There are endless possibilities. Once you have earned credit card points or those Airmiles, you will probably be interested in redeeming them for the next flight. How many miles would you need to travel from India to Europe or Within your country? This is where Airline Award Charts help. Not all airlines publish an award chart. However, airlines which do so are quite popular among travellers. It is because there are many Sweet Spots that arise because of it. So, let’s see everything about the Airline Award Chart and how to use it for your next travel.
Type of Airline Award Charts
An airline award chart is a chart which tells you the number of miles required to make an award booking based on either the number of miles or between regions. So, there are two types of award charts:
- Distance-Based Award Charts
- Region-Based Award Charts
Some airlines, like Japan Airlines, use a distance-based award chart, and some airlines, like Turkish Airlines, use Region-Based award charts. Both these award charts have their pros and cons.
How to calculate air miles for Distance Based Award Charts?
I recommend using the “Air Mile Calculator” to calculate the air mile distance. It is easy to use. Enter the Airports’ names, and you will have your air mile distance.
There is one catch, though, while calculating air miles distance. Some airlines consider connecting flights a “Separate Sector, ” whereas others consider it part of total air miles. For Example, Japan Airlines calculates the total air miles you’ve flown between your departure and arrival airport. At the same time, some airlines, like Virgin Atlantic, calculate the distance separately for each flight.
How to know the region for Region-Based Charts?
The award chart mostly mentions the countries in a particular region. A region-based award chart’s biggest advantage is that your miles will remain the same even if you have a connecting flight in another region unless the airline considers it as a separate sector.
Airline Award Charts vs Dynamic Pricing
As I said earlier, not all airlines have award charts. Some of them use dynamic award charts. It is always better for a beginner to start with award charts and then move to Dynamic Pricing.
Dynamic Pricing means the miles will change based on certain factors such as demand, availability, and price. Even though the Airlines may have dynamic Pricing, their miles requirement may remain the same over time. This is even true for United and Delta. I recommend using Calendar Availability on dynamic pricing airlines to better understand the miles required.
List of Airlines Covered
Following Airlines have been covered which publish an award chart including that for partners:
- Air Canada
- Air France-KLM
- Alaska Airlines
- Asiana Airlines
- American Airlines
- Avianca Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- Copa Airlines
- Etihad Airways
- Emirates
- Finnair
- Iberia Plus
- Japan Airlines
- Korean Air
- Miles & More:
- Lufthansa
- Austrian Airlines
- Swiss Air
- LOT Polish
- Brussels Airlines
- Discover Airlines
- Eurowings
- Air Dolomiti
- Croatia Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- TAP Portugal
- Thai Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin Australia
- Vistara
Let’s dive into the airline’s award charts.
Air Canada Aeroplan Award Chart
Air Canada’s frequent flyer program is Aeroplan. The Award chart is a mix of distance and region-based award charts. It classifies the world into four parts:
- North America
- Atlantic [Europe, India, South Africa]
- Pacific [Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore]
- South America
Each region has its award chart, and then there is an inter-region award chart. Also, the requirement for the number of Aeroplan points is based on the airline you’re flying with. Airlines are divided into three: Air Canada, Emirates & Other partners. Let’s take an example to simplify.
Assume you’re travelling from Dubai to Frankfurt. Both these airports are in the Atlantic Zone, 3013 miles apart, and should cost you 25000 Aeroplan Points. Then you have another flight from Frankfurt to New York, which is in different zones, 3855 miles apart, and will cost you 35000 Aeroplan points.
Summary:
- Distance-Region-Based Award Chart
- Distance is calculated based on actual miles flown.
- Regions are divided into North America, Pacific, Atlantic & South America.
- Separate Award Chart of Air Canada, Emirates & Other Airline Partners
- Air Canada Aeroplan Award Chart [Link]
In India, you can transfer HDFC or Axis Bank points to Aeroplan Points or buy Aeroplan points during the promotions.
Related: Buying Points or Miles Offers.
Air France-KLM Award Chart
Even though Air France has dynamic pricing for its flights, the pricing of partner flights isn’t dynamic. Rather, you pay a fixed number of miles for partner airlines. However, its award chart is not available online. But, I have gone through each of its partners and the mileage usually required in this blog post.
Alaska Airlines
Recently, Alaska Airlines updated its award chart. Now, it has a dynamic distance-based award chart. However, this award chart is still useful for finding the least miles in a destination.
