10 Mistakes to Avoid When Using Airline Points and Miles

Even experienced award travelers can stumble when redeeming airline points and miles. This can result in uncomfortable flights, additional fees, or even missed travel opportunities.

Fortunately, the most frequent pitfalls in booking airline award travel are easily avoidable. We’ll outline these common errors and provide tips to help your future award redemptions proceed smoothly.

Relying too heavily on one option

While earning a substantial welcome bonus on a credit card is a straightforward way to enhance your rewards balance for that dream redemption, devaluations remain a sad reality in the points and miles landscape.

For instance, you might have accumulated 60,000 miles, just shy of the 63,000 needed to book a flight to Europe, only for the program to unexpectedly raise the rates to 70,000 miles.

In an instant, you're further from realizing that trip.

As we've observed this year, programs can (and do) raise redemption rates without warning for their members. Therefore, the general advice is to avoid hoarding your points and miles to mitigate the risk of sudden price hikes within your preferred airline loyalty program.

One way to safeguard yourself against airline program devaluations is by earning transferable credit card points instead of points tied to a specific program. This keeps your options flexible until you're ready to book, helping you avoid devaluations within any single program.

Depending solely on an airline's website

For newcomers, it might seem odd to suggest that an airline's website isn't always the most reliable source for finding award tickets. While significant enhancements have been made in recent years, you might still miss out on various options for utilizing your hard-earned rewards.

For instance, partner airlines might not always be displayed. Even if they are, the site may not list all possible routes. A program could also offer stopovers or other flexible redemption choices — but these options aren't always easy to find.

You can explore award availability across the three major alliances in multiple ways, but no airline provides a flawless user experience. Some allow for calendar searches if you have flexibility with your dates, while others offer robust filtering options. If you’re just starting out, it’s beneficial to take some time to navigate the major U.S. carriers' websites (American, Delta, and United), or you might begin with a broader platform like Google Flights or Flight Connections. Look into the airlines that fly on your desired dates and filter by alliance or specific carrier.

Keep in mind that partner airlines don’t always show up online. For certain awards, your best option may be to make a phone call.

It's also wise to get acquainted with external tools like Seats.Aero and ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG's parent company, Red Ventures). These can assist you in tracking elusive award space, allowing you to redeem your miles more effectively.

Relying exclusively on a phone agent

Just as an airline's website may not always provide accurate information, don’t assume that its phone agents will be any more reliable. Many agents lack a clear understanding of routing rules or don’t know how to check for award inventory on partner airlines. We’ve often encountered agents who are reluctant to search across multiple dates, simply stating that there’s no availability and ending the conversation. Familiarize yourself with the routing rules and be prepared to guide the agent if necessary.

It can also be very beneficial to grasp airline fare classes. Essentially, every airline ticket comes with a one- or two-letter fare code that corresponds to your ticket type. Knowing the appropriate fare classes for award bookings can empower you to prompt an agent to confirm a ticket.

For instance, Star Alliance standardizes fare classes for award tickets across its 26 member airlines — X denotes economy, I signifies business class, and O represents first class. If you come across an I-fare ticket on a Star Alliance airline, it should be bookable through the frequent flyer program of any carrier within the alliance.

If you’re not receiving a satisfactory response, a useful tactic is to hang up and call back. Don’t assume an agent knows more than you, especially when you’ve already confirmed that award space is available.

Not searching segment by segment

Another important mistake occurs when booking complex itineraries with multiple stops. You may encounter situations where a website fails to accurately price awards or doesn’t show all flight options due to various reasons:

• Inability to combine flights from two or more partner airlines
• Inability to mix a low-level business-class fare with a low-level economy fare, preventing the ticket from being priced as a low-level business-class award
• Tendency to "force" you to book the airline's own flights

Some websites offer a "multicity" search option that allows you to search segment by segment, but for safety, it’s better to search for one flight at a time. If the website struggles to combine the flights correctly, don’t hesitate to call to finalize the booking. This approach ensures you have the exact flights you want, making it easier to relay them to the phone agent.

Unfortunately, this method doesn’t always guarantee success. For instance, American Airlines employs "married segment" logic when pricing award tickets on its own flights. Therefore, if you locate a saver-level flight from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) via John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), it doesn’t automatically mean you can book the JFK-LAX segment.

