How to Fly Anywhere on Points: The Sweet Spots and the Cards

By Bryce Casson, Founder · Cardocrat · Updated June 2026

The short answer: Cash airfares can cost five to ten times what an award ticket does, if you book through the right airline program. A handful of programs, Turkish, Alaska now Atmos, American, Flying Blue, and Virgin Atlantic, hold the best award rates, and transferable bank points reach them, with Bilt reaching almost all. Use a search tool like seats.aero to find open seats, then transfer and book.

Why award flights beat cash

A long-haul or peak-season flight that costs $1,000 to $8,000 in cash can often be booked for 30,000 to 90,000 miles, a small fraction of that. The catch is that the cheapest way to book a given flight is rarely the airline you are flying, it is a partner program with a better award rate. Learning a few of those programs is what turns points into near-free flights. See how award travel works.

The programs with the best award rates

Five programs do most of the heavy lifting. Turkish Miles and Smiles has a low, fixed Star Alliance chart, including United flights and Hawaii from 10,000 miles. Alaska, now Atmos Rewards, prices partner business class cheaply, like Japan Airlines to Asia. American AAdvantage books partner business and economy at strong rates, such as Europe round-trip from 45,000 miles. Flying Blue runs frequent promo awards to Europe, and Virgin Atlantic unlocks ANA business and first class to Japan. See airline sweet spots.

The cards and points that reach them

Match the wallet to the program. Transferable points are the key, and Bilt is the standout, reaching Turkish, Atmos, American, Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic, and Avios, more flight reach than any other currency. Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic are also reachable from Amex, Chase, Citi, and Capital One; Turkish from Citi and Capital One; and American almost only through Bilt. A Chase Sapphire Preferred, an Amex, or the Bilt card builds the balance.

Find the seat, then pick a destination

The hard part of award flights is not the miles, it is finding an open seat. seats.aero scans award availability across more than 20 programs at once, so you can see which program books your route for the fewest miles before you transfer anything. Then dive into the destination guides: Hawaii, Japan, Europe, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest way to fly with points?

Book through the airline program with the best award rate for your route, which is usually a partner program, not the airline you fly. Turkish, Alaska/Atmos, American, Flying Blue, and Virgin Atlantic hold many of the best rates. Find the open seat on seats.aero, then transfer points to that program and book.

Which credit card points are best for flights?

Flexible transferable points, because they move to whichever airline program prices your flight cheapest. Bilt reaches the most flight partners, including Turkish, Alaska/Atmos, American, Flying Blue, and Virgin Atlantic; Amex, Chase, Citi, and Capital One reach Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic among others.