Summary
- Redeeming airline miles can save costs on future travel.
- Different airlines have different mile redemption policies based on route length or ticket price.
- Members of loyalty programs can use miles for different US domestic and international routes, with varying prices.
One of the benefits of being a member of an airline’s loyalty program is the opportunity to earn and redeem miles. Paying for future bookings with miles already accrued can be a lucrative and cost-efficient way to travel – although any applicable fees and taxes still need to be paid, these are sometimes minimal, and it can almost feel like traveling for free.
Different airlines have different policies and rates for redeeming miles, with some based on the length of the route while others are based on the actual price of the ticket in cash. We take a look at some of the longest routes in the US (both domestically and internationally) to see how much it would cost to purchase a ticket on them using miles.
Photo: Jarek Kilian | Shutterstock
For the purposes of this comparison, we are looking for the cheapest available one-way ticket in economy class, traveling on October 9th, 2024, starting with some of the longest US domestic routes (excluding Hawaii and Alaska).
Miami (MIA) – Seattle (SEA)
Cheapest price: 9,000 miles + taxes and fees (American Airlines)
The 2,367 nautical mile (4,384 km) route between Miami International Airport (MIA) and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is currently operated by two carriers – American Airlines flies up to twice daily with the Airbus A321neo, while Alaska Airlines deploys a mix of Boeing 737-900ERs and 737 MAX 9s, also twice daily.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
They will be joined in December 2024 by Delta Air Lines, when the carrier launches its new route with its Airbus A321neo aircraft on a daily basis. The table below compares the prices that members of each carrier’s loyalty program would need to pay in miles to fly one-way on the route:
|
Airline |
Price in miles |
|---|---|
|
American Airlines |
9,000 miles + taxes and fees |
|
Alaska Airlines |
12,500 miles + taxes and fees |
|
Delta Air Lines* |
10,000 miles + taxes and fees |
*The Delta Air Lines price is for January 9th, 2025, as the route does not start until December 2024.
Boston (BOS) – San Francisco (SFO)
Cheapest price: 11,500 miles + taxes and fees (JetBlue)
Four airlines currently fly the 2,350 nautical miles (4,352 km) between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Alaska Airlines operates up to twice daily flights with a mix of Boeing 737-800s, 737-900ERs, and 737 MAX 9s, while Delta Air Lines flies up to three times per day in each direction with its Airbus A321neos.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
However, both JetBlue and United Airlines operate at much higher frequencies. JetBlue flies up to five times per day with its Airbus A321s and A321neos, while United Airlines leads the pack with up to six daily flights, operated by a mix of Boeing 757-200s, 737 MAX 8s, and 737 MAX 9s. The table below compares the prices that members of each carrier’s loyalty program would need to pay in miles to fly one-way on the route:
|
Airline |
Price in miles |
|---|---|
|
Alaska Airlines |
12,500 miles + taxes and fees |
|
Delta Air Lines |
12,500 miles + taxes and fees |
|
JetBlue |
11,500 miles + taxes and fees |
|
United Airlines |
13,900 miles + taxes and fees |
Fort Lauderdale (FLL) – Portland (PDX)
Cheapest price: 17,500 miles + taxes and fees (Alaska Airlines)
This winter-seasonal route between Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Portland International Airport (PDX) is flown daily by Alaska Airlines with its Boeing 737-900ERs. The latest data from ch-aviation shows that the carrier has 79 737-900ERs in its fleet, in addition to 12 737-900s.
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
The transcontinental route comes in at 2,341 nautical miles (4,335 km) in length, and Alaska Airlines is currently charging members of its Mileage Plan loyalty program a total of 17,500 miles + taxes and fees to book the route. As the route is seasonal, this price is applicable to the date of December 9th, 2024.
International routes from the US
When it comes to the longest international routes from the US, many of them are operated by Singapore Airlines. For example, the two longest non-stop flights in the world are Newark (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) and New York (JFK) to Singapore. The Star Alliance member airline deploys its specially configured Airbus A350-900ULRs on both routes, featuring only premium economy and business class.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The table below compares the price of booking these routes with KrisFlyer miles for departure on October 9th, 2024, along with the carrier’s other US-touching routes:
|
Route |
Price in miles |
|---|---|
|
New York (JFK) – Singapore (SIN) |
44,000 miles + taxes and fees |
|
Newark (EWR) – Singapore (SIN) |
44,000 miles + taxes and fees |
|
Los Angeles (LAX) – Singapore (SIN) |
42,000 miles + taxes and fees |
|
San Francisco (SFO) – Singapore (SIN) |
42,000 miles + taxes and fees |
|
Seattle (SEA) – Singapore (SIN) |
42,000 miles + taxes and fees |
Another of the longest international routes to depart from the US is between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Auckland Airport (AKL) in New Zealand. Both Air New Zealand and Qantas operate this route with Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Photo: Toshi K | Shutterstock
At the time of writing, Qantas’s website was unable to display the price in miles for this route, while Air New Zealand’s Airpoints loyalty program members would need to pay 750 Airpoints Dollars (equivalent in value to NZ$750) + taxes and fees.