Not being flexible with dates or airports

Airlines utilize complex systems to determine which flights are available for award redemptions. If your travel plans are completely set in stone, you may find yourself at a disadvantage. While flexibility might not always be an option, even adjusting your schedule by just one day can significantly impact your chances of a successful redemption.

The same principle applies when selecting airports. If you can’t find the desired award flight from your home airport, consider broadening your search. You might explore alternate airports a bit further away or think about starting your journey from a major hub, possibly booking a separate positioning flight to get there.

Just be sure to allow sufficient time for travel between the airports.

Not planning in advance

A widespread misconception is that award tickets need to be booked the moment they become available.

Although many seats are typically open when first released, usually 11 or 12 months prior to departure, some programs do offer last-minute award seats in the days leading up to the flight.

However, many travelers feel uneasy about waiting until the last moment, even if a fantastic seat to Europe happens to be available for, say, tomorrow.

It's important to know when your chosen program releases its seats and if they are likely to add more at the last minute.

Booking around nine months ahead tends to be ideal. By this time, nearly all programs will have their seats loaded, and there should still be a good amount of award availability.

For busy travel seasons, aim to book as early as possible. For instance, if you're planning a trip to Australia for Christmas, make your reservations as soon as you can.

Booking your award flight and then neglecting to recheck it

After booking any flight, it's wise to monitor it regularly. Changes in schedule or aircraft that disrupt your itinerary might give you the chance to rebook on a more favorable flight at no extra cost. The sooner you catch these changes, the easier it is to find an alternate route.

Additionally, you might secure a coach award ticket only to discover business-class availability a few weeks before your departure. Depending on the airline's policies, you could be allowed to upgrade to a higher class without incurring a change fee, though you'll need to cover the mileage difference.

Treat your flight bookings — both award and paid tickets — like plants that need care. If not, you risk falling victim to major schedule changes or cancellations that could jeopardize your travel plans.

Overlooking stopover and open-jaw options

Certain airlines permit you to include a free stopover on your journey to your destination or to fly into one city and depart from another. These options are excellent for maximizing your award ticket while incurring little to no additional mileage.

For instance, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan allows you to include a stopover on international award flights at no extra cost — even for one-way tickets. In contrast, United's Excursionist Perk enables a stopover within a specific region on selected round-trip award itineraries, while Air Canada's Aeroplan offers stopovers for 5,000 miles.

Alternatively, you can mix and match one-way award flights with your miles, then purchase an inexpensive cash ticket (or use another mode of transportation) to travel between cities.

Avoid limiting yourself to round-trip itineraries. There are numerous ways to leverage flexible routing rules to visit extra cities and enhance your travel experience.

Incurring avoidable fees

Ancillary fees represent a significant source of revenue for airlines, and some programs apply these fees to award tickets. Certain airlines may charge a fee for departures from specific regions, while others may impose fuel surcharges for travel on particular carriers. Always explore alternative flight options to bypass these fees when possible.

If you possess transferable credit card points, consider shifting them to a program that doesn't impose fuel surcharges, such as Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles.

One specific fee to watch for is the phone ticketing fee. Agents frequently add this charge when you call to redeem your miles, even for awards that aren't bookable online. If a website prevents you from booking a flight, kindly request that the phone agent waive the booking fee, as you had no choice but to call.

Using miles for non-flight rewards

Typically, you’ll gain the greatest value from your rewards when redeeming them for flights instead of items like gift cards, in-flight purchases, or online shopping. With very few exceptions, it’s wise to resist the temptation to seek other types of redemptions, even if the ideal award seat isn’t readily available. Indeed, using Delta SkyMiles for flights during peak travel periods may not yield the highest value, but it consistently surpasses the value of using points or miles for merchandise or gift cards.

In general, redeeming for award tickets tends to offer the best value for your points and miles.

The takeaway

Diving into the world of points and miles requires considerable effort, and you’re bound to encounter some missteps. Nevertheless, understanding the nuances of booking award flights is a crucial initial step in minimizing those mistakes.

We hope these tips will help you avoid pitfalls and make the most of your rewards for planning your next adventure.