How to Use Airline Alliances to Book Award Flights with Your Miles

Frequent flyer miles are a powerful currency, but many travelers limit their potential by only searching for award flights on the airline they earned miles with. The real magic happens when you tap into airline alliances. These partnerships allow you to use your miles to book flights on any member airline, dramatically expanding your options. In this guide, we’ll break down how the three major alliances—Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam—work, how to search for award availability, and strategies to maximize your miles for dream trips.


Understanding Airline Alliances

Airline alliances are global networks of airlines that cooperate to offer seamless travel experiences. For frequent flyers, the key benefit is the ability to earn and redeem miles across all member airlines. The three major alliances—Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam—cover the vast majority of international airlines. Together, they connect over 1,000 destinations in more than 170 countries. According to 2024 data from OAG, these alliances account for about 60% of global airline capacity.

Star Alliance

Founded in 1997, Star Alliance is the largest alliance with 26 member airlines as of 2025, including United, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, ANA, and Air Canada. It serves over 1,300 airports in 195 countries. For award travelers, Star Alliance offers extensive global coverage, particularly strong in Europe, Asia, and North America. The alliance’s “Round the World” fare is a popular way to use miles for multi-stop itineraries.

oneworld

oneworld, launched in 1999, has 13 member airlines including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and Japan Airlines. It covers about 1,000 destinations in 170 countries. oneworld is known for its high-quality carriers and strong presence in premium cabins. The alliance’s award charts can vary significantly by frequent flyer program, so it’s crucial to compare redemption rates.

SkyTeam

SkyTeam, formed in 2000, includes 19 members like Delta, Air France, KLM, Korean Air, and China Eastern. It serves over 1,150 destinations in 175 countries. SkyTeam is strong in Europe, China, and Taiwan, and offers unique partners like Virgin Atlantic and Aerolíneas Argentinas. Redemption rates can be high on some programs, but sweet spots exist.

Alliance Comparison Table

Data as of 2025 from alliance websites and OAG.

How to Redeem Miles Across Alliances

The process of using miles from one airline to book a flight on an alliance partner is straightforward but requires knowing where to search and how to book. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Identify Your Miles Program’s Alliance

First, determine which alliance your frequent flyer program belongs to. For example, if you have United MileagePlus miles, you can book award flights on any Star Alliance member. If you have American Airlines AAdvantage miles, you can book on oneworld airlines. Some programs, like Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, have both oneworld and non-alliance partners, so always check the program’s airline partners list.

Step 2: Find Award Availability

Not all partner award seats are made available to other alliance members. Airlines typically release a limited number of saver-level award seats to partners. To find these, you can use the search tools on your frequent flyer program’s website, but often they don’t show all partners. Better options include:

• ExpertFlyer: A paid service that shows award availability for many airlines, including alliance partners. It’s especially useful for oneworld and some Star Alliance carriers.
• Alliance-specific search tools: Star Alliance has a “Book and Fly” search on its website that shows award availability across all members. oneworld does not have a unified search, but you can use the Qantas or British Airways websites to search for oneworld awards. SkyTeam’s “Award Flights” search is limited but can be supplemented with Air France/KLM’s Flying Blue search.
• Airline websites: Some programs, like United MileagePlus and Air Canada Aeroplan, display extensive partner availability online. For others, you may need to call the frequent flyer program to book.

Step 3: Understand Award Charts and Pricing

When you redeem miles for a partner flight, the price is determined by your frequent flyer program’s award chart, not the operating airline’s chart. This can lead to incredible value if your program has a favorable chart. For instance, using ANA Mileage Club miles (Star Alliance) for a round-trip business class ticket from the US to Europe costs as low as 88,000 miles, whereas the same flight using United miles might cost 140,000+ miles. Always compare redemption rates across programs before transferring flexible points like Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards.

Step 4: Book the Ticket

Once you’ve found availability, you can usually book online if your program’s website supports it. If not, you’ll need to call the frequent flyer program’s reservations line. Have the flight details ready: dates, flight numbers, and class of service. Note that some programs charge a fee for phone bookings, so online booking is preferred when possible.

Maximizing Stopovers and Open-Jaws

One of the greatest advantages of using alliance miles is the ability to add stopovers and open-jaws to your itinerary, often at no extra cost. A stopover allows you to spend a few days in a connecting city, while an open-jaw lets you fly into one city and out of another. Alliance rules vary, but many programs offer generous stopover policies on partner awards.

Star Alliance Stopover Sweet Spots

• ANA Mileage Club: Allows up to 4 stopovers on a round-trip award, but only one can be in each direction. This is exceptional for building complex itineraries.
• Aeroplan: Allows stopovers for 5,000 additional miles each, and you can add up to 2 on a one-way award. This is great for visiting multiple cities on one trip.
• United MileagePlus: Does not allow stopovers on partner awards, only on United-operated awards (Excursionist Perk).

oneworld Stopover Rules

• Alaska Mileage Plan: Allows free stopovers on international one-way awards, which is rare. You can stop in the hub city of the operating airline.
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: Allows up to 2 stopovers on round-trip awards, but the distance-based award chart can make long itineraries expensive.
• American Airlines AAdvantage: Does not allow stopovers on partner awards.

