMiles for Domestic Travel
- revenue-based program, but if you book in advance you can sometimes find good deals on domestic and short-haul international tickets in Economy Class
- Iberia Avios from North America to Spain
- another distance-based program allowing you to book Business Class for less than half of what other airlines charge to Spain from the East Coast
We’ve redeemed millions of miles over the years and always love to find award ticket sweet spots and these listed are some of our favorites – remember a sweet spot can also be in Economy, it does not have to be only available in a premium cabin.
the sweet spot of British Airways Avios are short flights
All in All
Stretching and redeeming your miles in unique ways through different airlines and utilizing their alliance and partnerships is what makes this hobby so fun – I love finding new routes operated by airlines and then finding how to book them at the absolute best mileage cost. I spend way too much time finding the best redemptions and studying routes and finding a partner award at an incredible rate reminds me of why I love miles and points so much.
When planning your trip using points, remember to do your research and look at airlines you might normally not look at – there could be hidden gems. Have a look at what airlines you can transfer your points to and then take a look at their award charts and see if something could work for your next trip. There are so many airlines and routes out there that it is almost guaranteed that everyone will find something that will work for their family.