Beginner’s Guide: How to Book Award Flights with Points and Miles (Step-by-Step)
You just earned your first big credit card welcome bonus (yay!). Now you're ready to book your first award flight using points or miles… but you're not quite sure where to start. I’ve shared tons of award flight tutorials on Instagram, but it was time to give them a permanent home here.
This guide is designed for beginners and those new to points travel. You won’t find complicated sweet spots or advanced routing here. Just a simple, step-by-step method to help you search, transfer, and book your first award flight with confidence.
When I First Started…
I used to only book flights with American Airlines miles. I had a bunch of them, and the process felt easy. But transferring points to airline partners? That felt intimidating. Over time, I learned more about airline alliances and started practicing searches on different airline websites until it finally clicked.
Now there are awesome award search tools that make this process way easier, but honestly, just practicing is what helped me the most.
Understanding the Different Types of Points and Miles (Beginner’s Guide)
Not all points and miles are created equal and knowing the difference is the key to booking award travel the right way. One of the most common questions I get is: “I have Chase points and I found a flight on American Airlines, how do I book it?”
Airline Miles:
Airline miles are tied directly to one airline’s frequent flyer program. You earn them by flying with that airline or by using an airline-specific credit card, like the Citi® AAdvantage Platinum card for American Airlines. These miles live in your airline account (for example, your American AAdvantage account or Delta SkyMiles account) and can usually only be redeemed through that airline’s website. You cannot transfer airline miles to another airline’s loyalty program.
Transferable Credit Card Points
Transferable points are the most flexible and valuable type of rewards. Credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Capital One Venture X Rewards®, or American Express® Gold earn points that can be transferred to multiple airline and hotel partners. That flexibility means you’re not locked into one airline; instead, you can move your points to the airline that offers the best award flight for your trip.
For beginners: If you’re just starting out, focusing on earning transferable points (instead of just airline miles) will give you way more options and make booking flights with points much easier.
Not sure who you can transfer your points to? Check out my Complete Guide to Travel Transfer Partners.
my Award search Process At a Glance
Here’s a quick overview of how I search for award flights:
Choose a destination
Search on Google Flights to check cash prices (sometimes it doesn’t make sense to pay $400 in fees on a $600 flight), routes, and airlines
Search on FlightConnections helpful when you’re flying out of a small airport or to a place with not many direct flights
Check your travel transfer partners and match them with your findings
Know a little about airline alliances - flying one airline with miles from another airlines
Search award availability, transfer points, and book the flight
Now, some people may just start their search on an award search tool like point.me or seats.aero and that’s fine but those tools have limitations and don’t include all airlines, so I really encourage you to work through these steps so you have a lot of options when searching for award flights.
Let’s walk through each of these steps using a real example.
Step 1: Choose a Destination
If you're just getting started with points, I recommend choosing a destination before applying for your first credit card. If you want to go to Europe, you probably won’t want to start with a Southwest card since they don’t fly there. This becomes less important the more points you earn.
Our Example: Washington, DC → Europe (Christmas Markets Trip)
We’ll use this example to walk through the process. Let’s say we have the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and we just earned the welcome bonus so we’ll be searching on Capital One transfer partners. We want to visit the European Christmas Markets and hope to fly into Paris, but we’re also open to flying into Amsterdam, Zurich, or Frankfurt since trains in Europe make it easy to get around.
I always search for flights one-way at a time. One-way flights give you more flexibility. You can fly into one city and out of another without having to backtrack and there is no price difference for booking roundtrip.
Capital One Venture Miles Transfer Partners
If you have a card that earns transferable points, you can transfer points those to airlines or hotel partners. Examples include:
Capital One Venture Miles
Chase Ultimate Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards
Citi ThankYou Points
There are a two main ways to redeem transferable points:
Book through the bank’s travel portal (usually 1 cent per point = poor value)
Transfer to travel partners and book directly with the airline (best value)
Since we’re using Capital One Venture miles in this example, here’s a quick list of airline partners you can transfer your miles to. These are the airlines you’ll want to search when looking for flights. If you have a Chase Sapphire card, you’ll want to search Chase travel transfer partners (link to travel transfer guide above)
Capital One miles transfer at a 1:1 ratio to most of these partners and transfers are usually instant or near-instant.
