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Taste Talk > Blog > Travel Guide > 10 errors to keep away from when redeeming airline factors and miles
Travel Guide

10 errors to keep away from when redeeming airline factors and miles

Editorial Team
Last updated: July 25, 2025 7:32 pm
Editorial Team 17 Min Read
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10 errors to keep away from when redeeming airline factors and miles
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Contents
Limiting your rewards and never incomes transferable factors and milesRelying solely on an airline’s web siteRelying solely on a cellphone agentNot looking section by sectionNot being versatile with dates or airportsNot planning upfrontReserving and never rechecking your award flightIgnoring stopover and open-jaw potentialitiesPaying pointless chargesRedeeming factors and miles for one thing aside from flightsBackside line

Even essentially the most seasoned award traveler could make errors when utilizing airline factors and miles. This could result in a much less snug flight, further charges and even an incapacity to journey.

Happily, the most typical errors when reserving airline award journey are straightforward to keep away from. We’ll clarify the most typical errors and the way to make sure your future award redemptions go as deliberate.


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Limiting your rewards and never incomes transferable factors and miles

Etihad business class cabin
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Although incomes a beneficiant welcome bonus on a bank card is a simple approach to enhance your rewards stability to safe your subsequent dream redemption, devaluations are an unlucky actuality of the factors and miles business.

For instance, you would have 60,000 miles saved up, near the 63,000 miles wanted to ebook a flight to Europe, when this system abruptly will increase the charges to 70,000 miles with out discover.

All of the sudden, you are additional away from taking that journey.

As we have now seen, applications can (and do) enhance redemption charges with out discover to their members. So, the final rule is to not hoard your factors and miles to keep away from the chance of being hit with an surprising value rise inside your favourite airline loyalty program.

One other approach to defend your self towards airline program devaluations is to earn transferable bank card factors or miles fairly than factors or miles inside a particular program. This lets you hold your choices open till you’re able to ebook and keep away from devaluations inside one program.

Associated: How (and why) it’s best to earn transferable bank card factors and miles

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Relying solely on an airline’s web site

Virgin Atlantic airplane seats
BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY

To freshmen, it might appear unusual to be advised that an airline’s web site is not all the time dependable when trying to find award tickets. Whereas main enhancements have occurred over the previous couple of years, you should still not see all doable choices for utilizing your hard-earned rewards.

For instance, companion airways do not all the time seem. Even once they do, your website might not present all accessible routings. A program additionally might permit for stopovers or different versatile redemption choices, however they are not all the time obvious.

You may seek for award availability throughout the three main alliances in varied methods, however no airline presents an ideal person expertise. Some permit calendar searches in case your dates are versatile, whereas others have efficient filtering choices. In the event you’re simply getting began, it is value taking a while to discover the main U.S. carriers’ web sites (American Airways, Delta Air Traces and United Airways), however you can even begin with a extra common web site like Google Flights or FlightConnections. Discover the airways that function flights in your desired dates, and filter by alliance or particular person service.

Simply do not forget that companion airways do not all the time seem on-line. With some awards, your greatest guess could also be to name.

It is also a good suggestion to familiarize your self with exterior instruments like Seats.aero and ExpertFlyer (the latter of which is owned by TPG’s mother or father firm, Pink Ventures). Doing so might help you observe hard-to-find award house to redeem your factors and miles extra effectively.

Associated: Getting began with factors, miles and bank cards to journey

Relying solely on a cellphone agent

Mature businesswoman using phone while traveling by a taxi
LUIS ALVAREZ/GETTY IMAGES

Simply as an airline’s web site might not be fully correct, do not assume that its cellphone brokers are all the time on level. Many do not perceive routing guidelines or do not know the best way to seek for award stock on companion airways. We have usually discovered that brokers are unwilling to look throughout a number of dates, merely telling us there isn’t a availability and ending the decision. Know your routing guidelines, and information the agent if it is advisable.

It will also be actually useful to develop an understanding of airline fare lessons. Briefly, each airline ticket has a one- or two-letter fare code comparable to your ticket sort. If you already know the proper fare lessons for award reservations, you’ll be able to push an agent to substantiate a ticket.

For instance, Star Alliance standardizes the fare lessons for award tickets throughout its member airways — X is for financial system, I is for enterprise class and O is for top notch. In the event you discover an I-fare ticket on a Star Alliance airline, it ought to be bookable through the frequent flyer program of any service within the alliance.

Once you’re not getting a passable reply, an excellent technique is to hold up and take a look at once more. Do not assume an agent is aware of greater than you do, particularly while you’ve confirmed that award house exists.

Associated: Do not wait on maintain: This is the best way to attain airline customer support shortly

Not looking section by section

JetBlue A220 Frontier A321 United LGA
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

One other key mistake applies while you’re reserving difficult itineraries with a number of stops. Sometimes, you would possibly run into conditions the place an internet site would not value awards accurately or would not show all flight choices for a number of causes:

  • An incapacity to mix two or extra companion airways
  • An incapacity to mix a low-level business-class flight with a low-level coach flight to cost the ticket as a low-level business-class award
  • An inclination to “power” you onto the airline’s personal flights

Some web sites let you search section by section utilizing a multicity search, however to be secure, strive trying to find one flight at a time. If you cannot get the web site to mix the flights correctly, name to ebook the ticket. This fashion, you’re armed with the precise flights you need and might spoon-feed them to the cellphone agent.

