Podcast #94: Amazing Airline Award Chart Loopholes

When redeeming for flights, the key to really maximising the value of your frequent flyer points is to understand how airline award charts work. These charts determine the number of points you’ll need for a flight redemption, and you can get outsized value by exploiting any loopholes or sweet spots in the award charts.

With most airlines, award chart pricing is based on either the distance flown or geographic regions. With distance-based zones, the key to getting the most value for your points is clearly to book shorter flights that are normally very expensive. But with region-based award charts, finding the best value often involves discovering geographical quirks in the chart. For example, Singapore Airlines charges the same number of KrisFlyer miles to fly from Wellington to Christchurch on Air New Zealand as it does to fly from Perth to Tahiti.

In episode 94 of the AFF on Air podcast, Matt shares some of the all-time best award chart sweet spots and loopholes that he’s encountered in his years of covering frequent flyer programs. For example, there was a time when you could fly from Australia to Japan, then onwards to Guam and back to Australia, in Business Class, for just 30,000 miles plus taxes round-trip – and you could buy those miles for a few hundred dollars. There was also a time when you could book Thai Airways First Class from Europe to Bangkok and back for the cost of a one-way intra-Europe flight!

Many of the best deals have since been shut down, but the same principles still apply today. 😉

Also in this episode, several Asian countries including Japan are reopening to tourists. Plus, hear a full recap of the latest Australian airline, travel and loyalty program news from the past fortnight.

Listen now to AFF on AIR Episode 94: “Amazing Airline Award Chart Loopholes”

You can also view the episode notes.

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Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.