What's The Right Way to Compare Frequent Flyer Programs?
It's not easy figuring out which travel loyalty programs are the good ones and which are lacking. That's why we here at The Points Guy try to provide all the news, tools and reviews you need to make educated decisions about where to bank your points, which travel credit cards to get and what flights to take in order to truly maximize your frequent flyer miles.
But with so much information out there to digest, it's important to know what's accurate and what's misleading. An example of the latter came out earlier this week when IdeaWorks released its most recent survey, sponsored by CarTrawler, on frequent flyer award availability. The report, which was covered by The Wall Street Journal and others, purports to rank airlines based on how easy it is to find an available award seat.
While we're all for providing as much information as possible in the points and miles sphere, when it comes to the IdeaWorks survey, the company's methodology is somewhat flawed. To understand how, let's review some of the basics of frequent flyer programs and why trying to compare availability across multiple airlines isn't as simple as IdeaWorks makes it out to be.
Not All Frequent Flyer Programs Work The Same Way
There are basically two different models when it comes to frequent flyer programs — chart-based programs and fixed-value programs. Chart-based programs rely on preset regions or distances to determine how many miles a trip will cost. In a chart-based program, an economy flight from the US to Europe might run 30,000 miles each way, regardless of whether the actual ticket is selling for $200 or $800 in cash. In addition to Alaska Airlines, the US legacy carriers such as American, Delta and United all use chart-based programs (even though Delta pulled its charts from public view a few years ago, it still uses region definitions internally).
On the other hand, fixed-value programs peg the value of each point to a fixed amount, and then allow the number of points required for a trip to fluctuate with the cash price of a ticket. So if each point is worth 1.3 cents, a $200 ticket will cost 15,384 points, but if that ticket climbs to $800, it will now cost 61,538 points. Southwest and JetBlue employ fixed-value systems.
How does this info factor into in a survey on award space? Well, when it comes to award availability, fixed-value programs always have nearly 100% availability, while chart-based programs don't. That's because fixed-value programs can increase the number of points required for popular (and therefore expensive) flights, so there's no danger of those programs going bankrupt from cheap redemptions. On the other hand, chart-based programs control their costs by limiting seats, since they're locked into a specific points price for each route. So comparing fixed-value availability to chart-based availability is like comparing apples and oranges.
The flip side of this equation is you can get a lot more value from chart-based programs than you can from fixed-value programs — you're basically trading availability for value. Southwest, with its fixed-value points, has perfect availability in the IdeaWorks survey, but you'll never get more than 1.5 cents per point in Southwest's program no matter what you do. On the other hand, while an airline like United may not have an open award seat on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, on the days it does have seats, you can get a lot more than 1.5 cents per mile for a redemption. Which brings us to...
Economy Availability vs. Premium Cabin Availability
One of the best features about points and miles is getting the chance to redeem them for fantastic first and business class seats that would otherwise cost thousands of dollars and be out of reach for many. But award availability in those premium cabins can be tricky to find. Economy availability is often easier, especially on international flights.
Yet oddly, the IdeaWorks survey doesn't differentiate between the two — it just lumps "availability" all into one overall ranking. In fact, it's not even clear if the study even looked at premium cabin availability, as it isn't noted anywhere in the methodology section of the public release.
Yes, there are certainly travelers who are only interested in using their points and miles to fly in economy (though perhaps that's a smaller percentage among TPG readers), but for an award availability study to assume that all availability is one and the same seems like an odd choice to make. It also leads us to another missing piece of the award space puzzle, which is that...
Partners Matter — They Really Matter
As intermediate and advanced points and miles collectors know, earning miles with a particular airline doesn't mean you'll necessarily want to redeem those miles on that same airline. In fact, the very best redemptions are often on an airline's partners, especially for long-haul international flights.
For instance, the IdeaWorks survey reports that availability on American Airlines has drastically improved in the last year — by as much as 25% according to IdeaWorks. That might be the case if you ignore the fact that much of that new AA availability is only on married segments and/or multi-stop connections. But anyone who searches for AA award space on a regular basis (as we do here at TPG) can tell you for a fact that international premium cabin space on American's own flights remains abysmal. If you're hoping to fly to Europe or Asia on an AA plane with AAdvantage miles in business or first class, you definitely have not seen a 25% improvement in award availability over the past 12 months.
But that's why partner availability is so important, because if you do want to use AAdvantage miles to fly to Asia, you'll have much better luck using them to book in business or first class on Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines. Of course, you won't find that award space on aa.com — you'll need to search for it another way and then call American to book it. You also won't find it included in the IdeaWorks survey, which oddly ranks Cathay Pacific availability below American's own availability in its long-haul rankings. But it's there, and it's a vastly better way to utilize your AA miles than burning them on a 2-stop connection from Tampa (TPA) to New York LaGuardia (LGA).
A Fair Ranking of Frequent Flyer Programs
Our purpose in analyzing this study isn't to trash IdeaWorks — again, we appreciate that the company is adding to the points and miles discourse. Rather, it's to remind you that award availability is just one variable in an overall frequent flyer program. A fair ranking needs to take into account both the value and type of each program's points and miles, plus premium cabin and partner availability, and then also how many economy award seats are available on the airline's own flights.
So what really is the best frequent flyer program? It depends on where you want to go and how you want to get there. Every program has its strengths and weaknesses — you probably don't want to collect American miles if you want to go to Europe in business, but United miles can be great for booking Lufthansa first class to Frankfurt. But learning all the ins and outs by reading the resources here at TPG is how you'll find the program that works best for you.
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.
Rewards Rate
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Intro Offer
You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.As High As 100,000 points. Find Out Your Offer.Annual Fee
$325Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.Excellent to Good
Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.