- Alaska Airlines & Partner Airlines Award Chart [Link]
Asiana Airlines
One of the two main airlines in Korea is Asiana Airlines. I find many similarities in how Korean Air and Asiana Airlines miles redemption work. It has a separate award chart for its and partner flights.
American Airline Partner Award Chart
American Airlines publishes award charts on a regional basis. So, for partner awards, there is an award chart for each region separately. For its flights, the award chart is based on flights to or from the USA.
You can get here:
In India, no credit card is a transfer partner of American Airlines. However, it has many sweet spots from India, such as going to Europe in just 20K miles in economy class and 42.5K in business class. These miles also apply to its partner Etihad Airways. One of the ways to earn American AA Miles is by using an airline shopping portal.
Avianca Lifemiles Award Chart
Avianca, a Star Alliance member, has a frequent flyer program, “Lifemiles”. It has a region-based award chart and has low miles requirements. However, that’s not the only good thing about it. Usually, Airlines charge the higher class miles requirement even if one leg of the journey is in Economy Class. In contrast, Lifemile charges the miles requirement of economy class if the leg of the journey is in economy and business class if the leg of the journey is in business class. That makes the total miles requirement lower. It also charges one of the lowest taxes & surcharges.
Summary:
- Region-Based Award Chart
- Separate Miles Requirement of Cabin Class on the same route
- Separate Award Chart of Star Alliance, GOL & Iberia.
- Avianca Lifemiles Award Chart.[Link]
In India, you can either transfer HDFC Bank points to Avianca Lifemiles, or you can also buy Lifemiles during the promotions.
Related: When does it make sense to buy Air Miles?
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Award Chart
Cathay Pacific is a member of the OneWorld Alliance. It has a distance-based award chart separate for its flights and partner flights. The award chart for Cathay Pacific flights can be found online, but the OneWorld or partner award chart isn’t available online. The miles requirement is higher on most routes than on Cathay Pacific flights.
Like Lifemiles, you pay for miles based on the cabin class you have travelled in. If a journey has two legs, one in economy class and the other in Business class, then the miles requirement will be based on a combination of the distance flown and the miles requirement for cabin class.
Although Cathay Pacific has a distance-based award chart, its miles requirement is higher than Alaska & American Airlines. Its only advantage is that it is a transfer partner of Amex, which makes it relatively easier to earn Asia Miles.
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Award Chart [Link]
Copa Airlines Award Chart
Copa Airlines is a Panama-based airline. It is a Star Alliance member and has KLM & Emirates as airline partners. It has a separate award chart for its and partner flights. One of the advantages of Copa Miles is that you don’t have huge surcharges, even on Emirates.
Etihad Airways Partner Award Chart
Etihad Airways has a distance-based award chart for its and partner flights. However, you will have to pay a redemption premium for its flights. That means the miles vary dynamically for Etihad flights. However, for partner flights, the miles remain the same.
You can get here:
Emirates Partner Award Chart
Emirates is not part of any alliance but has several airline partners. It doesn’t have an award chart of its flights. However, have an award chart for partner flights. The award chart isn’t great because the earning opportunities are limited to Amex, Accor, ICICI & Marriott and have a low conversion ratio. If you’re interested in finding the number of skyward miles required for a flight, use the Emirates spend calculator. You can also use Aeroplan or Qantas points to book Emirates flights.
See below the Emirates Partner Award Chart:
Finnair Award Chart
After moving to Avios, Finnair also updated its award chart. It follows a region-based award chart with segment pricing. That means you must pay extra miles if there is a connecting flight on Finnair.
Iberia Plus
Unlike British Airways, Iberia publishes its award chart. It has a separate award chart for its flights and partner flights. The Iberia Avios flight requirement depends on the Peak or Off-Peak dates. Meanwhile, all dates are normal for partners and aren’t categorized as peak or off-peak.
Here is the Peak Season Iberia Avios Award Chart:
During the off-peak season, the Avios requirement can be reduced from 500 to 40K. Here is the Iberia Avios Off-Season Award Chart:
You can find the Peak Season dates here.
It also has a separate award chart for partner airlines except for British Airways:
Even though Finnair has a fixed award chart, Iberia’s miles requirement is way better, excluding a few options.
