What are airline miles, exactly?
Airline miles — also called points or award miles — are a currency that airlines and banks give you in exchange for spending money. You earn them by flying, by using certain credit cards, or by transferring points from a bank program. And then you can use them to pay for flights instead of cash.
Here's the thing most people don't realize: the value of a mile depends entirely on how you use it. A mile used to book an economy flight is worth maybe half a cent. That same mile used to book Business class can be worth 5–10 cents — or more. That's a 10–20x difference in value, just from choosing how to redeem.
This is the core insight behind award travel: miles are worth far more when you use them for premium cabins that you'd never pay cash for. Nobody pays $5,000 for a Business class ticket. But 60,000 miles? That's achievable from a single credit card sign-up bonus.
One credit card bonus = one Business class flight to Europe
The same seat would cost $3,000–5,000 in cash. You paid $26 and a credit card annual fee.
You probably already have miles. Here's how to get more.
Most people who fly occasionally already have miles sitting in an account somewhere — from a flight years ago, from a hotel stay, from a credit card they forgot about. The first step is checking what you already have.
But the fastest way to accumulate meaningful miles — enough for Business class — is through credit card sign-up bonuses. Not from flying. Not from shopping portals. From the bonus you get when you open a new card and meet a spending threshold in the first few months.
Credit card bonuses
The fastest path. A single sign-up bonus typically gives you 50,000–80,000 points — enough for a Business class flight. You spend $3,000–4,000 in 3 months on normal purchases and get the bonus.
Flying
You earn miles when you fly, based on distance and fare class. A transatlantic Business class ticket might earn 5,000–8,000 miles. Useful, but much slower than credit cards.
Hotels & partners
Hotels, car rentals, and shopping portals all offer miles. These can add up over time but are rarely the main source. Think of them as a nice supplement.
Transfer partners
Bank points (Chase, Amex, Capital One, Citi) can transfer to multiple airline programs. This is powerful — you can earn in one place and choose where to send them based on the best award rates.
The smartest approach: earn flexible bank points (Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards) that you can transfer to whichever airline program has the best availability for your trip.
Want to know which cards we recommend? See our credit card guides →
The hardest part: finding award seats that are actually available.
This is where most people get stuck — and it's the problem Tapp was built to solve.
Not every Business class seat can be booked with miles. Airlines set aside a limited number of "award seats" on each flight, and that number changes constantly. A flight might have zero award seats available, or it might have five. The only way to know is to check.
The old way was to check each airline's website manually, one by one. That's tedious, slow, and you'd miss seats on partner airlines that the primary airline's site doesn't show.
Tapp checks all of this automatically — scanning availability across United MileagePlus, Aeroplan, Turkish Miles&Smiles, American AAdvantage, and Qatar Privilege Club every 6 hours. When Business or First class seats are available on your route, you'll see them here.
The same seat can be bookable through multiple programs — at very different prices.
A Lufthansa Business class seat from New York to Frankfurt might show up in United MileagePlus at 60,000 miles, in Aeroplan at 65,000 miles, and in Turkish Miles&Smiles at 45,000 miles. Same seat, same flight, three different prices. Tapp shows you all of them.
How to actually book the seat once you find it.
Tapp shows you where award seats exist and which program to use to book them. The actual booking happens directly on the airline or loyalty program's website — we don't take a cut and we don't store your payment details.
Important: Award seat availability is real-time and changes constantly. If you see a seat on Tapp, book it as soon as you can — popular routes and dates go fast.
How our family flew Business class to Europe for $26.
We're a family of three — two adults and a toddler — based in Thailand. A few years ago, we looked at Business class from Bangkok to Europe and nearly choked on the price. $4,000+ per person, per way. As a family, that's a car.
So we figured out award travel. Here's exactly how we did our first booking:
Lufthansa Business class. Flat beds, champagne, real food. $121 total.
$26 in taxes + $95 card annual fee = $121 for a Business class flight that retailed for $4,200. We've done this more times than we can count now. It works. You just need to know where to look.
Ready to find your
first award seat?
Tapp checks live availability every 6 hours across the top loyalty programs. Start with a route you care about.