A Beginner’s Guide to Miles (Scoring Free Travel)

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Last Updated:November 13, 2023

A Beginner’s Guide to Miles (Scoring Free Travel)

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Being excited for a flight, especially for one to start a vacation, is expected. But when you can get a free flight you’ve earned in miles for flying or using your credit card, it can be all the more enticing.

What are the best ways to earn free flights with airline miles? Which airlines have the best award programs? This beginner's guide looks at those issues and others and details how to best use your coveted miles with this guide.

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What are airline miles?

Airline miles are earned two ways: There are miles earned by flying a certain distance, such as around 2,400 from San Francisco to Honolulu. These are sometimes called frequent flyer miles. And there are miles earned by using a credit card.

Either way, they’re a type of travel reward that can be used to book flights for free. The programs are run by airlines, so the miles stay within that airline and its partners, which includes credit card companies.

The free miles aren’t actually free, however. You pay for them by paying for a flight that you’re earning miles on, or by spending money on a credit card. Still, they’re a nice way to be rewarded as an airline customer. It's a perk; a bonus.

The airline industry’s first loyalty program was created by Texas International Airlines in 1979. It merged with Continental Airlines in 1982. In 1981 American Airlines created what has been called the first successful customer loyalty program in the industry, and frequent-flier mile programs have been used by almost every airline since.

Our focus is on how to best use and earn miles, including earning them by taking flights. Credit cards, however, are the biggest way to earn miles and will be our main focus.

What you need to know

Before we get into the details of how to best earn and use miles, there are a few things to keep in mind before you get a credit card with the focus of earning miles:

You’re still spending money

You probably have a dozen or so rewards cards in your wallet or purse already. Ice cream shops, coffee shops, restaurants, bookstores, theaters, and many other kinds of retailers have customer loyalty programs to encourage return visits.

It all requires spending money, which is the main point of all airline mileage programs: to get you to buy more plane tickets. It works the same way at your local frozen yogurt shop. Get your yogurt rewards card stamped 10 times and get one free dessert.

The difference is that flights cost a lot more than frozen treats, and you’re more likely to return again and again to the same airline if it helps you earn miles for a free trip someday.

In an article about how to improve airline customer-loyalty programs, the travel logistics consultancy McKinsey & Company said that in a classic loyalty program, 20 round-trip economy-class flights from Europe to North America at a total cost of around $20,000 can earn a passenger enough miles to redeem a first-class ticket that costs $10,000. That’s a 50% payback for the airline.

Our point is that paying for more flights so that you can someday earn a free one shouldn’t turn into a habit.

Pay your credit card bill off each month

OK, so you’re ultimately paying for a “free” flight in some way. But that doesn’t mean you have to overspend.

With a credit card that rewards users with free miles, it’s important to only use the card for what you’d pay for otherwise with cash and do not have a revolving credit card balance. Pay your credit card bill on time and in full each month to avoid late fees and interest. If you don’t, then those charges subtract from the value of the miles you’re using for a flight.

Check your credit score

Travel rewards credit cards aren’t given to everyone. Companies prefer customers with excellent credit scores of 740 and higher.

You can probably get some type of miles rewards card with a “good” credit score of 670-739, but the best travel cards are offered to people with the best credit.

Some credit card networks may be more inclined to look at your household income to ensure you can afford a minimum credit limit on their card.

Your credit score can fall for many reasons, and the best ways to raise it is to pay your bills on time, use 30% or less of the credit available to you, have a long credit history, and have different types of credit.

How to earn miles

There are five main ways to earn airline miles.

