Miles fanatics and card churners are constantly looking for the best way to earn and use their airline rewards. It’s a time-consuming hobby, but a new study is doing some of the heavy lifting.
In its 2017 Airline Mile study, MileCards.com analyzed frequent-flier programs for five of the biggest US airlines: Alaska Airlines, American, Delta, Southwest and United. By scouring prices on more than 100,000 award travel and domestic route combinations, the comparison site provides insights for those looking to get the most out of their reward miles.
One the more interesting findings reveals the cheapest day to book awards travel. According to the data, if you book a flight on Tuesday, the average round-trip awards price is 30,574 miles, compared to Sunday when you can expect to use 41,332 miles. That means you’ll save almost 11,000 miles on a round-trip flight just by waiting a few more days.
If you’re looking for the frequent-flier program that offers awards travel for the least amount of miles, Southwest might deserve your loyalty. The airline’s Rapid Rewards program charges an average of 13,629 miles for a round-trip flight in the US. The most expensive option was American’s AAdvantage program, which charges 47,017 miles for a round-trip award flight on the same dates.
While Southwest Rapid Rewards has the cheapest prices, there are some caveats. The airline doesn’t fly to popular destinations like Hawaii and Vail, Colo., and it has fewer routes overall. Additionally, Southwest doesn’t have first-class seats, which is what some travelers prefer to book if they are using their hard-earned miles. According to MileCards.com, the lack of first-class seating and the absence of long-haul international flights allows the Rapid Rewards program to stay affordable for fliers, because the airline doesn’t focus solely on customers racking up hundreds of thousands of miles a year.
Those wanting more options for destinations and ticket class might prefer Delta Skymiles, which ranked second for the cheapest US flights, and charges an average price of 27,871 miles. United MileagePlus charges 42,613 miles for a round-trip awards flight in the US.
Do credit cards help?
MilesCards.com also answered the question of whether it was necessary to get a travel credit card, and if so, which one.
It boils down to how much you fly. If you’re taking more than two trips a year, and can cover the annual fee, a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve card could be very helpful. Not only do you get perks (like a $300 travel credit), but you can also earn points for travel, which can be transferred to airlines like United and Southwest.
If you only fly once or twice a year, it might be better to consider a cash-back card. These cards, like the Citi Double Cash, offer 2% cash back on every purchase, which would total $480 in cash back for a family spending $2,000 a month. The Department of Transportation says that the average price of a round-trip plane ticket was $344 in 2016, which means your cash back would be enough to cover the cost of 1.4 tickets a year.
Brittany is a reporter at Yahoo Finance.
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