How the Major SkyTeam Airlines Rate for the Person Who Has Few or No Miles, But Wants to Get In the Upgrade Game Overnight

No Miles? No Points? No Problem – January 2015 Edition.

Past FCF articles that graded airlines on their mileage upgrade opportunities included Ease of Getting Miles through purchase or transfer opportunities as one of the criteria. Now we’ve decided to rate airlines on this criteria alone by creating a new benchmark, the Rapid Miles Accumulation Rating.

It is based on the breadth of Mileage Purchase Opportunities an airline offers, which means:

1. The annual mileage-purchase limit an airline offers directly, and
2. The number of credit-card transfer partners an airline has, and
3. The number of points you can purchase from the credit-card partners annually.

The more ways to purchase miles, either through the airline or credit card partners, and the higher the purchase limit, the better the grade.

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The drawback with accumulating miles through purchases or transfers is the time it takes for the miles to post to your account. In the interval, seat availability can disappear.

That’s why dealing with an airline that will hold a seat while you get the miles is so important. The top airline in this regard is Aeromexico. It’s the only major SkyTeam airline that will hold a seat even if you have no miles in your Aeromexico account.

Permitted hold time is up to six days for Aeromexico flights and up to three days for its SkyTeam partners, including Air France, Delta, and KLM.

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And the better the grade, the more opportunities for those who have few or no miles and want to pursue aggressive, low-cost upgrade strategies— which are otherwise not possible if you don’t have or can’t get the miles quickly.

Also included in the chart is the Transaction Completion Time, meaning the time between initiating a mileage purchase or transfer and when you actually receive the miles in your account. This ranges from instant, which means low or zero risk of losing a seat, to 7+ days.

Why is the Transaction Completion Time a factor? Because most airlines won’t hold a seat unless the miles are in your account, and that free mileage seat may vanish during the transaction time. While this is a detail to keep in mind, it is not part of the grading system as it is a separate issue from the volume of miles you can accumulate easily through credit card purchases and not an issue for the Not-Trip-Specific Miles and Points Accumulator.

The grades are based on one objective criteria, Mileage Purchase Opportunities, not my personal preferences. FCF has no stake in recommending one mileage program over another.

The Grades

Aeromexico / Club Premiere: A-

Annual purchase limit is 70,000 miles, but purchasing miles is only allowed if you have had one existing transaction—which could simply be a transfer of points (say 1,000 from Amex Rewards)—within the previous 30 days. On the upside, because Aeromexico is an Amex Rewards transfer partner, you can purchase 500,000 Amex Rewards points annually. The airline is also a Starwood transfer partner, which allows members to buy 25,000 miles annually.

Air France, Air Europa, KLM / Flying Blue: A+

The purchase limit directly from Flying Blue isn’t high (40,000 miles), but the point purchase and transfer opportunities are huge, as Flying Blue transfer partners are Amex Rewards (500,000 points annual purchase opportunity), Citi ThankYou (100,000 points annually), and Starwood (25,000 points).

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Because Korean Airlines does not sell miles directly, and its only transfer partner, Chase Ultimate Rewards, has currently suspended transfers, the airline was left out of the survey.

Per a Korean Air contact, “The partnership break between Chase Ultimate Rewards and Korean SkyPass is temporary, and transfers should resume by the end of January.”

Chase would not confirm a resumption date, which seems a bit suspicious. While Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards have their place for very specific spend categories, this would be a significant blow if the partnership doesn’t resume.

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Alitalia / Millemiglia: A-

Almost the same story as Flying Blue: 40,000-mile purchase limit directly but without the Citi ThankYou partnership. It also partners with Amex and Starwood.

China Southern / Sky Pearl Club: D-

Does not sell miles and has only one transfer partner, Starwood, that you can buy 25,000 miles through.

Delta / SkyMiles: A-

Annual purchase limit from the airline is 60,000 miles once you’ve earned at least one mile in your account, which can be done by transferring points to your account from its partners Amex Rewards and Starwood.

Garuda Indonesia / GarudaMiles: C

Annual purchase limit from the airline is 50,000 miles. Its only transfer partner is Citi’s Thank You program (100,000 miles annually).

Below is a consolidated chart of the major SkyTeam airlines and the various ways to get the miles. Stay tuned for ratings of oneworld and Star Alliance carriers.

SkyTeam Rapid Miles Accumulation Ratings

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