Flights

Earning miles through flights is a common way to accumulate frequent flyer miles or points in airline loyalty programs. These miles can be later redeemed for various benefits, such as free flights, upgrades, lounge access, and more. Here are some common ways to earn miles through flights:

Booking flights. Purchase airline tickets for eligible flights: You can earn miles by booking and flying on flights operated by the airline or its partner airlines. Ensure that your booking is eligible to earn miles, as some deeply discounted fares may not be eligible.
Frequent flyer memberships. Join an airline's frequent flyer program: Sign up for the loyalty program offered by the airline you're flying with. Membership is typically free, and it's a prerequisite to earn miles.
Mileage based on distance. Earn miles based on the distance traveled: Many loyalty programs award miles based on the actual distance flown. The longer the flight, the more miles you'll earn.
Fare class multipliers. Fare class bonuses: Different fare classes earn different amounts of miles. Premium cabins (e.g., business or first class) often earn more miles per mile flown than economy class.
Status tiers. Frequent flyers who reach elite status tiers (e.g., Silver, Gold, Platinum) often earn bonus miles on flights. Elite status is usually achieved by flying a certain number of miles or segments with the airline.
Credit card partnerships. Use co-branded credit cards: Many airlines offer credit cards in partnership with banks. These cards often provide bonus miles for everyday spending, as well as extra miles for purchasing airline tickets or using the card with the airline.
Promotions and offers. Look out for promotions: Airlines frequently run promotions where you can earn bonus miles for booking flights during specific periods or for specific routes.
Partner airlines. Fly with partner airlines: Many airlines are part of global alliances, and you can earn miles when flying with partner airlines within the same alliance. Be sure to provide your frequent flyer number when booking with partner airlines.
Online booking portals. Use online booking portals: Some airlines have online shopping portals where you can earn miles by purchasing from partner retailers.
Flight and cabin class. The miles you earn can also vary depending on the cabin class you choose (economy, premium economy, business, first class) and the airline's policies.

Earning miles through sign-up bonuses is a common way to quickly accumulate a substantial number of miles or points in airline loyalty programs or credit card rewards programs. Here's how you can earn miles through sign-up bonuses:

Airline loyalty program credit cards. Many airlines partner with banks to offer co-branded credit cards. These cards often come with sign-up bonuses as an incentive for new cardholders. To qualify for the sign-up bonus, you typically need to spend a certain amount on the credit card within a specified time frame, such as the first three months after opening the account.
General travel rewards credit cards. Some credit cards are not tied to a specific airline but offer flexible travel rewards that can be converted into miles or points with multiple airlines. Similar to co-branded cards, these cards often require you to meet a minimum spending requirement to earn the sign-up bonus.
Bank loyalty programs. Some banks have loyalty programs that allow you to earn points or miles for certain banking activities or for opening specific accounts.
Hotel loyalty program credit cards. Hotel chains also offer co-branded credit cards that come with sign-up bonuses. These bonuses often include hotel points that can be converted into airline miles.
Online shopping portals. Some online shopping portals and websites offer sign-up bonuses in the form of airline miles when you create a new account and make your first purchase through their platform.
Referral programs. Some credit cards or loyalty programs have referral programs that allow existing members to earn bonus miles for referring friends or family who successfully apply for and are approved for a new credit card.

Credit cards

Earning miles through credit cards is a popular way to accumulate travel rewards and frequent flyer miles. Here's how you can earn miles through credit cards:

Co-branded airline credit cards. Many airlines partner with banks to offer co-branded credit cards. These cards are directly tied to a specific airline's loyalty program. You earn miles for every dollar you spend on the card. Typically, you'll earn more miles for purchases made directly with the airline. Co-branded cards often come with sign-up bonuses, where you can earn a significant number of miles after meeting a minimum spending requirement within a specified timeframe. Some cards offer bonus miles for specific categories of spending, such as dining, travel, or gas purchases.
General travel rewards credit cards. Some credit cards offer flexible travel rewards that can be used with multiple airlines and hotels. Examples include Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points. With these cards, you can earn points or miles that can be transferred to various airline loyalty programs or used to book travel through the card's travel portal. Earning rates can vary, but you may earn bonus miles on certain categories like dining, travel, or grocery store purchases.
Transferable points programs. Some credit cards offer transferable points that can be converted into miles with a variety of airline partners. For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points can often be transferred to numerous airlines. This flexibility allows you to choose the airline loyalty program that offers the best value for your specific travel plans.
Online shopping portals. Some credit card issuers offer online shopping portals where you can earn extra miles by clicking through their portal before making online purchases with participating retailers.
Spending bonuses. Some credit cards offer periodic spending bonuses or promotions. For example, you might earn extra miles for spending a certain amount within a specific timeframe.
Referral bonuses. Many credit cards have referral programs that reward you with bonus miles for referring friends or family members who successfully apply for the same credit card.
Annual renewal bonuses. Some premium credit cards offer annual renewal bonuses, where you receive a set number of miles each year when you renew your card membership.
Other card benefits. In addition to earning miles, many travel rewards credit cards offer other benefits like airport lounge access, free checked bags, travel insurance, and more.

