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The Korean Air SKYPASS program has gotten less attention since losing Chase Ultimate Rewards as one of its transfer partners years ago. However, while SKYPASS miles may be hard to earn, savvy award travelers shouldn't overlook this program.
There are many reasons to love the SKYPASS rewards program, not the least of which is the number of sweet spots in the Korean Air SKYPASS award chart.
In this post, we'll cover the best uses of SKYPASS miles and explain some of the best ways to earn them.
Page Contents
- How To Earn Korean Air SKYPASS Miles
- Korean Air SKYPASS Award Chart
- The Best Korean Air SKYPASS Sweet Spots
- Round-trip SkyTeam business-class awards between North America and Europe
- Round-trip Delta awards between North America and Hawaii
- Round-trip SkyTeam business-class awards between North America and Africa
- Korean Air first-class awards from North America to Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, or Northeast Asia
- Round-trip SkyTeam business-class awards between Europe and the Middle East
- Round-trip Delta awards between the U.S. and southern South America
- Korean Air Prestige Class to Australia via Seoul
- Los Angeles to Tahiti in Air France business class
- North America to Southeast Asia in business class
- SkyTeam Round-the-World awards
- Will Korean Air Devalue SKYPASS Miles?
- Bottom Line
How To Earn Korean Air SKYPASS Miles
Ever since Korean Air SKYPASS parted ways with Chase, the program has lacked a major transferable points partner. For a while, the best option was transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to SKYPASS, but this ended as well.
Now, only a few hotel currencies transfer to Korean SKYPASS miles, and most either offer poor value or belong to rather obscure programs.
But there is one last option: earning Korean Air SKYPASS miles through its co-branded credit cards.
Korean Air credit cards
The handful of co-branded Korean Air SKYPASS Visa cards issued by U.S. Bank tend to fly under the radar. However, depending on the card and its current welcome offer, you can earn a sizable welcome bonus of up to 60,000 bonus miles. The annual fees range from $0 to over $400.
The SKYPASS Visa Signature offers a solid balance between the annual fee and sign-up bonus, along with decent earning rates and a couple of other perks. Its annual fee is $99.
Business owners also have the option to open the SKYPASS Visa Signature® Business Card. It has similar perks and carries a $99 annual fee.
Other than earning points from a SKYPASS credit card or transferring from hotel programs, the only other way to earn SKYPASS miles is by flying with Korean Air — or its airline partners — and crediting the flight to SKYPASS. Korean Air is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, so you can credit flights from airlines such as Delta, Air France, and SAS to SKYPASS.
Korean Air SKYPASS Award Chart
As airlines continue to adopt dynamic pricing, award charts are becoming a thing of the past — but thankfully, Korean Air hasn't done away with its charts. Here is the redemption table for Korean Air SKYPASS awards on the carrier's own flights for departures from Korea. Required mileage is for a one-way award:
| Arrival Region + Season | Economy | Prestige | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korea domestic — off-peak | 5,000 | 6,000 | N/A |
| Korea domestic — peak | 7,500 | 9,000 | N/A |
| Japan/China/Northeast Asia — off-peak | 15,000 | 22,500 | 32,500 |
| Japan/China/Northeast Asia — peak | 22,500 | 32,500 | 47,500 |
| Southeast Asia/Guam — off-peak | 20,000 | 35,000 | 45,000 |
| Southeast Asia/Guam — peak | 30,000 | 52,500 | 67,500 |
| Southwest Asia/Tashkent — off-peak | 25,000 | 45,000 | 57,500 |
| Southwest Asia/Tashkent — peak | 37,500 | 67,500 | 87,500 |
| North America/Europe/Middle East/Oceania — off-peak | 35,000 | 62,500 | 80,000 |
| North America/Europe/Middle East/Oceania — peak | 52,500 | 92,500 | 120,000 |
And here is the SkyTeam partner redemption table for departures from North America. Prices are for round-trip awards.
| Arrival Region | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korea/Japan | 80,000 | 140,000 | 180,000 |
| Southeast Asia/Northeast Asia/East Russia | 90,000 | 155,000 | 200,000 |
| Southwest Asia | 100,000 | 170,000 | 230,000 |
| Oceania | 110,000 | 185,000 | 260,000 |
| North America | 25,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 |
| Central America | 35,000 | 75,000 | 75,000 |
| South America | 50,000 | 110,000 | 110,000 |
| Europe | 50,000 | 80,000 | 100,000 |
| Middle East/Africa | 80,000 | 120,000 | 160,000 |
Things to know before you book a SKYPASS award ticket
Before we jump into the best uses of SKYPASS miles, here are several things to keep in mind:
- SKYPASS uses both peak and off-peak award pricing on Korean Air-operated flights. Your travel dates determine which rate applies to a given award booking. Peak dates vary from year to year and by origin/destination. You can check here for the current peak and off-peak calendar. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the button to display it. Peak and off-peak dates only apply to bookings on Korean Air.