Sadly, it is value noting that this does not all the time work. American Airways, for instance, makes use of “married section” logic when pricing award tickets by itself flights. In consequence, in case you discover a flight from Philadelphia Worldwide Airport (PHL) to Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) through New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK) on the saver degree, that does not imply you’ll be able to robotically ebook JFK to LAX.

Associated: How one can discover the most affordable redemption charges utilizing Flying Blue miles

Not being versatile with dates or airports

Amsterdam airport terminal
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Airways have difficult techniques for figuring out which flights to make accessible for award redemptions. You might be out of luck in case your journey plans are fully inflexible. Flexibility could also be unimaginable in some circumstances, however typically, with the ability to alter your schedule by a single day could make the distinction between a profitable redemption and being shut out.

The identical holds for selecting which airports to make use of. If you cannot initially discover the award you need from your property airport, forged a wider internet. You could possibly strive an alternate gateway only a bit farther away, or take into account beginning at a serious hub and reserving a separate positioning flight to get there.

Keep in mind, permit sufficient time to get from one airport to a different.

Associated: 9 home lounges which might be value going out of your method for

Not planning upfront

Qantas business class
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY

A typical fantasy is that award tickets should be booked the very second the flight turns into accessible.

Whereas most seats can be accessible for some applications when first loaded, often 11 or 12 months earlier than the flight’s departure, some applications launch last-minute award seats within the days main as much as departure.

Many individuals aren’t snug leaving the planning till the final minute, even when they discover an ideal seat to Europe, leaving, say, tomorrow.

It is value understanding when your program of alternative masses its seats and whether or not it can probably add further seats on the final minute.

Reserving round 9 months upfront is commonly a good suggestion. By this level, nearly all applications can have loaded their seats, and it’s miles sufficient upfront that award availability ought to nonetheless be plentiful.

It is best to ebook as early as doable for peak journey durations. For instance, if you wish to fly to Australia for Christmas, ebook as early as doable.

Associated: Greatest occasions to ebook business-class award flights: Final-minute vs. superior bookings

Reserving and never rechecking your award flight

Man using a laptop
TOM WERNER/GETTY IMAGES

After you ebook any flight, it is a good suggestion to verify on it periodically. Schedule and tools modifications that fully mess up an itinerary might let you rebook a ticket (at no cost) on a extra fascinating flight. The sooner you’ll be able to establish these modifications, the better it will likely be to seek out an alternate route.

Moreover, you would possibly ebook an financial system award ticket however then see business-class availability a couple of weeks earlier than departure. Relying on the airline, chances are you’ll be eligible to maneuver to a better cabin with out a change price, although you will need to pay the mileage distinction.

Consider your flight reservations — each award tickets and money bookings — as vegetation needing consideration. In any other case, chances are you’ll expertise a major schedule change or cancellation, jeopardizing your journey.

Associated: Keep away from charges: How one can change and cancel airline award tickets

Ignoring stopover and open-jaw potentialities

City skyline
GILLIAN JACKSON/HYATT

Some airways let you ebook a free stopover en path to your vacation spot or fly into and depart from completely different cities. These are nice methods to maximise your award ticket with out spending any (or many) further factors or miles.

For instance, Alaska Airways Mileage Plan means that you can add a stopover on worldwide award flights at no cost, even on one-way tickets. In the meantime, Air Canada Aeroplan permits stopovers for five,000 miles.

Alternatively, you would mix one-way award flights utilizing your factors or miles after which ebook an affordable money ticket (or one other type of transportation) to journey between cities.

Do not prohibit your self to round-trip itineraries. Versatile routing guidelines might help you go to further cities and get extra out of your trip.

Associated: How one can maximize stopovers and open jaws for award journey: Take a look at these airline loyalty applications

Paying pointless charges

Person opening wallet
RATTANAKUN/EYEEM/GETTY IMAGES

Ancillary charges are an enormous enterprise for airways, and sure applications impose these on award tickets. Some airways cost a price for departing from a particular area, whereas others add gas surcharges to journey on sure carriers. You must all the time search for alternate flight choices to keep away from these charges, if doable.

You probably have transferable bank card factors or miles, take into account transferring them to a program that doesn’t impose gas surcharges, like Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles.

There’s one, particularly, you will wish to look out for: the cellphone ticketing price. Brokers usually add this price while you name to redeem your factors or miles, even on awards that may’t be booked on-line. If an internet site would not let you ebook a flight, politely ask the cellphone agent to waive the reserving price. In spite of everything, you did not select to name; you needed to name.

Associated: Dynamic pricing vs. gas surcharges — which is the lesser of two evils in your subsequent redemption?

Redeeming factors and miles for one thing aside from flights

Emirates first class cabin
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

You will often get essentially the most worth out of your rewards when redeeming them for flights fairly than objects like reward playing cards, inflight purchases or on-line buying. With only a few exceptions, it’s best to resist the urge to pursue different redemptions, even if you cannot instantly discover the award seat that works greatest for you. Certainly, redeeming Delta SkyMiles for a flight on peak journey dates might not provide the perfect worth, nevertheless it nearly all the time beats what you will get by utilizing factors or miles for merchandise or reward playing cards.

Total, award ticket redemptions typically present the perfect worth in your factors and miles.

Backside line

Getting began on the earth of factors and miles takes a whole lot of work, and you may inevitably make errors. Nevertheless, educating your self on the ins and outs of reserving award flights is a important first step to avoiding them.

Hopefully, these solutions will assist forestall mishaps and make sure you maximize your rewards when reserving your subsequent journey.

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