- Iberia & Partner Airlines Award Chart [Link]
Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank Award Chart
Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank is one of my favourite frequent flyer programs since it has a decent miles requirement and is Vistara’s airline partner. The JAL Award chart is a distance-based award chart for Partner Airlines and a region-based award chart for its flights. It also has peak and non-peak miles requirements. One of the advantages of using JAL is that the mileage requirement is based on the total miles flown.
Check the Award Chart here:
Even though Japan Airlines is a OneWorld Airline, it partners with Air France and Emirates. The JAL mileage bank offers multiple sweet spots, including a great stopover policy.
Korean Air SkyPass
Not many have heard of the Korean Air frequent flyer program “SkyPass” since it has no good transfer partners except Marriott and Accor. It is a member of the SkyTeam alliance and has a region-based fixed award chart.
There is a separate award chart for Korean Air and partner flights. You can fly to Korea from India in Just 45000 SkyPass miles in a Business Class Cabin. Its SkyTeam award chart is also reasonable for business-class flights. The only issue is earning SkyPass miles. The miles requirement is decent though.
Check here the Award Chart:
If you already have some SkyPass miles and don’t want to use them for flights, you can transfer them to your Marriott account in a 2:1 ratio.
Miles & More Award Chart
Miles & More is a frequent flyer program for many European airlines. These airlines are:
- Lufthansa
- Austrian Airlines
- Swiss Air
- LOT Polish
- Brussels Airlines
- Discover Airlines
- Eurowings
- Air Dolomiti
- Croatia Airlines
It has a fixed award chart for its and partner flights. [Link]
Qantas Airways Award Chart
Qantas Airways, a OneWorld alliance member, also has an award chart. The award chart is distance-based. It, however, has four award charts. One for its flights, Second for JetStar, third for partner flights and fourth for the OneWorld multi-carrier award chart.
It has some amazing airline partners apart from OneWorld airlines, such as the EL AL Isreal Flagship carrier, Emirates, and KLM.
The Award availability is also good. You can check all four Award charts here.
Qatar Airways Partner Award Chart
Qatar Airways is a OneWorld member and has a fixed award chart. However, the Avios requirement on its flights can sometimes be 2x. Apart from that, Avio’s requirement for partner airlines is the common currency of British Airways and Iberia, and the award chart for partner airlines is the same.
You can get the Qatar Partner Airlines award chart here. To book partner awards, except for American Airlines & British Airways, you must call the Qatar Call Centre, which is open during weekdays. You can use the calculator to find the miles for Qatar Airways flights.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Award Chart
Singapore KrisFlyer miles are one of the easiest miles to earn in India. It has three award charts—one for its flights, one for Star Alliance flights and then for other partner airlines. The Award chart is region-based.
You can find it here the award charts bookable with KrisFlyer miles:
- Singapore Airline Award Chart [Link]
- Star Alliance Award Chart [Link]
- Alaska Airlines Award Chart [Link]
- Virgin Atlantic Award Chart [Link]
- Virgin Australia Award Chart [Link]
- Vistara Award Chart [Link]
TAP Portugal Miles&GO
Tap Portugal is a Star Alliance member. It is not a transfer partner of any banks in India. However, you can transfer Marriott or Accor points to Tap Portugal Airlines. It has two award charts, one for its flights and the other for Star Alliance & Partner Airlines. Tap Portugal is also an Emirates airline partner, making this frequent flyer program more interesting.
You can find the Award Charts here:
- TAP Portugal Award Chart [Link]
- Star Alliance Award Chart [Link]
- Partner Airline Award Chart, Including Emirates [Link]
Thai Airways Award Chart
Thai Airways is a Star Alliance member. It has three award charts, two for their flights and another for Partner Airlines.
Below are the links for the Award Charts:
- Thai Air Award Chart here [Link]
- Award Chart with Domestic Connections in Thailand [Link]
- Star Alliance or Partner Award [Link]
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus frequent flyer program is a transfer partner of Axis Bank.
Turkish Airlines Award Chart
Turkish Airlines miles and miles used to be one of my favourite frequent flyer programs. However, it has not been devalued a lot. However, it is not completely useless, and it is not great either.
It has a region-based award chart with segment pricing. The good thing is that it has just one award chart, which applies to its and Star Alliance Airlines flights.