Capital One Airline Transfer Partners:
Air Canada Aeroplan (Star Alliance – great for booking United, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Singapore Air, etc.)
Avianca LifeMiles (Star Alliance – also good for United, Swiss, Lufthansa or TAP Portugal. You’ll search on lifemiles.com)
Air France/KLM Flying Blue (SkyTeam – book Air France, KLM, Delta)
British Airways Avios (Oneworld Alliance – book American Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines, etc). You can also combine your British Air Avios with other Avios earning airline programs like Aer Lingus and Qatar
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (Oneworld)
Emirates Skywards (not in an alliance)
Etihad Guest (not in an alliance)
Finnair Plus (Oneworld Alliance)
Qantas Frequent Flyer (Oneworld Alliance)
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (Star Alliance)
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go (Star Alliance)
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles (Star Alliance – great for U.S. domestic United flights but can be tricky to book)
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (not in an alliance- good for Delta flights and ANA. Awards start as low as 12k points to Europe)
Step 2: Use Google Flights
Now some people may skip this step, but I find it’s useful when trying to find out what airlines fly where and match those to my transfer partners. Use Google Flights to check cash prices and routing options.
Tip to find lowest price: don’t select a specific date. Instead, click the calendar view and look for the green-colored dates (these are the lowest fares). You’re looking for:
Low cash prices: will be highlighted in green
Airlines flying the route: are those airlines travel transfer partners
Airline alliances (we’ll get to this shortly)
For our example flight from DC to Europe for Christmas Markets, we’ll search Google Flights to see what routes and airlines show up. We’ll compare these finding to our Capital One transfer partners. If you are flexible and willing to reposition for a business class flight, you can search mulitple departure/arrival cities.
United is not a Capital One transfer partner, but we can search on Air Canada and Avianca. Air France is a Capital One transfer partner.
Step 3: Using FlightConnections to Find Award Flights
One tool I recommend searching for award flights is FlightConnections and the free version is all you need.
Here’s why it’s so helpful: when you’re using points to book a flight, sometimes it feels overwhelming to figure out which airlines actually fly where. That’s where FlightConnections comes in. You just type in the airport you want to fly from (or fly to), and it shows you a map of all the nonstop routes available.
For example, let’s say you’re trying to get to Paris. You might not see any good award flights from your home airport. In this case you can use FlightConnections to see which U.S. airports do have direct flights to Paris. Maybe it’s New York (JFK), Washington D.C. (IAD), or Atlanta (ATL). Now you know where to search for award space and if needed, you can book a simple, cheap flight to one of those bigger airports to connect.
Bottom line: FlightConnections is like a cheat sheet that shows you the exact routes airlines fly, so you’re not wasting time searching for award flights that don’t even exist.
Our Flightconnections example search shows us the same airlines as our Google Flights search: United and Air France for direct flights.
Step 4: Understand Airline Alliances
There are three major alliances:
-
Aegean
Air Canada
Air China
Air India
Air New Zealand
ANA
Asiana Airlines
Austrian
Avianca
Brussels
Copa Airlines
Croatia Airlines
Egyptair
Ethiopian Airlines
EVA Air
LOT Polish Airlines
Lufthansa
Singapore Airlines
South African Airlines
Swiss
TAP Air Portugal
THAI
Turkish Airlines
United
-
Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
FIJI Airlines
Finnair
Iberia
Japan Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Qantas
Qatar
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Jordaniann
Srilankan Airlines
-
Aeromexico
AirEuropa
Air France
China Airlines
Delta
KLM
Korean Air
SAS
Saudia
Vietnam Airlines
Virgin Atlantic
Ziamen Air
Understanding airline alliances is key to getting the most out of your points. When you have transferable points (like Capital One, Chase, or Amex), you don’t always need to book directly with the airline you want to fly. You can often book that same flight through one of its alliance partners.
Let’s say you found a great flight on United, but Capital One miles don’t transfer to United. Don’t worry, United is in Star Alliance, so you can use Capital One miles to transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles to book that same flight.
