Whether you’re faced with unexpected travel plans or prefer the flexibility of booking closer to departure, booking last-minute flights can be challenging, especially when coping with high flight prices and limited availability.
In an emergency, the last thing you want is to have to jump through hoops to secure the flights you need to take urgently.
However, you can maximize your points and miles with the right strategy and perhaps even dodge overinflated prices. Here’s what you need to know.
Book last-minute flights through a credit card travel portal
You may be stressed and hurried if you book last-minute award flights due to an emergency or other urgent need. Here, speed is of the essence. You may want to redeem miles from one of your go-to airline loyalty programs, even if doing so won’t provide the best redemption rate.
For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 1.5 cents apiece redeemed for flights through Chase Travel℠ for Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders and 1.25 cents for those with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
Alternatively, Capital One miles can be a great option if prices for paid flights are affordable and you’re looking for a simple redemption. If you have the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you redeem miles for eligible travel purchases at a fixed value of 1 cent per mile through the Capital One Travel portal. Additionally, you can just use your Venture or Venture X when booking through an airline or hotel website and then request a statement credit from Capital One within 90 days to offset the travel expense.
Related: Comparing the best fixed-value point credit cards
Why you should earn transferable points
Six major credit card programs offer great flexibility when redeeming rewards, as their points can be transferred to several airline and hotel loyalty programs.
This is why we recommend travelers earn transferable points. Here are the most popular transferable point programs:
Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts
You can choose from numerous airline loyalty programs when transferring your points among these transferable currencies. This means you won’t be restricted to only booking through a single airline, allowing you the flexibility to transfer your points to a program with available flights and reasonable award rates.
Related: Credit card transfer partners: Guide to transferring points and miles to airlines and hotels
However, it’s important to note that each program has slightly different transfer times for transferring credit card points.
We’ve compiled guides with the estimated transfer times for each program:
Additionally, some airlines charge added fees for last-minute bookings, making them less attractive when redeeming award tickets days or hours before a flight.
Check out our guide to apps and websites that make award redemptions easier, including Point.me and Seats.aero, if you’re booking a last-minute international award, as an easy way to find availability.
Best loyalty programs for booking last-minute award flights
If booking a last-minute domestic award, here are some of our favorite loyalty programs for last-minute award flights within the U.S.
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air Canada Aeroplan can be an excellent choice if you want to redeem for a United-operated flight.
Aeroplan provides good value, particularly for last-minute bookings, and does not impose close-in booking fees on award tickets.
You can book economy flights on United Airlines within the continental U.S. and Canada from just 6,000 Aeroplan points for flights up to 500 miles in length, such as from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to many Northeastern destinations.
Transfers from American Express, Bilt, Capital One and Chase to Aeroplan are generally processed instantly.
British Airways Executive Club
British Airways is a solid choice for redeeming awards thanks to its distance-based award chart. Booking through British Airways Executive Club may lead to lower rates for flights operated by American and Alaska than booking directly with American or Alaska. Though BA increased the cost for American and Alaska domestic award redemptions in July, it’s still worth checking availability to compare prices.
British Airways is especially appealing for speedy last-minute redemptions because point transfers from American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase and Wells Fargo generally process instantly, and redemptions can be booked online.
While Finnair Plus has lower rates, especially for shorter domestic flights (and you can transfer Avios from BA to Finnair at a 1:1 rate), Finnair Plus only partners with one credit card currency (Capital One miles), and American and Alaska flights cannot be booked online. Therefore, needing to call to book these flights is unlikely to be convenient in an emergency.
However, if you do have the time for these extra steps, you can save Avios through Finnair Plus.
Related: How to book award flights using British Airways Avios
Delta SkyMiles
Delta SkyMiles is a reliable option for booking last-minute award tickets. It’s easy to earn Delta miles by transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to Delta. You must pay an excise tax to transfer Membership Rewards points to Delta, but the transfer usually occurs instantly. This means you don’t have to worry about award availability disappearing as you wait for miles to arrive in your account.
Another significant advantage of booking award tickets with Delta is the absence of last-minute ticketing fees. Even if you redeem Delta SkyMiles for a flight on the day of departure, you only need to pay the regular taxes and fees associated with award tickets.
However, Delta often increases award rates closer to departure, which can be like a de facto close-in fee. Unfortunately, domestic Delta flights booked with Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue miles or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points are rarely available.
Southwest and JetBlue
Southwest and JetBlue don’t impose close-in fees for award bookings. However, both airlines have redemption rates linked to ticket prices at a somewhat fixed rate. In some cases, booking a paid fare with a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card might be more beneficial, as you can redeem Capital One miles to offset recent travel expenses.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred instantly to Southwest and JetBlue at a 1:1 ratio if you prefer to pay with points. JetBlue is also an instant transfer partner of Chase, Citi and American Express. However, Amex points transfer to JetBlue at a 1.25:1 ratio compared to Chase and Citi, which transfer 1:1.