Here is the award chart:
- Turkish Airlines & Star Alliance Award Chart [Link]
Virgin Atlantic Award Chart
Virgin Atlantic has a great award chart. It also has many good airline partners. This was further sweetened when it joined SkyTeam Alliance on 2nd March 2023. In India, Amex & Citi are Virgin Atlantic transfer partners.
It follows the off-season & peak-season award charts for its flights.
Off-Season Award Chart [Round-Trip], for one way, half the miles:
Peak-Season Award Chart, for one way half the miles:
You can check the Virgin Atlantic peak season dates here.
SkyTeam airlines, except for Delta, KLM & Air-France, have a standard award chart. And for other airlines, that award chart is similar; however, it varies for domestic and some international destinations.
Virgin Atlantic Partner Award Chart:
- Air New Zealand
- All Nippon Airways
- Virgin Australia
- South African Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- SkyTeam Airlines [Same for All Airlines except Delta, KLM & Air France]
Virgin Australia Award Chart
Apart from Qantas, another Australian airline has some great partners, even though it is not part of any major alliance. That is Virgin Australia. It has some great Airline partners, such as Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, United, South African Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Air Canada and Virgin Atlantic.
It has great partners, and the award availability is also good. You can find award space on the Virgin Australia website; however, not all routes are eligible for points redemption. The award chart for Virgin Atlantic is distance-based.
You can get Virgin Australia and its partner airlines award chart here.
Only residents of Australia, New Zealand and nearby countries can become members of Virgin Australia.
Vistara Award Chart
Vistara award chart is mostly a region-based award chart. However, the CV Points requirement for a flight will vary based on how far the airport is. However, its International Airline Partner award chart is region-based.
Get here:
- Vistara Award Calculator
- Airline Award Chart [Link]
How to use an Airline Award Chart for your travel?
To start using an Airline Award chart, I recommend using Google Flights to search for your flight. Remember the airlines that fly to your destination. After that, check whether the airline is part of any alliance or has other partner airlines.
Once done, check the distance between the airports using the “Air Mile Calculator“, including the connecting airport. This will give you the total miles you will fly.
Now, you can check the award chart of alliance or partner airlines and the miles you would need to fly.
Example [Airlines with Award Chart]
For example, you want to fly from Delhi to Barcelona. This route has no non-stop flights, so that the best flight will be with one stop. I sort the flights by duration so that the flights take minimum time.
These airlines appeared in the result, and here is what I did:
- ITA Airways is a SkyTeam member, so shortlisted.
- Swiss Airlines: Member of Star Alliance, so shortlisted
- Emirates: Partner with Air Canada and TAP Portugal, so shortlisted
- Qatar Airways: Member of OneWorld, so shortlisted
- Lufthansa: Member of Star Alliance, so shortlisted
- Etihad Airways: Partner of Air Canada, Air France, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, So Shortlisted
- Air France: Dynamic Pricing, so ignored
- Turkish Airlines: Member of Star Alliance, so shortlisted
If you check, I’ve shortlisted those airlines either as members of an alliance with an award chart or partner airlines with an award chart.
Result
Here i am showing the miles you would need to book a SWISS business class ticket with each of these partners:
| Airline | Miles | Region |
| Air Canada | 60000 | Atlantic Zone |
| Avianca | 45000 | Europe 2 & Central Asia |
| Singapore Airlines | 61500 | Central Asia & Europe |
| Thai Airways | 65000 | Zone 3 & Zone 9 |
| Turkish Airlines | 60000 | Central Asia & Europe 2 |
| TAP Portugal | 115000 | Asia & Europe |
This is how you can use award charts.
World of Caution
If you’re starting, you can use this guide to award flights.
Apart from finding the miles you need for your travel, there are four more important things:
- Award Availability
- Make sure to check two airlines for availability.
- Stopovers/Open-Jaws
- Few airlines give free stopovers and decent open jaws, which can give you more value from your miles.
- Cancellation
- Some airlines charge nominal value for cancellation, whereas some charge huge amounts.
- Also, the Cancellation Process may be a bit tricky for some airlines.
- Points Earning & Transferability
- Make sure you can earn a decent number of points on your credit cards, which you can then transfer to the airlines you wish to book with.
Bottomline
Airline Award charts are great information that lets you know the miles you need for travel. They can surely help beginners to start their travel journey. However, there are a few limitations, such as Phantom Award space and transfer partners. Apart from that, these charts are helpful.
