How to Start Earning Airline Miles with These Top-Rated Frequent Flyer Programs (FFP)

Airlines and airline associations run frequent-flyer services, or FFPs, which are loyalty programs. Customers earn points for potential travel deals and other rewards every time they fly.

Points can be won depending on the fare class, the distance traveled on that airline or its partners, or the amount charged under FFPs. There are several ways to win rewards/points. Using co-branded credit and debit cards, for example, has earned more points in recent years than flying.

Another way to earn points is to spend money at affiliated retail stores, car rental companies, hotels, or other related businesses. Points may be redeemed for airline tickets, other goods or facilities, or added benefits such as travel class upgrades, access to airport lounges, fast track access, or priority bookings.

The majority of big airlines have their own frequent flyer programs – such as Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club.

The general concept behind the FFP (aka airline reward), is that if you invest your money with one airline, you can earn miles or points that can be redeemed for free flights, better seats, or special care. The word “miles” does not refer to a distance traveled or a free flight; it simply refers to the reward currency used by certain airlines.

Yes, it is always a good idea to sign-up for an airline reward program, even if you don’t fly that often (you don’t have to be a frequent flyer – considering the term’s connotation). These programs are both free and easy to join, and flying is not the only way to earn miles.

When booking your first flight, you can sign up online. Then, when purchasing tickets, enter your frequent flyer number to collect loyalty miles or points. Miles usually have a long expiry date so you can accumulate them until you reach the minimum status. Depending on which airline you fly, you can minimally qualify with just a couple of international round-trip flights.

Once you achieve the minimum status, you can start redeeming miles for flights, complimentary upgrades, and perks such as free checked baggage, hot seats, or in-flight Wi-Fi. One of the advantages of FFP is the partnerships they have with various travel-related companies including hotels, car rentals, or retail stores which often offer significant discounts for frequent flyers. Also, airlines often join with their partners to run special promotions targeted at frequent flyers.

Things go even better if you’re a frequent flyer who travels mainly on business and on flights that you haven’t paid for out of your own pocket. You’ll get complimentary upgrades once you’ve built up your status – practically you can get free flights this way.

Following the health crisis that’s been going, WHO and IATA guidelines have resulted in even more travel bans and flight cancellations around the world. And to some extent, it can be very hectic and troublesome. However, over time, airlines have brought in more flexibility for the passengers – both in terms of standard booking policies and their frequent flyer programs.
Below are few airlines which are offering amazing extensions and benefits to their already subscribed FFP members:

• All Marco Polo Club Green, Silver, Gold, and Diamond elite members whose membership term expired between May 2020 and April 2021 had their status automatically extended by Cathay Pacific. The extension is valid for a period of 12 months from the date of expiry. Similarly, the carrier is expanding “mid-tier” perks such as lounge passes and upgrades for the same period of time.
• Members of Emirates Skywards Silver, Gold, and Platinum whose status expires in 2021 will have their status extended to 2022. For example, if your Tier Review date is June 30, 2021, it will be moved to June 30, 2022. Emirates has released a number of travel exemptions that enable certain passengers to cancel their flights without penalty.
• Etihad Airways started distributing monthly bonus Tier Miles to all Etihad Guest subscribers on March 31, 2020, to assist them in maintaining elite status. On the last day of each month, these bonus Tier Miles will be automatically deposited into Etihad Guest accounts. This promotion ran from March to December of 2020. Although, there is no news about whether it will return in 2021 but we are hopeful Etihad will be back with this amazing offer.
• Qantas was one of the first airlines to announce program-wide changes, immediately extending status validity by 12 months for all existing elite members that did not requalify in 2020. Members who are eligible will receive a new elite ranking card by the end of the month in which their existing status is due to expire. According to Qantas, there is no need to enroll in order to take advantage of this extension, as all extensions would be processed automatically.
• All Qatar Privilege Club members will see their elite statuses prolonged till 31st December 2021.
• In 2021, Singapore Airlines extend elite status once more. According to the airline, all elite members whose status is set to expire between March 2021 and February 2022 will maintain their status for an additional 12 months. SIA is also waiving rebooking fees on all tickets booked by February 28, 2021, in addition to this extension.

The trick to make the most of frequent flyer programs is to accumulate miles effectively and redeem them to your benefit, as in the process known as “earn and burn”.

