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 $0.017 by our estimates. We also found that international flying is sometimes — but not always — the best way to squeeze value out of your airline miles, offering more value over domestic routes with some airlines.
But when it comes to using your miles, Southwest, United and American Airlines come out on top. These airlines’ 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 $0.013, with American’s AAdvantage offering the most value at $0.017 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 31% more than average and 70% more than JetBlue’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 | $0.017 | 31% |
| Southwest Airlines | Southwest Airlines | $0.013 | 0% |
| United Airlines | MileagePlus | $0.013 | 0% |
| Delta Air Lines | SkyMiles | $0.011 | -15% |
| JetBlue | TrueBlue | $0.010 | -23% |
| Average | $0.013 |
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 may be better off booking international travel over domestic with some airlines. Among the itineraries we surveyed, international bookings sometimes had a higher mile value than domestic flights.
Southwest and JetBlue — which both have very limited international routes — were an exception to this trend, offering a lower value on international flights. United‘s international routes offer better value, but American and Delta have the same value no matter where you travel.
| Domestic | International | |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | $0.017 | $0.017 |
| Delta | $0.011 | $0.011 |
| JetBlue | $0.011 | $0.009 |
| Southwest | $0.014 | $0.012 |
| United Airlines | $0.011 | $0.015 |
| Average | $0.013 | $0.013 |
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.
American offers slightly more value for a Business class fare. On the other hand, Delta, Southwest and United came in with the same value for both fare types.
| Economy | Business class | |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | $0.016 | $0.017 |
| Delta | $0.011 | $0.011 |
| JetBlue | $0.010 | N/A (doesn't currently offer a Business class seating) |
| Southwest | $0.013 | $0.013 |
| United Airlines | $0.013 | $0.013 |
| Average | $0.013 | $0.014 |
While the value of your miles can vary throughout the year, airline miles are generally worth more during off-peak seasons than they are during busy seasons. However, in this year’s analysis, only American’s miles were more valuable during off-peak travel times, which is good news for those who can only travel during peak times. American also had the most valuable off-peak and peak miles.
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 | $0.016 | $0.018 |
| Delta | $0.012 | $0.010 |
| JetBlue | $0.011 | $0.010 |
| Southwest | $0.013 | $0.013 |
| United Airlines | $0.014 | $0.012 |
| Average | $0.013 | $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 to navigate also play important factors.
Southwest offers overall the most usable miles. That’s because it has an easy redemptions and booking experience, as well as good award availability.
JetBlue, on the other hand, had the lowest usability score. In particular, we found that its flight network isn’t as robust, it has no transfer partners and the terms and conditions of its program to be particularly dense.
| Usability overall score = 3.91 out of 5 (Good) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 5 out of 5 |
| Flight network | 4.75 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 4.53 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 4 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 1.5 out of 5 |
| Usability overall score = 3.8 out of 5 (Good) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 5 out of 5 |
| Flight network | 4.25 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 4.53 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 4.2 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 1.25 out of 5 |
| Usability overall score = 3.38 out of 5 (Good) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 5 out of 5 |
| Flight network | 2.5 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 4.58 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 5 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 0 out of 5 |
| Usability overall score = 4.03 out of 5 (Excellent) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 5 out 5 |
| Flight network | 2 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 4.58 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 5 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 3.75 out of 5 |
| Usability overall score = 3.91 out of 5 (Good) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 5 out of 5 |
| Flight network | 4.5 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 4.37 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 5 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 1 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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