International Airfare Points Rankings

Chase Ultimate Rewards is our most valued point system.

• These points are the most flexible of any credit card points. You can book travel items directly through the Chase portal, including cruise, car rental, or speciality hotel. (Or transfer points to their partners).
• The quality of their transfer partners (Hyatt, United & Southwest) is unmatched. As is the value you can get when you transfer.
• You can get a “multiplier effect” (either 1.5x or 1.25x) on your Chase Ultimate Rewards points when you have either of Chase’s Sapphire cards.
• We view Ultimate Rewards as the points “savings account” to top off a partner reward system for a flight or hotel. Or to book travel items directly through the Chase travel portal.

American Airlines is a great utility point system.

• Points are relatively easy to collect, though we don’t love the bank partners or transfer options as much.
• We love direct flights, and American can be a good option for finding those with points.
• Rewards flights start at 7500 miles each way.
• You can use AA miles to travel with eligible Oneworld partner airlines worldwide.

Alaska Airlines has some great sweet spots, but understanding their award chart is key.

• Another key factor in their value is whether the airline flies from your home airport.
• They often have the best pricing available for international business class. Using an award search tool will help maximize.
• Their award chart also allows for some great finds on short-haul domestic flights.
• No major bank points transfer directly to Alaska, but you can go through Amex: transfer to Hawaiian Airlines first, then to Alaska.
• One-way award tickets with a stopover allows you to visit two destinations for the price of one.

United is a solid option for international flights, especially for business class.

• United has ample cards for collecting large sums of points.
• International business class seats can be found for as low as 120,000 points.
• They’re a partner in our favorite rewards system, making top offs from Chase Ultimate Rewards both easy and a good value.
• United is also a decent option for domestic flights and standard international fares, but we generally use Southwest, American or Delta for those.
• We save our United points for those long international flights where business class is a difference maker.

Amex points are great in theory. We just find them harder to collect and more expensive to hold than Chase points.

• If you’re in the points game long enough, you’ll dabble in both main systems (Chase & Amex).
• Amex has a one card bonus per lifetime rule, so ultimately, there will be more of a limit to how many you can collect via sign-up bonuses.
• You’ll need to keep a “fee” card to hold your points.
• Delta and Hilton are solid transfer values and having Amex points gives you top-off flexibility if you are invested in either of those systems.
• We do find Amex travel a higher quality of service over the Chase travel portal.

Delta is a good point system for both domestic and international flights.

• Delta offers many cards making initial collection relatively easy. But Amex’s “one bonus per card per lifetime” limits that ability over time.
• Delta is part of the Amex partner reward system and is a decent transfer value.
• We save Delta points for specific flights, perhaps direct domestic or best value international.
• We use easier-to-collect point systems such as Southwest and American ahead of Delta.

Capital One is a flexible point system we use for travel items that other systems don't cover

• Car Rentals, cruises, and vacation home rentals top our list of uses for Capital One Miles
• Partner transfers are niche airlines and hotel brands, making the points less attractive
• Point redemptions are so similar to cash that they can be less satisfying for the hobbyist
• Capital One is particularly attractive to businesses with large spends

Citi points have limited utility; we don’t generally collect them without a clear use in mind

• Choice Hotels and niche airline partners are the best transfer values.
• If you need to take a break from Chase, already have the top Cap One cards, and Amex isn’t offering elevated SUBs, only then should you consider a Citi card.
• Only the Strata Premier card is worth the trouble as it’s the only Citi card with transferable miles and a 60-80k point SUB
• Points are flexible with a breadth of airline partners, some exclusive to Citi (like Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Turkish, and Singapore, amongst others)

If you live in the United States, Air Canada is a complicated alternative to United Airlines, though better value can be found.

• Similar to United, you can access Star Alliance international flights through Air Canada, but sometimes at lowerr point totals
• You cannot book flights between two U.S. cities
• Air Canada can be useful for international flights that naturally route through Canada.
• Aeroplan allows up to two stopovers per flight for 5,000 points each

We don’t recommend actively collecting Flying Blue points, but their monthly Promo Rewards are worth monitoring

• They are partners with all major point systems, making it easy to jump on a Promo Reward or top off
• You can transfer Flying Blue Rewards to all SkyTeam partner airlines
• Flying Blue offers free stopovers to Paris or Amsterdam to maximize your point redemption
• United is still our go-to for international flights, but Flying Blue Rewards offer competitive redemptions on long haul flights

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club can offer solid value, but only in specific cases.

