How to Know How Many Miles You’ll Earn From a Flight

Long gone are the days when the distance in miles flown would deliver a reciprocal amount of miles into your account, plus any airline elite status bonuses.

These days, it’s hard to know just how many miles you'll earn unless you are familiar with each airline’s program rules and fare types. Almost all U.S.-based airlines now use revenue-based mileage programs. This means that the reward for your loyalty is closely tied to how much you spend. If you’re traveling on someone else’s dime, you’re in luck, especially if they pay for more expensive tickets. But, if you are like most travelers forking over their hard-earned cash for an airline ticket, chances are you are earning less than before.

Here’s how to know how many miles you’ll earn from your next flight.

What is a revenue-based frequent flyer program?

Revenue-based programs award miles for the amount you pay for a flight rather than the physical distance you fly. And, these mileage earnings are based on the price you pay before taxes and fees.

Alaska Airlines is one of the few domestic holdouts that still awards 1 mile per mile flown, except for basic economy fares. Other major U.S. airlines gave up this system to follow a revenue-based model. Programs have different strategies for how they award miles based on elite status and fare class, which is why learning about each one can be helpful.

Mileage-based mileage programs

In some mileage-based programs, you’ll earn 1 mile per mile flown. In other programs, a ratio is applied to the number of miles flown to calculate the number of miles you’ll earn. The type of ticket you buy can affect the number of miles you’re awarded, with a first-class ticket providing more miles than an economy class ticket for the same flight.

Alaska Mileage Plan is still holding onto this mileage-based earning structure, which pleases many of its loyal flyers. They even use this system for partner flights booked through Alaska.

How passengers earn miles from American, Delta and United

The three biggest U.S. global airlines have very similar mileage earning structures by giving general members 5 miles per dollar of eligible spending on flights. Elite members earn an increased bonus, ranging from 7 miles up to 11 miles per dollar for top-tier elites.

But buying a basic economy fare now comes with more restrictions on many airlines. For example, American Airlines only offers 2 miles per dollar spent (plus elite status bonuses), Delta Air Lines offers no miles for basic economy at all and United Airlines offers elite status-earning credit only if paying for an Economy Plus seat. This type of penalty is intended to get some travelers to switch from basic economy to a main cabin ticket.

What counts as eligible spending?

Your miles are not based on the full ticket price you pay. Airline tickets, like the example above, include all kinds of taxes added to the ticket. Airlines won’t award miles on the money it doesn’t keep, like taxes and airport fees. Most airlines also don’t award miles on the charges imposed for seat assignments or checked bags. Some, however, are starting to give miles on charges like extra baggage (British Airways) or paying for a cabin upgrade (Delta).

American, Delta and United now display your mileage and elite status earning clearly when booking a flight. Be sure to log into your loyalty program account when making the search so that it takes into account any potential elite status bonus earnings. The details are available before paying for the ticket, but airlines may display the information at different stages of the booking process. The above example is from American Airlines.

» Learn more: American Airlines AAdvantage program: The complete guide

Delta and United also show these details on the final payment page, although for United, you have to click  "View MileagePlus earnings for this trip" to see it.

» Learn more: The complete guide to redeeming United MileagePlus miles

Earning miles if you have elite status

Holding elite status comes with lots of great travel perks, and among them is the ability to earn bonus miles for your flights. The three major global network carriers all award a similar amount for general members as well as each elite status tier. They only differ in the way they award miles for those with basic economy tickets.

Earning on airline partners

To add to the complexity of how many miles you can earn, the revenue-based earning structure on the big three global network carriers may not apply to their partners. They may, instead, look at a combination of fare class paid, distance flown and your elite status.

Let’s take a look at one of many possible examples. This is how American Airlines AAdvantage members earn award miles and elite-qualifying Loyalty Points on Qatar Airways flights:

Keep in mind that the earning method can vary based on how you book your ticket. Sometimes, if you book a Qatar Airways flight operating with an AA flight number, you earn based on American’s accrual methods. This adds even more complexity, and it can be especially frustrating if you think you will be earning a larger stash then you actually do.

In the example above, booking a “J” class ticket with a QR flight code would earn 250% of the distance flown. But, if your ticket was booked under the AA flight code and cost, let’s say $5,000 (and you have Executive Platinum status), you would earn around 55,000 miles ($5,000 x 11 miles). Depending on how far you are flying, it may be better to book your ticket one way rather than another.

Another thing to consider is that if you are buying what airlines call “special fares” — like those sold through a cruise line or one that is part of a package holiday — there can sometimes be a different accrual chart. In the same example, but using the chart for special fares above, if you took an AA-marketed flight to Doha that was sold as a hotel-flight package deal where you did not know the specific flight cost, but in business class, your earnings would be fewer.

How Alaska Airlines can be more generous for some travelers

Since Alaska awards its Mileage Plan members based on physical miles flown, you can earn quite a bit more miles when flying in economy class on a flight from Seattle to New York than on another airline’s cheaper fare. But, if you have top-tier status with another airline and travel in paid premium cabins, you may be better off earning in another program. This is because the cost of a first class ticket and the multiplier of your elite status can often be higher, even on transcontinental flights.

