Airline Miles & Points Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms you'll see when buying and selling airline miles on MileMarketplace.
- Airline miles
- The points you earn in an airline's loyalty (frequent flyer) program. Miles can be redeemed for award flights, upgrades, and other rewards rather than spent as cash.
- Frequent flyer program
- An airline's loyalty program (e.g. United MileagePlus, Delta SkyMiles, British Airways Avios) where members earn and redeem miles. Each program sets its own rules and award pricing.
- Award flight (award ticket)
- A flight booked with miles instead of cash. You still pay any government taxes, airport fees, and carrier surcharges separately in cash at booking.
- Miles marketplace
- A site that sells airline miles directly to travelers at live per-mile prices (cheapest shown first), with secure checkout and the award ticket booked in the buyer's name.
- Transfer partner
- An airline or hotel program you can move flexible points into (e.g. from Amex Membership Rewards to a frequent flyer program). Transfers unlock award charts beyond a single airline.
- Award chart
- A program's table of how many miles an award costs by region, distance, and cabin. Programs with published charts make redemption value predictable; 'dynamic' programs price awards like cash fares.
- Fuel surcharge (carrier-imposed charge)
- A cash fee some airlines add to award tickets on top of taxes. It varies hugely by airline and program — from near zero to several hundred dollars — so the program you book through matters.
- Cents per mile (CPM)
- The value of a mile, found by dividing the cash price of a flight by the miles it costs. Redeem for more than you paid per mile and the redemption is a good deal.
- Redemption value
- What a mile is worth when you spend it on an award. Airline miles are typically worth about 1.2–1.8 cents each, with premium-cabin redemptions often higher.
- Sweet spot
- A route and cabin where a program's award price is unusually low versus the cash fare — for example a distance-based business-class award that costs far fewer miles than the ticket's cash price.
- Award availability (award space)
- Whether a flight is actually bookable with miles on your dates and cabin. Confirm it with a live search tool (PointsYeah, seats.aero, Roame.travel) before buying miles to book it.
- Devaluation
- When a program raises the number of miles an award costs, lowering each mile's value. It's why redeeming or selling miles you won't use can beat holding a large balance.
- Co-pay / taxes & fees
- The cash portion of an award booking — government taxes, airport charges, and any carrier surcharges. On MileMarketplace these are passed through at cost with no markup and approved before booking.
Ready to put these into practice? Browse airline miles or read the guides.