Ways to earn miles

Flying the airline is the most basic way to gain miles. Despite the fact that incentives are often referred to as miles, today’s rewards are usually earned based on how much money you spend rather than how far you travel. In a simplistic example, for every dollar spent on airfare, you could earn 5 miles. You will gain 2,500 miles with a $500 round-trip flight. To receive enough miles for a free round-trip flight costing 25,000 miles, you’d have to pay for that sort of flight ten times. At that point, it’s equivalent to a retailer’s “buy ten, get one free” promotion.

There are other options for earning the miles the easy way: airline credit cards, shopping at the airline bonus malls, booking hotels and car rentals that work under your airline, dining rewards programs, or fly partner airlines. You can even buy miles for cash (this is the last resort – handy if you still need a few miles to get your reward). Airlines put lots of effort into promoting their FFPs, so it’s always a good idea to check what special deals are available at the moment. Our Promo Radar collects them all, with daily updates.

Ways to ‘burn’ miles

There are three basic and popular ways to ‘burn’ your miles:

• Fly for free. Use your airline’s booking website to see how much a flight would cost if you pay with miles or points rather than cash. Some airlines publish an awards chart that shows how many points or miles you’ll need for a particular flight. Your airline program can offer multiple levels of award seats, with higher mileage requirements for more desirable flight times, seats, and cabins. Since they’re often granted as one-way fares, you’ll have to add miles to both the outbound and return flights separately if you’re using miles.
• Class upgrade. Another effective use of miles is to upgrade to a premium class seat. Some upgrades to business or first class include a cash co-payment in addition to miles. Upgrades are focused on one-way flights, much like award seats. Upgrade prices can be mentioned in the airline’s award chart as well.
• Miscellaneous. Airport lounge memberships, hotel stays, car rentals, cruises, and gift cards are also possible redemption options. Although, avoiding these choices might be a good option because they appear to give a lower value than your hard-earned points and miles.

Now, let’s have a look at the most popular FFPs offered in the Asia Pacific region.

If collecting frequent flyer points was your favorite pastime before 2020, you may be wondering what to do with them now – when travel restrictions limiting where you can travel. Fortunately, your miles don’t have to go to waste: check this video to learn what to do with them while they’re in hibernation.

The AirAsia FFP is known as the Freedom Flyer Programme. It is a loyalty scheme run by BIG Rewards that was created to reward members for flying with AirAsia in the first place. The program has four membership levels: Red, Gold, Platinum, and Black, each with its own set of benefits and perks for our BIG Members.

Benefits of joining AirAsia FFP

AirAsia Big Member will allow you to get an instant discount and BIG Points every time you book the flight ticket through the AirAsia website/app. You will be earning AirAsia BIG Points which are awarded based on the total expenditure rather than the distance traveled. Extra points can be earned from various purchases at Airasia’s merchant partners (travel, lifestyle, hotel, and financial services), and later redeemed for discounted flights, hot seats, and other AirAsia add-ons.

• Instant discounts for all AirAsia flights
• Early access to AirAsia promotions (24 hours before the campaign start)
• Early check-in, boarding, and baggage handling for Platinum and Black members
• Redeem BIG Fixed Points and fly anywhere at the same price
• Special offers and gifts

Earning and redeeming BIG Points

Although the Malaysian airline AirAsia is a long way from Australia, its Freedom Flyer Program is in collaboration with a variety of local and international businesses, making earning points from afar easy. Members of the BIG program will gain points in the following ways:

• Flying on AirAsia flights
• Shopping online via the BIG shop mall
• Transferring points from partner programs such as Samsung
• Booking hotels and cars via online booking portals

The BIG program does it a little differently in this regard: when it comes to redeeming points, BIG has a fixed point program. Members can redeem points based on flight hours rather than cost. BIG points can be redeemed for discounts at the majority of the same partner hotels, car rental agencies, and travel operators where they can be earned (unfortunately, the majority of these are only available to Malaysians). Tune Hotels, Rocketmiles, Kaligo.com, Club Sirocco, and, of course, AirAsia are among the redemption partners. The airline is also well known for its abundance of promotions – you should always make sure to check for the latest ones before booking an AirAsia ticket.

Is it worth signing up for AirAsia FFP?

If you often travel through Asia or spend a lot of time in Malaysia, joining AirAsia’s BIG program will be perfect. The BIG freedom flyer program, which works with a variety of local and international partners, is free, simple to enter, and has a good earning potential. Also, with the introduction of bot-based live chat, getting help from AirAsia is now much easier and faster.

