How Do Airline Miles Work?

How many miles you need for a free flight depends on the dollar cost of the flight. On average, a one-way domestic flight will cost between 6,000 miles and 20,000 miles, depending on the airline. A one-way international coach flight will cost 35,000-50,000 miles.

Airline miles and points are generally worth around 1 cent each, but their value can vary. For instance, when redeeming Southwest points for a free flight, each point is worth 1-1.5 cents, depending on the route and date of the flight. United miles are worth between 1 and 2.5 cents each.

How Many Miles You Need for Free Flight by Major Airline:

• American Airlines: 7,500+ miles needed for a free one-way domestic flight.
• United Airlines: 10,000+ miles needed for a free one-way domestic flight.
• Southwest Airlines: 2,372+ miles needed for a free one-way flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles (cheapest option).
• Frontier Airlines: 10,000+ miles needed for a free one-way domestic flight.
• JetBlue Airlines: 3,400+ miles needed for a free one-way flight from Long Beach, CA to Las Vegas (cheapest option).

Getting an airline credit card can help you earn miles and free flights faster than a frequent flyer program alone, especially with large signup bonuses. The Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard, for example, comes with a signup bonus of 50,000 miles for spending $2,500 in the first three months. Since the $99 annual fee is waived the first year, you can get those bonus miles and redeem for free flights before having to pay any annual fee.

How much 40,000 miles are worth depends on the airline or credit card you earn them from and when you book your flight. On average, 40,000 miles are worth about $400. But it can vary widely. For example, 40,000 AAdvantage miles are worth roughly $456 in American Airlines airfare. With United, 40k miles get you $416 in flights. And 40k Delta miles are worth $532.

Here's how much 40,000 miles are worth by airline:

1. Lufthansa: $916
2. Southwest: $616
3. JetBlue: $572
4. Delta: $532
5. American: $456
6. United: $416

Credit card miles that aren't tied to a particular airline typically get you a penny each. But how you redeem your miles is really important, too. For example, the Capital One Venture Card's 50,000-mile initial bonus is worth $500 when used for travel but just $250 when redeemed for cash.

You need 10,000+ miles for a free flight on United. The number of United miles needed for a free flight is determined by the distance. Flights less than 700 miles in distance only require 10,000 award miles. Flights longer than 700 miles will cost at least 12,500 miles. The mileage requirements are for one-way economy class flights. If you're looking to fly first class or business class, it'll cost approximately twice as many miles each way.

United Airlines has a travel awards chart that you can use to determine how many miles you need for various flights. Select your country of departure and destination, and you'll see the award mile requirement for each class of travel and award-type.

United divides the awards chart into two award types: One-way Saver Award and One-way Everyday Award. The award-type depends on the route and availability. Saver Award flights require fewer miles than the Everyday Award flights because they have less availability. So if your dates are flexible, you can benefit from a cheaper Saver Award flight.

How Many Miles You'll Need for a Free Flight on United:

• Domestic Flights: 10,000-12,500 (Saver), 32,500 (Everyday)
• U.S. to the Caribbean: 17,500 (Saver), 40,000 (Everyday)
• U.S. to Europe: 30,000 (Saver), 70,000 (Everyday)
• U.S. to Northern Africa: 40,000 (Saver), 90,000 (Everyday)
• U.S. to Central Asia: 42,500 (Saver), 95,000 (Everyday)

All of the mile-requirements above are for one-way economy class flights. United will no longer be publishing a travel award chart as of November 15th, 2019. They'll be introducing a broader range of award prices, so the miles you need for free flights will be changing.

For loyal United flyers, a United credit card can help you earn more miles and get free flights faster. Most offer initial rewards bonuses for spending a certain amount within a few months of opening an account. Such a bonus alone could get you a free flight or two. You will need at least good credit to get approved for a United credit card.

You need at least 6,500 Delta miles for a free one-way flight and 9,000 miles for a free round-trip flight on Delta. The exact miles you need for a free Delta flight depend on where you want to go and when. Those minimums apply to flights from Los Angeles to Las Vegas booked months in advance. Delta stopped disclosing its Award Miles Chart, so there are no published minimums and maximums for various routes.

Examples of How Many Delta Miles Are Needed for Free Flights:

• One-way flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas: 6,500+ award miles
• One-way flight from New York City to Chicago: 7,000+ award miles
• One-way flight from Los Angeles to New York City: 8,000+ award miles.
• One-way flight from New York City to Seattle: 8,500+ award miles
• One-way flight from Miami to Boston: 10,500+ award miles

To get a free flight for the fewest number of Delta miles, you'll want to book the flight far in advance, and be open to different dates. In many cases, you could pay at least 10,000 miles less for a flight if you're flexible on your departure date.

If you're a loyal Delta flyer and looking to earn miles faster for more free flights, you should look into a Delta credit card. The Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express is an excellent option with a signup bonus of 30,000 miles after you spend $1,000 in the first three months. And if you make a Delta purchase within that same timeframe, you'll earn an additional $50 statement credit. Altogether, that's worth roughly 1-5 free Delta flights.

You need 7,500+ Hawaiian Airlines miles for a free flight. 7,500 HawaiianMiles will get you a one-way flight between neighboring Hawaiian Islands (Main Cabin – level 1). For flights between North America and Hawaii, you'll need 20,000-30,000 HawaiianMiles: 20,000 if you're coming from the West Coast and 30,000 if you're on the East Coast.

The HawaiianMiles Award Chart shows the number of miles needed for various flights and seating options, based on destination. There are seven different Main Cabin options, two First Class options, and two Upgrade options. All of the mile-requirements for the various options are for one-way flights.

