Have you ever wondered what the best airline reward programs are? There are a huge amount of airlines that offer reward programs and it would be too much to go over them all. For the purpose of simplicity I have selected 3 different airlines, one from each airline alliance. I have done this because air miles for one airline can be earned on flights with alliance partner airlines. For example on a recent flight with TAP Portugal I linked my Singapore Airlines Frequent Flyer number as they are both Star Alliance Members. This meant I earned Krisflyer miles by flying on an airline that wasn’t Singapore Airlines. I did only earn 900 miles however, equivalent to about £10. Yippee!
The three airlines I’ve chosen aren’t necessarily the optimal choice for earning free flights. Rather, I’ve based it on airlines with a good UK presence and the most opportunities to earn extra points within the UK. Also personal preference plays a large part, so I would also say it’s ok just to choose your favourite airline. If you want to see an estimate of points value for other airlines, check out this article from The Points Guy UK.
- If you want help deciding which airline alliance to choose, please check out my guide on which I think is best.
- And if you want to read my guide on how best to earn air miles in the UK, with a focus on British Airways and Virgin, please click here.
British Airways (Executive Club) – Oneworld
Whilst they may not quite live up to their storied heritage, British Airways have the best opportunities to earn in the UK. You also get access to some brilliant Oneworld airlines through Avios. This includes Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and more. What’s more, from their London Heathrow hub, you can fly almost anywhere in the world through their network.
As an example of the cracking deals you can get with Avios points, I recently booked a return business class trip to Geneva for 30,000 + £1. A typical cost for this flight at the times I’m flying would be £436.67. This means I effectively converted my Avios at a rate of 1.45p per 1 Avios. I earned these Avios just by using my Amex credit card. Effectively meaning I got a free business class trip for virtually no effort, or expense. I will say however, you shouldn’t just try to spend an unnaffordable amount just to earn air miles.
Virgin Atlantic (Flying Club) – Skyteam
Currently Virgin Atlantic have a pretty limited range of destinations. And with their recent announcement to permanently stop their London to Hong Kong route the list is getting shorter. With plenty of long haul flights based out of London though, you still have a pretty good choice, especially for popular holiday destinations like Barbados or New York. Their service is also top notch too, so I think their a good option to earn miles with.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club allows you to earn miles with Virgin Atlantic. With Virgin due to join the Skyteam Alliance in early 2023, this is also a great way to earn on any Skyteam airline. By joining the Skyteam alliance this will also massively expand their route network. Therefore, my only major issue with the airline will soon be a thing of the past.
Singapore Airlines (Krisflyer) – Star Alliance
In general, I think it’s simplest to choose an airline based in your home country to earn air miles with. This is because they generally have additional programs for locals to earn extra points. Case in point being British Airways, with whom you can earn Avios points with their branded credit cards, bank accounts and even buying from high-street shops. Choosing a Star Alliance reward program posed a bit of a challenge as they don’t have a UK-based member. Of course you could sign up for any of their members reward programs and still earn miles. Lufthansa, United, TAP Portugal, Swiss and Asiana being a few examples.
My top pick however is Singapore Airlines and their Krisflyer reward program. Firstly because of personal bias. They are my favourite airline and I like to support them. More importantly though, with Krisflyer you earn miles based on distance flown rather than ticket price (good on long haul flights. If you want to fly in Singapore’s industry-leading premium cabins, Krisflyer is also the only way to do it for free.
Technically rates on earning Krisflyer miles aren’t quite as good as British Airways and Virgin. If you want to transfer Amex Membership Reward (MR) Points you’ll only get 0.75 Kris miles for 1 MR. This means 1 MR is worth 0.9p when transferring from the American Express website. Whilst 1 MR converted to Avios is 1.1p and Virgin Atlantic is 1.2p. This may seem like a small difference, but can add up to £100s, as I show below.
How Good is Each Program
To illustrate what you could get for your points I’ve chosen a longhaul route for each airline. London to Singapore for British Airways and Singapore Airlines. And as Virgin don’t offer this route I’ve chosen London to Los Angeles for comparison. Below is how many points you’d need to spend with each airline, vs how much the same flight would cost in cash:
From the above chart you can that you’ll get far more bang for your buck with any business class flight over economy. Singapore offers the most value on economy flights, whilst Virgin is the clear business winner, offering a whopping 2.7p per mile of value. Singapore Airlines also offer a very competitive rate, whilst British airways are pretty poor in both cases.
It’s worth noting that these are just some randomly selected flights. If you shop around you may be able to get better deals. For instance, The Points Insider showed you can get a rate of 2.1p per Avios with British Airways. This equals Singapore Airlines, making all three airlines competitive.
Best Airline Rewards Programs – Final Thoughts
All three airlines earn money at similar rates. If you can get your hands on a credit card however, you’ll easily be able earn additional bonus points too. Virgin and British Airways both offer UK credit cards, whilst Singapore Airlines only offer credit cards to those who live in Singapore through American Express. (Check out my Amex referral offers here).
By redeeming points on business class flights you can consistently tripe your points value. If you have a lot of points and enjoy luxury, this could be for you. However, in many cases it will make a £3,000 flight into a £750 flight. Whilst these savings are great, it is still expensive. On the other hand, by redeeming on economy flights you can get the flight for completely free, or close to it.
I lean towards Singapore airlines when choosing the best reward program. Firstly, as a Star Alliance member they have access to the largest route network. Secondly, of the 3 airlines compared they are the only ones who let you use 100% points for the booking. British Airways and Virgin both make you pay a cash supplement alongside the points. Finally, they’re my favourite airline and I simply enjoy flying with them.
Your mileage may vary however, and you should be able to get similar value out of any large airline reward program. After all, they are all highly competitive so it makes sense they all have similar reward levels.