How You Can Save On Pricey Holiday Flights With Travel Rewards In 2024

Scoring cheaper airfare begins with a quick refresher on the major airlines in the U.S. and their international alliances. Here’s a handy reference:

These four airlines can get you to virtually any destination within the U.S., though you may be surprised to learn that the best way to book cheaper flights isn’t always through these frequent flier programs. That’s because each airline alliance has a network of international partners that allows you to book flights with foreign award currencies.

It seems counterintuitive, but I’ve redeemed significantly fewer points for American Airlines flights using Oneworld partners like British Airways, Finnair or even Qatar Airways, rather than using AAdvantage miles. As another example, the same flights I’ve booked with United MileagePlus miles have been much cheaper when checking rates via Air Canada Aeroplan.

But the question remains: How exactly do you earn points and miles in a different mileage currency? If you have a travel credit card from a major bank, you can probably instantly transfer your rewards to several of these international airline programs.

Every flight is subject to availability, so booking with international programs won’t always be cheaper. Still, I always make it a point to cross-check award rates across international airlines, and I’ve saved thousands of credit card points in the process. Of course, the savings add up rather quickly if I book travel for my friends and family on the same booking.

This December, my partner and I are flying from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to visit my family. Delta is the only airline offering a nonstop flight on this route, with one-way tickets in Main Cabin priced at $369 or 33,500 SkyMiles per person. That’s a hefty amount of cash (or miles) for two people!

Air France-KLM Flying Blue, a SkyTeam partner, only required 15,000 miles for this exact ticket. In other words, I saved 37,000 miles on our booking—or, rather, over $700 in cash.

There are many ways I can quickly obtain Flying Blue miles, as programs such as American Express Membership Rewards®, Chase Ultimate Rewards® and Wells Fargo Rewards transfer to Air France-KLM Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio. I have several credit cards in my wallet, and my favorites are:

Earning the welcome offers and ongoing rewards on these cards has easily helped me book flights and have plenty of points left over. All told you can’t beat the savings I scored from using points on these otherwise expensive holiday flights.