When cashing in your points, most programs care about the regions you are flying to and from. In other words, the program divides the world into, say, 10 zones, and the number of points or miles you spend depends on which zones you fly to and from. A small handful of programs set their prices on the basis of the distance flown, but this is rare.

Note also that programs usually offer two kinds of awards:

“Saver” awards are subject to capacity controls, meaning that they can sell out, or may not be available for particular flights. Each airline has a different name for their awards but the word “saver” often appears in the title. Note that most awards involving partner airlines are only available as saver awards.

“Anytime” awards can be booked for any flight operated by that airline, as long as a seat is available for sale. If you’re got the miles, they’ve got the seat. However, there’s a catch: The cost in miles is higher. Usually double. Obviously, this is not as good a value as the saver award, but it may still be a viable option and a good deal, depending on the equivalent cost in cash.

Be sure you know your program’s rules. If your program offers both saver and anytime awards, you’ll want to make a note of how many miles are required for each.

Here are links to the award charts at some of the most common programs. 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.) Keep that page open for your reference, as you will need to refer back to it later.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue
American AAdvantage (you may need to scroll down)
Continental OnePass
Delta SkyMiles
Lufthansa Miles & More
Northwest WorldPerks
Qantas Frequent Flyer
United Mileage Plus
USAirways Dividend Miles

CLICK HERE to continue.

(image: Joseph Robertson on flickr)