Into Flight Domestic

Congratulations on taking your first step towards free worldwide travel. Based on the questionnaire, it seems like you are quite new to the world of miles. Don’t worry, I’m here to guide you every step of the way. First, let’s get you familiarized with some basic terminology.

What are miles?

The airline industry is big business, with over 10 million people flying each day. To attract loyal customers in a competitive environment, airlines have frequent flyer programs that reward passengers for each flight they take.

Just as you earn loyalty points when you buy groceries from your supermarket, you also earn points every time you fly with a specific airline. These points are called miles. And just as you can use your points for discounts in your supermarket, you can also use your miles to get free flights with an airline.

There are two main ways to earn miles:

By flying

and by making purchases

Earning Miles through Flying

Earning miles through flying is pretty straightforward: every time you fly with an airline, they will give you a certain number of miles. The more you fly with them, the more miles you earn. If you fly enough, you’ll achieve elite status, which gives you nice perks such as more luggage allowance, priority boarding, and the occasional upgrade

Top tier elite members get access to exclusive lounges
Each airline has its own miles program, which can be redeemed for travel on itself or its partners.

Earning Miles through Purchases

Miles can also be earned through the use of travel reward credit cards. These are credit cards that give you points every time you make a purchase, which can be converted to airline miles.

Since most of us only fly a couple of times a year, the easiest way to earn miles is by making purchases on your credit card. You’d be surprised how easy it is to earn thousands of miles each year just by paying your monthly bills and necessary expenses using your credit card.

How to Use Miles

Once you earn enough miles, you can then use them to book your free flight.

Most people are put off by frequent flier miles because the process seems complicated. There are a multitude of airline and credit card programs to choose from, each with their own rules and requirements. It’s quite easy to get frustrated.

We’ve created a system that breaks down the booking process into five easy to follow steps:

Pick your Destination

Every journey has a start and a finish. Choose where you want to go and if you want to fly Economy, Business or First Class.

Select the Right Credit Card

We will show you all the credit cards that you can use to earn miles for your chosen airline program. We will compare and suggest the best cards that can help you earn your miles faster.

Book your Award Flight

Our comprehensive guides will teach you how to search and book your next free trip!

What are Air Miles?

Miles can be thought of as a type of currency that you can use to book flights. Flights booked using miles are called award tickets.

Just as each country in the world uses its own currency, each airline uses its own miles program. For example, miles earned from Philippine Airlines are called Mabuhay Miles, whereas miles earned from Etihad are called Guest Miles.

In the Philippines, there are 2 major domestic airlines (Philippine Airlines & Cebu Pacific) and numerous foreign airlines (including Singapore Airlines, ANA, Etihad) each with its own miles program.

No single airline could possibly fly to every city by itself. Thus, many airlines have formed alliances with other airlines. This means that you can earn and use miles even on flights flown by other partner airlines. Let’s say you want to travel abroad. You can use your PAL Mabuhay miles for travel on Etihad & ANA, which are Philippine Airlines’ partner airlines. Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles, on the other hand, can be used to fly on Eva Air and Thai Airways among numerous others.

Each airline’s miles can be used for travel on specific airlines

Different Airline partners throughout the world

What is important to remember is this: you need miles to book free flights. Thus, you want to earn as many miles as possible.

The number of miles you need to fly from one place to another depends on your destination and the cabin class you choose. Each airline sets its own prices. In many situations, you will have airlines charging different amounts of miles for flying to the exact same destinations. Choosing the right airline program can save you tons of miles.

[DOMESTIC PHILIPPINES FLIGHTS VAR 1]

For domestic flights within the Philippines you have two options, PAL’s Mabuhay Miles or Cebu Pacific’s Getgo Points.
I’d highly suggest you read my detailed guides on both programs, which can be found below:

To find out which program is right for you depends on whether you fly on either airline frequently and how much you value the ease of redeeming an award. The lowest amount of miles needed for domestic flights will typically be with Philippine Airlines, with one way domestic flights to Cebu starting at just 4500 miles each way! However, Cebu Pacific has an extremely simple and easy online website that you can search for award space, while PAL requires you to go to a physical office to redeem your miles and saver awards do have a few restrictions.

[DOMESTIC VERSION VARIABLE #1]

For example a UnionBank GetGo card earns GetGo points, which can be used on Cebu Pacific flights.

However, a Mabuhay Miles card earns miles that can only be used for trips booked on Philippine Airlines. It can’t be used on any other carrier that has its own partnership with other credit card companies.

You want to make sure that the credit card you apply for can earn miles that can be redeemed for travel on your selected airline loyalty program. Nothing could be worse than earning the miles necessary and then finding you can’t use your newly earned miles for your trip.

[FILIPINO DOMESTIC FLIGHTS VAR #1]
Since you indicated that you wanted to redeem your miles for domestic flights, you’ll have to choose between credit cards that earn Mabuhay Miles or CebGo points.

If you have a preferred airline & bank, the choice should be simple, as most banks have exclusive partnership with either PAL (BDO) or Cebu Pacific (Union Bank)

However, I highly recommend getting a Citi PremierMiles card instead, as it earns points that can be transferred to both Philippine Airlines & Cebu Pacific!