The value of an airline mile depends on a few factors, including the airline, the type of flight (economy or business, domestic or international) and the day of the week that you’re flying on.
LendingTree examined how valuable American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines miles are. We found that American Airlines had the most valuable miles, worth $0.018 by our estimates. We also found that international flying is the best way to squeeze value out of your airline miles, offering more than 50% more value over domestic routes with some airlines.
But when it comes to using your miles, United and JetBlue come out on top. Their miles were the best compared to other airlines when it came to factors like daily departures, ease of booking award flights and award availability.
The average airline miles is worth $0.014, with American’s AAdvantage offering the most value at $0.018 on average. In order to calculate this value, we collected dozens of itineraries for popular one-way domestic and international routes in both economy and business class. We then divided the price for each flight by the number of miles it takes to fly the same route. We sampled peak and off-peak dates for each route, and then calculated an average of all itineraries to get a single number for the value of an airline mile.
We discovered that American’s miles are worth 29% more than average and 64% more than Delta’s miles, which are the least valuable of the group.
| Airline | Frequent Flyer Program | Average Value of One Mile | Compared to Average (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | AAdvantage | $0.018 | 29% |
| Southwest Airlines | Southwest Airlines | $0.014 | 0% |
| United Airlines | MileagePlus | $0.013 | -7% |
| JetBlue | TrueBlue | $0.012 | -14% |
| Delta Air Lines | SkyMiles | $0.011 | -21% |
| Average | $0.014 |
We detected large differences in the value of airline miles depending on the details of the flight. The most interesting differences exist when looking at international flights, selecting business class and flying during the weekend.
If you’re trying to maximize the value of your miles, you’re better off booking international travel over domestic with many airlines. Among the itineraries we surveyed, international bookings consistently had a higher mile value than domestic flights.
Southwest and JetBlue — which have very limited international routes — were an exception to this trend, and Delta’s domestic flights have slightly more value than their international ones. But the difference was especially significant with United Airlines and American Airlines. Combined, these programs offer more than 50% more value for international award flights. Since United has such low domestic miles value, you may be better off booking your U.S. award flights on another airline. Southwest, with the highest domestic mile value, might be a good candidate.
| Domestic | International | |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | $0.014 | $0.022 |
| Delta | $0.012 | $0.010 |
| JetBlue | $0.012 | $0.012 |
| Southwest | $0.014 | $0.014 |
| United Airlines | $0.010 | $0.016 |
| Average | $0.012 | $0.015 |
You should be aware that your miles usually don’t cover taxes and fees, and that these taxes can be especially high for international flights. While the specific taxes you’ll have to pay will depend on what country you’re visiting, the highest taxes include air passenger duty, passenger service, airport security charges and passenger facilities charges. You’ll need to determine whether the additional mile value outweighs the taxes for international flights.
On average, the value of an airline mile is nearly the same whether booking economy or business class. However, this doesn’t hold true for every airline rewards program.
When redeeming for a business-class flight with United, for example, the value of a mile is 30% more than an economy class fare. Southwest, JetBlue and Delta, on the other hand, offer more value for economy flights.
| Economy | Business class | |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | $0.017 | $0.018 |
| Delta | $0.012 | $0.011 |
| JetBlue | $0.012 | $0.011 |
| Southwest | $0.014 | $0.013 |
| United Airlines | $0.011 | $0.014 |
| Average | $0.013 | $0.013 |
While the value of your miles can vary throughout the year, airline miles are generally worth more during off-peak season than they are during busy season. For every airline we examined, off-peak miles were more valuable than peak miles. The most valuable off-peak and peak miles are American’s.
Note that the difference was small across all the airlines in our survey, so you’re likely to get a solid value for your miles regardless of whether you book an award flight during peak or off-peak season.
| Peak | Off-peak | |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | $0.015 | $0.020 |
| Delta | $0.010 | $0.013 |
| JetBlue | $0.010 | $0.013 |
| Southwest | $0.013 | $0.014 |
| United Airlines | $0.012 | $0.013 |
| Average | $0.012 | $0.013 |
Mile value isn’t the only thing to take into consideration when determining the best rewards program for you. How easy your miles are to use and how complicated the rewards program is also play important factors.
United offers overall the most usable miles. That’s because it has an easy redemptions and booking experience, as well as a number of airline partners — making it easy to fly to destinations near and far.
Delta Air Lines, on the other hand, had the lowest usability score. In particular, we found its award website more difficult to navigate and the terms and conditions of its program to be particularly dense.
| Usability overall score = 3.7 (Good) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 4 out of 5 |
| Flight network | 4.5 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 4 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 4 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 1.5 out of 5 |
| Usability overall score = 3.4 (Good) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 5 out of 5 |
| Flight network | 4.5 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 4 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 3.4 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 0 out of 5 |
| Usability overall score = 4.1 out of 5 (Excellent) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 5 out of 5 |
| Flight network | 2.5 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 5 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 4 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 4.5 out of 5 |
| Usability overall score = 4.0 out of 5 (Excellent) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 5 out 5 |
| Flight network | 2.25 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 4 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 5 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 4.75 out of 5 |
| Usability overall score = 4.2 out of 5 (Excellent) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 5 out of 5 |
| Flight network | 4.5 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 4 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 5 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 2.25 out of 5 |
If you don’t travel frequently, it can be difficult to earn a large amount of airline miles. In addition, each airline program has unique policies around points expiration, so a very infrequent traveler may find themselves earning and losing points. If this pertains to you, you may want to consider adding an airline miles credit card. These cards will earn you airline miles on each purchase on your preferred airline to use toward a future flight.
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