The 8 Best Airline Award Ticket Sweet Spots

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I try to write about the best deals for earning and redeeming miles. I wanted to share with you some of the most useful sweet spot award redemptions right now. I wanted to give a fresh look at how you can get the most bang for your buck when you redeem points.

Aspirational vs. practical award sweet spots

My goal is to make a list of sweet spot awards that are practical. The points are easy to accrue, the redemption process is easy, and there is a wide use for them.

I'll leave out some niche redemptions that aren't useful for a lot of OMAAT readers. To demonstrate why, I'll give an example.

You can redeem 50,000 Asiana Club miles for a one-way award between the United States and Europe if you want to redeem miles for first class. It's much better than the 87,000 LifeMiles or 90,000-100,000 Aeroplan points you'd pay for similar redemptions. That is said.

• Asiana Club isn’t transfer partners with any of the major transferable points currencies, so the points are hard to rack up
• Asiana Club passes on carrier imposed surcharges, which total nearly $1,000 one-way between the United States and Europe in Lufthansa first class, which basically negates the mileage savings, by most reasonable points valuations
• You need to book by phone through the Asiana Club call center, and it’s not even open 24/7
• Asiana Club requires you to ticket awards at least 72 hours in advance, and often Lufthansa only opens first class awards last minute

It's a good headline, but it's not something most people will use.

My favorite airline mileage sweet spots

Some of my favorite airline mileage sweet spots were shared by me. I'm focused on redemptions that are easy to accrue, where the booking process is fairly easy, and where there is wide appeal.

Here are some of my favorite award redemptions.

ANA first & business class using Virgin Atlantic miles

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is the best place to book All Nippon Airways' new first class and business class product. I think this is the best award redemption value in the world. Redemption rates are as follows.

• Flying between the US West Coast and Japan costs 45,000 Flying Club points in business class or 55,000 Flying Club points in first class
• Flying between the US East Coast and Japan costs 47,500 Flying Club points in business class or 60,000 Flying Club points in first class

This is an amazing redemption value, but it is not easy to find award availability for multiple passengers. There are fuel surcharges on these redemptions. Japan hasn't fully reopened to tourists, which is the other major catch.

How do you book awards? Virgin Atlantic Flying Club can be reached at 800.365.9500 if you want to search award availability through another program.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points can be earned. There are many ways to earn points with Virgin Atlantic.

Qatar Airways business class using American miles

Qsuites is one of the best business class products in the world, and the most economical way to book this is with American AAdvantage miles. You can redeem AAdvantage miles from the United States to the Middle East or India, or from the United States to Africa.

There is no fuel surcharge on these redemptions. This can be useful if you want to travel to India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, South Africa or anywhere else. I have a slight preference for Qatar, but you can also fly the other airlines.

How do you book awards? You can book these awards on aa.com.

How do you earn American AAdvantage miles? American has several co-branded credit cards, and AAdvantage sells miles directly at a reasonable cost.

Cathay Pacific first & business class using Alaska miles

Alaska Mileage Plan miles are the best way to book Cathay Pacific first class and business class. You can expect to pay a certain amount of miles.

• Flying between the US and Asia will cost you 50,000 Mileage Plan miles in business class or 70,000 Mileage Plan miles in first class
• Flying between the US and Australia will cost you 60,000 Mileage Plan miles in business class or 80,000 Mileage Plan miles in first class
• Flying between the US and Africa, India, or the Middle East, will cost you 62,500 Mileage Plan miles in business class or 70,000 Mileage Plan miles in first class

Hong Kong's borders are closed to most, but the Alaska Mileage Plan allows for some one-way stops. There is no fuel surcharge on these awards. It is important to keep in mind that Cathay Pacific doesn't offer first class on many routes right now.

How do you book the awards? You can search for award availability through another program and then call Alaska Mileage Plan to make a booking.

How do you accumulate Alaska Mileage Plan miles? Alaska sells miles at a discount.

Japan Airlines first & business class using Alaska miles

The best way to book Japan Airlines first class and business class is with Alaska Mileage Plan miles. You can expect to pay a certain amount of miles.

• Flying between the US and Japan will cost you 60,000 Mileage Plan miles in business class or 70,000 Mileage Plan miles in first class
• Flying between the US and Southeast Asia will cost you 65,000 Mileage Plan miles in business class or 75,000 Mileage Plan miles in first class

Japan's borders are closed to most, but the Alaska Mileage Plan even allows stops on one-way awards. That is expected to change soon. There is no fuel surcharge on these awards.

