Airline alliances and miles: how to travel in business class

The three global alliances and how to leverage them

Airlines are organized into three major alliances — Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld — that together cover most international routes and allow you to accumulate and redeem miles across dozens of different carriers with a single loyalty card. Concentrating your flights on a single alliance, even switching airlines each time, is the fastest way to reach the status thresholds set by your chosen program.

Status and thresholds: what's needed to level up

The thresholds for Elite levels change from program to program and are updated periodically by airlines, so they should always be checked on the specific program's website before planning your year of flying. Miles don't accumulate just from flying: co-branded credit cards and commercial partners (hotels, car rentals, sometimes daily shopping) also contribute to your balance and can accelerate reaching status.

Using miles to fly business class

Redeeming miles for an upgrade from economy to business class on an intercontinental route is typically the best conversion in terms of miles spent versus ticket value saved. The practical limit is award availability: airlines put a limited number of award seats up for sale per flight, so booking well in advance — or staying flexible with dates — significantly increases your chances of success. For other upgrade strategies, see this dedicated article.

Buying miles: when it makes sense

Airlines periodically launch mile purchase promotions with bonuses on the base price. It only makes sense to take advantage of them when the miles you're buying will complete the balance for an already-identified and available redemption, not as a generic investment: the cost per mile in promotions still remains higher than what you'd earn by flying.

Before choosing which alliance to focus on, check which of the three covers your most-flown routes best: reaching status on an alliance you don't use on your usual routes produces no concrete benefit.