The Guide to the Korean Air Skypass Program

Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Korean Air got its start in the 1960s with only eight planes. Since then, the airline has expanded to 162 planes and now serves 40 countries and more than 100 destinations, including 10 cities in South Korea. Korean Air also serves cities across the U.S.

Korean Air is a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance, along with Delta Air Lines, Air France and Aeromexico, so you can use the Korean Air miles and elite status with partners across the airline alliance. Here’s everything you need to know about the Korean Air Skypass program.

An overview of Korean Air

Korean Air offers economy, business class and first class service. SkyTeam partner flights earn Korean Air Skypass miles based on the flight segment, seat and booking class. For business and first class flights on Korean Air’s U.S. routes, there’s an opportunity to earn quite a few miles because you earn miles based on distance flown.

• Points currency and loyalty program: Skypass is the frequent flyer loyalty program offered to Korean Air members. The Korean Air miles that you earn are called Skypass miles. Members can use these miles to book award flights on Korean Air and its partner airlines.

• Fare types: There are four classes of service offered by Korean Air: first class, Prestige class, which is business class, Premium economy and economy. For paid tickets, the letter of your booking class determines the number of miles you earn for the flight you book from 0% to 200%. For example, and F or A booking class is an international first class flight that earns 200% of the miles flown.

• Main U.S. routes: Korean Air flies to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York-JFK, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington-Dulles from Seoul-Incheon.

» Learn more: The best airline and hotel rewards loyalty programs this year

How to earn Korean Air Skypass miles

There are two primary ways members can earn miles in the Skypass program: by flying and through credit card spending.

Earn by flying

Skypass members can earn miles by flying Korean Air or its partner airlines. The number of miles you earn is based upon the distance and booking class of your flight. For example, a first class Korean Air flight from Dallas to Seoul is 6,824 miles and, in booking class F, earns 200% of the miles flown. So, 6,824 miles multiplied by 200% equals 13,648 Korean Air miles earned.

Earn by spending on credit cards

For U.S. citizens, Korean Air offers the SKYPASS SkyBlue Visa® Card (with a $0 annual fee), the SKYPASS Visa® Signature Credit Card ($99 annual fee) and the SKYPASS Select Visa Signature® Card ($450 annual fee) that earn miles with every purchase. For business operators, there's the Skypass Visa Business. Learn more about Korean Air consumer credit cards.

Other ways to earn

Certain hotels, rental car companies like Hertz and Avis and certain hotel bookings provide additional ways to earn Korean Air miles. Korean Air’s Family Plan allows family members to pool miles that can be redeemed for an award flight.

» Learn more: Is the SKYPASS Visa Secured Card worth its annual fee?

How to redeem Korean Air Skypass miles for maximum value

Redeeming Skypass miles for award flights returns the highest value for your miles. However, Korean Air offers additional ways to redeem its miles, some of which are certainly unique.

To determine the number of miles you need to book a flight, the Skypass program has multiple charts: a Korean Air flight award chart, a SkyTeam flight award chart and other charts for non-SkyTeam partners. There is also a separate chart showing how many points you need to upgrade a ticket on Korean Air and another for upgrading your ticket on SkyTeam partner airlines.

Korean Air award chart

With the Korean Air award chart, members have access to peak and off-peak pricing. This means award flights during off-peak dates require fewer miles.

SkyTeam award chart

Korean Air is a SkyTeam member, like Delta Air Lines, so your Korean Air miles can be used to book flights with any of its SkyTeam partner airlines. For example, you can book a round-trip Delta flight between the mainland U.S. and Hawaii with 25,000 Korean Air miles.

Other partner award charts

Korean Air also has partnerships with non-SkyTeam alliance partners, including Alaska Airlines, China Southern, Emirates, GOL and Japan Airlines. An example of how to use your miles with these partners would be to book a round-trip Alaska Airlines economy flight within most of the U.S. for 20,000 miles or to Hawaii with a stopover for 30,000 Korean Air miles.

Other ways to redeem miles

You can also redeem miles for Korean Air Lounge access, excess baggage fees, Korean Air logo products, award nights at its partner hotels, pet fees and other tourism activities. Redeeming miles in this way is not likely to yield high value, but is an option available to Skypass members.

Korean Air elite status

Morning Calm offers SkyTeam Elite status, an additional baggage allowance and Korean Air Prestige Class lounge access. Morning Calm Premium comes with all of the benefits of Morning Calm plus access to off-peak award rates during peak season and no award ticket change fees. Million Miler offers all of the benefits of Morning Calm Premium plus an exclusive domestic membership phone line.

Morning Calm Premium and Million Miler status are earned by the number of miles you fly. For Morning Calm status, qualification is based upon the number of miles you fly or flight segments. The chart below highlights how to qualify for each elite tier.

Korean Air Skypass, recapped

Collecting Korean Air Skypass miles can be a challenge since the airline doesn’t let you convert AmEx Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards® or Citi ThankYou points into Skypass miles. But if you can earn enough miles by flying Korean Air or its partner airlines, redemption rates for award flights are competitive.

If you’re flying to Asia, Korean Air could be a good choice, including in economy. And if you have a strategy for earning Skypass miles, its loyalty program can offer excellent value.