The frequent flyer program for Air New Zealand is known as the Airpoints and it can be joined without any charge. Due to the opportunity to receive Airpoints Dollars (APD) with credit cards, Air New Zealand and Star Alliance flights, as well as its other partners such as hotels, car rentals, and retail outlets, it is quite relevant to the Australian travelers.

It’s a very peculiar program that ANZ offers because it’s entirely revenue-based. This means the amount of points you receive is proportional to the cost of the flight, and the pace at which you will regain them also depends on the amount you spend (unless you stumble upon one of ANZ special deals). This can be quite confusing as it doesn’t have such a good value as some of the other frequent flyer services. For example, earning enough APDs for a high-cost Business Class flight with Air New Zealand can be difficult.

Using APD on partner airlines, on the other hand, is based on a fixed-price reward chart, as is the case for the majority of frequent flyer programs. Therefore, if you’re willing to get the best out of your APDs then the best-value redemptions are those made through partner airlines.

1 Airpoints Dollar is equal to NZ$1 in purchasing power and may expire if not used for 4 years. This is how you can spend your Airpoints Dollars:

• Buy a flight or cabin class upgrade
• Buy food and drink onboard
• Increase your check-in baggage allowance
• Cover ancillary fees (seat selection, etc)
• Buy products and gifts in Airpoints Store
• Pay for hotels, rental cars, or travel insurance

Cathay Pacific has its own Marco Polo Club frequent flyer program as well as an Asia Miles rewards program (focused on a range of travel and lifestyle awards). All members of Marco Polo Club are automatically enrolled as Asia Miles members.

As Cathay Pacific is part of the Oneworld alliance, you can earn or redeem miles/points on Cathay Pacific regardless of which Oneworld airline FFP you choose to travel with: such as American Airlines (AAdvantage), Japan Airlines (JAL Mileage Bank), Malaysia Airlines (Enrich), Qantas (Qantas Frequent Flyer), Qatar Airways (Privilege Club), SriLankan Airlines (FlySmiLes) – to name a few. When flying Cathay Pacific or Oneworld partners, you win Club Points from Marco Polo Club. You will gain elite status in the program by earning enough points.

When it comes to Asia Miles, there are many ways to earn them; here are the four most common:

• Choose Cathay Pacific while flying or any of its partner airlines
• Credit Cards programs
• Cathay Pacific promotions
• Spending on car rentals, hotel, and retail partners

Asia Miles points are valid for three years from the date of credit. An interesting feature here is that you can extend their expiration date by renewing miles in blocks of 2,000 Asia Miles for $40 (online) or for $100 (offline).

Since Cathay Pacific is a member of the Oneworld alliance, you can use your Asia Miles to travel on any of the alliance’s airlines. You can also use your Asia Miles to travel on the airline’s partners that are not members of the Oneworld alliance.

Emirates‘ reward program is called Skywards. Over the past two decades, it became one of the most popular FFP in the world with 27 million members.

There are four tiers of Skywards: Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Elite. Each tier has its own rewards and benefits, and miles expire after three years. Keep in mind that tier miles can only be received on Emirates-operated flights or codeshare flights with other Emirates-marketed airlines.

How to earn Skywards Points

Earning Emirates Skywards Points varies slightly from rules you may find in other popular FFPs. When you fly with Emirates, you can collect points based on the transited zones rather than the actual distance traveled. Even though obtaining the points seems to be more challenging, it is not.

There are two fare groups that vary in terms of the number of points earned – Flex and Saver. For example, a round trip to Dubai from a North America West zone city for an economy class Saver fare (IAH, LAX, SEA, SFO, or DFW) could earn you around 7,000 miles. A more expensive Flex fare could even double this number, so you should consider Flex fares if you are a serious frequent flyer points collector.

One can move up the tier ladder by earning Skywards miles on flyDubai airline as well. Along with tier status updates, UAE-owned flyDubai offers its customers to earn and redeem the Skyward rewards on preferential benefits. So, if you’re someone who flies frequently with Emirates or its partner airline, then signing up for Emirates FFP would be an added advantage.

Emirates is also well known for its abundance of promotions aimed at frequent flyers – you should always make sure to check for the latest ones before booking a ticket.

Etihad Guest is the airline’s frequent flyer program. It is preferred by frequent Etihad flyers for its travel advantages and upgrades. After going through the registration process, you can see your status and all account activity on the Account Summary page.

