9 Mistakes To Avoid When Redeeming Airline Miles & Points

Few things in the world feel better than redeeming airline points and miles for business and first-class flights. However, the path from earning points to sitting in a lie-flat seat is often paved with pitfalls, especially since loyalty programs continue to change the rules, reduce availability, or increase costs. 

If you find yourself frustrated by high fees or “no availability,” you might be falling for some of the most common flight award booking traps. Let’s take a look at some of the most common mistakes when playing the airline loyalty program game and how to avoid them so we can make the most out of our next redemption.

Being Hyper-Focused on One Loyalty Program

It can be very easy to sit back and get comfortable with one airline loyalty program. For most Canadians, this will likely be Air Canada Aeroplan, as it is by far our largest loyalty program that flies to the most destinations worldwide. However, while these programs want us to be loyal to them, it likely isn’t smart for us to be completely loyal to them. By only focusing on one program, we can risk limiting our opportunities for great redemptions with different airlines that would otherwise give us better value. 

This is precisely why we preach the importance of transferable points currencies such as American Express Membership Rewards, RBC Avion points, Chase Ultimate Rewards, etc. The first and most important strength these transferable currencies have is that we can transfer them out to multiple programs, opening up the possibilities for redemptions and destinations. 

Transferable points also protect us from devaluations from any specific program because we aren’t tied down. For example, if Air Canada Aeroplan decided to hike up prices drastically and lower the value of their points, we still have access to other programs like British Airways Avios to protect the value of our Membership Rewards points.

Relying on an Airline’s Award Search Engine

“Time is money.” We’ve all heard that before. You might be surprised that searching through the airline’s website might be one of the LEAST time-efficient ways to look for award flights. While they can definitely add value, airline search engines are frequently buggy, hide partner availability, or prioritize dynamic pricing when presenting you the options (I’m looking at you, Air Canada). While not always the case, this means they tend to be an inefficient way to search.

This is when it’s important to know that airline loyalty programs don’t operate in silos from one another. We can take advantage of the fact that they cooperate closely through airline alliances or other partnerships and post partner flights on their websites. For example, you can find amazing value in booking Porter Airlines flights through Atmos Rewards.

Check out our articles on airline alliances and partner award space to learn more about how to take advantage of airline partnerships and cooperations for your next redemption.

Relying on One Award Search Tool

With how sub-optimal airline search tools have traditionally been, smarter people than I have come up with many award search tools to help us look for our next flight redemption. Flight award search tools like Point.me, Seats.aero, or Roame.travel have revolutionized the game, but none of them are perfect.

Different tools scrape different data sets across various programs. To ensure you are seeing all your options, you should use a “multi-tool” approach. Check a few different platforms to cross-reference availability before you transfer your hard-earned points. We have compared all the major flight award search tools to help you determine which combination of sites will work best for your needs!

Relying Too Much on Phone Agents

“Hang up and call again,” affectionately termed HUCA, is a mantra that has been preached time and time again in the world of points and miles, which applies not only to airline award redemptions but also to credit cards and hotels.

It is reasonable to assume that when calling a specific airline program that the agent you’re speaking to should be the expert since they work for the company. However, this may not be the case as many agents are limited by the software in front of them or their own level of training. 

If an agent tells you that a routing is not possible or that award space is unavailable, but your research shows you otherwise, politely thank them for their time and HUCA. There is a good chance that the next agent you speak with will be able to help you out!

Not Being Flexible With Travel Dates & Airports

Flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to award flights, not only with point currencies, but also with the dates that you are willing to travel on. If you are only limiting yourself to traveling during March/Spring break, Summer time, or the Winter holiday season, you will be missing out on some of the best redemptions possible. 

While we understand that your schedules may not have the liberty of being extremely flexible, try your best to keep an open mind for dates, as you might encounter a bucket list flight or destination, like Qatar Airways QSuites, that is too good to pass up. 

You should also be open to the airports that you are willing to travel from and through. You might be asking, “What do you mean? There’s only one international airport near me that flies to the destination I want!” 

While this is often the first instinct that most people have, positioning flights (i.e., taking a short flight to a different city) can open up a world of opportunities, value, and destinations that you would otherwise not experience with just one airport. Check out our guide on everything you need to know about positioning flights to learn more!