Flying between the Hawaiian Islands requires the fewest number of miles, unsurprisingly. Those flights start at 7,500 miles. The most miles required for a flight is 140,000, for Main Cabin (level 7) flights between Hawaii and Japan, Korea, Australia, or New Zealand. The second-largest number of miles needed is 130,000, which will get you a First Class (level 2) ticket for flights between Hawaii and North America's East Coast. Again, all mile-requirements are for one-way flights.

You can also redeem other airlines' miles for free Hawaiian Airlines flights through their extensive partner network. Partner airlines include American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, United, Virgin Atlantic, and more. American Express cardholders can also transfer their rewards to redeem for HawaiianMiles at a 1:1 rate.

Flying with partner airlines instead of Hawaiian can help save you miles on domestic flights that aren't offered by Hawaiian Airlines. It only takes 10,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles to get a free one-way flight within the U.S. on JetBlue, for example. You can also use the airline partner network to compare different miles-requirements for the same routes.

A great way to earn HawaiianMiles even faster is by applying for the Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card. It gives 3 miles/dollar spent on Hawaiian Airlines purchases and 2 miles/dollar spent on gas, groceries, and dining. New cardholders can also get a signup bonus of 70,000 miles after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days. That's in addition to a $100 discount off one companion ticket each year.

Another benefit for Hawaiian Airlines-affiliated credit card users is access to discounted prices when redeeming miles for award flights. When cardholders sign into their Hawaiian Airlines account with their eligible card, they'll automatically get access to the discounted prices. They can save up to 21,000 HawaiianMiles on one-way flights.

The value of American Airlines miles is 1.18 cents per mile, on average. That means 10,000 American Airlines miles have a value of roughly $118. American Airlines miles have about the same value as the average airline miles, which are worth 1.36 cents each, as a result.

It`s important to remember that the value of American Airlines miles depends on how they are redeemed. They have the most value when used for AAdvantage flights. In addition, one of the best ways to increase the number of American Airlines miles that you earn is to apply for an American Airlines credit card.

American Airlines Miles vs. The Competition

The number of points you need for a free flight on Southwest Airlines can be anywhere between 6,600 and 58,000 for a one-way economy class ticket in high season.

Here are some examples of point requirements for common flights so you can have a broader idea about what to expect:

• New York to Los Angeles: about 21,000 points
• New York to Chicago: about 6,600 points
• New York to Cancun: about 33,600 points
• Los Angeles to Orlando: about 20,000 points
• Los Angeles to Cancun: about 58,000 points

For loyal Southwest flyers, a Southwest credit card can help you earn points and get free flights faster. Most Southwest credit cards are offering initial bonuses for spending a certain amount within a few months of opening an account. Such a bonus alone could get you a free flight or two. You need at least good credit to get approved for a Southwest credit card.

United miles are worth 1.19 cents each, on average. That means 10,000 United miles have a value of roughly $119. United miles are worth about the same as the the average airline miles, which are worth 1.36 cents each, as a result. 

It's important to remember that the value of United miles depends on how they are redeemed. They have the most value when used for MileagePlus flights. In addition, one of the best ways to increase the number of United miles that you earn is to apply for a United credit card.

United Miles vs The Competition

Capital One miles are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for travel, 0.8 cents each when redeemed for gift cards and 0.5 cents each when redeemed for cash back. That means 20,000 Capital One miles are worth $200 in travel or $100 in cash back.

Capital One Miles Value

Travel Purchases: 1 cent per mile.

Redeeming your miles for travel is easy and you have two options: You can use your miles to erase past travel-related purchases, or to book upcoming trips. To redeem your miles for recent travel purchases, log on to your Capital One account and click on the “Rewards Miles” section of your account summary. Select “Cover Your Purchases,” and all of your travel expenses from the last 90 days will appear. Then select whichever ones you want to redeem miles for.

To book travel using your miles, select the “Book a Trip” option, and it'll take you to Capital One's travel portal where you can book flights, hotels, and vacation packages directly, using your miles.

Gift cards: 0.8 cent per mile.

You can get gift cards from most major retailers. Denominations vary by store.

Cash back: 0.5 cent per mile.

You can redeem your Capital One miles in the form of a statement credit or a check.

So, keep in mind that using your miles for gift cards or as a statement credit to cover non-travel purchases diminishes the value of your mile; each mile being worth half a cent when redeemed for gift cards or non-travel credits. When it comes to Capital One credit cards with miles, you'll get the most value when redeeming your miles for travel.

Ultimately, you can check out our editors' latest picks for the best travel credit cards on the market and see which one better suits your needs.

American Express miles are earned by cardholders who make purchases with a Delta credit card issued by American Express. American Express also has credit cards that give rewards points, rather than miles, and those Amex points can be transferred to airline partners or redeemed for travel through Amex Membership Rewards.

American Express Miles for Delta Airlines

Each Delta SkyMiles American Express card gives miles at a different rate when cardholders make purchases. Higher tier cards like the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Cardand the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card give more miles through better intro bonuses and ongoing bonus rewards rates, but also come with high annual fees.

Cardholders can redeem their SkyMiles for travel-related expenses through their Delta SkyMiles account. These Amex miles are worth over 1 cent per mile.  

Using Amex Points for Airfare

Amex rewards points can be spent on travel-related purchases through the Membership Rewards portal or transferred to any of Amex's 17 partner airlines, including Emirates, Aer Lingus, and JetBlue. Once you've transferred your Amex points to an airline's miles, you'll usually be able to find them in your account with the partner airline within a few days.

Delta is one of Amex's partner airlines, by the way. With Delta, Membership Rewards points can be turned into SkyMiles at a 1:1 ratio. The miles will generally take less than 30 minutes to appear in your Delta account.