Children’s Award Travel: Which Airline Is Best?

As a new parent, there’s a lot to learn about traveling with an infant. That’s especially true if you’re into miles and points, because adding infants to award tickets can be complicated and expensive.

In this article I wanted to provide a brief overview of what you can generally expect when trying to add lap infants to airline award tickets. As a new parent, I’ve helped people book countless award tickets with toddlers over the years, so I have some experience with this. I certainly still welcome comments and ideas from parents.

The basics of flying with a baby in your lap

Let’s start with the basics. Generally, airlines will allow you to travel with a baby in your lap as long as they are under two years old (not under 24 months until their third birthday). in general –

• It does not cost you anything when the child travels in the country
• Infants traveling internationally will be charged 10% of the adult fare

Let me emphasize that if you are traveling with an infant, they are not entitled to a seat. In other words, you’re going to hold them for the entire flight, and that might not be fun, especially if they’re not newborns. Some long-haul aircraft have bassinets, but you can’t always count on it doing that.

Many people prefer to buy a car seat for their child, as it is both safer and more comfortable.

• It is safer, because you can put the baby in an approved car seat, so that they are properly protected
• It’s more comfortable as you have more space to stretch out and don’t have to worry about carrying the baby the entire flight.
• Oh, this is a great way to get your kid into miles and points, so they can earn rewards on their own trips 😉

If you buy a seat for infants, you can generally expect it to be the same price as an adult. So when I talk about airline infant policies below, I’m specifically talking about if you choose to have them travel on your lap.

Children’s award tickets usually cost 10% of the admission price

Want to add a baby on your lap to an award ticket? Generally, you can expect to be stuck paying a 10% revenue charge for the class of service you travel with. Address below.

10% may not seem like much, but it can definitely add up, especially if you’re redeeming miles for first and business class. Holding a $20,000 international first-class ticket? Well, you could be out of pocket for $2,000 to travel with your baby.

Adding infants to award tickets can be frustrating.

While the cost of adding an infant to an award ticket is one thing, I think it’s important to note how frustrating the process of adding an infant to an award ticket can be.

• I highly recommend adding a child to an award ticket during the actual ticketing process, after the fact (although possible).
• I highly recommend having a program that allows you to ticket infants online rather than over the phone.

Although you can add infants to award tickets after the first ticket, it can be very frustrating. why?

• If you have an award ticket for travel on a partner airline, switching between the airline you’re booking and the airline you’re flying with, which airline offers a child booking ticket (this should be the case). be the airline you are booked with)
• While the general policy is that an infant costs 10% of income, you’ll find that pricing can vary widely. Sometimes agents try to charge you 10% of the current minimum fare, sometimes they try to charge you 10% of the full ticket price, etc.

The best frequent flyer programs for newborn award travel

The above covers the basic policies you can expect when adding an infant as a cot to an award ticket. As you can see, the general policy will cost you a 10% earnings fee for the cabin you’re traveling in, even if you’re taking miles.

The good news is that some frequent flyer programs have special child-friendly policies that can save you a lot of money. So let me share with you the best programs for booking baby award travel. Specifically in the United States, I’m sharing programs that partner with at least one major transit points currency, so that the points are at least somewhat accessible to the average traveler.

Air Canada Aircraft

Air Canada is the world’s best frequent flyer program for adding a child to an award ticket. You only pay 2,500 Aeroplan Points or 25 CDs to add a child to any award ticket. This includes travel on all airline partners (and Aeroplan has more airline partners than any other frequent flyer program).

This is an unheard of deal, and the best part is that you can book the infant award online when you book the adult ticket. For example, take a one-way business class award to travel from Chicago to Frankfurt on Lufthansa. As you can see, the cost to add a child is only 2,500 points.

Air Canada is a transfer partner with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One and Chase Ultimate Rewards.

All Nippon Airways Miles Club

While not as good as Air Canada’s, All Nippon Airways Mileage Club is a Star Alliance program with an excellent child award policy. For infant lap travel, ANA Mileage Club charges only 10% of an adult traveler’s mileage plus taxes and fees. ANA has some pretty sweet spot redemption opportunities, so for some this could be a worthwhile opportunity.

All Nippon Airways Mileage Club are transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards.

British Airways Executive Club

British Airways Executive Club is the best worldwide frequent flyer program for adding an infant to an award ticket. You only pay 10% to add a baby in Avios, and this applies whether you’re traveling on British Airways or a partner airline. You can add infants to your ticket during the initial booking process.

For example, take a one-way business class award to travel from New York to London on British Airways. As you can see, the cost to add a child is 5,000 Avios plus $38.30 in taxes and fees.

British Airways Executive Club is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One and Chase Ultimate Rewards.

United MileagePlus

While I don’t think the policy is as good as Air Canada’s, United MileagePlus still has a great baby award travel policy, especially for first and business class. United charges 10% of the arrival price of lap infants, but that covers a total of $250. This applies to travel on United and travel on partner airlines, and these awards can be booked directly on united.com. When you consider that many first and business class tickets normally cost $5,000+, that represents quite a few savings.

For example, take a one-way business class award to travel from Boston to London on United. As you can see, adding an infant costs exactly $250, including all taxes and fees.

United MileagePlus is a transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is another great program for children’s award travel. When traveling on Virgin Atlantic flights, you pay the following to add an infant to a one-way award ticket:

• In economy, you pay 1,000 points, plus taxes and fees.
• In Premium Economy, 2,000 points pay taxes and fees.
• In business class, 5,000 points pay taxes and fees

There are also fixed costs for adding infants to award tickets on partner airlines, the price of which varies from 1,000 points to 14,000 points one way depending on the partner or class of service. In the grand scheme of things, I consider that reasonable, but not as great as other programs.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou.

The worst frequent flyer programs for newborn award travel

As you can see, the worst case scenario is that you will generally get up to 10% of the adult’s earnings value when taking a lap baby on an award. Some programs are more generous than this.

Then there’s a program that takes it to the other extreme – Cathay Pacific Asia Miles charge up to 25% of an adult’s earnings for taking an infant with you. That can actually be quite expensive, especially in a premium cabin (and I suspect this may be by design).

at last

If you’re traveling internationally with an infant, booking with the right program can save you a lot of money. As a general rule, you can expect that traveling with an infant on an award ticket will cost you 10% of the fare for the cabin you’re traveling in.

Fortunately, there are some programs that are much better than that. No matter which airline you fly with, you can’t beat Air Canada, which costs just 2,500 points, or $25 CAD, to add a child to your award ticket. Meanwhile, programs like British Airways Executive Club and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club also have great policies.

Booking with the right program can make a big difference, especially if you’re traveling in international first and business class.

For those of you with young children, has the Child Pay award affected which airlines you collect miles with?