Start here: your first award flight, step by step

Choose the programme and channel

Begin with the programme's own booking channel, because a channel the programme does not support is a dead end. American says award travel can be booked to more than 1,000 destinations on aa.com and the American app, and that partner airline flights appear in award search results. [1] Air Canada's Aeroplan page points members to aircanada.com for flight rewards with Air Canada and partner airlines. [3] KrisFlyer takes a different approach: miles cannot be used to redeem tickets purchased through travel agents, Singapore Airlines ticket offices or call centres, or Scoot ticket offices or call centres. [4]

KrisFlyer also excludes corporate fares, group fares and any fare that includes a segment not operated by Singapore Airlines, including codeshares, interline, round-the-world itineraries and flights not operated by Singapore Airlines; on Scoot, itineraries that include a segment not operated by Scoot are excluded as well. [4] These are programme-specific rules, not industry-wide ones, so check the programme attached to the miles you plan to spend rather than assuming another programme's channel will work. [1] [3] [4]

Find space and read the price

Once the channel is settled, search for space. American includes partner flights in award search results and lets members filter for preferred airlines on the "Choose flights" screen; it also offers an award map for seeing where miles can be used. [1] Air Canada's Aeroplan page advertises "Every seat, every Air Canada flight, no restrictions" for Aeroplan flight rewards. [3] That claim is made for Air Canada flights on that page; it does not describe partner flights, and it is not a claim about AAdvantage or KrisFlyer availability. [3]

KrisFlyer redemptions are subject to a minimum number of miles published on singaporeair.com, and Singapore Airlines may change that minimum. [4] Space is not fixed either: Singapore Airlines reserves the right to modify award levels and the availability of awards and redemption seats without prior notice. [4]

Check the cash charges

An award ticket can still involve cash. American's using-miles page sets out its tax and fee position in the context of changes and cancellations: it refunds all taxes and fees in full except sale-imposed nonrefundable taxes, taxes it must pay whether or not the passenger travels, and trips that have already started, and it follows local rules where a country's refund rules differ. [1]

American's cash-and-miles product is available only on aa.com and in the American app. [1] To use it, a member needs an AAdvantage account, a valid U.S. home address including Puerto Rico and U.S. territories, and at least 500 AAdvantage miles. [1] It is limited to flights marketed and operated by American within the contiguous 48 U.S. states, and it is not available for Basic Economy fares, flights to, from or within Alaska or Hawaii, international flights, multi-city bookings, trips that include another airline, reservations with travel in different cabins, AAdvantage Business bookings or TripLink bookings. [1]

Air Canada says there are no cash surcharges on flight rewards with Air Canada and that members can pay with Points + Cash. [3]

Book, ticket and manage the trip

Book the award in the programme's own flow. American says a ticket paid entirely with miles starts with selecting "Redeem miles" when searching, and warns not to check "Redeem miles" unless the whole trip is to be paid with miles. [1] A cash-and-miles reservation placed on hold online must be completed online, and the member chooses the number of miles at the end of booking. [1]

After ticketing, American applies no change fees to award tickets, but a change can require paying a difference; miles are reinstated to the original AAdvantage account and then deducted from the original account used, even when the new amount is the same. [1] Tax differences are paid or refunded to the original credit card, and reinstatement can take up to 72 hours. [1]

American allows cancellation on aa.com with miles reinstated and eligible taxes and fees refunded at no charge up to one year from the ticket purchase date, as long as the cancellation happens before the first flight departs. [1] If a trip has already started, involves partner airlines, or was changed because of an uncontrollable event since the ticket was issued, American directs members to Reservations for help reinstating miles. [1]

KrisFlyer award tickets are non-endorsable regardless of fare conditions, and no KrisFlyer miles are earned on award or redemption tickets. [4] A KrisFlyer member may redeem for their own airfare or for any of five redemption nominees. [4]

Exceptions and limits

• Other programmes are outside this guide. The examples here are limited to AAdvantage, Aeroplan and KrisFlyer; no rule from another programme is applied. [1] [3] [4]
• Cash and miles is not a flexible fare. American says cash-and-miles bookings are not eligible for voluntary changes or exchanges, and that a member who wants to change one must cancel and make a new reservation. [1]
• Partner trips can need a phone call. American says reinstating miles on a trip that involves travel on partner airlines requires contacting Reservations. [1]
• KrisFlyer membership is personal. It cannot be transferred, sold or bartered, and pooling of KrisFlyer miles or status credits is not permitted. [4] KrisFlyer awards from programme partners also depend on the partner's continued participation in KrisFlyer. [4]
• Rules can change. Singapore Airlines reserves the right to modify the KrisFlyer programme, award structure, award levels and availability without prior notice. [4]

Related pages

Planning: award search workflow, partner award booking checklist, start here: your first points trip. Terms: award availability, award routing rules, cash and miles, ticketing time limit, and the glossary.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. The examples are limited to AAdvantage, Aeroplan and KrisFlyer; United MileagePlus and other programmes are not covered.

1. American Airlines: Using miles for travel, checked 18 October 2026
2. Air Canada Aeroplan: Redeem points, checked 18 October 2026
3. Singapore Airlines: KrisFlyer terms and conditions, checked 18 October 2026