Paying Hefty Taxes & Fees

Unfortunately, there is “no free lunch” in this world, and this definitely applies to award flights since we often have to pay cash for taxes and fees. There are some notorious loyalty programs that love to charge an outrageous amount in carrier surcharges that make even an award redemption carry a hefty cash price (I’m looking directly at you, British Airways Avios).

Again, this underscores the importance of diversifying the programs that we are involved with so that we can shop around for our redemptions. We want to look for programs that charge less in terms of points, but also taxes and fees.

For example, the same flight with British Airways could have over 50% less carrier surcharges when booking with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles versus booking directly with Avios (very ironic if you ask me). Check out our article on how to reduce carrier surcharges to learn more about what these pesky fees are and how to avoid them! 

We also want to pick programs that don’t penalize us too much when we have a change of plans. Many programs will charge a non-insignificant cash cost to changing or cancelling your flight, so make sure to familiarize yourself with these policies and lower any of these potential costs as much as possible.

Learn More: Flight Award Redemption Changes & Cancellation Fees

The worst offender in this category is Etihad Guest, which punishes you by taking 25% (≥ 21 days), 50% (8 – 21 days), 75% (1 – 7 days), or 100% (≤24 hours) of the points used to make the booking for cancellations. We cannot in good conscience recommend this program to you unless you are 120% sure you will take the flight.

Ignoring Stopover Possibilities

I would wager that if you asked 10 people where they were flying to for their next trip, 9 would reply with a single destination. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

However, with stopovers, we don’t have to limit our destination to just one location. Unlike a traditional layover, stopovers allow travellers to extend their time at a connecting airport for a few days before moving on to their final destination. Think of it as an extra destination on your itinerary for over a day – leave the airport, go sightseeing, have a few nice meals, and come back to the airport to continue your journey.

Stopovers often don’t cost a lot (or any) points to add to your existing itinerary. Flying Blue allows for an industry-leading unlimited number of stopovers (on the same carrier) to an itinerary in a calendar year. Air Canada Aeroplan allows for a single stopover in an itinerary for a very reasonable 5,000 Aeroplan points.

We have a comprehensive guide on stopover rules for all airlines for you to check out if you’re interested in checking out more destinations on your next trip!

Planning At The Last Minute

Last-minute planning is not a rewarding practice in this hobby. If you leave booking award flights at the last minute, odds are that availability is long gone, or you’re stuck dwindling your point stores with airlines’ dynamic pricing models.

If you wait, you might luck out with some close-in availability for certain loyalty programs and carriers, and for certain opportunities like booking Etihad First Class with AAdvantage Miles, it is almost required, but these opportunities can be few and far between.

A good rule of thumb is to start planning 1 year in advance. Start searching on award tools, airline search engines, and Google Flights 365 days out from when you would ideally like to fly in order to catch the most availability at the least possible cost.

Forgetting Travel Insurance

I am often guilty of this mistake. Travel insurance can protect us and our hard-earned points and dollars when unexpected events derail our travel plans. Unfortunately, different loyalty programs and credit cards have differing policies on the amount of a booking that needs to be charged to the credit card in order for a flight to qualify for insurance.

The National Bank World Elite Mastercard still stands out as one of the best cards in this category, as you can charge the taxes and fees on your award booking made with any loyalty program to this card and still receive valuable insurance benefits.

National Bank World Elite Mastercard

Learn More Terms & Conditions apply

National Bank World Elite Mastercard

The National Bank World Elite Mastercard offers benefits that include an annual $150 travel credit and access to the National Bank VIP airport lounge in the Montreal Airport International terminal.

Check out our National Bank World Elite Mastercard review for more details.

OFFER
0 À la carte Rewards

MINSPEND
$0

EST. VALUE
$0+

ANNUAL FEE
$150

FOREX FEES
Yes

EXPIRY
–

Many of the Air Canada Aeroplan co-branded cards also offer this same benefit for any Aeroplan flight redemption bookings. Check out our guide on the best credit cards to use for travel insurance on award flights to ensure you’re optimally covered for your next redemption.

Conclusion

Mastering the art of award booking isn’t just about earning points, but also about the strategy you use to spend them. By diversifying your currencies, using the right tools, and remaining flexible, you can turn a mediocre redemption into a world-class travel experience.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the mistakes to avoid when redeeming airline points and miles. However, if you keep these 8 in mind when making your next redemption, we think it is a great place to start to get the most value out of your points.