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FREQUENT FLYER GLOSSARY

Distance-based earning

Distance-based earning is the classic way to earn miles: miles credited = flight distance × the earning rate for your booking class, regardless of how much the ticket cost.

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Key takeaways

  • Our verified distance-based rules cover 13 programmes, 166 rules in total.
  • Only two inputs matter: distance and the class rate.
  • Which distance is used (TPM, great-circle or unspecified) depends on each programme's own terms.
  • Whether discount classes earn, and at what rate, is set by each programme's rule table.

How it works

Airlines assign a percentage to each booking class (the letter on your ticket, such as Y, B or M). After the flight, the programme multiplies the flight distance by that percentage to get award miles. Some of our verified rules calculate status miles the same way.

The alternative is revenue-based earning, where the fare paid is multiplied by a factor and distance does not matter. See "Revenue-based earning".

Worked example

A verified Golden Panda Club rule (operating carrier 3U) lists 14 booking classes: 3 at 0% (B, S, U) and 11 that earn, at rates from 25% to 300%. By the formula, the same flight in a 300% class credits 12 times as much as in a 25% class.

No route distance is given: we have not verified an official distance for a route, so only the rates are compared.

Programmes with distance-based rules

Frequent flyer programmeVerified rulesSource
Golden Panda ClubVerified rules 3SourceOfficial source
Maharaja ClubVerified rules 25SourceOfficial source
PhoenixMilesVerified rules 31SourceOfficial source
Dynasty FlyerVerified rules 3SourceOfficial source
Sky Pearl ClubVerified rules 1SourceOfficial source
Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMilesVerified rules 21SourceOfficial source
JAL Mileage BankVerified rules 8SourceOfficial source
Eastern MilesVerified rules 2SourceOfficial source
ANA Mileage ClubVerified rules 28SourceOfficial source
Asiana ClubVerified rules 2SourceOfficial source
SAS EuroBonusVerified rules 1SourceOfficial source
KrisFlyer / PPS ClubVerified rules 1SourceOfficial source
United MileagePlusVerified rules 40SourceOfficial source

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Sources and review

Every number comes from verified, published rules on this site, with originals archived in our knowledge base; anything unverified or unstated shows as unknown.

Reviewed by: Content review.