Airline miles programs and the three alliances

There are three alliances, and your miles are usable across all the airlines inside whichever one you pick. Join a program in each alliance, not a program per airline.

The three alliances

• Star Alliance, the largest. United, Lufthansa, Air Canada, ANA, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and others.
• Oneworld. American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Iberia, Qatar Airways.
• SkyTeam. Delta, Air France, KLM, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, Aeromexico.

Miles earned in one member's program can generally be spent on any other member's flights. That is the whole point of an alliance and the reason three accounts cover most of the world.

Which program to earn in

Pick by where you fly from, not by which airline you like. The programs worth holding are the ones whose partners actually serve your routes.

Then look at how the program prices awards. A program with predictable pricing is worth more than one with a slightly better earning rate, because you can plan with it. Distance-based charts and fixed award tables let you work out in advance what a trip will cost in miles.

Airlines outside the alliances

Several significant carriers sit outside all three, including most low-cost airlines and a few large independents. They run their own schemes, usually simple and revenue-based, where points are effectively a discount on a future fare. There is nothing wrong with these. They are just not miles in the sense of buying a long-haul seat for a fraction of the cash price.

Transferable points beat airline miles

Points earned on a bank's own currency rather than an airline's can usually be moved into several airline programs at a fixed rate. That flexibility is worth a great deal, because you commit to an airline at the moment you book rather than years in advance while the program is still changing its rules.

If you are starting from nothing, earn transferable points first and move them when you have a trip in mind.

Common questions

How many frequent flyer programs should I join?

Three is usually plenty, one in each alliance. Joining is free, but spreading your earning across many programs leaves you with several balances too small to spend.

Can I use United miles on Lufthansa?

Yes. Both are Star Alliance members, and miles in one member's program can book seats on the others.

Which alliance is best?

The one that flies where you fly. Star Alliance has the widest network, Oneworld is strong across the Pacific and the Middle East, SkyTeam across Europe and Asia through its joint ventures.