- SKYPASS allows one-way award bookings on their flights. However, partner bookings must be round-trip (Technically, SKYPASS allows one-way redemptions for partner awards — but you have to pay the round-trip price).
- SKYPASS has multiple award charts. It publishes an award chart for SkyTeam Alliance tickets and another for non-SkyTeam partners. The peak and off-peak pricing does not apply to partner award tickets on either chart.
- Changes and cancellations can carry modest fees. International award tickets can be refunded for free more than 91 days before departure. Within 90 days, Korean Air charges a 3,000-mile refund fee while the ticket is still valid. Separately, international award-ticket changes are subject to a reissue charge.
- No-shows incur a penalty. If you no-show for a flight, Korean Air will deduct additional miles upon refund.
- Korean Air passes along carrier-imposed surcharges. These are the high “fuel surcharges” that many airlines tack onto their award tickets … because they can. This is a bummer, but typical for most SkyTeam airlines. The good news is you'll pay a minimal amount in taxes, fees, and surcharges for redemptions on Delta Air Lines. But Delta premium cabin awards can be extremely hard to find.
Related: Countries That Limit Airline Fuel Surcharges
Now, let's jump into the sweet spots of Korean Air SKYPASS awards.
The Best Korean Air SKYPASS Sweet Spots
Generally speaking, the harder the miles are to earn, the more they're worth. And, arguably, SKYPASS miles are worth a lot because of the sweet spots you can book. Here are some of our favorites:
Related: The Step-By-Step Guide To Redeeming Korean Air SKYPASS Miles
Round-trip SkyTeam business-class awards between North America and Europe
For only 80,000 Korean SKYPASS miles, you can book a SkyTeam round-trip business-class award between North America and Europe. Compared to pretty much all other airline programs, this rate is an absolute steal! There's a reason it tops our list of Korean Air SKYPASS sweet spots.
For perspective, the Air France-KLM Flying Blue — another SkyTeam program — made the points and miles world swoon when it lowered business-class awards between North America and Europe to just 50,000 miles each way — before hiking the business-class cost up to 60,000 miles one way. Through all of that, Korean Air has continued to offer business-class awards for just 80,000 round-trip. That’s hard to beat among SkyTeam programs, especially for travelers who can find round-trip partner award space.
You'll pay drastically more booking through Delta, which prices many of its own business-class award flights at over 200,000 SkyMiles each way (though it is extremely rare for these flights to be made available to partners). Of all the awards we highlight, this is among the best Korean Air SKYPASS awards you can book — provided you can find partner award space.
Round-trip Delta awards between North America and Hawaii
Korean is one of the few airlines that still includes Hawaii within the same region as the rest of North America. As a result, their award prices for round-trip awards between North America and Hawaii with SkyTeam partner Delta are exceptional: 25,000 miles in economy class and 45,000 miles in business class/domestic first. Here's an example itinerary from Seattle to Kona.
For the above example, Delta charges 51,500 SkyMiles for these exact same flights vs. just 25,000 SKYPASS miles. Delta credit cardholders can get a discount on Delta-operated award flights that brings the price down to 43,775 SkyMiles — which is still far more than what Korean SKYPASS charges.
The issue with this Korean Air sweet spot is finding award space. In economy, it's often doable. But Delta releases almost no business-class space to partner airlines. Delta One to Hawaii is one of the best Korean Air SKYPASS awards, but booking it is one of those award travel unicorns. Even economy space from the eastern half of the U.S. can be difficult to find, but it's an award worth pursuing for the value alone.
Round-trip SkyTeam business-class awards between North America and Africa
Many mileage programs charge around 100,000 miles each way for business-class awards between North America and Africa. But, booking through Korean Air, travelers only need 120,000 SKYPASS miles for a round-trip award between these two regions. Keep in mind that the same rate applies to travel between North America and the Middle East.
You can find similar value with Flying Blue for select destinations in West Africa. But the SKYPASS rate is practically unbeatable for travel to South Africa and other countries in the southern part of the continent. Given the lack of Delta award space across the pond to Europe, you'll need to look for partners like Air France, KLM, and SAS. You should be able to tack on segments on Kenya Airways to reach additional destinations.
