
Airline travel partners are agreements between two or more airlines to cooperate on a substantial level. This allows airlines to share resources, routes, and even offer the ability to earn and redeem miles through each other's rewards programs. There are three major airline alliances: SkyTeam, Star Alliance, and Oneworld. These alliances provide travellers with more destinations, flight schedules, and a seamless travel experience. For example, if an airline does not fly to a particular destination, its partnership with another airline that does can allow passengers to book flights through the first airline and be serviced by the partner. This helps keep costs down and planes full.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Earn miles | Redeem miles on partner airlines |
Redeem miles | Redeem miles on partner airlines |
Elite status | Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald |
Destinations | 1,000+ destinations |
Airline partners | EL AL Israel Airlines, Southern Airways Express, etc. |
Hotel partners | Hyatt, InterContinental Hotel Group, Marriott |
Credit card | American Express Gold Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred, etc. |
Alliance | oneworld, SkyTeam, Star Alliance |
What You'll Learn
Earning and redeeming miles with airline partners
Airline travel partners allow you to earn and redeem miles with partner airlines, giving you more opportunities to accumulate miles and enjoy rewards.
Earning Miles with Airline Partners:
When you fly with an airline's partners, you can often earn miles that can be used for rewards. For example, American Airlines' AAdvantage program allows members to earn and redeem miles with their partner airlines, including Royal Jordanian Airlines and China Southern Airlines. Similarly, Alaska Airlines has over 30 worldwide airline partners, including EL AL Israel Airlines and Southern Airways Express, where members can earn and redeem miles.
Delta Air Lines also has numerous airline partners where members can earn miles, such as AeroMexico, Air France, China Eastern, and Korean Air. These miles can be earned based on the distance flown and the fare class purchased.
Redeeming Miles with Airline Partners:
The miles you earn with an airline and its partners can often be redeemed for rewards, including award travel and flight upgrades. For example, with Delta Air Lines, you can use the miles earned on partner airlines towards Award Travel and other benefits.
It's important to note that different airlines and their partners may have specific rules and restrictions regarding earning and redeeming miles. Be sure to review the terms and conditions of the relevant airline loyalty programs to understand the specifics of earning and redeeming miles with their partners.
Additionally, when redeeming miles, it's recommended to be flexible and spontaneous with your travel plans, as award availability may vary, and last-minute award space openings can provide great opportunities for utilizing your miles.
Credit Card Strategies:
Beyond earning miles through flying, another strategic way to maximize your miles is by signing up for credit cards that offer rewards in the form of miles or points that can be transferred to various airline loyalty programs. These credit card rewards can often be a faster way to accumulate miles than solely relying on flying.
When choosing a credit card, it's generally recommended to select cards that offer flexible points currencies that can be transferred to multiple airline partners, rather than earning miles with a specific airline. This provides more options for redeeming rewards and maximizes the value of your points.
By combining strategic credit card usage with the ability to earn and redeem miles through airline partners, you can accelerate your mileage accumulation and access a wider range of rewards.
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Oneworld® Alliance partners
Oneworld is a global airline alliance consisting of 15 member airlines. It was founded on 1 February 1999 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first-choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international travellers.
The member airlines in the Oneworld Alliance serve more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. The alliance has three tiers of elite status: Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby. Each is earned by achieving status through an Oneworld member airline.
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian
- SriLankan Airlines
- Oman Air
- Fiji Airways (Oneworld connect partner)
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Elite status and benefits
Airline elite status is a great way to earn benefits and perks that can make travelling more rewarding. While the specific benefits vary across airlines, there are some common advantages to having elite status.
Earning Miles
One of the main benefits of elite status is the ability to earn more miles or points for your flights. For example, American Airlines Platinum Pro members earn 8 miles for every dollar spent, while Executive Platinum members earn 11 miles per dollar. These miles can add up quickly and lead to significant savings.
Seating Upgrades
Another perk of elite status is access to seating upgrades. Some airlines offer their elite members upgrade travel certificates that can be used when booking tickets, while others automatically upgrade their status holders before boarding, depending on availability in first and business class. For instance, Alaska Airlines provides free unlimited upgrades to first class for their MVP Elites when space is available.
Lounge Access
Elite status on an airline typically grants access to airport lounges, which can be especially useful for international travellers or those with extended layovers. For example, Gold Status on United Airlines allows access to all lounges within the Star Alliance network worldwide.
Priority Services
Elite status members often receive priority services, such as priority check-in, priority baggage handling, and priority boarding. Additionally, they may have access to an elite phone number for booking and an elite customer service line.