Just keep in mind: airlines have to release award space for partner bookings, so not every flight or dates will be available to book with partners.
Step 5: Search for flights
Now that you know who your travel transfer partners are, it’s time to start searching for flights. You can start with an award search tool listed below, or start searching on individual airlines websites that you can transfer your points to. The more flexible you are here, the better your results will be.
Some of my favorite beginner-friendly award search tools:
You can take the results from your search; this one is on seatsaero and compare to your credit card transfer partners. I can now go to Virgin or Airfrance and run this exact search to confirm availability.
I recommend when you are starting out that you play around with the free version of each award search tool. Run a couple of searches on each one and see which one you like the best. Then, when you’re ready to book, pay for a ONE MONTH membership to the one you like the most. They are usually under $10 a month. That’s a small price to pay to find that flight that works in my opinion and much, much cheaper than paying for an award booking service. Almost every business class seat I have booked has come from an alert I set on seats.aero. Also, don’t forget to set a reminder so you can cancel after a month. You can do this!
These are examples of a search on pointsyeah. Make sure that you are paying attention to total travel time and connections when you search. Sometimes that lowest priced award doesn’t make the most sense.
Results from our search on pointme
Step 6: Confirm and Book
Once you find the flight you want:
Confirm award space on the airline’s website.
Transfer your points from your transferable program to the airline.
Log in to the airline site and book the flight.
HOW TO SEARCH AND BOOK FLIGHTS WITH CAPITAL ONE VENTURE MILES
Using the steps and information from our previous searches, now it’s time to search directly on each airline partner and confirm award availability. Never transfer points from your credit card account until you do this step. For the sake of time, I’ll show you just one example and hopefully that will give you the confidence to start running your own searches.
HOW TO SEARCH AND BOOK A FLIGHT ON AIR FRANCE:
Flying Blue is the loyalty program for Air France and KLM. You must create a free loyalty account in order to search.
Steps to search:
Log in to your Air France account
Select “Book with Miles”
I prefer and recommend searching one way at a time
Enter your Departure and Arrival cities
Leave the Departure Date blank
Select the class of travel: economy, business, etc.
Click Search Flights
How to Transfer Capital One Miles to Air France/KLM Flying Blue
After comparing options across airline partners, let’s say the best deal is a nonstop Air France flight for 18,750 miles + $102 in taxes and fees. To book it, you’ll need to transfer your Capital One Miles to your Air France/KLM Flying Blue account. Here’s how:
Step 1: Log Into Your Capital One Account
Go to the Capital One Travel portal or log into your Capital One credit card account.
Select Travel→ Transfer Rewards → Select Flying Blue → Transfer Miles.
Step 2: Choose Air France/KLM Flying Blue as Your Transfer Partner
Capital One partners with over 15 airlines and hotels, but for this redemption you’ll select Air France/KLM Flying Blue.
The transfer ratio is 1:1, so 18,750 Capital One Miles = 18,750 Flying Blue Miles.
Step 3: Enter Your Flying Blue Account Details
If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to create a Flying Blue account (it’s free).
Make sure your name and account info match your Capital One profile to avoid errors.
Step 4: Decide How Many Miles to Transfer
Since you only need 18,750 miles, transfer exactly that amount.
Transfers from Capital One to Air France/KLM are usually instant, but sometimes can take a few hours.
Step 5: Confirm the Transfer
Double-check the flight availability on the Air France website before finalizing.
Once the miles are in your Flying Blue account, head to AirFrance.com or the KLM website and book your award flight.
Pro Tip: Always confirm award space on Air France before transferring, because transfers are final and nonrefundable.
For STEP-BY-STEP instructions on how to transfer chase points read my guide on How to Transfer Chase Points to Travel Partners
Extra Tips for Booking Award Flights (and Finding the Best Award Availability)
Booking flights with points and miles can feel overwhelming, but a few simple strategies will help you maximize your rewards and snag the flights you want. Here are some expert award travel tips to keep in mind:
1. Create Airline Loyalty Accounts in Advance
Most airlines require you to be logged in to search for award space. Set up your frequent flyer and airline loyalty accounts early so you’re ready to transfer points and book when you spot a good deal.
