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Starlux Airlines has quickly built a reputation among award travelers as one of the most exciting premium airlines flying between the U.S. and Asia. The Taiwanese carrier now serves several U.S. gateways from Taipei, and its business- and first-class cabins have generated plenty of interest from travelers looking for something beyond the usual transpacific options.
But while many points and miles fans know Starlux, far fewer have much experience with its COSMILE loyalty program. Starlux doesn’t partner with any major transferable points currencies, and until now, earning Starlux miles generally required flying with the airline or crediting partner flights to COSMILE.
That’s changed now that Starlux has added the option to buy miles. The catch? Miles cost 4¢ each, which is expensive by almost any standard.
Here’s what to know about buying Starlux COSMILE miles, when the math might work, and when you’re better off booking Starlux awards through partners like Alaska Atmos Rewards.
Buy Starlux Miles Terms
- Miles purchases must be made in increments of 1,000 miles.
- COSMILE members can purchase up to 150,000 miles per year.
- Purchased miles are valid for 36 months from the purchase date.
- Purchased miles do not count toward membership renewal or upgrade qualification.
- Miles can be redeemed for Starlux or airline partner award tickets, upgrade awards, Miles&Cash, Starlux Shop, béshopping, and flight simulator experiences.
- Purchased miles are non-transferable.
- Mileage transactions are nonrefundable.
- Miles are sold by Points.com.
Cost of buying Starlux miles
You can buy Starlux miles for $40 per 1,000 miles. That certainly puts these miles on the higher end, and we don't know if Starlux will ever offer a discount or bonus on buying miles.
When Does Buying Starlux Miles Make Sense?
If you've seen any of our buy points and miles promotion posts, you know we always advise against buying miles speculatively. Airline programs are known to devalue redemptions at the drop of a hat, so buying miles just for them to sit in your account rarely makes sense.
However, Starlux is a good example of when buying miles could potentially make sense. With so few ways to earn Starlux miles, buying the miles needed for a high-value award redemption could still be much more affordable than paying cash for the same ticket.
Starlux uses several different award charts. Here's the chart for flights between Asia and Europe or North America:
Starlux serves five U.S. airports from its hub in Taipei (TPE):
- Seattle (SEA)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Ontario (ONT)
- Phoenix (PHX)
It also operates a sole route to Europe: Taipei to Prague (PRG). These six routes all use the award chart above.
In other words, here's how much you'd need to spend to buy enough miles to book a Starlux award ticket:
- Economy: Buy 50,000 miles for $2,000
- Premium Economy: Buy 60,000 miles for $2,400
- Business: Buy 90,000 miles for $3,600
- First class: Buy 120,000 miles for $4,800 (or 130,000 miles for $5,200 starting October 1, 2026).
That's certainly not cheap, and there are much more affordable ways to get to Asia from the West Coast.
However, we have to look at cash prices to determine whether buying miles is worth it. A round-trip first class Starlux flight between San Francisco and Taipei consistently runs about $18,486. One-way tickets add up to even more. You'll normally spend around $12,000 for the flight from San Francisco to Taipei or around $9,300 for the flight from Taipei to San Francisco.
That makes spending just $4,800 to buy enough miles for a Starlux first-class flight seem much more affordable. Just keep in mind the annual 150,000-mile limit on buying miles. You can't buy enough for a round-trip first- or business-class award.
You can also use miles to upgrade your cabin on a Starlux flight using a separate upgrade award chart.
Which Credit Card To Use To Buy Miles
If you're interested in buying Starlux miles, keep in mind that these miles are sold by Points.com, which means they won't trigger an “airfare” or “travel” bonus category. Consider using one of these cards for your purchase:
- Any credit card where you're working on a sign-up bonus. These are the best welcome offers available right now.
- Any credit card with perks you can unlock from spending — such as hotel free night awards, hotel elite status, or airline elite status.
- Your best credit card for everyday spending, such as the Citi Double Cash® Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, or Bilt Palladium Card (Rates & Fees).
$95
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
Plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel.
$495Rates & Fees
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
Other Ways To Earn Starlux Miles
One of the best ways to book Starlux awards using points and miles is through its partnership with Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards. Alaska uses a regional distance-based partner award chart. Here's how much you'll spend on flights between the U.S. and Asia Pacific (including Taiwan on Starlux):
All flights between Taipei and the U.S. except for Phoenix fall into the 5,001 to 7,000 mile distance band. The Phoenix route falls into the following distance band. That means you can fly from the West Coast to Taipei for 37,500 Atmos Rewards points in economy, 50,000 in premium economy, 75,000 in business, or 110,000 in first class.
This is actually better than what Starlux charges. However, these are “starting at” figures, so prices could get much higher, and you might not have availability on your desired date. For instance, we couldn't find any first class availability through Atmos Rewards, and only found a handful of dates that offered the rates seen in the award chart above:
Keep in mind that Etihad also added Starlux redemptions in August 2026, but the rates leave a lot to be desired. You'd be better off transferring points to Atmos Rewards instead.
Unfortunately, only Bilt Points transfer to Alaska Airlines, so you'll need to hold a Bilt credit card or an Alaska Airlines credit card to earn enough miles for your Starlux redemption. You can also frequently buy Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards points for far cheaper than what Starlux charges for its own miles.
$95Rates & Fees
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 3X points on your choice of grocery (up to $25K/year) or dining. Your 3X category choice remains in effect for the entire calendar year.
- 2X points on travel
- 1X points on everyday spend
$95
- Earn unlimited 3 points for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases
- Earn unlimited 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging stations, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases
- Earn unlimited 1 point for every $1 spent on all other eligible purchases
$395
- 3X points on eligible dining, foreign transactions, Alaska Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines purchases
- 1X point on all other purchases
- 10% points bonus with an eligible Bank of America® account
Bottom Line
The ability to buy Starlux miles makes Starlux award redemptions more accessible than ever. That said, the high price makes anyone pause before clicking “buy miles.” Always run the math before purchasing miles, as better options may be available. However, if you find a fantastic award redemption, you can now buy Starlux miles for 4¢ each.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Bilt Palladium Card (Rates & Fees), Citi Double Cash® Card (Rates & Fees), and Bilt Obsidian Card (Rates & Fees)