Etihad Guest miles expire in 18 months without any activity on your side if you are a General, Silver, or Gold member. Fortunately, you can easily extend the expiration date by another 18 months just by making any transaction (such as earning or spending miles). Only Platinum members can enjoy their miles without worrying about expiration.

The Etihad guest tiers have quite an impressive set of benefits that varies from tier to tier but the few common ones are priority check-ins, excess baggage allowances, discounts on the class upgrades, promo and bonus miles, and airport lounge access.

Etihad Guest Miles can be earned by flying as well as by purchases for everyday activities. This Miles Calculator will help you to see how many miles you’ll earn when flying Etihad. The miles and tier up-gradation can also happen by flying on partner airlines such as Air New Zealand, ANA, Bangkok Airways, Garuda Indonesia, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, and Virgin Australia.

Garuda Indonesia is a luxurious airline of Indonesia, with the Indonesian government being the majority shareholder. GarudaMiles, the company’s frequent flyer program, provides excellent redemption rates on domestic flights within Indonesia. Although there is one major hurdle to using GarudaMiles: the award tickets cannot be booked online or by contacting its customer support – you have to visit a Garuda ticketing office. The airline’s Australian offices are located in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, while U.S. offices are limited to Chicago, New York, Encino, and Houston, California.

Although Garuda cannot compete in terms of route coverage with major airlines, it is a serious contender in terms of efficiency, onboard quality, and frequent promotions. Garuda was ranked eighth in Skytrax’s top ten airlines for 2015, ahead of Qantas Airways of Australia.

ANA, Jet Airways, and Etihad Airways are among Garuda Indonesia partner airlines. GarudaMiles can also be used with Citilink, its domestic subsidiary. Signing up for the GarudaMiles will give you multiple benefits, such as:

• Up to 20% off for international routes
• Dedicated check-in counters at the airport
• Extra baggage allowance
• Priority baggage handling
• Priority waitlist on ticket reservations
• Access to Garuda Indonesia airport lounges
• Great offers from partners of Garuda Indonesia worldwide
• Upgrades to your membership tier through miles redemption

But every light has its shadow – Garuda and its partners charge a lot for long-haul award flights. A round-trip business class ticket between the United States and Indonesia costs 220,000 miles each way. That’s 40% higher than the cost of a partner flight on United Airlines. On a positive note, you can use your GarudaMiles to easily upgrade your economy seat bought with cash to a much more comfortable Garuda Business Class (or Business Class to First Class). Plus, as all awards tickets are transferable, you can use your miles to book the ticket for someone else.

Enrich, Malaysia Airlines’ frequent flyer program, offers a world of benefits, lifestyle perks, periodic promotions, and priority service.

When you travel with Malaysia Airlines, Oneworld member airlines, and Enrich partner airlines, you’ll earn Enrich Points. You can also gain Enrich Points by converting bank, fuel, and retail points or spending them with the airline’s lifestyle partners (hotel stays, tours, car rentals, retail, dining, etc). When you travel with Malaysia FFP Enrich, you may choose from around 400,000 hotels and gain up to 15,000 Enrich Points for every night booked.

Enrich Points can be redeemed for a variety of experiences – flights, seat upgrades, extra baggage allowance, retail products, Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounges, and more. No matter when you fly, Enrich Base ensures that flight redemption stays at a set, attractive pace.

It may be a good idea to get started with Enrich FFP by signing up for its Enrich Blue card. When traveling frequently, you’ll be able to unlock more benefits as you progress through the Enrich Elite tiers of Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Plus, your Oneworld status will be recognized by all Oneworld member airlines – including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and SriLankan Airlines.

Qantas is Australia’s oldest airline and largest by a number of metrics, including fleet size and routes served. Qantas is an acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, and The Flying Kangaroo is the airline’s nickname.

The loyalty program is known as Qantas Frequent Flyer, and it is a member of the Oneworld alliance. Unlike other airline award schemes, Qantas’ Frequent Flyer scheme has a cost of AU$99.50 (US$72) to enter if you are an Australian or New Zealand citizen.

If you do not collect or use your Qantas Points for 18 months, they will expire. Earning or using Qantas Points with the program’s partners qualifies as eligible activity, and the 18-month clock will be reset. The cycle of expiration always starts on the date of your most recent operation.

Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Platinum One are the four elite tiers of the program, with higher tiers providing more benefits to participants. You’ll get free luggage, priority check-in, and boarding, luxury seats, lounge access, waived booking fees, special promotions, and more as you progress through the levels.

The Qantas Frequent Flyer Program is based on a credit system known as Status Credits, which you receive with each qualifying flight. You can redeem your Qantas Points for Qantas flights or for travel with other Oneworld alliance airlines after receiving enough points on your account.

Qantas Frequent Flyer members can enjoy dedicated customer support, with shorter waiting times than the standard Qantas call center. If you’re a Platinum member, you’ll have your own dedicated number. Calling the mainline and entering your frequent flyer number usually transfers you straight to the Platinum customer service agent.

Qatar Airways’ main base is located near the hubs of other major Middle East airlines such as Emirates and Etihad.

The Qatar Airways Privilege Club is a frequent flyer program that offers exclusive benefits if you travel with Qatar or with Oneworld alliance partner airlines on a regular basis.

When you receive a certain amount of QPoints, you will be promoted to Elite status in the Privilege Club scheme. The number of points you earn depends on the length of your flight, the airline you’re flying with, and the fare class you choose. In addition to the QPoints won based on their elite ranking, Privilege Club frequent flyers receive Qmiles on each flight. These points can be used for upgrades, online shopping, excess luggage, and hotel stays, among other things.

KrisFlyer is Singapore Airlines‘ frequent flyer program, and it is one of the most popular FFPs for premium travel. The airline is often recognized both for its ultra-premium services (such as Singapore Suites) and for its unique business class.

Earning the KrisFlyer Miles

The KrisFlyer program helps you to collect miles for traveling, credit card transactions, spending with its travel partners, and shopping through its retail portal.

• Earning via flying. KrisFlyer mileage is calculated based on the length of the flight and the airline’s earn rate percentage. Singapore Airlines provides a chart of all mileage accrual rates as well as a miles calculator to help you decide how much mileage you can receive. Except for economy tickets in booking classes G, K, N, Q, V, or L, KrisFlyer Silver, Gold, and PPS Club members earn a 25% bonus on real miles traveled.
• Earning via credit cards. Singapore Airlines partners with a number of flexible point services, including American Express and Chase. Applying for personal and business credit cards from American Express, Chase, Citi, and Marriott will get you extra points that can be transferred directly to Singapore Airlines.
• Other ways to earn miles. Singapore Airlines has a list of travel partners, ranging from hotels to car rental companies, that allow you to earn airline miles when you spend money with them. This can be a perfect way to collect extra miles by saving money you already have. A hotel stay, for example, will earn you miles.

KrisFlyer Elite Status

Singapore Airlines has its own elite club to reward its most loyal customers, where benefits vary based on the elite status. KrisFlyer has three membership levels, two of which are elite tiers: Silver and Gold. The higher your elite status, the more rewards you can get, such as winning bonus points while traveling.

KrisFlyer miles are awarded depending on the distance traveled the type of ticket purchased, and your elite status. The longer the flight, the higher the cabin class, and the higher your elite status, the more miles you’ll gain.

KrisFlyer miles and Elite Miles are the two currencies used in the scheme. When flying, elite miles are also won, but these miles are used to qualify for elite status.

KrisFlyer. This is the level attained by registering for a free account. Apart from the opportunity to gain and redeem miles, there are no other advantages.

KrisFlyer Silver. Silver is the first elite standard at which a member receives the benefits:

• Awarded after earning 25,000 Elite miles — status is valid for 12 months after earning it
• Mileage bonus of 25% on Singapore Airlines and SilkAir flights
• Priority waitlist for Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, or Star Alliance flights with Star Alliance Silver status
• Service fees are waived or reduced
• Occasional promotions

KrisFlyer Gold. Gold is the second, and the highest elite tier that is dependent solely on the number of miles flown and has no spending requirement. The above-mentioned silver benefits are supplemented by:

• When flying with Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Star Alliance, Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic, or Vistara Star Alliance, you will have access to a variety of airport lounges
• Allowance for additional baggage
• Check-in, boarding, and baggage handling are prioritized

PPS Club. In addition to the Silver and Gold elite levels, KrisFlyer has a package called the Priority Passenger Service Club (PPS Club) that rewards frequent flyers. The PPS Club’s entry-level membership allows you to spend $25,000 a year on luxury cabin travel (think Singapore Suites).