Status: checked against official sources; automated independent review
FREQUENT FLYER GLOSSARY
What is an award chart?
An award chart is a published table that turns a trip into a price in miles or points: the reader finds where the journey starts and ends — as zones, distance bands or named routes — and then reads the number that applies to the cabin, season and carrier wanted. The British Airways Club describes its Reward Flights as offering a fixed Avios amount together with a fixed cash amount to cover taxes, fees and carrier charges, with the Avios required depending on travel date, destination and travel class. [2] Award levels are not necessarily permanent: under United Airlines' MileagePlus Rules, United establishes the amount and structure of award redemption, and the mileage needed for an award may be substantially increased or decreased. [7]
Facts checked: 18 October 2026
Key takeaways
- A chart is a price, not a promise of a seat: The British Airways Club says Reward Flights can be booked to any worldwide destination where there is availability, with British Airways and its oneworld partners. [2] United's rules say United may limit the number of award seats available to any or all destinations. [7]
- Some programmes quote a fixed figure, some keep the figure under their own control: Reward Flights carry a fixed Avios amount and a fixed cash amount. [2] United states that the amount of mileage required to redeem any award may be increased or decreased, and that any award may be withdrawn. [7]
- The chart figure is rarely the whole cost: Reward Flights are paid with Avios plus a cash amount for taxes, fees and carrier charges [2], and United says award tickets may be subject to departure taxes, federal inspection fees, passenger facility charges and other fees, payable by the person using the award. [7]
How does an award chart work?
A chart works as a lookup. One side of the table describes where the journey begins, the other where it ends, and each intersection holds the price for a given cabin. Charts describe a journey in different ways — by zone pairs, by distance bands, or by named routes — and those layouts are covered separately in award chart zones, award chart distance bands and award chart route tables.
Two things separate a chart price from a cash fare. The figure is set by the programme rather than by the market, so the same published number applies whether the cash fare on that route happens to be high or low. And the chart prices the trip only: a seat must still be available on the flight the member wants. [2] [7]
The British Airways Club. Reward Flights offer a fixed Avios amount and a fixed cash amount to cover taxes, fees and carrier charges. [2] The Avios needed depend on the date of travel, the destination and the travel class. [2] Upgrades priced in Avios are worked out from the Avios costs for Reward Flights in the cabins being upgraded from and to, and depend on whether the flight is scheduled on a peak or off-peak date. [2]
Qantas Frequent Flyer. Qantas directs members to points calculators that show how many Qantas Points are needed to book a Classic Flight Reward or to upgrade a flight. [3]
What changes the price on an award chart?
Cabin. A single route usually carries a different figure for each cabin, and the jump between cabins is visible in the way British Airways prices upgrades from the Reward Flight costs of the cabins being upgraded from and to. [2]
Season. British Airways splits dates into peak and off-peak, and the peak or off-peak status of the flight changes the Avios required for an upgrade. [2]
Destination and travel class. British Airways lists the date of travel, the destination and the travel class as the factors that set the Avios needed for a Reward Flight. [2]
Carrier. A chart can cover more than the programme's own aircraft: Reward Flights can be booked with British Airways and its oneworld partners where seats are available. [2] United's rules go further on partner flying, saying that routing and destinations for award travel on airline partners are determined by the individual travel partners. [7]
Cash alongside miles. The cash side is part of the price, not an afterthought: Reward Flights carry a fixed cash amount to cover taxes, fees and carrier charges [2], and United's award tickets may attract departure taxes, federal inspection fees, passenger facility charges and other charges, with the person using the award responsible for paying them. [7]
Can a programme change its award levels?
Under United's MileagePlus Rules, United establishes the amount, structure, availability and process for award redemption, including the amount of mileage necessary to redeem each award, and all of that is subject to modification, cancellation or limitation at United's discretion, with or without notice. [7] The rules add that the mileage needed for any award may be substantially increased or decreased, that any award may be withdrawn, and that restrictions on an award or its redemption may be imposed at any time. [7]
The same rules reserve the right to withdraw, limit, modify or cancel any award; to increase the mileage, the cash required, applicable co-pays or the number of certificates required for an award; to add blackout dates; and to limit award seats to any or all destinations. [7] They also state that members accumulating benefits or an award level may not rely on the continued availability of that award or award level, and may not be able to use awards to all destinations or on all flights. [7]
Changes are not limited to future redemptions. United may change rules, benefits, conditions of participation and mileage levels at any time with or without notice, even though changes may affect the value of mileage already accumulated. [7]
What an award chart does not cover
- Seats. A published figure does not create inventory. British Airways Reward Flights depend on availability [2], and United may limit the number of award seats available to any or all destinations. [7]
- Changes and cancellations after ticketing. United says a service charge may be imposed for each change or cancellation a member requests after an award ticket or other award is issued. [7] Where a redeemed award is later cancelled or returned, the miles are redeposited subject to a service charge, and some awards are stated not to be eligible for redeposit at all. [7]
- Routes that stop being served. United's awards for travel are valid only to destinations served both when the award ticket is issued and at the time of departure, and neither United nor its partners are liable for schedule changes that cancel service to a destination. [7]
- Which partners you can fly. Partner routing and destinations for award travel are determined by the individual travel partners rather than by the programme's own table. [7]
Frequently asked questions
Is an award chart the same as award availability?
No. The chart gives the price; the seat has to exist separately. British Airways Reward Flights are bookable where there is availability [2], and United may limit award seats to any or all destinations. [7]
Does only distance set the price?
Not on its own. British Airways says the Avios needed for a Reward Flight depend on the date of travel, the destination and the travel class [2], and its upgrade pricing also turns on whether the flight falls on a peak or off-peak date. [2]
Can award levels change after I have earned the miles?
United's rules say United may change mileage levels at any time with or without notice, even though changes may affect the value of mileage already accumulated, and that the mileage required for an award may be substantially increased or decreased. [7]
Do award tickets need cash as well as miles?
They can. British Airways Reward Flights pair a fixed Avios amount with a fixed cash amount for taxes, fees and carrier charges [2], and United says award tickets may be subject to departure taxes, federal inspection fees, passenger facility charges and other fees, paid by the person using the award. [7]
Sources
Sources checked on 18 October 2026. It covers The British Airways Club, Qantas Frequent Flyer and United Airlines MileagePlus; other programmes, including Delta SkyMiles, American Airlines AAdvantage, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Emirates Skywards and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, are not covered here.
- The British Airways Club: Spending Avios, checked 18 October 2026
- Qantas Frequent Flyer: earning and using Qantas Points, checked 18 October 2026
- United Airlines MileagePlus Rules, checked 18 October 2026