Spending

Earning miles through shopping is possible through various loyalty and rewards programs offered by airlines, credit cards, and online shopping portals. Here are some ways to earn miles through shopping:

Airline shopping portals. Many major airlines operate online shopping portals where you can earn miles for your purchases. To earn miles through these portals, you typically need to log in to your airline loyalty program account and access the shopping portal from there. Browse the list of participating retailers and click through to their websites via the portal. Any purchases you make during that session will earn you miles.
Credit card shopping portals. Some credit card issuers offer their own shopping portals that allow you to earn extra rewards points or miles for shopping with specific retailers. To use these portals, log in to your credit card account and access the shopping portal from there. Shop at eligible retailers through the portal to earn bonus miles or points in addition to what you'd earn with your credit card.
Shopping with loyalty partners. Some airlines have partnerships with retail companies, allowing you to earn miles when shopping in-store or online with those partners. Look for promotions and offers from your preferred airline.
Grocery and dining programs. Some loyalty programs offer miles for spending at specific grocery stores or dining establishments when you link your loyalty account and use your registered payment card.
Subscription services. Some airlines and credit card companies offer bonus miles or points for subscribing to specific services, such as magazines, streaming services, or online shopping memberships.
Promotional offers. Keep an eye out for special promotions and bonus mile offers from retailers, especially during holidays and shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

How airline miles work

Generally, miles earned with a credit card can be used in more ways than frequent flyer miles earned on a flight. Some airline-branded cards award miles that can only be used on that airline, while some credit cards award generic miles that can be redeemed with any airline or other travel provider.

Credit card miles are redeemed at a per-mile value fixed by the airline and can be found on mileage charts on each airline’s website.

Airline alliances make using miles easier by allowing miles to be transferred among many different airlines. Join these three alliances and chances are any flight you want to use miles on will be covered:

Star Alliance: United Airlines is among the 35 airlines in this group, where MileagePlus miles from United can be earned and used on other airlines. Other Star Alliance airlines include Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Air China, Lufthansa, and Swiss Air.
SkyTeam: The SkyTeam alliance has 19 member airlines, including Delta and its SkyMiles program, Air France, AeroMexico, KLM, and Korean Air.
Oneworld: Led by American Airlines, the Oneworld loyalty program has 14 airlines. Alaska Airlines will soon make it 15 when it joins. Other airline members include British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Qantas, and Qatar Airways.

Each alliance’s website makes it easy to find a flight and redeem miles with member airlines. Sign up for one of each alliance’s frequent flyer programs, and you can then enter your membership number when making plane reservations within an alliance.

Airlines that don’t belong in an alliance include Etihad, JetBlue, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Australia. Alaska Airlines wasn’t part of a major alliance but is joining Oneworld soon.

What you get with miles

The real fun of all of this is redeeming your miles for rewards. Airline tickets are the main rewards, of course, but there are other options too.

Airline tickets

Using miles to get airline tickets is easy: Just find the airline’s redemption chart and book your flight.

Start by using the airline’s alliance website to search for flights so you can compare flights to your destination on several airlines.

That sounds easy enough, right? It is until you compare how much a mile is worth and when you use it.

You want to use as few points as possible to get the seat you want, whether it’s in coach or business class. A one-way coach flight can cost 10,000 miles on one airline but require 20,000 on another. Or a first-class seat can cost 50,000 miles on a weekday in the off-season but 75,000 miles in peak season.

All of the major airlines use dynamic pricing. Mileage requirements can change daily, depending on demand. Booking as far ahead as possible, such as a year ahead, can be worthwhile.

