Award flights
How to book award flights around the world
Booking an around the world or complex multi-stop trip with miles is hard, and most of the time it is a longer and more frustrating path than paying cash. Of course, if you have millions of miles, it can be worth it for sure. Only a few frequent flyer programs sell a single award ticket that circles the globe, and every one we found has to be booked by phone.
An award flight (also called an award ticket, miles ticket or points ticket) is a flight you pay for with frequent flyer miles instead of cash. AirTreks sells cash tickets, not award tickets, so we can't book miles for you. We decided not to do it: it is frustrating for us and for the customer, and tough to build a win-win. This page is the honest version of what you are signing up for, so you can decide before you spend a week on it.
Program rules checked . Sources: Miles & More, AwardFares, Australian Frequent Flyer. Programs change these awards without notice, so check the program's own page before you transfer points.
Updated
Page history (5)
Update
Added who can book an award for you, with fees and the ratings we found. Ratings are re-read monthly.
point.me concierge fee and Trustpilot rating. (source)
PointsPros no longer takes new requests. (source)
Fact-check
Fact-checked against the program pages and 2026 guides: 1 correction before publishing.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer no longer sells a round the world award, so it is listed as ended, not as an option. (source)
Miles & More: 195,000 / 400,000 / 540,000 miles, one Atlantic and Pacific crossing, up to 10 flights, up to 7 stopovers, phone booking only, all read on the program's own page. (source)
British Airways: at least two other oneworld airlines, distance-based pricing. (source)
Cathay Asia Miles: up to 5 stopovers and 8 flights, 265,000 miles in business for a trip up to 35,000 miles. (source)
Which other programs ended their round the world awards. (source)
Update
Page published, covering the three programs that still sell one award ticket around the world.
Rule change
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer stopped selling its Star Alliance round the world award. Tickets issued earlier stay valid.
Announced in April 2024. (source)
Rule change
KrisFlyer added a US$250 service fee per ticket on new round the world award bookings, with PPS Club members exempt.
The award could not be booked online. (source)
Is this you?
Award flights can make sense if you hold a large mileage balance or credit card points that transfer to airlines, your dates are flexible, you are comfortable on long phone calls with airline agents and have the patience to wait in the holding queue, and you want a business or first class seat you would never pay cash for.
A cash ticket is usually the better call if your dates are fixed, you want more than a handful of stops, you are under a deadline, or you want one team to call when a flight changes. A cash round the world fare is a single ticket we price and ticket for you, and you earn miles on every flight.
Can you book a round the world ticket with miles?
Yes, but only a few programs sell one, and they ask for a phone call. These are the ones that sell a single award ticket around the world, as of October 24, 2026.
| Program | Alliance | Miles (economy / business / first) | Main rules | How to book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles & More World Award Flight (Lufthansa group) | Star Alliance | 195,000 / 400,000 / 540,000 | One Atlantic and one Pacific crossing, up to 10 flights, up to 7 stopovers, at least 10 days between the first and last international flight, valid 12 months | Phone only, through the local Miles & More service team |
| British Airways Executive Club multi-carrier award | oneworld | Distance based, for example 240,000 Avios in business for a trip of 20,001 to 25,000 miles | At least two oneworld airlines besides British Airways, up to 8 flights | Phone only, with high taxes and fees |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles multi-carrier award | oneworld | Distance based up to 50,000 miles, for example 265,000 miles in business for a trip up to 35,000 miles | Up to 5 stopovers and 8 flights, oneworld airlines only, at least two besides Cathay | Phone only |
Miles & More World Award Flight (Lufthansa group)
- Alliance
- Star Alliance
- Miles (economy / business / first)
- 195,000 / 400,000 / 540,000
- Main rules
- One Atlantic and one Pacific crossing, up to 10 flights, up to 7 stopovers, at least 10 days between the first and last international flight, valid 12 months
- How to book
- Phone only, through the local Miles & More service team
British Airways Executive Club multi-carrier award
- Alliance
- oneworld
- Miles (economy / business / first)
- Distance based, for example 240,000 Avios in business for a trip of 20,001 to 25,000 miles
- Main rules
- At least two oneworld airlines besides British Airways, up to 8 flights
- How to book
- Phone only, with high taxes and fees
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles multi-carrier award
- Alliance
- oneworld
- Miles (economy / business / first)
- Distance based up to 50,000 miles, for example 265,000 miles in business for a trip up to 35,000 miles
- Main rules
- Up to 5 stopovers and 8 flights, oneworld airlines only, at least two besides Cathay
- How to book
- Phone only
Programs that used to sell one and have stopped include Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (ended May 1, 2024; tickets issued earlier stay valid), and reportedly ANA, United, Delta and Aeromexico. Air Canada Aeroplan and Emirates Skywards have no official round the world award, so people stitch together separate one-way awards instead.