How do you book awards from Japan Airlines? You can book these awards on alaskaair.com.

How do you accumulate Alaska Mileage Plan miles? Alaska sells miles at a discount.

Turkish Airlines business class using Turkish miles

Turkish Airlines is my favorite airline brand in the world, and it has an excellent business class soft product. Turkish Airlines flights have some real sweet spots in the Turkish Miles&Smiles program. Turkish Airlines is the only airline in the world that flies to more countries than any other airline, meaning that it can get you anywhere with one stop.

You can expect to pay one-way.

• Flying between the US and Europe will cost you 45,000 Turkish Miles&Smiles miles
• Flying between the US and Middle East will cost you 47,500 Turkish Miles&Smiles miles
• Flying between the US and Central Asia will cost you 52,500 Turkish Miles&Smiles miles
• Flying between the US and North Africa will cost you 60,000 Turkish Miles&Smiles miles
• Flying between the US and Far East will cost you 67,500 Turkish Miles&Smiles miles
• Flying between the US and Central Africa will cost you 72,500 Turkish Miles&Smiles miles

TurkishMiles allows a stop in Istanbul, but only if you travel by plane. Turkish Airlines has fuel surcharges on award tickets, but they are quite mild.

How do you book awards from Turkish Airlines? The awards can be booked on turkishairlines.com.

How do you earn Turkish miles? Turkish is a transfer partner of Capital One and Citi ThankYou.

Aeroplan long haul award with stopover for 5,000 points

I will be less specific with this one than the other awards. I think Air Canada Aeroplan is the most useful frequent flyer program because it allows for stopovers on one-way awards for an additional 5,000 points. Aeroplan has a lot of unique airline partners.

Aeroplan has a hybrid zone and distance based award chart. Just to give a few examples of redemption opportunities, all prices are one-way and include the extra 5,000 points for a stopover.

• For 90,000 Aeroplan points you could fly from Newark to Paris to Muscat on United and Oman Air in business class, with a stopover in Paris
• For 90,000 Aeroplan points you could fly from from Toronto to London to Bangkok on Air Canada and Thai Airways in business class, with a stopover in London
• For 85,000 Aeroplan points you could fly from Paris to Mauritius to Cape Town on Air Mauritius in business class, with a stopover in Mauritius

Aeroplan offers great value if you want a stop somewhere around the middle of your journey.

How do you get Aeroplan awards? The awards can be booked on aircanada.com.

How do you earn Aeroplan points? Air Canada has transfer partners in the United States.

Alaska & American economy awards using British Airways Avios

British Airways distance based award chart is useful for regional awards on Alaska Airlines and American Airlines. You can expect to pay the following for one-way travel.

• Flying a single segment of up to 1,150 miles will cost you 7,500 British Airways Avios
• Flying a single segment of 1,151-2,000 miles will cost you 10,000 British Airways Avios
• Flying a single segment of 2,001-3,000 miles will cost you 12,500 British Airways Avios

If you wanted to fly from Miami to most points in the Caribbean, you'd have to pay just 7,500 Avios, while if you wanted to fly from the US West Coast to Hawaii, you'd have to pay 12,500. This is an unbeatable deal if you can find award availability.

How do you book awards in Alaska? The awards can be booked on ba.com.

How do you get British Airways Executive Club memberships? British Airways has a co-branded British Airways Visa Signature card in the United States.

United domestic awards using Turkish miles

The Turkish Miles&Smiles program is great for domestic flights within the United States, but it is also useful for travel on Turkish Airlines. Turkish Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance, so it is possible to redeem miles for travel on United Airlines.

Turkish charges just 7,500 miles in economy or 12,500 miles in business class for domestic flights within the United States. This pricing is valid in all 50 United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

That is an outrageously good deal. The catch? United doesn't like making saver level award seats available on domestic flights. These awards aren't always bookable online, and calling Turkish's call center can be an adventure.

How do you book awards from United Airlines? You can search for award availability through another program, but you have to call Turkish Airlines to book; they can be reached at 800.874.8875.

How do you earn Turkish miles? Turkish is a transfer partner of Capital One and Citi ThankYou.

Bottom line

The above are some of my favorite airline award redemptions. I didn't just choose redemptions that have the lowest cost on paper, but redemptions that are more valuable based on ease of accruing points, award availability, eligible routes, etc.

What are your favorite redemptions?