Most frequent flyers chase redemptions, eyeing that "free" business class seat on a 50,000-mile award. The better question is what the miles cost you in the first place. If you buy miles at $0.008 each and redeem them for flights worth $0.015 a mile, you've made money on the trade.
Here's how that works.
What a mile costs you
Programmes don't price miles the same way. Some charge a premium all year. Others sell them cheaply when a promotion runs.
The number to watch is cost per mile (CPM) when you buy.
What's a good CPM for buying?
- Great: $0.008–$0.010 per mile (rare, usually promo-only)
- Good: $0.010–$0.012 per mile (decent windows)
- Meh: $0.012–$0.015 per mile (usually not worth it)
- Avoid: >$0.015 per mile (just book cash tickets)
Three programmes worth knowing
Air France-KLM Flying Blue (SkyTeam): best overall
Flying Blue usually has the cheapest buying rates, thanks to its monthly Promo Rewards. Buy 32,000 miles, get 19,000 bonus miles, and you're paying about $0.0067 a mile. The monthly redemption promotions make it the easiest programme to start with.
Best for: Volume buyers, flexible travellers, short-haul Europe redemptions.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: best for premium
Singapore adds no fuel surcharges on most awards, and its premium cabins are where the value is. A Suites redemption can work out at $0.030–0.040+ per mile, about 5x what you paid.
Best for: Premium cabins and long-haul Asia-Europe routes.
ANA Mileage Club: cheapest to buy
ANA sells miles at $0.0083–$0.010 each, charges no surcharges on many Star Alliance partners and allows 2 stopovers on a round trip.
Best for: Buying cheaply, stopovers, North America routes.
The game plan
Step 1: Watch Flying Blue's monthly promos for a 40,000-mile business class deal.
Step 2: Do the maths. If that flight costs $3,500 cash and you bought your miles at $0.0067 each, you'd redeem them at $3,500 ÷ 40,000 = $0.0875 a mile. That's 13x what you paid. Book it.
Step 3: Spread your miles around: roughly 60% in premium programmes (Singapore, Qatar), 30% in flexible ones (Flying Blue, ANA) and 10% to try something new.
An example
Buy 51,000 Flying Blue miles for $342 ($0.0067/mile). Two weeks later, a Paris→Tokyo business promo comes up at 40,000 miles (cash price: $4,200). Redemption CPM: $0.105. Net value captured: $4,186 profit on a $342 buy.
The miles game is mostly about what you pay for the miles.