Valuable Airline Miles for US Residents
(“Partner awards allowed” – Example: Alaska Airlines miles can be used to book flights with designated partners by calling Alaska Airlines)
Major Players:
- Alaska Airlines – Mileage Plan
- Hubs: Seattle, Portland, Anchorage, Los Angeles
- No alliance, but many partners
- Partner awards allowed – includes Delta, American Airlines, British Airways, Air France, Aero Mexico, LAN, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qantas, and a few other airlines
- One way awards allowed – starting at 12,500 miles
- Credit card option:
- Bank of America – Alaska Airlines Visa Signature
- American Airlines – AAdvantage
- Hubs: Dallas, Chicago, Miami, JFK, LAX
- One World Alliance
- Partner awards allowed – includes Iberia, Cathay Pacific, LAN, JAL, Qatar Airways, Qantas, among others
- One way awards allowed – starting at 12,500 miles
- Credit card options:
- Citibank – AAdvantage World MasterCard (Executive or Platinum Select)
- British Airways – Executive Club
- Hub: London Heathrow, London Gatwick
- One World Alliance
- Partner awards allowed – see American Airlines partners
- One way awards allowed – starting at 4,500 miles
- Credit card option:
- Chase – British Airways Visa Signature
- Delta Air Lines – SkyMiles
- Hubs: Minneapolis, Detroit, LaGuardia, JFK, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City, Amsterdam, Paris, Tokyo
- Sky Team Alliance
- Partners awards allowed – includes Air France, KLM, China Airlines, Alitalia, among others
- Round-trip awards required – starting at 25,000 miles
- Credit card options:
- American Express – Delta SkyMiles (Gold, Platinum, or Reserve)
- United Airlines – MileagePlus
- Hubs: Denver, Newark, Chicago, Washington Dulles, Cleveland, Houston, LAX, San Francisco, Tokyo
- Star Alliance
- Partner awards allowed – includes Air Canada, Asiana Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines, SWISS, Turkish Airlines, among others
- One way awards allowed – starting at 12,500 miles
- Credit card options:
- Chase – United MileagePlus (Awards or Explorer)
- (US Airways – Dividend Miles)
- Hubs: Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington Reagan, Phoenix
- Star Alliance – US Airways merges with American Airlines in March of 2014 – US Airways miles become AA miles (One World Alliance)
- Partner awards allowed – see United and AA partners
- Round-trip awards required – starting at 25,000 miles
- Credit card option:
- Barclays – US Airways World MasterCard
Budget Airlines:
- Frontier Airlines – Early Returns
- Hub: Denver
- No alliance – no partners
- Round-trip awards required – starting at 20,000 miles
- Credit card option:
- Barclays – Frontier Airlines World MasterCard
- Hawaiian Airlines – HawaiianMiles
- Hubs: Honolulu, Kahului
- No alliance, but many partners
- Partner awards allowed – includes ANA, AA, China Airlines, Korean Air, JetBlue, Virgin America
- One way awards allowed – starting at 7,500 miles for inter-island flights
- Credit card option:
- Barclays – Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard
- JetBlue – TrueBlue
- Focus Cities: Boston, Newark, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Long Beach, San Juan (PR)
- No alliance, but many partners
- Partner awards allowed – includes BA, AA, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, JAL, Cathay Pacific, El Al, Etihad, among others
- One way awards allowed – starting at 5,000 miles
- Credit card option:
- American Express – JetBlue Card
- Southwest Airlines – Rapid Rewards
- Focus Cities: Denver, Dallas, Houston, LAX, Phoenix, Atlanta
- No alliance – no partners
- One way awards allowed – starting at 1,800 miles
- Credit card option:
- Chase – Rapid Rewards Plus Visa
- Spirit Airlines – Free Spirit
- Hub: Fort Lauderdale
- No alliance – no partners
- One-way awards allowed – starting at 2,500 miles
- Credit card option:
- Bank of America – Spirit Airlines World MasterCard
- Virgin America – Elevate
- Hub: San Francisco (secondary: LAX)
- No alliance, but partner awards allowed – Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia
- One way awards allowed – starting at 2,500 miles
- No current credit card option
mat(the)writer 