The Easiest Destinations for Travelling on Points

When earning points, it’s always important to have an eventual redemption goal in mind. Many of us spend plenty of time daydreaming about our future travels, and to help narrow down the list of options, it can be helpful to talk about the differences in how far our points will go in different parts of the world.

After all, due to many underlying factors, like cost, popularity, and flight availability, some regions around the world are fundamentally easier to book with points than others.

In this article, let’s take a tour around the globe and identify which destinations are the easiest to access with points, as well as some strategies for booking a highly optimized trip.

1. South East Asia

South East Asia is commonly regarded as a backpacker’s paradise because of the cheap cost of travel and living. At the same time, it’s also a top choice for a more luxurious trip using points that doesn’t break the bank.

Whether you’re headed to Bali or Bangkok, Langkawi or Cambodia, there’s a wide range of choices to make along every step of the trip planning process.

For long-haul flights, you can aim for EVA Air, ANA, or Singapore Airlines with Aeroplan points, or Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines using Alaska miles or Asia Miles, if you’re able to find award space.

If you want to experience a higher level of luxury, First Class redemptions with ANA, Cathay Pacific, or Japan Airlines can also give you a dream start and end to your South East Asia trip. Of these, Japan Airlines has the most consistent award availability, while the other two can be quite difficult to find.

In addition, you have the possibility of flying the “long way around” through Europe or the Middle East, perhaps by linking together one of the other points-friendly destinations on this list.

Indeed, recall that one of the best sweet spots with Aeroplan is to fly to the “Asia 3” region – ideally optimized for South East Asia trips – for 87,500 Aeroplan points in business class. This could get you from North America to South East Asia via Abu Dhabi with Etihad Airways, or via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, potentially with a stopover added for just 5,000 extra points.

Using Avios, you can also fly from North America to South East Asia via Doha in the world-class Qatar Airways Qsuites for just 95,000 Avios. To take things up a notch, if you’re heading to Thailand, you…