SkyTeam Stopover Opportunities

• Flying Blue (Air France/KLM): Allows stopovers on partner awards for a fee, typically around €50-€100. Not the most generous, but can be useful.
• Korean Air SKYPASS: Allows one stopover on a round-trip award, but only on Korean Air metal, not partners.
• Delta SkyMiles: Does not allow stopovers on any awards.

Example Multi-City Itinerary Using Alliance Miles

Let’s say you have 100,000 ANA miles and want to visit Europe. You could book:

• Outbound: New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA) on Singapore Airlines (stopover for 3 days)
• Continue: Frankfurt (FRA) to Rome (FCO) on Lufthansa (destination)
• Return: Rome (FCO) to New York (JFK) via Istanbul (IST) on Turkish Airlines (stopover for 2 days)

This entire itinerary could cost as low as 88,000 miles in economy or 120,000 in business class, a fraction of what a revenue ticket would cost.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

While alliance awards are powerful, there are several pitfalls to avoid:

• Fuel surcharges: Some airlines pass on high fuel surcharges on partner awards. For example, booking a Lufthansa flight with United miles may incur low fees, but using ANA miles for the same flight could add hundreds of dollars. Always check the fees before booking.
• Married segment logic: Sometimes, availability exists for a connecting flight but not for the individual segments. If you see availability for a connection but not for the first leg alone, you may need to book the entire journey as one award.
• Phantom availability: Some search engines show award seats that aren’t actually bookable. Always confirm by calling the program or checking multiple sources.
• Change and cancellation fees: Partner awards often have stricter change/cancellation policies. For instance, ANA charges $50 to change and $100 to cancel, while United charges no fees on its own awards but may charge for partner awards.

Tools and Resources for Alliance Award Searches

To become an alliance award pro, use these tools:

• AwardHacker: A free tool that shows the cheapest award rates across programs for a given route. It doesn’t show live availability but helps you identify which program to focus on.
• Seats.aero: A real-time award search tool that covers many Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam airlines. It’s particularly good for finding last-minute availability.
• Point.me: A paid service that searches across multiple programs and shows step-by-step booking instructions. It covers all three alliances and is great for beginners.
• Alliance websites: Star Alliance’s “Book and Fly” (staralliance.com/en/book-and-fly) and oneworld’s “Explore” (oneworld.com/explore) are useful for browsing routes, though availability may not be real-time.

According to a 2025 survey by AwardWallet, 68% of frequent flyers use at least one third-party tool to search for alliance awards, and those who do report saving an average of 25% more miles per redemption.

FAQ

Can I mix airlines from different alliances on a single award ticket?

No. Award tickets must be booked entirely within one alliance or one frequent flyer program’s partner network. You cannot combine, for example, Star Alliance and oneworld flights on the same ticket. However, you can book separate tickets and create your own connecting itinerary, but this comes with risks like misconnections and baggage issues.

Why can’t I see partner award availability on my frequent flyer program’s website?

Not all programs display all partner availability online. Some airlines, like Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, require you to call to book certain partners. Others, like Delta, only show a subset of SkyTeam availability. Using tools like ExpertFlyer or the alliance’s own search engine can help you find seats before calling.

Do I earn miles on award flights booked with miles?

Generally, no. Award tickets are not eligible for earning miles or elite credit, regardless of whether the flight is on the program’s own airline or a partner. Some exceptions exist, like when you use cash + miles options, but pure award tickets do not earn.

How far in advance should I book alliance award flights?

For premium cabins and popular routes, booking as early as possible is key. Most airlines release award seats to partners around 330-360 days before departure. Some, like Lufthansa first class, only release space to partners within a few weeks of departure. For economy, availability is usually better closer to departure, but flexibility is essential.

Can I upgrade an alliance award ticket with miles or cash?

Typically, no. Once an award ticket is issued, it cannot be upgraded using miles or certificates. However, some programs allow you to pay extra miles for a higher class at booking. For example, you can book a business class award directly with more miles, but you cannot book economy and then upgrade to business later with miles.

References

1. Star Alliance official website – “Book and Fly” award search: https://www.staralliance.com/en/book-and-fly (accessed 2025)
2. oneworld official website – “Explore” route map: https://www.oneworld.com/explore (accessed 2025)
3. SkyTeam official website – “Award Flights” information: https://www.skyteam.com/en/flights-and-destinations/book-a-flight/award-flights (accessed 2025)
4. AwardWallet survey on frequent flyer habits, 2025: https://awardwallet.com/blog/survey-frequent-flyer-habits-2025/ (accessed 2025)
5. OAG airline capacity data, 2024-2025: https://www.oag.com/airline-capacity-data (accessed 2025)