This is roughly the same question as “Which credit card should I get?” but the answer can help direct you to collecting the most useful miles for an upcoming trip. To that end, below I have a list of various regions throughout the world and the best miles to use to travel to them in economy, business, or first class. I only select from the mileage programs that I cover on this website, so if you’re a little more advanced and would like to consider awards with other programs, you can always search with AwardHacker. Neither tool is perfectly accurate though, and they do miss a few things, such as Singapore’s cheap flights from the mainland U.S. to Hawaii.
Also, keep in mind that having the “best” miles is no use if there is no availability on the dates you want, so in the long run, it’s best to have miles in many different programs.
A few more notes before we get started:
- All of the mileage prices below assume your travel originates in the United States.
- Not every airline agrees what region a particular country belongs in. For example, United considers the Canary Islands part of Northern Africa, but American considers them part of Europe, making them much cheaper to fly to using AAdvantage miles. I have a list of countries where you can use this kind of knowledge to your advantage at How To Save Miles By Knowing Your Geography.
- American Airlines routes involving British Airways are not a good value due to fuel surcharges. You’ll want to avoid awards that include them as part of your itinerary. This mostly comes into play on flights to Europe that connect in London.
- British Airways Avios is not listed in the table below (except in one place) because their rewards program is distance based, and the prices of their flights can vary depending on where you are flying to/from. Be sure to check any prices you find below with their Award Chart if you are flying economy class within North or South America.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards is not listed in the table below because their rewards program is revenue based, and the prices of their flights can vary due to a variety of factors. Be sure to check the price with Southwest if you are flying economy class anywhere on their route network.
Any mileage programs marked with a * show pricing that is only available if your award does not include any alliance partners (i.e. you only fly American Airlines flights if using American AAdvantage or United Airlines flights if using United MileagePlus).
Economy Class
Destination | Mileage Program | Cost (One Way) |
Africa | American AAdvantage United MileagePlus |
40,000 |
Asia (North) | American AAdvantage* (off-peak) | 32,500 |
American AAdvantage United MileagePlus |
35,000 | |
Asia (South) | American AAdvantage* (off-peak) | 32,500 |
American AAdvantage* United MileagePlus |
35,000 40,000 |
|
Australia & New Zealand | American AAdvantage United MileagePlus |
40,000 |
Canada & Alaska | American AAdvantage Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
United MileagePlus* |
12,500 |
Caribbean & Central America | American AAdvantage* (off-peak) | 12,500 |
American AAdvantage* | 15,000 | |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer United MileagePlus |
17,500 | |
Europe | American AAdvantage* (off-peak) | 22,500 |
American AAdvantage United MileagePlus |
30,000 | |
Hawaii (from the West Coast) | British Airways Avios | 12,500 |
Hawaii (from anywhere in the U.S.) | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 17,500 |
Middle East & India | American AAdvantage United MileagePlus |
40,000 42,500 |
Oceania (South Pacific) | United MileagePlus American AAdvantage |
35,000 40,000 |
South America (Northern) | American AAdvantage* (off-peak) | 17,500 |
American AAdvantage United MileagePlus |
20,000 | |
South America (Southern) | American AAdvantage Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
United MileagePlus |
30,000 |
Business Class
Destination | Mileage Program | Cost (One Way) |
Africa | United MileagePlus* American AAdvantage |
70,000 75,000 |
Asia (North) | American AAdvantage United MileagePlus* |
60,000 70,000 |
Asia (South) | American AAdvantage United MileagePlus* |
70,000 |
Australia & New Zealand | United MileagePlus* American AAdvantage |
70,000 80,000 |
Canada & Alaska | Singapore Airlines American Airlines |
20,000 25,000 |
Caribbean & Central America | American AAdvantage* | 25,000 |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer United MileagePlus |
30,000 | |
Europe | American AAdvantage United MileagePlus* |
57,500 |
Hawaii | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 30,000 |
Middle East & India | American AAdvantage United MileagePlus* |
70,000 |
Oceania (South Pacific) | United MileagePlus* American AAdvantage |
65,000 80,000 |
South America (Northern) | American AAdvantage United MileagePlus |
30,000 35,000 |
South America (Southern) | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 50,000 |
First Class
Destination | Mileage Program | Cost (One Way) |
Africa | United MileagePlus* American AAdvantage |
85,000 120,000 |
Asia (North) | American AAdvantage United MileagePlus* |
80,000 |
Asia (South) | United MileagePlus* American AAdvantage |
80,000 110,000 |
Australia & New Zealand | United MileagePlus* American AAdvantage |
80,000 110,000 |
Canada & Alaska | Singapore Airlines American Airlines |
30,000 32,500 |
Caribbean & Central America | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer United MileagePlus |
40,000 |
Europe | United MileagePlus* American AAdvantage |
80,000 85,000 |
Hawaii | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 40,000 |
Middle East & India | United MileagePlus* American AAdvantage |
90,000 115,000 |
Oceania (South Pacific) | United MileagePlus* American AAdvantage |
80,000 110,000 |
South America (Northern) | United MileagePlus | 45,000 |
South America (Southern) | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer United MileagePlus |
70,000 |
Suites Class
If you want to fly in a Singapore Suite, the miles you’ll need are Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. You can fly suites class to a variety of destinations throughout the world, but, unsurprisingly, many of these flights involve Singapore in some way. For more information, see Searching With Singapore Airlines (Suites Class).