2. Search One-Way Award Flights
When booking award travel, searching one-way flights is often easier and more flexible than round-trip. Pricing is usually the same, but you’ll have more options if availability opens up in one direction at a time.
Mix and Match Airlines or Cabins
Don’t feel locked into one carrier or cabin class. You can fly one airline outbound and a different airline on the return or book business class one way and economy the other. Mixing and matching is one of the best ways to stretch your points, especially for families.
Search Early and Often
Award flight calendars typically open about 11–12 months in advance. Airlines also release last-minute seats closer to departure. The more often you check, the better your chances of finding saver-level award availability.
Break Up Group Searches
If you’re booking award travel for a family and are having trouble finding flights for 4+ people, start by searching for fewer seats, try 3, then 2, then 1. Airlines sometimes release award seats in smaller batches, and this trick can help you piece together the space you need.
Award prices are dynamic
Each airline has their individual award program and set the price for redemptions. There are various levels of awards: Saver, Classic, etc. It’s possible that you see an economy flight on AA for 19k points to Europe and when you look later, the prices is 32k points.
Stay Flexible With Dates and Airports
If your exact dates or departure city don’t show award availability, adjust your search to other airports. I’m willing to book a flight to Dulles for the right business class flight.
7. Consider Positioning Flights
For premium cabin award tickets (like international business class), it may be worth positioning to a major hub like New York (JFK) or Washington, D.C. to access better award space. Just keep in mind that positioning flights can add extra cost and travel time, so it usually isn’t worth it for economy redemptions.
Pro Tip: Always double-check award space before transferring credit card points. Most transfers are final, and you don’t want miles stranded in an airline account.
ARE AWARD ALERT SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES WORTH IT?
I think so! I found both of my Emirates business class seats and our business class flight to Hawaii from an alert that I received from one of these. They often have discounts a few times a year on their annual membership fees and that’s when you’ll want to buy it. Especially if you are looking for business class seats. The two that I subscribe to are:
Thrifty Traveler Premium+ - What I love: That you can customize your alerts, alerts include both cash and point flights, the alert includes instructions on how to book, exact dates that flights are available, etc.
Straight to the Points Premium - What I love: The alerts tell you routes to search, dates, transfer partners, how many seats available per flight, flight experience info and best ways to book.
Frequently Asked Questions About Booking Award Flights
When is the best time to book award flights with points?
Most airlines open award calendars 11–12 months in advance, and that’s often the best time to book. However, airlines also release unsold seats as award tickets in the weeks leading up to departure. Searching both early and last-minute gives you the best chance of finding availability.
Is it cheaper to book one-way award flights instead of round-trip?
Usually there is no difference in award price if you book one-way or roundtrip. The benefit is more flexibility, since you can mix airlines, cabins, or even airports to maximize your miles. If I need to make any changes, it’s much easier to change just one leg of a flight versus the entire flight. I will always price out a flight both ways for comparison.
Can I combine points from different airlines to book one ticket?
No, you can’t combine airline miles from different loyalty programs on a single ticket. However, you can transfer points from flexible programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, or Citi ThankYou to the airline partner you want to book with. Some airline loyalty programs allow family pooling, and you can combine your Chase points with anyone that resides in the same household with you.
If I see the award flight I want on United doesn’t that mean I should see it on a Star Alliance partner like Air Canada or Avianca? Not always. United has to release award space to Star Alliance partners in order for them to be available.
What are positioning flights in award travel?
A positioning flight is a separate ticket you book to reach a city where award availability is better. For example, flying to New York or Washington, D.C. first might unlock business class award space to Europe. This works best for premium cabins but usually isn’t worth it for economy flights due to the extra cost and travel time or for families of 3+ people unless you’re using points.
Final Thoughts
Booking your first award flight with miles might feel overwhelming, but once you get the hang of searching and transferring points, it becomes second nature. Don’t be afraid to experiment, search often, and keep learning as you go.
And remember, every points traveler started as a beginner, just like you. Practice is key!
Happy Travels!
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