For example, if a one-way flight from Seattle to New York for a general program member costs $200 on either Alaska or Delta, you’re going to do better taking Alaska since you will earn more than 2,000 miles based on distance flown. The same flight on Delta would earn $200 x 5 miles per dollar spent or 1,000 miles.

If you have elite status, that same flight on Delta would earn $200 x 11 miles per dollar spent (or 2,200 miles and about the same as a general member on Alaska). You’ll need to do a little math to determine which method or airline works better, and in some cases, that may not be Alaska.

Alaska mileage earning is simple

Online tools like Expert Flyer or Great Circle Mapper make it easy to see how many miles are in between an origin and destination airport. For example, Seattle to Las Vegas is 866 miles, according to both online tools. This can give you a general idea to know how many miles you can expect to receive.

You will also want to check your elite status tier and fare class to see if you are eligible for a bonus percentage of the distance flown. In all cases, except basic economy, you will earn at least 100% of distance flown. And if you’re in a higher fare class like J (these details will appear as a purchased fare class letter on your confirmation), you’ll get another 100% bonus plus even more if you have elite status.

An economy class ticket between Seattle and Las Vegas would earn at least 866 miles unless you’re in basic economy. These parameters also apply to Hawaiian Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com (for example, a flight from Honolulu to Seattle booked via Alaska).

Earning as a Mileage Plan elite status member

Elite status Alaska Mileage Plan members earn bonus miles on their distance-flown mileage in the form of different percentage rates and their tier. This is the earning structure:

• MVP: 25% bonus.

• MVP Gold: 50% bonus.

• MVP Gold 75K: 100% bonus.

• MVP Gold 100K: 150% bonus.

Earning on Alaska Airlines partners

Alaska gives out miles in its program based on distance for its partners, too. But, it all depends on how you book the flight, whether via Alaska’s website or another booking method.

As seen in the above chart, buying an international business class ticket on a partner airline through Alaska delivers a total of 250% distance flown and even more if you have elite status.

If you book an Alaska partner airline without going through Alaska’s reservations system, there is a separate chart for earnings (called “Earning on partner flights booked via partner site”), shown below. It is generally better to book directly with Alaska for maximum mileage earning.

Earning points on JetBlue

JetBlue Airways’ loyalty program awards points, not miles, and the amount you earn is based on the type of fare. Most fares earn 3 points per dollar, with the exception of Blue Basic, which only earns 1 point per eligible dollar. You can then secure bonus multipliers based on your elite status or whether or not you have a JetBlue credit card.

The airline takes things a step further by offering a direct booking bonus for going through JetBlue for the reservation, even on its basic economy tickets. You’ll earn another 3 points per dollar this way (just 1 point for Blue Basic; no points for a vacation package).

No points are awarded for things like taxes, fees or travel insurance.

Earning as a Mosaic elite or JetBlue credit cardholder

Mosaic members (3x bonus) that book directly (3x points) and have a co-branded JetBlue credit card (3-6x points) can earn as many as 15 points per dollar spent. That’s a lot of points, more so than other airlines for their top elite members. But, then again, not all frequent flyer miles and points are created equally.

» Learn more: 10 things the JetBlue TrueBlue Rewards program gets right

How travelers earn points on Southwest

Southwest Airlines, like JetBlue, awards points instead of miles in its Rapid Rewards program, which are based on the type of fare and cost of the ticket. The airline explains its model in the below online graphic, which can be toggled between “base,” “A-List” and “A-List Preferred” tier levels within its program.

For a base member, the earnings would look like this:

• Business Select: 14 points per dollar.

• Anytime: 10 points per dollar.

• Wanna Get Away Plus: 6 points per dollar.

• Basic: 2 points per dollar.

But, for an A-List Preferred member, the earnings would be a bit more generous, like this:

• Business Select: 28 points per dollar.

• Anytime: 20 points per dollar.

• Wanna Get Away Plus: 12 points per dollar.

• Basic: 4 points per dollar.

By searching for a preferred flight, you can switch between fare types to see the number of miles you would earn.

Is there a bonus for an A-List elite?

Like other airlines, yes! Southwest has two levels of elite status. There are A-List and A-List Preferred tiers, which earn 25% and 100% bonuses respectively. And the airline also has another prize up for grabs, based on how many Rapid Rewards points you earn: the Southwest Companion Pass, which is not related to elite status. This coveted unlimited flight pass comes after taking 100 flights or earning 135,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points within a calendar year.

The bottom line

Depending on the airline you choose, determining the number of miles or points you need can be a puzzle of sorts. But, when you put together all of the pieces like elite status, fare type and even how you booked the flight, the total amount earned becomes clearer. These days, it is safe to assume that the more you pay for a ticket, the more rewards you will earn.

Airlines have complicated their programs over the years, but they have also made it more transparent when making a reservation to see how many miles or points will end up in your frequent flyer account.