Best way to book domestic travel on points (2026)
If you didn't yet read through my last post, I'd recommend starting there. The information there provides a basic background of how partner awards work. This post builds on that knowledge and applies it towards redemptions. From your feedback, a lot of you indicated that you don't really use international Business Class redemptions that often, but instead want more information on booking domestic flights.
I've written about some of these sweet spots before, but a lot of them have unfortunately disappeared. So I felt it's time for an updated post that highlights what still works as of Q3 2026.
United Airlines (Star Alliance)
Keep in mind United reserves a lot of space for their own members. They use dynamic pricing which means some days you're just stuck paying 40k miles for a domestic 2-hour flight. But if you're flexible enough, you should have no issues getting 15k awards. Below are a few partners that open up a few options, especially if you don't already have United or Chase points.
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air Canada is a Star Alliance member airline and can directly book United flights using Aeroplan miles. If you don't have Chase points or United miles, all hope is not lost! Aeroplan is one of the favorite programs of all time in the points and miles community. Amex, CapOne, Bilt, and Rove all transfer to Aeroplan.
Air Canada's award chart is both region-based and distance-based. Note that distances here are cumulative, which means BOS-SFO-EWR does not price at 300 miles. However, you are allowed to cross regions, meaning a ticket from US to Europe to Asia would fall under "N America to Asia", which is priced lower than to Europe. But within North America, awards cost different amounts depending on how long the flight is. Most domestic tickets are under 20k and super short distances can go to 10k or even 6k.
A BOS-EWR ticket on United costs 15k miles, but only 10k miles on Aeroplan.
Similar pricing is available for BOS-IAD or any flight under 500 miles. Medium-range flights like BOS-ORD or EWR-IAH costs 15k on both airlines. Longer-range flights like EWR-SFO or BOS-DEN costs 15k on United but increases to 17.5k on Aeroplan.
Note that Aeroplan charges slightly more in taxes and fees due to a partner award surcharge (Aeroplan awards cost about $29 more). Also note that Aeroplan charges a fee to change or refund your ticket while United does not.
Turkish Miles&Smiles
Yes, I know, I complain about Turkish Airlines a lot. Their customer service is abysmal and their technology is absolute garbage. But one small silver lining still exists. Turkish charges a flat 15k for any domestic flight across the lower 48 states. While they used to charge only 7.5k for all flights including Alaska and Hawaii, too many people started exploiting that loophole and they changed it pretty quickly. Man, I miss those days!
The reason I include it here is because Aeroplan increased most awards to 17.5k miles during busy season for flights over 1,500 miles. That means BOS-SFO would cost 17.5k miles on Aeroplan but still only 15k miles on Turkish. Turkish also doesn't charge a partner award fee, so the $5.60 security fee is the only other thing you need to worry about (which saves about $29 compared to Aeroplan).
But buyer beware - I've said it before and I'll say it again. If anything goes wrong, prepare for a long and frustrating battle with the horror that is Turkish customer service. If you aren't experienced at dealing with complicated partner bookings (like what I had to do in Japan), I would advise against it for now.
American Airlines (Star Alliance)
I often book tickets on AA metal directly through AA as rates are pretty attractive. I can find transcontinental tickets for 12k or even 9k miles (United and Delta, take notes!). AA points are by far the most valuable among the big three, hence my loyalty to them. But there are some alternatives available, including some holdout sweet spots, or if you don't just have Citi points lying around.
Alaska / Hawaiian Atmos
Atmos prices domestic tickets based on their cumulative distance. Here is their award chart:
There's one particular standout here - flights under 700 miles cost just 4,500 Atmos points. And remember that more award flights often close to departure, so you can book LAS-PHX or DCA-BOS at least 6 days out from departure for a flat 4.5k miles in Economy and 9k miles in First. Note that Atmos charges a nonrefundable $20 fee for partner award bookings in addition to the standard $5.60 security fee. So while there's "free cancellation" in the sense that your miles and taxes are refunded, you'll still be out $20 if you cancel.