Why it is hard
- Few programs, and they keep dropping out. The list above shrank when KrisFlyer stopped selling its Star Alliance round the world award in 2024. A guide you read last year may describe an award that no longer exists.
- No online booking. Every program above needs a phone call. Agents are the bottleneck: you hand-pick the flights, check availability yourself, then call and hope the agent builds exactly what you wrote down.
- Every segment has to be available at once. An award seat has to exist on every flight of the trip, in the cabin you want, on the dates you want. On a 6-stop trip that is six chances for the plan to fall apart, and seats appear and disappear while you are on hold.
- Routing rules apply on top. Direction, crossings, number of flights and distance caps decide whether the trip is allowed at all.
- Changes are limited. After booking, some programs let you change dates or flight numbers for a fee, but not airlines or routing. Confirm with each program.
- Taxes and fees are not free. Awards still carry airline taxes and surcharges, plus any program booking fee. Expect $100s to even a few 1000 for complex around the world air travel. Your miles won't cover these unfortunately. British Airways awards are known for high ones.
Is it worth the miles?
Here is the same trip priced both ways, using the Miles & More World Award Flight rules (one Atlantic and one Pacific crossing, 5 flights, eastbound): Los Angeles (LAX) to London (LHR) to Delhi (DEL) to Singapore (SIN) to Tokyo (NRT) and back to LAX.
| Cabin | Award (Miles & More) | Cash fare (AirTreks, priced October 24, 2026) | Cents per mile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 195,000 miles plus taxes and fees | $1,257 to $1,917 per person | About 0.6 to 1.0 |
| Business | 400,000 miles plus taxes and fees | $7,427 to $11,330 per person | About 1.9 to 2.8 |
Economy
- Award (Miles & More)
- 195,000 miles plus taxes and fees
- Cash fare (AirTreks, priced October 24, 2026)
- $1,257 to $1,917 per person
- Cents per mile
- About 0.6 to 1.0
Business
- Award (Miles & More)
- 400,000 miles plus taxes and fees
- Cash fare (AirTreks, priced October 24, 2026)
- $7,427 to $11,330 per person
- Cents per mile
- About 1.9 to 2.8
Economy is rarely worth it: you spend nearly 200,000 miles on a trip that costs well under $2,000 in cash, and the same miles could buy more elsewhere. Business is where an award can pay off, if you can find the seats. The cash ranges come from what AirTreks customers have paid on these routes, not a live quote, so your price will differ with dates and season.
How people actually do it
- Decide whether you need one ticket at all. Booking each leg as a separate one-way award is easier and sometimes the only way to get seats, but you lose the single ticket and its routing flexibility.
- Pick the program first. The program decides the rules, the price and the booking channel. Read its own round the world page before you transfer a single point.
- Search availability before you commit. Award search tools such as PointsYeah and Seats.aero show which flights have seats. Treat what they show as a hint and confirm with the program before you transfer points.
- Build the route inside the rules. Write it down by flight, not by city: direction, crossings, number of flights, distance.
- Call, with the route on paper. Expect to be transferred. Ask the agent to hold the itinerary and ask how long the hold lasts.
- Transfer points only after the hold is confirmed. Transfers between programs are usually one way.
- Keep a cash fallback priced. If the seats vanish you want to know what the same route costs as a cash ticket.
- Or pay for help. Award booking services will search and build it for a fee, and none can promise seats. Who they are, what they charge and how they are rated is in the next section.
Who can book it for you
These companies will search and book award tickets for a fee. For each one we read its own page, looked for public ratings, and read what people say about it on Reddit. We are not paid by any of them and have no referral arrangement with any of them as of October 24, 2026.
None of them clearly promises a round the world award, so ask before you pay: have you booked a round the world award in the last 12 months, on which program, and what happens to my fee if you cannot find seats?
| Service | Fee we found | Round the world | Ratings we found (checked October 24, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| point.me concierge | $200 per passenger, with a $25 search fee credited to the final bill | Not named on its page, which invites complex itineraries | Trustpilot: 3.3 of 5 from 119 reviews. Reddit: mixed. One of its concierges wrote there that it suits flexible dates booked well ahead, not tight windows. |
| 10xTravel | $50 non-refundable search fee. Most round trips then cost $150 for the first passenger and $125 for each more. | Trips with 3 or more destinations are priced individually | Trustpilot: no reviews yet. Reddit: two people call it fine or great. |
| Travel on Point(s) | $100 non-refundable deposit. The balance is charged only if results are found. | Not mentioned on its page | No ratings found. Named on Reddit as an option, with no reviews. |
| Cranky Concierge | Plans from $95 to $375 and up per person | Not stated. Every plan lists a round trip with a stopover. | No ratings found. The Points Guy lists it among its favorite travel planning services. |
| Award Magic | Not listed on its current site. Older partner posts quote $139 to $249 per person. | Older posts say its top tier covers round the world. Its current site does not say. | No independent ratings found. |
- Fee we found
- $200 per passenger, with a $25 search fee credited to the final bill
- Round the world
- Not named on its page, which invites complex itineraries
- Ratings we found (checked October 24, 2026)
- Trustpilot: 3.3 of 5 from 119 reviews. Reddit: mixed. One of its concierges wrote there that it suits flexible dates booked well ahead, not tight windows.