Companion Benefits
Many elite status benefits also extend to travel companions. These can include priority seat selection, complimentary preferred seats, priority airport check-in, priority security clearance, and lounge access. Some airlines even allow elite members to gift their status to a companion, providing them with the same benefits.
Other Benefits
Other benefits of elite status can include free changes or cancellations of tickets, wider selection of award flights, enhanced customer service, and complimentary food and drinks.
Achieving elite status can provide significant value, especially for frequent flyers. However, it often requires continuous qualification and a commitment to a specific airline. It is important to consider your travel goals and whether the benefits of elite status align with your priorities.
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Airline alliances and partnerships
The three major airline alliances are oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance. These alliances were formed to provide a more seamless travel experience for customers, especially for international travellers. By joining an alliance, airlines can offer their customers access to a larger network of destinations, and members can also benefit from shared airport facilities, coordinated flight schedules, and mutual recognition of frequent flyer programmes.
For example, Alaska Airlines is a member of the oneworld alliance, which means that in addition to earning and redeeming miles on Alaska Airlines flights, customers can also do so on any of the other member airlines, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas. This allows customers to accumulate miles faster and redeem them for a wider range of rewards.
In addition to alliances, airlines also form partnerships with other airlines known as codeshare agreements. These agreements allow airlines to sell seats on each other's flights as if they were their own and provide customers with a more seamless travel experience, especially when connecting between different airlines.
For example, American Airlines has a codeshare partnership with JetBlue, which allows customers to book a flight on American Airlines that is actually operated by JetBlue. This provides customers with more flight options and a smoother connection between the two airlines.
These types of partnerships can also extend to frequent flyer programmes, allowing members to earn and redeem miles on partner airlines. For instance, American Express Membership Rewards has a robust travel programme that allows members to transfer their points to a number of airline partners, including Air Canada, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, and Emirates.
By leveraging airline alliances and partnerships, travellers can take advantage of a wider range of destinations, more convenient travel options, and increased opportunities to earn and redeem miles, ultimately enhancing their overall travel experience.
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Credit card points transfers
Credit card points can be transferred to airline and hotel loyalty programs and are the best way to get the most value out of your points. These are known as transferable points.
Types of Transferable Credit Card Points
There are several types of transferable credit card points, each unique to their corresponding card issuer:
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Citi ThankYou Points
- Capital One Miles
- Bilt Rewards
- Brex Rewards
- Wells Fargo Rewards
How to Get the Most Value
When transferring points to an airline or hotel chain, the transfer ratio, or the value of your points relative to the travel company's loyalty program, is of paramount importance.
In many cases, booking flights through an airline's frequent flyer program can be better (read: cheaper) than choosing cashback for buying plane tickets or exchanging your points for a statement credit to "erase" travel purchases.
Cash prices for flights change constantly due to complicated airline pricing algorithms. When you exchange points for cash or as a statement credit, the best return you can generally get is 1 cent for each point applied toward the ticket price when you booked it.
But when you transfer points or miles to partner airlines, you can often get double, triple, or even 10 times the average value of each point when you book a first- or business-class international flight worth tens of thousands of dollars for as little as 15,000 points one way.
Transfer Bonuses
Banks like American Express, Capital One, and Chase routinely roll out bonuses when transferring points to a specific airline or hotel partner, meaning you don't have to transfer as many points as you normally need to book an award flight. For example, Citi recently offered a 15% bonus on transfers to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.
Important Things to Note
- These transfers are a one-way street. Once you send the points to an airline partner, you cannot get them back to your credit card account.
- You'll generally want to have a redemption in mind before transferring your points.
- Loyalty programs can devalue their points by raising award rates with little to no warning. The best way to safeguard against these sudden devaluations is to keep your points safe and flexible in your bank account until you're ready to use them.
- You'll still have to pay taxes and fees when booking an award ticket. For some airlines, these fees are negligible, but others charge much more when booking award flights with points and miles – especially if you're flying business or first class.
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Frequently asked questions
Airline travel partners are airlines that have partnered with each other to offer customers more destinations and benefits.
Airline travel partners allow you to earn and redeem miles or points across multiple airlines, giving you more flexibility and choice when booking and managing your travel.
Each airline will have its own loyalty program with specific benefits and rewards. You can usually earn miles/points by signing up for the program and providing your membership details when booking flights. You can then redeem these miles/points for rewards such as free flights, upgrades, or other benefits offered by the airline.
No, joining an airline's loyalty program is typically free. However, some airlines may offer paid membership tiers that provide additional benefits.
Compare the benefits offered by different programs and consider which best align with your travel needs and preferences. Factors to consider include the number of partner airlines, the ease of earning and redeeming miles/points, and any additional perks offered, such as lounge access or priority boarding.