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Ever had sticker shock when searching for domestic flights? You're not alone. Domestic U.S. airlines can charge hefty award prices for awards on their flights. But here's where having even a small stash of transferable credit card points at your disposal can be invaluable.
Thanks to transfer partners and airline alliances, travelers have lots of options for booking award flights on major U.S. airlines like Delta, United, and American using flexible points.
When cash rates for domestic flights are high, these redemptions can be a great deal. However, some loyalty programs are better than others. These are the ones we turn to for booking domestic award flights.
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Air France/KLM Flying Blue for Delta Flights
Delta and Air France/KLM are both members of the SkyTeam alliance, which means you can book Delta flights through Air France and KLM’s joint loyalty program, Flying Blue. Typically, you’ll find that Flying Blue miles are the cheapest for booking Delta flights, even among Delta’s own SkyMiles.
Air France/KLM doesn’t publish an award chart, so prices can fluctuate. But generally you can find short routes like this one from Detroit (DTW) to Chicago (ORD) as low as 5,000 miles each way in economy.
Longer routes like this one-way flight from Minneapolis (MSP) to Denver (DEN) cost 9,000 miles — or 18,000 miles round-trip.
Note that you’re always booking a Delta main cabin ticket — which Delta now calls Main Cabin Classic — when booking economy awards through Flying Blue. That makes Flying Blue miles an even more valuable redemption. Considering that exact same one-way flight to Chicago above would cost $137, your Flying Blue points are saving you nearly 3 cents per point in this instance.
You’ll find the best award rates and availability on nonstop flights. You may be able to find flights with connections bookable through Flying Blue, but award availability tends to be much more limited.
Flying Blue is a transfer partner of all the major credit card programs. So if you’re earning transferable points with cards like the The Platinum Card® from American Express or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can turn them into Flying Blue miles to book domestic Delta flights.
Here's the full list of points programs that transfer to Air France/KLM Flying Blue:
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for Delta Flights
Flying Blue isn't the only option for booking Delta flights. Virgin Atlantic has a close partnership with Delta, since long before Virgin joined the SkyTeam alliance. That partnership allows you to use Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points to book nonstop Delta flights.
Virgin prices its own flights dynamically now, but it still uses an award chart for flights on partner airlines. Virgin has several award charts for Delta. There’s an award chart for flights to and from the U.K., one for flights to and from Europe, both priced by region.
For all other Delta flights, including domestic routes, Virgin uses a distance-based award chart, meaning the further your flight, the more points Virgin charges. Find the distance of your flight using a site like Great Circle Mapper, and you’ll know exactly how many Virgin points you’ll need to book the flight.
Virgin has devalued its Delta award chart in recent years. But they can still be a good value ,depending on the cash price or what other airlines are charging. Plus, just like with Flying Blue awards, you'll always book into a Main Cabin fare when booking through Flying Club.
Short flights under 500 miles — like this flight from Seattle (SEA) to Portland (PDX) — only cost 7,500 Virgin points each way in economy, or 15,000 round-trip.
Longer flights will cost more, depending on the route flown. For instance, this one-way economy flight from Minneapolis (MSP) to Washington, D.C.-Reagan (DCA) will run you 11,000 points.
Flying coast to coast? You’ll pay 22,000 Virgin points each way for an economy seat.
It's easy to earn Virgin Atlantic points as the airline is a transfer partner of all the major credit card points currencies. So if you’re earning points on cards like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or the American Express® Gold Card, you can transfer them to Virgin.
These are all the points programs that transfer to Virgin:
Air Canada Aeroplan for United Flights
Domestic United flights are a sweet spot within the Air Canada Aeroplan loyalty program. Both airlines are members of the Star Alliance, so you can redeem Aeroplan points for United flights.
Air Canada uses distance-based award charts for its own flights and partner airlines. For flights within North America, like domestic flights, this is the award chart you'll use.
All United flights under 500 miles used to cost just 6,000 points each way. But as of March 2025, Air Canada now prices “select partner” awards, including United, dynamically. So while you may see some of those same short-haul United flights for 6,000 Aeroplan points, you're likely to see higher rates than that when you search.
This Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Boston (BOS) flight, which clocks in at 413 miles, now prices out at 10,000 miles each way.
Notably, nonstop flights and flights with connections price out the same.
Here's another example of what Air Canada charges for a domestic United flight, this time from IAD to Denver (DEN).
Keep in mind: You'll avoid United basic economy by booking flights through Air Canada. Aeroplan redemptions book into main cabin, so you'll be able to select a seat and bring a carry-on bag for free. With that in mind, these slightly higher awards can still be a great deal depending on what United is charging in cash for these same flights.
If you're earning Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Reward miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Bilt Rewards, you can transfer them to Air Canada to book these United flights. Here's the full list of points programs that transfer to Air Canada:
Avianca LifeMiles can also be a handy option for booking domestic United flights. But after yet another devaluation in 2025, LifeMiles now charges between 7,500 and 15,000 miles each way on most United routes. Air Canada should be your first stop when searching for United award flights.
Avios Programs for American & Alaska Flights
American miles are tough to earn as the airline doesn’t partner with any of the major transferable credit card programs. And while there's a loophole to transfer Amex points to Alaska (via Hawaiian Airlines), that's closing soon. But there are other ways to use your flexible points to book domestic flights on either of these airlines.
You'll want to focus on two Oneworld partners in particular, both of which use the Avios mileage currency. For short-haul, nonstop flights, its always worth checking to see if British Airways Executive Club has award availability. Devaluations have hit this sweet spot hard, but when cash prices are high, this is a nice option to have.
BA doesn't publish an award chart, but this is roughly how many BA Avios you'll need for a given American or Alaska flight. Flights under 650 miles, like this American one from Chicago (ORD) to Charlotte (CLT), cost 12,000 Avios each way.
British Airways are incredibly easy to earn, as the airline has a long list of transfer partners, including all the major credit card points programs like Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Bilt.
For longer domestic flights, Finnair Plus — the newest sibling in the Avios family — offers some of the cheapest award rates. The Finnish flag carrier's loyalty program is lesser known, but it offers a potentially lucrative way to fly Alaska and American for fewer miles. Finnair has separate award charts for both Alaska and American, but — critically — it charges the same price whether you're flying short-haul or transcontinental.
Under the Finnair's Alaska award chart, a flight from Seattle (SEA) all the way to Orlando, Florida (MCO) would cost just 11,000 Avios.
Here's Finnair's award chart for American flights. You may be able to get a better deal booking through BA, depending on the route (if you can find even find availability on Finnair at all).
And unlike BA, which charges by segment, Finnair appears to price nonstop flights and those with a connection the same.
There's one hitch, though: You still can't search or book these flights online. Instead, you'll have to call an agent or chat with one online to confirm award availability and book. If you can find availability through BA, there's a decent chance the same flight will be bookable through Finnair, too. But there's no guarantee.
Capital One miles are the only credit card points you can transfer directly to Finnair. But if you're earning points with any other credit card points program, you can transfer them to BA (or another Avios program) and eventually kick them over to Finnair. That's the beauty of Avios points.
Final Thoughts
You can often get great value when using your points to book what would otherwise be an expensive domestic flight. It all hinges on award availability and the price of the flight.
These airline loyalty programs provide a way to book flights on major U.S. airlines like Delta, United, American, and Alaska. While some of these sweet spots aren't what they once were, it's at least worth doing a quick search through them to see if flights are available for fewer points before you swipe your credit card.
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