Avios (British Executive Club to Qatar Privilege Club)
Avios is one of the most unique currencies as it's a shared program between multiple airlines. While they don't share a common balance, you can transfer 1:1 across any of the Avios partners.
British Executive Avios is a transfer partner to most major credit card currencies (Citi, Capital One, American Express). The redemption rates, though, are quite bad. Flights under 650 miles cost over 12,500 miles, which is often higher than any other program. They used to be great, now it's just plain bleh.
Qatar redemptions are much more attractive, sitting at 6.5k for flights under 650 miles. The same 4.5k + $26 flight now can cost just 6.5k + $11, just note the cancellation penalties for each airline (QR charges a $25 cancellation fee). Unfortunately, Qatar only transfers in from Citi...
BUT WAIT! Remember when I said you can transfer 1:1 across any Avios partner? You can transfer BA to Qatar easily. That means you can do it in two steps - transfer AmEx, Bilt, or CapOne to BA then transfer BA to Qatar. This is an easy way to book AA partner awards using CapOne and AmEx points.
Delta Airlines (SkyTeam Alliance)
In the industry, we lovingly call Delta miles "SkyPesos" simply because they're worth a lot less than the others. While a flight from BOS-PHL-LAS might cost just 9k miles, Delta might charge 18k for BOS-ATL-LAS. An objectively terrible redemption. Delta cardholders pay less, but it's still pretty high compared to what the others offer. So to all of you who question my airline loyalty, know that because I rarely pay cash for flights, Delta is normally at the absolute bottom of my list.
But here's the other thing that sucks - while Delta is a transfer partner of American Express, it's not just a 1:1 transfer rate. AmEx charges an excise tax for every transfer at the rate of 0.06 cents per point transferred, capped at $99. So transfer 50k and you'll have to pay $30 on top of that in taxes. Eek.
Air France / KLM Flying Blue
A lot of enthusiasts like Flying Blue because of their attractive pricing to and from Europe, especially with the monthly Promo Rewards which refreshes on the first of every month. I like it personally because of the attractive award prices for short domestic flights.
I can't for the life of me find Flying Blue's official award chart. So you might need to do some experimenting around to see what your itinerary will cost. You'll definitely find much better value with medium to short distances, as transcontinental flight might cost you over 20k miles. For me, the sweetest deal is 5k miles for flights under 500 or so miles. I'm lucky living in Boston because there's a TON of destinations that fall within that range. BOS-LGA, BOS-DCA, BOS-PHL, heck even BOS-ABC. If you live in DTW, ATL, SLC, or AUS, you have even more options available.
Flights must be booked 21 days in advance. Note that Flying Blue charges standard cash rate taxes and fees instead of the traditional $5.60, which ends up being about $19. Flying Blue also charges a $70 cancellation or change fee. Sometimes if I no longer travel, it's cheaper to just waste the ticket and not cancel it than cancel for a refund and pay that exorbitant fee.
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic is another alternative to Flying Blue as it's also a transfer partner of every major card currency. You won't get deals like BOS-LGA for 5k like what you see on Air France or KLM as that would cost 7.5k. Some flights are similar in price, like JFK-ATL for 11k+$5.60 on Virgin or 10k+$13.25 on Flying Blue.
There is a clear award chart for Virgin Atlantic redemptions. This award chart applies to any flight outside of US to UK or Europe. So yes, it's the same award chart for flights like US to Asia.
But the real reason I included Virgin Atlantic on this list is because Virgin has a very unique cancellation policy. Unlike Flying Blue, Virgin allows you to pay the lessor of two options: pay a $100 cancellation fee or forfeit the taxes and fees paid. So in practice, a Delta award flight only has a $5.60 cancellation fee because you'd just forfeit the taxes.
It's a much better option for flights you might take but slightly worse overall because of the higher award rates. But if the pricing is close (like JFK-ATL), you might want to consider Virgin Atlantic.