What this service is — and what it is not
MilesQuote is an independent enquiry, research and referral desk. When you send an award flight request, a person reviews the route, dates and cabin you want, checks how the main loyalty programmes price that journey, and looks at what award space appears to be open. You get a plain-English reply with the options that look workable, the miles and cash each would likely require, and the trade-offs.
We are not an airline, we hold no private inventory and we cannot issue tickets ourselves. We do not guarantee seats, prices, turnaround or instant confirmation. If a vetted partner could ticket a specific itinerary for you, we will tell you who they are and ask before sharing anything.
How the request process works
1. Send the trip, not your login
Origin, destination, dates, flexibility, passengers and cabin are enough. A miles balance is optional — many people ask before they have chosen a programme. We never need your frequent-flyer password.
2. We research availability and pricing
We compare how different programmes price the route (distance-based, zone-based or dynamic), check partner airlines inside the same alliance, and look at nearby dates within the flexibility you gave us. Surcharges matter: two awards with the same miles price can differ by hundreds in taxes and carrier fees.
3. You get an honest answer
Our reply lists realistic options, roughly what each costs in miles plus cash, how to book it, and whether a cash fare is simply better value. If nothing sensible exists, we say so rather than inventing an option.
Routes & availability
Award availability is set by the operating airline and released to partner programmes on its own schedule. Space often opens when the schedule loads, roughly eleven to twelve months out, and again close to departure when airlines release unsold seats. Peak holiday dates and popular long-haul routes in premium cabins are the hardest to find.
Flexibility is the single biggest lever. Being willing to depart a few days either side, fly from a nearby airport, or connect through a different hub multiplies the options. The guide to finding award availability and the award travel planning timeline explain why.
Business & First Class award booking
Premium cabins are where flights with miles usually deliver the most value per mile, and where availability is scarcest. Some airlines release very little business or first class space to partners, and some add high surcharges on their own awards. A business class award booking often involves choosing between a well-priced partner seat with an extra connection and a nonstop that costs far more miles.
We look at both and explain the difference. For background, see business class awards, first class awards and premium cabin awards explained.
Before booking: limitations to know
- Award seats are never held for you while you decide or transfer points.
- Point transfers to airlines are usually irreversible — confirm space before moving anything.
- Change and cancellation rules differ by programme and can carry fees; see award changes and cancellations.
- Taxes and carrier surcharges are paid in cash on top of the miles; see taxes and surcharges.
- Programmes can devalue or change award pricing without notice.
If you are short of miles for an award you have already found, a buy miles quote may close the gap — but only once the space is confirmed.
Pricing & what's included
Sending a request is free and creates no obligation. We do not publish fixed fees: the effort behind a single one-way economy seat is very different from a multi-city family trip in business. If a paid service applies, we quote it in writing first and nothing starts without your agreement. The miles, taxes and surcharges for the ticket itself are always set by the airline programme, not by us.
Included in every reply: a summary of realistic options, approximate miles and cash per option, how each would be booked, and our honest view on whether the award beats a cash fare. You can sanity-check the value yourself with the miles value calculator.
For travel agencies
Agencies with clients asking about award tickets can read how a collaboration with travel agents could work.