An award flight is the point of the whole method: a seat bought with miles instead of cash. This page covers what an award flight is, what it costs, what still has to be paid in money, and how the search and the booking run. Every figure carries the date it was checked and its source, and each claim is labelled as a programme rule, an observation, a calculation or an interpretation. The spend hub carries the other ways to use a balance, and the conversion page is where PAYBACK points become the miles.
What an award flight is
An award flight is a seat paid for with miles. The programme releases a limited number of seats in the booking classes it opens for awards, and the miles buy the seat while the taxes and the surcharges stay in money. Seats are released route by route and date by date, which is why an award is found by searching, not by expecting a specific flight to be open.
Two pricing systems run side by side, and which one applies decides how an award is priced.
Why spend miles on flights first
What an award flight costs
On the chart, the value depends on the region and the cabin. The rows below are the return values from Europe, read from the chart valid from 3 June 2025 and standing 3 March 2026. A one-way is half.
| Region, return from Europe | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 28,000 | 50,000 | none |
| Middle East, North and Central Africa | 42,000 | 75,000 | 140,000 |
| North America, southern Africa, India | 50,000 | 125,000 | 215,000 |
| South America | 75,000 | 160,000 | 245,000 |
| Central Asia and the Far East | 75,000 | 170,000 | 260,000 |
| South East Asia | 85,000 | 200,000 | 260,000 |
| Australia, New Zealand, Oceania | 95,000 | 215,000 | 330,000 |
The taxes and surcharges
The miles buy the seat, and the money side of an award is charged on top of them.
How to search and book
- Search as broadly as the map allows. A nearby airport served by a partner can open an award that the home airport does not, and a connection through another city is part of the same award.
- Log in before searching. The mile value and the surcharges show reliably only against a signed-in account, and a fresh sign-in is sometimes needed.
- Search one date at a time. The calendar view is not a live availability check, so a day it shows can be gone on the click, and a day it leaves out can still hold a seat.
- Compare the classes. The result list shows an alternative cabin for the same route, which is the fastest way to see whether the next class up is worth the miles.
- Use the service team for partner flights. A flight that cannot be booked online is booked by phone, and the desk can also see award seats the site leaves out.
When to book
The timing of the conversion is part of the timing of the booking. PAYBACK points take up to five working days to show as miles, so the transfer runs before the search, not on the day of it.
One-way or return
On the chart a one-way is half a return, so the two are the same price. On the dynamic system the relationship is not fixed, and the booking has to be checked rather than assumed.
Paying only part with miles
After the booking
A completed award behaves like any other ticket. A confirmation mail arrives with the booking reference, the booking shows in the Miles and More account, and the airline apps manage the trip from there.
What this page does not cover
The pieces of the booking live on their own pages, each as it is read and dated:
- How to find award availability covers the calendar and the search.
- The award chart and dynamic pricing covers the two systems in detail.
- Mileage bargains and last-minute awards covers the rotating offers.
- Taxes and surcharges on an award covers the money side.
- Paying part of a fare with miles covers Cash and Miles.
- Mileage pooling is on the way. Coming soon
Checkedmiles-and-more.com