Every airline’s frequent flyer program is different. Nonetheless, in most programs, the currency is measured in miles. (Some programs use flight segments flown as the primary metric. Still others use the actual dollar-amount that you pay for your tickets.)

That’s not the end of the legal mumbo-jumbo of the airlines’ programs… To make things more confusing, the programs will usually track two or more different kinds of points in your account. We will only worry about one of these here, but just so you know the breakdown:

Redeemable miles are the kind we’re most concerned with here. These points can be earned any number of ways, from flying, to car rentals or hotel stays, credit card purchases, or any of the hundreds of partner companies that issue miles. This number is the bottom line, the number of miles you can cash in. For the purposes of this site, we’ll usually just refer to redeemable miles as “miles.”

Elite-qualifying miles are not redeemable, but measure how far you’ve come toward earning status with the airline. These miles are based on the miles you actually fly, usually with bonuses for paid premium-class class. Traveling on some partner airlines (usually in the same alliance) will earn you elite-qualifying miles, and occasionally there are promotions, but it’s normally based on actual flying, not on shopping, hotel stays, etc. Elite-qualifying miles are commonly calculated on the basis of a calendar year, and reset to zero at the start of the new year. (Some airlines have two-year qualification periods. As always, programs will vary.)

Before we get too far, you may want to know just how many redeemable miles you actually have available to spend right now. If you have an online account with the airline, login to that now, in a separate browser window or tab.

For your convenience, some of the largest frequent flyer programs’ login pages are posted below. If your program does not appear, feel free to use the Google search box in the bottom right of this screen. (All links open in a new window.)

Air France/KLM FlyingBlue
American AAdvantage
Continental OnePass
Delta SkyMiles
Lufthansa Miles & More
Northwest WorldPerks
Qantas Frequent Flyer
USAirways Dividend Miles
United Mileage Plus

CLICK HERE when you have determined your balance and are ready to continue.

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