United Airlines, for example, has an area on its website that highlights the latest deals. A recent search showed a one-way economy fare from San Francisco to Shanghai in February 2021 for 35,000 miles. If you don’t mind flying to China about a year after the coronavirus broke out there, this is a deal if the standard reward value of 1 cent per mile is used. That’s $350 for a one-way flight.

To see how much your miles are worth, look up the flight cost on the airline’s website. To determine how much you’re getting for each mile, divide the price of the flight by miles. The Newark-Fort Lauderdale flight with miles is a heck of a deal.

United’s cheapest economy flight on that trip is $71. Divide 71 by 6,000 miles and get 0.01 per mile. That’s one penny per mile you’re paying to fly to Florida, which is a good deal.

The less a flight costs per mile, the better. A penny per mile is 10 times better than using 10 cents per mile on a trip.

Upgrades

Upgrades to a better cabin are the most common upgrades to use miles for with an airline.

An upgrade through American Airlines AAdvantage miles within the continental United States, for example, from discount economy to premium economy, costs 15,000 miles and $75. Going from a full-fare economy to a premium economy costs only 5,000 miles.

Premium economy on American Airlines is seated behind business and first class. The benefits these passengers get include:

Speed through check-in, security, and boarding
Wider, leather seats with more legroom and extendable foot and headrests
Free on-demand entertainment with larger monitors and noise-reducing headphones
Wi-Fi, power outlets, and USB ports in every seat
Amenity kit with skincare samples
Pillow and blanket

Cash back vs. miles

Cash back from a credit card is almost always better than getting miles. Unless you find an incredible airline sale where few miles are needed for a trip you want to take, cash in your pocket is better for a few reasons.

The first is that it’s actual money you can spend any way you want. It’s flexible. That might not be a good thing if you’re blowing it on pizza and drugs, but putting any cash back you get from a credit card aside in a savings account so you can take a dream vacation someday can be a strong incentive to save.

Cash may also be better if you’re saving miles for a big trip across the globe. Even without dynamic pricing, airlines can change the miles required for a flight at any time. Chances are that a trip you want to take today will cost more in miles than a year from now.

You’re also likely to earn more in cash than you would in miles. This comes partly because most cash-back credit cards don’t charge an annual fee, while many mileage cards do.

Cash-back rewards can hit 6% of a transaction, though they might be limited to grocery categories.

The biggest consideration may be how often you travel. If you travel often enough to justify annual fees on miles cards, and you plan on flying a few times a year for free by using miles, then a mileage card is a good choice. If not, then a cash-back card can offer more value.

Going off our general idea that one airline mile is worth 1 cent, you can figure out how much your miles are worth. A 50,000-mile bonus for spending $2,000 in two months equals $500 of value in miles. And let’s assume you pay off that $2,000 credit card bill without incurring interest or late charges.

With 5% cash back, you’d only get $100 on that $2,000 in expenditures because 5% of 2,000 is 100. That makes the mileage bonus worthwhile.

The bottom line

Airline miles are an easy way to enjoy free travel through award flights and award tickets. It’s free to join an airline’s frequent flyer program, so if you’re going to go on a trip, you might as well earn miles for it.

You can gain more miles by getting a credit card tied to an airline. The annual fee can bring down the value of the miles gained, however, though most cards offer plenty of other perks to make up the difference.

Going into debt by paying interest charges or late fees on revolving credit will also negate the miles earned, so try to pay the credit card bill on time and in full each month to get the most out of the miles you earn.

Lastly, compare the miles you’ll need to use to get a free flight to the cost of the flight to make sure you aren’t using more miles than you need to. One mile equals about 1 cent in value, though you can find different valuations online.

A free flight is a wonderful thing, but not so much that you’re overpaying for it with miles you paid for much earlier on a credit card or from buying previous airline tickets.

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Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist who specializes in personal finance writing and editing. He has worked at newspapers, where he won a Pulitzer Prize, and has written for numerous online publications. These include AOL, US News & World Report, WiseBread, Bankrate, AARP, and many websites focusing on housing, credit and insurance. He lives in California with his wife and daughter.

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