Redeem rewards
Book award travel
Award flights and hotel stays are booked using points and miles within a loyalty program, like a Southwest Airlines flight booked using Southwest Rapid Rewards points.
Award travel pricing
Each loyalty program sets its own award travel pricing. Some programs use award charts, which predetermine flight or hotel prices based on factors like region, distance, class of service or room type. Other programs use dynamic pricing, which means prices fluctuate based on demand and other factors.
- Award chartPrices are fixed
- Dynamic pricingPrices fluctuate based on demand
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Award availability
Not every flight or hotel stay is available to book with points and miles, particularly if you’re looking for a specific class of service or room type. It can be difficult to find availability for high-demand award travel, including business- and first-class flights. If you have your heart set on premium cabin award seats, don’t wait too long to book—they can be easiest to find several months to a year ahead of time.
Most premium seats are available 12 months before travel. They start to book up around 6 months before, and nearly all are booked by travel day.
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Partner award travel
Airlines sometimes release award seats on their flights to their partners. For example, you can sometimes book an Alaska Airlines flight through American AAdvantage or British Airways Club since all three airlines are Oneworld Alliance partners.
Oneworld alliance
For illustrative purposes only. This may not represent all Oneworld alliance members.
Because each loyalty program determines its own award pricing, you can often book the exact same flight for a range of different prices depending on which program and currency you use. That’s exactly why transferable points and miles are so important: Having access to a range of different programs allows you to book through the program with the best pricing.
- Program A8,400 pts
- Program B12,000 pts
- Program C22,000 pts
Editorial disclaimer: Editorial content is not influenced by nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to or after publication.
