Glossary
Airline miles glossary
40 terms defined in plain language, because most of the complexity in frequent-flyer programmes is vocabulary rather than substance.
A
- Airline miles
- The loyalty currency issued by an airline programme, earned through flying, cards and partners, and spent on award flights and other rewards.
- Alliance
- A formal grouping of airlines that share reciprocal earning, redemption and status recognition, such as Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam.
- Award chart
- A published table setting how many miles an award costs, usually by region pair, distance band and cabin.
- Award seat
- A seat the airline has released for redemption with miles. Separate from cash-fare inventory.
- Avios
- A shared loyalty currency used by several airlines under separate programme wrappers, each with its own award pricing.
B
- Blackout date
- A date on which a programme does not release award inventory, more common in older fixed-chart programmes.
C
- Carrier-imposed surcharge
- A cash charge added by the airline to an award ticket, distinct from government taxes and set at the airline's discretion.
- Cash and points
- A redemption option where part of the fare is paid in cash and part in miles, usually at a fixed implied value per mile.
- Cents per mile
- A valuation ratio: the cash fare avoided minus cash still paid, divided by the miles spent, expressed in cents.
- Co-brand card
- A credit card issued with an airline that earns that airline's miles directly.
D
- Devaluation
- An increase in the miles required for awards, reducing the value of existing balances, usually with little notice.
- Dynamic pricing
- Award pricing that tracks cash fares rather than a published chart, so mileage cost varies by demand.
E
- Elite status
- A tier within a loyalty programme granting benefits such as lounge access, priority services and bonus earning.
- Expiry
- The point at which unused miles lapse, either after a period of account inactivity or a fixed term from earning.
F
- Family pooling
- A programme feature letting household members combine balances for redemption.
- Fare class
- The booking code identifying the specific fare purchased, which determines earning rates and upgrade eligibility.
- Fixed-term expiry
- An expiry model where miles lapse a set period after they were earned, regardless of account activity.
- Frequent-flyer programme
- An airline loyalty scheme that issues miles or points and grants elite status.
- Fuel surcharge
- An older term for a carrier-imposed surcharge on award and cash tickets.
G
- Gifting
- Officially transferring miles to another member, often for a fee, under programme rules.
L
- Loyalty Points
- A status-qualification measure used by some programmes, counted separately from spendable miles.
M
- Mileage run
- A trip taken primarily to earn miles or status credit rather than for the destination.
- Mileage upgrade
- Using miles to move from a paid fare into a higher cabin, subject to fare-class eligibility.
- Multi-carrier award
- A single award ticket covering flights on several partner airlines, often priced by total distance.
O
- Off-peak pricing
- Lower award pricing applied to dates a programme designates as off-peak on its published calendar.
- Open jaw
- An itinerary that returns from a different city than the one flown into, with surface travel between them.
P
- Partner award
- An award booked with one programme's miles for travel on a different airline.
- Points pooling
- Combining balances within a defined group or family pool, where the programme permits it.
- Promo Reward
- A temporary discount on award pricing for selected routes and cabins, published periodically by some programmes.
R
- Redeposit fee
- A charge for returning miles to an account after cancelling an award ticket.
- Revenue-based earning
- Earning miles in proportion to ticket price rather than distance flown.
- Reward flight saver
- An option that caps the cash element of an award in exchange for more miles, offered by some programmes.
- Round-the-world award
- A multi-continent award ticket priced as a single product, usually by total distance or continents visited.
S
- Saver award
- The lower-priced award tier in a programme with tiered levels, with more restricted availability.
- Segment
- A single flight between two airports, the basic building block of an itinerary.
- Status credit
- The measure a programme uses to track progress toward elite status, distinct from spendable miles.
- Stopover
- A deliberate break in an itinerary of more than 24 hours, permitted by some programmes on award tickets.
T
- Transferable points
- Bank loyalty points that can be converted into several airline programmes at set ratios, one-way only.
- Transfer partner
- An airline programme that accepts incoming transfers from a bank or hotel loyalty currency.
W
- Waitlist
- A queue for an award or upgrade that may clear before departure but is not confirmed at booking.
MilesQuote is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by or partnered with any airline or loyalty programme. Programme names are used for identification only. We publish no fixed rates; every quote is indicative, prepared individually, and never a guarantee of price or completion. Always check your programme's own terms before acting.