Last updated: July 2026. Alliance membership occasionally changes — carriers join and leave (SAS moved to SkyTeam in 2024; Oman Air exited Oneworld in 2025) — so confirm a specific airline's alliance before you build a plan around it.
Here's the single most valuable idea in award travel: you do not have to use an airline's own miles to fly it. Airlines band together into three global alliances, and any member's miles can book a seat on any other member's plane. That means you can fly Lufthansa without ever earning a Lufthansa mile, or Japan Airlines without a single JAL mile — you just use whichever partner program prices the seat cheapest. This guide is the map.
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What an alliance is — and why it matters for awards
An alliance is a marketing and loyalty partnership. Members share lounges, honor each other's elite status, and — the part we care about — let you book "partner awards": spending one program's miles on another member's flight. Two reasons this is powerful:
- Price arbitrage. Different programs charge wildly different mileage for the exact same seat. A Star Alliance business seat might cost 88,000 United miles, 87,000 Avianca LifeMiles, or 63,000 Aeroplan points — same plane, same cabin. You pick the cheapest.
- Access. Your bank points may only transfer to one member of an alliance — but through that member you can reach every airline in the group.
The trick is knowing which program to transfer your bank points to in order to book a given alliance. That's what the tables below are for.
Star Alliance — the biggest network
The widest reach of the three: ~25 airlines covering nearly every corner of the globe.
| Member | Region | Notable for |
|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | US | Huge domestic + Chase transfer partner |
| Air Canada (Aeroplan) | Canada | No fuel surcharges, generous routing |
| Lufthansa / SWISS / Austrian / Brussels | Europe | First & business to Europe |
| ANA (All Nippon) | Japan | Superb business & first to Asia |
| Singapore Airlines | Asia | Suites & first class |
| Turkish Airlines | Turkey | Vast network via Istanbul |
| Avianca (LifeMiles) | Latin America | Cheap Star chart, no surcharges |
| Air India · Air China · EVA Air · Thai · Asiana | Asia | Broad Asia coverage |
| Aegean · LOT · TAP Air Portugal · Croatia | Europe | Gateways into Europe |
| Copa · Avianca | Latin America | Central/South America |
| Ethiopian · EGYPTAIR · South African | Africa | Rare African access |
Best bank-points feeders into Star Alliance: transfer to United (Chase, Bilt), Air Canada Aeroplan (Amex, Chase, Capital One, Bilt), Avianca LifeMiles (all four banks), Turkish Miles&Smiles (Capital One, Citi, Bilt), or ANA (Amex). See transfer partners for every route.
Oneworld — home of great premium cabins
Smaller than Star, but stacked with some of the best business- and first-class products in the sky.
| Member | Region | Notable for |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | US | Big domestic + Loyalty Points status |
| British Airways / Iberia / Aer Lingus | Europe | Share the Avios currency |
| Qatar Airways | Middle East | Qsuite business class |
| Cathay Pacific | Hong Kong | First class + The Pier lounge |
| Japan Airlines (JAL) | Japan | Sky Suite business to Tokyo |
| Qantas | Australia | The gateway to Australia |
| Alaska Airlines | US | West-coast + partner sweet spots |
| Finnair · Malaysia · SriLankan · Royal Jordanian · Royal Air Maroc · Fiji Airways | Global | Regional reach |
Best bank-points feeders into Oneworld: transfer to Avios (Amex, Chase, Capital One, Citi) — one currency shared by British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Qatar. Also Qatar Avios and, indirectly, American (Citi transfers to AAdvantage). See the Avios guide for how that shared currency works.
SkyTeam — strong across Europe & Asia
| Member | Region | Notable for |
|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | US | Big domestic + flash-sale awards |
| Air France / KLM (Flying Blue) | Europe | Monthly Promo Rewards to Europe |
| Korean Air | Korea | Excellent business to Asia |
| Virgin Atlantic (Flying Club) | UK | Transfer sweet spots (see below) |
| China Airlines · China Eastern · Xiamen · Vietnam · Garuda · Saudia | Asia | Broad Asia/ME reach |
| Aeroméxico · Aerolíneas Argentinas | Latin America | The Americas |
| ITA Airways · SAS · TAROM · Air Europa | Europe | Gateways into Europe |
| Kenya Airways · Middle East Airlines | Africa/ME | Regional access |
Best bank-points feeders into SkyTeam: transfer to Flying Blue (all four banks) or Virgin Atlantic (Amex, Chase, Capital One, Citi). Delta SkyMiles is only fed 1:1 from Amex.
The important non-alliance partnerships
Some of the very best redemptions live outside the alliance system, through one-off bilateral partnerships. Don't overlook these:
- Virgin Atlantic ↔ ANA & Delta. Virgin isn't in Star Alliance, but a special partnership lets Virgin points book ANA first & business to Japan at legendary rates — the famous ANA First for 120k Virgin points round-trip. Virgin also partners with Delta.
- Alaska Mileage Plan joined Oneworld but kept unique partner deals and free stopovers — e.g. American First to Maui on Alaska miles. (Alaska is transitioning to "Atmos Rewards" via the Hawaiian merger — verify the chart.)
- Emirates (no alliance) partners bilaterally with Qantas, JetBlue and Alaska — see Emirates First Class.
- Etihad (no alliance) has its own web of partners — see the Etihad First Apartment.
- JetBlue and Southwest aren't in any alliance; their fixed-value points (TrueBlue, Rapid Rewards) only work on their own flights.
Worked example: booking a partner award
Say you want a Lufthansa (Star Alliance) business-class seat to Europe that sells for ~$5,500 cash. You don't have Lufthansa miles — and you don't need them. Compare your options for the same seat:
| Program used | Miles for that seat | Taxes/surcharges |
|---|---|---|
| United MileagePlus | ~88,000 | ~$50 (no surcharge) |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | ~63,000–70,000 | ~$200 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | ~63,000 | ~$120 (no surcharge) |
Run the CPP on the LifeMiles option:
($5,500 − $120) ÷ 63,000 × 100 = 8.5¢ per mile
At our ~1.4¢ LifeMiles baseline, that's roughly 6× the paper value — and you booked a $5,500 seat you'd otherwise never buy. The lesson: search the seat, then find the cheapest member program that prices it, and transfer your bank points there only once the space is confirmed.
How to actually find partner space
- Search on the operating airline's own site first — it shows its award space most reliably (e.g. search ANA space on ANA, then book with Virgin points).
- Cross-check partner pricing. United, Aeroplan and LifeMiles all display Star space at different prices; Avios, AA and Alaska all show Qatar.
- Use an award tool (seats.aero, ExpertFlyer) to get alerts when space opens on your dates.
- Search one passenger at a time — engines often reveal a single seat they'd hide for two.
- Transfer last. Confirm the seat is bookable before you move points out of your bank account.
Bottom line
Alliances turn a handful of bank points into a passport to hundreds of airlines. Learn the three groups, know which program to transfer into for each, and always let the cheapest partner win. The eye-popping redemptions are collected in our best sweet spots roundup — most of them are partner awards exactly like the example above.
See a transferable-points card offer →
Related: How much are your points worth? · Transfer partners guide · Points for beginners · The 15 best sweet spots · Avios guide · United MileagePlus