Korean Air first-class awards from North America to Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, or Northeast Asia
Korean Air offers an excellent first-class product, and you can book it between North America and Korea, Japan, China, or Northeast Asia (Hong Kong, Taipei, and Ulaanbaatar) or vice versa for only 80,000 miles each way. Many popular rewards programs require more than 100,000 miles for such first-class award itineraries. With Delta, you cannot even book partner first-class awards. And if you want to fly business class to Northeast Asia, you'll be paying two to four times what Korean Air charges for first.
You'll be able to get this excellent rate if you fly during off-peak periods. Peak dates will cost you 50% more miles.
Round-trip SkyTeam business-class awards between Europe and the Middle East
Priced at just 60,000 SKYPASS miles round-trip, this is one of the cheapest ways to fly between these two regions among all frequent flyer programs. This Korean Air sweet spot is definitely the cheapest option among SkyTeam programs. There are nonstop flights from several SkyTeam hubs, such as Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Rome.
Just make sure to check the taxes and fees. This is one place where Korean Air's decision to pass along fuel surcharges can really sting. Some awards end up not being worth it due to how expensive these fees are. But there are carriers whose surcharges hurt far less than Air France's do.
Round-trip Delta awards between the U.S. and southern South America
For 110,000 Korean Air miles, you can fly round-trip in Delta One suites between the U.S. and South America. Many routes to northern South America don't generally offer Delta One. But you can expect to find Delta's solid business class on long-haul flights to the southern portion of the continent. Destinations like Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, and Buenos Aires can be booked at a great price compared to what Delta generally charges.
As with business-class awards to Hawaii, finding award space is the most difficult aspect here. But it's an amazing deal if you can snag a seat. Remember that Aerolineas Argentinas is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, so if you can find a seat to Buenos Aires, you might have the ability to connect to more remote destinations in Argentina such as El Calafate or Ushuaia, some of the more popular far-flung destinations.
Korean Air Prestige Class to Australia via Seoul
During off-peak dates, you'll pay just 97,500 SKYPASS miles to fly in Korean Air Prestige business class between North America and the land down under. This is a fantastic deal. It's not the quickest way to get to Australia, but if you enjoy flying, two long-haul legs gets you many more hours in a premium cabin. I've done this trek once, albeit with Korea-based Asiana Airlines and United, and not with Korean. And although it took an additional 11 hours to get to Sydney, it was a highly enjoyable trip.
Los Angeles to Tahiti in Air France business class
This route doesn't fall into the standard SkyTeam pricing table provided above. Korean Air has flights to Tahiti priced separately. You can book Air France business class from Los Angeles to Papeete for just 90,000 SKYPASS miles round-trip. If you live on the West Coast, this is an excellent option for getting to a bit of paradise. This is a route you can book with Air France Flying Blue miles, but not at such a great rate. I want to highlight this since it prices at its own rate and is a Korean Air SKYPASS sweet spot that is easily overlooked.
North America to Southeast Asia in business class
Whether you're flying Korean Air or its partners based in Asia, all are a solid deal between North America and Southeast Asia. With Korean Air, you'll pay 75,000 miles one way (150,000 miles round-trip) during off-peak dates. During peak dates, this inflates to 112,500 miles one way (225,000 miles round-trip).
SkyTeam partners run just 155,000 round-trip in business, so during peak dates, partners like China Airlines or Vietnam Airlines are the better deal. Both these partners tend to release sufficient award space that you can find something that works with a bit of flexibility. I recently flew Vietnam Airlines all the way from Australia to Paris and enjoyed the experience.
SkyTeam Round-the-World awards
Korean Air no longer offers the broadly useful stopover rules that once made SKYPASS awards even more valuable. However, SKYPASS still publishes a SkyTeam Round-the-World award chart, which can be useful for a very specific type of traveler. These awards start at 140,000 miles in economy or 220,000 miles in business class and can include multiple stopovers, but the routing rules are restrictive, and finding SkyTeam award space across an entire itinerary can be challenging.
Related: Beginner's Guide: What Is a Stopover and What Is an Open-Jaw?
Will Korean Air Devalue SKYPASS Miles?
For years, Korean Air announced plans to make significant changes to its SKYPASS program. These were originally slated for 2021, then pushed back to April 2023. Now, they have been delayed indefinitely. We are years past the most recent announcement, and there have been no further updates as to when these will roll out.
This is great for fans of the program, as there were some substantial negative changes planned for award redemption. Let's hope they never happen!
Related: Do Korean SKYPASS Miles Expire?
Bottom Line
Given some of the great Korean Air SKYPASS award sweet spots that offer excellent value, it may be worth picking up one of its credit cards if you're keen on making a redemption. Round-trip business-class awards to Europe offer particularly great value compared to other SkyTeam programs. Even if it takes a bit of spending to accrue the 80,000 miles you need, it's such a sweet deal — especially compared to what Delta SkyMiles often charges.