- Fee we found
- $50 non-refundable search fee. Most round trips then cost $150 for the first passenger and $125 for each more.
- Round the world
- Trips with 3 or more destinations are priced individually
- Ratings we found (checked October 24, 2026)
- Trustpilot: no reviews yet. Reddit: two people call it fine or great.
- Fee we found
- $100 non-refundable deposit. The balance is charged only if results are found.
- Round the world
- Not mentioned on its page
- Ratings we found (checked October 24, 2026)
- No ratings found. Named on Reddit as an option, with no reviews.
- Fee we found
- Plans from $95 to $375 and up per person
- Round the world
- Not stated. Every plan lists a round trip with a stopover.
- Ratings we found (checked October 24, 2026)
- No ratings found. The Points Guy lists it among its favorite travel planning services.
- Fee we found
- Not listed on its current site. Older partner posts quote $139 to $249 per person.
- Round the world
- Older posts say its top tier covers round the world. Its current site does not say.
- Ratings we found (checked October 24, 2026)
- No independent ratings found.
Reddit is wary of paid concierges in general. People there say a search tool such as Seats.aero is enough for a simple trip, that you often still hand over account details, and that a concierge earns its fee on complicated trips booked well ahead. PointsPros, often recommended in older threads, has stopped taking new requests and now refers people to point.me.
When a cash ticket wins
| Award flight | Cash round the world ticket | |
|---|---|---|
| Who builds the routing | You, then an airline agent | A specialist |
| Seats | You need availability on every flight | Fare classes are priced and held for you |
| Changes | Limited | Handled by the team that built it |
| Cost | Miles plus taxes and fees, sometimes a service fee | A fare you see before you buy |
| Time | Days to weeks of searching and calls | A quote in about 10 minutes from our routing algorithms, or within a day from a consultant |
Who builds the routing
- Award flight
- You, then an airline agent
- Cash round the world ticket
- A specialist
Seats
- Award flight
- You need availability on every flight
- Cash round the world ticket
- Fare classes are priced and held for you
Changes
- Award flight
- Limited
- Cash round the world ticket
- Handled by the team that built it
Cost
- Award flight
- Miles plus taxes and fees, sometimes a service fee
- Cash round the world ticket
- A fare you see before you buy
Time
- Award flight
- Days to weeks of searching and calls
- Cash round the world ticket
- A quote in about 10 minutes from our routing algorithms, or within a day from a consultant
FAQ
Questions people ask
Can I book a round the world ticket with miles?
Yes, but only a few programs sell one, and all of them require a phone call. As of October 2026 the main ones are the Miles & More World Award Flight, British Airways multi-carrier awards and Cathay Asia Miles multi-carrier awards. Check and double check and triple check the program's own round the world page before transferring points.
Does AirTreks book award flights?
No. We help folks with regular tickets through credit card, wire, zelle, bitcoin, or ACH. If you want to try miles yourself, this page is the roadmap. If the award search turns into a wall, the same route as a cash fare is a quote away. Add your mileage numbers to your AirTreks profile.
Is Star Alliance or oneworld easier for an award round the world?
Neither is easy. Star Alliance has one active single-ticket award (Miles & More). oneworld has two (British Airways and Cathay), but they price on distance and use only oneworld airlines. All three need a phone call.
Can I use credit card points?
Yes, if the card transfers to the airline program that sells the award. Transfers are usually irreversible, so double and triple check that space exists first. In my experience, they make it hard on purpose. Why? They are giving you a "free ticket", and most free things of value in life are not actually free. But you know that.
Can I still use KrisFlyer miles to go around the world?
Not on a single award ticket. Singapore Airlines stopped selling it on May 1, 2024. Some people build a similar trip from round-trip awards instead.
Will I earn miles on an AirTreks ticket?
Yes. Each flight credits to the operating airline's program or a partner program.
Next step
Price the same route as a cash ticket
Put your cities in TripPlanner and you get a number to set against what miles will cost you. If the route is complex or your dates are tight, talk it through with a round the world specialist.