The Rules of Using Points to Fly First Class

There are few better uses of credit card points than flying first class, and I know this because I have spent an unreasonable amount of time figuring out how to do it. I’ve flown in cabins that would have cost more than some entry-level Birkins had I paid cash, only to watch the “Amount Due at Checkout” disappear as my points balance takes its place.

But it’s not quite as simple as the internet would have you believe. There are transfer partners to understand, award charts to decipher, availability to stalk, and the occasional chaos of having a seat you have spent three months planning around disappear while you are in the process of booking it. But once you understand the rules, flying first class on points becomes less of a lottery and more like a game. What you need to understand is that points are a currency, and like any currency, they are most valuable when you learn how to play the game. Here are my rules for doing it right.

Rule No. 1: Understand What an “Award Seat” Means

Let’s say you’re trying to book a gorgeous business class seat from JFK to Paris. The airline is selling it for $8,000, and you have 150,000 points and are feeling pretty good about yourself. But when you search for the same flight with miles, it isn’t there.

The thing is, airlines control how many seats they release for award travel, and they don’t all play by the same rules—some are relatively generous, and others can be downright stingy. An airline may have a dozen premium cabin seats available, and choose to make only one or two available to someone paying with miles, so don’t assume you’ll always be able to secure a first class seat.

With a cash ticket, you can decide you’re going to fly to Paris on June 14 and then shop around for the best fare. With an award ticket, however, you may have to let seat availability dictate the trip. If you’re willing to be flexible, this is where the game gets interesting. I’ve learned to search not just by destination, but by airport, date, and even airline alliance. If the Paris flight you want isn’t available from JFK, check Newark. If Friday is impossible, try Thursday. And if New York isn’t cooperating at all, see what happens if you search Boston or Washington, D.C.—sometimes the difference between a $7,000 flight and a 70,000-point redemption is simply being flexible with your parameters.

Rule No. 2: Transferable Points Are the Way

If your goal is a first-class seat, maximize your opportunities by enrolling in a credit card program that gives you options, and don’t put all your eggs in one basket by pledging allegiance to a single airline. The major transferable points programs—Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Points—allow you to move points into a range of airline frequent-flier programs.

Keep an eye out for sign-up bonuses, which can be powerful. Depending on the card and the offer, a new cardholder can earn tens of thousands of points, sometimes upon signing up and sometimes upon spending a certain threshold during a period of time. And when selecting the right program for you, it helps to consider where you plan on doing most of your spending, and which categories that particular program rewards most, whether that’s things like restaurants and entertainment, or the regular fuel-ups for your car at the gas station.

One important rule: don’t transfer those hard-earned points until you have found the flight you want and confirmed that your award seat is available (not every flight allocates award seats). Once points leave their home in a transferable points program, they generally can’t be moved back.

Rule No. 3: Consider business class before obsessing over first

Keep in mind that business class on many long-haul airlines is very, very good. And while it may not have the panache of telling all your friends you’re about to fly “first class,” it comes with the things most people actually want from first class: lie-flat seats, lounge access, good food, and the ability to fly around the globe without feeling like you’ve been put away damp.

First class is a different proposition, especially on airlines like Emirates, Qatar Airways, or Singapore Airlines, where “first” usually means a private suite, extraordinary dining with things like champagne and caviar, and, in some cases, an onboard shower. But those seats are also much harder to find with points—and airlines frequently release only a single first-class seat at a time, which can make honeymoon travel or traveling with a friend nearly impossible if both of you are looking to redeem award seats in upper classes.

Rule No. 4: Know your (points’) worth

Not every first-class award is a bargain simply because you aren’t paying cash. If an airline wants 200,000 points for a seat that might cost $10,000, that would be an excellent use of your points. If another airline wants 200,000 points for a seat that would otherwise cost $2,000, you may want to keep shopping. You don’t need to become a spreadsheet person obsessing over every shift in pricing to score a deal here, but it helps to be able to compare the cash price of a ticket with the number of points required. This is generally referred to as the value, or cents per point, that you’re getting from a redemption.

And most importantly, keep in mind that there is no such thing as a purely free award flight. Even if you book with points, you are almost always guaranteed to be charged taxes and fees, which on some airlines can range from a few hundred dollars to upwards of $1,000 each way.

Rule No. 5: When the seat appears, be ready to move

You don’t have to spend your life refreshing airline websites to find the best deals. There are certain award flight search tools that you can use to monitor availability across multiple programs. Most have free versions, like Points Path, and others like Seats.aero and Expert Flyer charge for more sophisticated searches. They’re particularly useful when you have a rough idea and time period of when you want to travel, but aren’t emotionally attached to one specific flight.

The important part is what you do when the alerts start arriving. If you’ve found a good award, you can’t assume that it will last long, as premium cabin inventory disappears quickly. That makes it crucial that you have your points ready, know which program you intend on transferring them to, and be prepared to drop some cash on any taxes and fees so that you can book on relatively short notice.

If all this buildup and anticipation sounds comically intense, that’s because it is—but the serotonin hit of booking a business- or first-class flight using nothing but points is a payoff that’s well worth the anticipation.