Rising airfare is putting summer vacations in peril, and travelers want to know what to do to salvage their trips. I’ve heard it dozens of times from news anchors, radio hosts, friends, and family over the past month, and I keep giving them the same answer:
Airfare might be going up – but overall, points and miles rates are not rising with airfare.
If you’re anything like me, your Google Flights Price Alerts have been sea of red lately. When I get those email alerts, they’re more often than not an indication that my tracked flight just got a lot more expensive. But when I go to check many of those same flights using points and miles instead, the prices aren’t moving.
This isn’t the case with every airline program, however. Delta SkyMiles and Southwest Rapid Rewards rates, for instance, are generally tied to the cash price of a ticket, meaning their rates (usually) do go up with cash prices – but that’s not the case with many other programs. If you’re able to send flexible points from banks like American Express, Capital One, and Chase to airline transfer partners, you’ll see that fares haven’t budged an inch – even when airfare is up 30% or more.
A word of warning: Airfare is not a monolith. These are select examples that represent a broader trend we’re seeing among our 10 full-time flight deal analysts at Thrifty Traveler Premium. Different flights on different days will sometimes yield different results. But one thing is absolutely clear: Your points and miles have never been more valuable than they are right now.
Example 1: A Simple Domestic Flight
This trend is true across economy and even business class cabins worldwide, as I’ll show you below. But let’s start simple. Say you need to get from point A (Fargo, North Dakota) to point B (Chicago, Illinois) this summer, and you’re staring down an annoying, expensive fare that looks like this.
That’s a pretty penny for a short one-way flight. That’s why I started checking the points rates on the exact same flight instead and found this.
This is the same exact flight on the same exact day. Instead of booking with American, however, I searched through American’s partner Alaska Airlines. Through Alaska, that same $254 flight is just 4,500 points and $19. Even more tantalizing is the fact that I can get up into first class for just 9,000 miles and $19, too! $254 for basic economy or 9,000 miles for first class … decisions, decisions.
This is just one example of thousands of fares I could choose from, but as airfare climbs steadily throughout the U.S. this summer, points and miles will be your savior.
Examples 2 and 3: Peak Summer Nonstop Flights to Europe
If you looked at peak summer airfare to Europe recently, it’s OK to open your eyes again. Points and miles are coming to the rescue just in time to save your trip.
Last week, we sent our Thrifty Traveler Premium flight deal alert subscribers a pair of flight deals highlighting some of the most sought-after routes to Europe.
Let’s say you’re eyeing up a summer trip to Italy. Well … apparently so is everyone else, because the fares on that route are crazy high. This roundtrip from Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP) to Rome (FCO) is going for more than $1,000 roundtrip in basic economy. No, thank you!
But if you flex those points and miles with airline partners like Air France/KLM Flying Blue or Virgin Atlantic (which you can transfer points from nearly every bank like Amex, Chase, Capital One, and more), the trip will cost you next to nothing out of pocket .
Much better, right? Instead of forking over a grand for a basic economy flight, you can use points and $127 in taxes and fees for a flexible Main Cabin fare (including seat selection and a checked bag) instead when you book with partners!
Above is a screenshot from the flight deal alert we sent to our members showing them how to save big on Delta nonstops to Athens (ATH) and Rome (FCO). These are two of the most popular destinations in Europe, but even with airfare on the rise, you’ll pay the standard mileage price … if you know where to look.
The same goes for this next flight deal on Delta’s competitor, United Airlines. United’s flight from Newark (EWR) to the Azores Islands (PDL) is another sought-after flight for many United flyers. And as this Google Flights price alert graph shows, the price has gone up a lot in the last few weeks.
Fares started high on this route, and then climbed even higher – topping out at just above $2,000 at one point! If you want to ride this airfare rollercoaster and pay more than $1,500 for basic economy, I guess … you can?
But if that’s simply not in the budget, look at booking with United’s partners ANA (transferable from Amex) or Air Canada (transferable from Amex, Capital One, Chase, and more) instead, because these same flights haven’t changed in price when you book with miles.
Get off the rollercoaster and never – and I mean never – spend more than $1,000 on a flight to Europe.
Examples 3 and 4: Business Class Flights
Airfare is going up in all cabins, but it’s been especially ludicrous in business class. We don’t often tell travelers to book business class flights with cash. It’s usually in excess of $2,000 or $3,000 each way, which is totally out of reach for most travelers. (If it’s not … why are you reading a website called Thrifty Traveler?)
Things in the front cabin have been even worse lately, though. Business class airfares are spiking … but not if you book with points and miles!
Here’s an example of a points and miles availability alert we sent to Thrifty Traveler Premium flight deal alert subscribers last week for Amsterdam (AMS) business class availability. These KLM Business Class flights from Amsterdam (AMS) to Minneapolis (MSP) are running more than $5,700 each way right now – a considerable increase from just a couple of months ago.
But you know what this flight cost if you booked with KLM Flying Blue miles 60 days ago? It cost 60,000 miles. You know what it costs today? The same 60,000 miles.
If we graphed the points rate of these flights like Google Flights does for cash rates, it would be a very boring straight line across at 60,000 miles each way.
This trend works all over the world, too. How about the nonstop flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (SGN)?
Fares have steadily climbed on this route over the last 60 days, according to this price graph. But not when you book with Vietnam’s partner ANA!
This flight deal alert is giving many travelers a crack at a Vietnam trip in lie-flat business class they otherwise never would have been able to afford. 68,000 miles and $5.60? Or $3,700? Your choice!
Bottom Line
Airfare is going up, but points and miles rates are staying steady, meaning your travel rewards are more valuable than ever in 2026.