• Virgin adds fuel surcharges to many awards, especially on its own metal and transatlantic routes.
• ANA Business Class roundtrips between the U.S. and Japan are among the cheapest in points — but require round-trip bookings and can be hard to find.
• You can transfer points from Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, and Bilt, which makes miles easy to earn.

The greatest value when using Avios for rewards travel is the ability to transfer them to one of their many partners

• American Airlines isn’t a transfer partner of any major credit card rewards program, but you can use Avios to book an AA flight, even a domestic one in the US
• By tapping into their extensive transfer partner network, you can avoid BA’s hefty surcharges, which is the program’s biggest pain point
• Using Avios for short haul flights, anywhere in the world BA or a partner flies, offers tremendous value with its distance based award chart
• Executive Club partners with Chase and Amex, adding to the value of the program
  
  

Avianca LifeMiles has good value, especially for international premium cabin flights.

• LifeMiles often has the lowest business class pricing to Europe and Asia
  
• Domestic short-haul flights also have some sweet spots
• Flexible dates and using an award tool will be key to finding these hidden gems
• Transfers from Amex, Citi, Capital One, and Bilt make LifeMiles easy to accumulate.

KrisFlyer is best used when booking Singapore Airlines’ own premium cabins, including Suites.

• U.S. to Asia in business or first can be solid value, especially if you book early.
• Short-haul flights in Asia can be excellent value with low surcharges.
• A stopover on round-trip awards adds flexibility for just a small fee.
• You can transfer points from Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, or Bilt, often instantly.

There are no credit card transfer partners for Miles and More, making it a program we rarely recommend

• While Miles and More miles are difficult to earn, they can be redeemed on Lufthansa or any of its 40 partner airlines
• Fuel surcharges on Lufthansa are amongst the highest of airline loyalty programs
• If you have Miles and More miles, they are best used on United or Air Canada flights within North America or flights within Europe
• You cannot even search award availability unless you have at least 7000 miles in your account

Miles&Smiles has some solid value, but the booking process can be clunky.

• One of the best uses is long-haul domestic U.S. flights on United for 7,500 miles one-way.
• Business class to Europe on Turkish is a solid deal at 45,000 miles, though fuel surcharges apply.
• Partner awards often require manual booking by phone or email, and the online search tool is unreliable.
• Miles&Smiles transfers from Bilt and Citi, but transfers are not instant and can take a few days.

FlexPerks is a fixed-value travel program with limited upside.

• Points typically redeem at 1.5 cents each toward travel when booked through their portal, but that’s the ceiling.
• The transfer partner list is weak — mostly obscure or hard-to-use international airlines like Turkish and Avianca, with poor hotel options
• FlexPerks works fine for people who want a simple rebate toward flights, but it’s not a strategic program for maximizing travel value.

Asia Miles has value, but it's more complex than most programs.

• You can book partners like American and British Airways, but partner awards can be tough to find online.
• Fuel surcharges apply on many carriers, especially British Airways and Cathay itself.
• Award pricing is distance-based, not region-based, which makes it harder to plan optimal redemptions.
• Transfers from Amex, Citi, Capital One, and Bilt make miles easy to earn, but transfers can take 1–2 days.

Etihad Guest is mostly valuable for partner redemptions, but they’ve become harder to use.

• Etihad has separate award charts for each partner, with good value on select sweet spots like Royal Air Maroc and Air Serbia.
• Many of the best deals — like U.S. to Japan on ANA — must be booked by phone and often involve long hold times.
• Etihad flights themselves tend to have high surcharges and inconsistent availability.
• Transfers from Amex, Citi, Capital One, and Marriott, but not all are instant.
• This program can be useful for niche redemptions but is not user-friendly for casual travelers.

Qatar now uses Avios, which makes it flexible — but not always cheap.

• QSuites redemptions (especially U.S. to Doha) can offer solid value, particularly during transfer bonuses.
• However, Qatar charges high surcharges, sometimes adding $500+ to business class redemptions.
• Award pricing is segment-based, which makes long itineraries expensive.
• Transfers from Amex, Citi, Capital One, Chase, and Bilt, with near-instant transfer speeds.
• Not bad for one-off premium redemptions, but fees and pricing structure limit day-to-day usefulness.

High fees and inflated partner pricing reduce Qantas points appeal.

• Best value is typically on domestic Australian flights or select short-haul Oneworld routes.
• Points pricing is distance-based, and business class awards are generally expensive, especially to/from the U.S.
• Booking American Airlines or British Airways flights often comes with massive fuel surcharges.
• Transfers from Amex, Citi, Capital One, and Bilt are available, but Qantas is rarely the best use of those points.