The Pointster
Travel the World Using Your Points

Point 1: how to choose your priority airline

  1. Determine which airlines are most accessible to your location and travel to your desired vacation or business destination.

The key is to determine which airlines have their “hub” in your chosen airport. A hub is a central airport through which many flights are routed. Most major airlines have multiple hubs which allow them to offer the optimal amount of flights per day for their passengers. It is in the passenger’s best interest that he or she chooses the airline which flies more frequently to certain destinations.

The following is a list of 5 major airlines in the US and their respective hubs and/or market locations:

  • Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)​ **largest hub

  • ​Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)

  • ​Miami International Airport (MIA)​

  • ​John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)​

  • ​Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)​

  • ​LaGuardia Airport (LGA)​

  • Logan International Airport (BOS)

  • Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)

  • ​Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)​

  • ​Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)

  • ​Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)​​​​​​​

  • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)​

  • ​Logan International Airport (BOS)​

  • ​Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)​

  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)​

  • ​Salt Lake City ​International Airport (SLC)

  • ​Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP)

  • ​Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

  • LaGuardia Airport (LGA)​

  • John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

  • Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)

  • Denver International Airport (DEN)

  • Houston George Bush International Airport (IAH)

  • Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)

  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

  • San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

  • Washington-Dulles (IAD)​

  • ​Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)

  • John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

2.  Choose an airline alliance

     It is equally important to choose your airline alliance as it is to choose the airline itself, because alliances allow you to use points earned on one airline to fly an airline under the same alliance. Alliance benefits can include transferring points from one airline to its partner, reciprocal lounge access, priority boarding, and a waving of baggage fees for elite members.

The following is a list of 3 recommended alliances and their respective airlines:

  • Adria Airways

  • Aegean Airlines

  • Air Canada​

  • Air China​

  • Air India​

  • Air New Zealand​

  • ANA​

  • Asiana Airlines

  • ​Austrian​​

  • Avianca​

  • ​Avianca Brasil​

  • Brussels Airlines​

  • Copa Airlines

  • Croacia Airlines

  • Egyptair​

  • Ethiopian Airlines

  • EVA Air​

  • LOT Polish Airlines

  • Lufthansa​

  • SAS Scandinavian Airlines

  • Shenzhen Airlines

  • Singapore Airlines

  • South African Airways

  • SWISS

  • TAP Portugal​

  • THAI​

  • Turkish Airlines

  • United​

  • Aeroflot

  • Aerolineas Argentinas​

  • Aeromexico​

  • Air France​

  • Air Europa​

  • Alitalia​

  • China Airlines​

  • China Eastern​

  • China Southern​

  • Czech Airlines​

  • Delta​

  • Garuda ​Indonesia

  • Kenya Airways​

  • KLM​

  • Korean Air​

  • Mea​

  • Saudia​

  • Tarom​

  • Vietnam Airlines​

  • Xiamen Airlines ​​

  • Airberlin

  • American Airlines

  • British Airways​

  • Cathay Pacific​

  • Finnair​

  • Iberia​

  • Japan Airlines​

  • LATAM

  • TAM Airlines​

  • Malaysia Airlines​

  • Qantas​

  • Qatar Airways​

  • Royal Jordanian​

  • S7 Airlines​

  • Sri Lankan Airlines​

For more information regarding point benefits specific to each alliance: Click here

To the point – Point 1 :

Determine which airlines are most accessible to you and travels to your desired vacation or business destination.

Next: Air Alliances


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