How to redeem airline miles
Miles are worth most on long-haul premium cabins and least on cheap domestic flights and gift cards. Search partner airlines, be flexible by a day, and book as early as the calendar opens.
Where the value is
The value of a redemption is the cash price of the seat divided by the miles it costs. On a two hundred dollar domestic flight that arithmetic is bad almost every time. On a business class seat across an ocean, where the cash fare runs into thousands, it can be very good.
Merchandise, gift cards and magazine subscriptions are the worst use of miles by a wide margin. So is paying a fare with miles at a fixed rate the airline sets, which is a discount scheme rather than an award.
Search partners, not just your own airline
Your program will happily show you its own flights. The good availability is often on an alliance partner, and some programs make you search a partner's site to find the seat and then phone to book it. That is annoying and it is where the seats are.
Search one date at a time if you have to. Award availability is not the same as seat availability: an airline releases a specific number of award seats per flight, so a plane with fifty empty seats can still show nothing.
Book early, or accept what is left
Award calendars usually open around eleven to twelve months ahead, and the best seats on popular routes go in the first days. The second window is the last two or three weeks before departure, when airlines release unsold inventory.
The middle is the hard part. If you are searching four months out for two business class seats over a holiday, the answer is usually no, and no amount of searching changes it.
Watch the surcharges
A free ticket is not free. Some airlines add substantial carrier-imposed surcharges to award bookings, which can turn a long-haul redemption into several hundred dollars of cash on top of the miles. Others charge only the genuine taxes.
This varies enormously by program and by the airline you are flying, and it is the single biggest hidden cost in the whole exercise. Price the total before you get attached to the plan.
Common questions
What is the best use of airline miles?
Long-haul business or first class, where the cash price is high enough that the miles are doing real work. Short domestic flights and gift cards are the worst.
Why can't I find any award seats?
Airlines release a limited number of award seats per flight, separately from how full the aircraft is. Empty seats do not mean available awards.
Do award tickets have extra fees?
Taxes always, and some airlines add large carrier-imposed surcharges on top. Check the cash total before booking, since it varies hugely between programs.