Award flights between major U.S. airports over the 2026 Thanksgiving travel period are pricing 32% higher in frequent flyer miles than they did for last year’s holiday, as limited capacity, strong demand and expensive fuel push redemption costs higher.
Seats.aero, which tracks miles and points redemptions, compared average one-way award flights as of early November with the same holiday period a year earlier. The 32% increase applies to tickets bought with frequent flyer miles for flights between large U.S. airports, a sign that travelers hoping to offset holiday travel costs with miles will find their balances covering less than before.
The increase comes after airline ticket prices surged this year, especially for holiday travel. Limited capacity, high demand and costly fuel have made fares more expensive. Airline executives said last month that demand remains strong even after the run-up in prices.
Another factor is how airlines price award tickets. Carriers have largely abandoned static mileage redemption charts in favor of dynamic pricing. Under dynamic pricing, the number of miles required changes with demand, the route and other factors, making it harder for travelers to budget for an award ticket or predict when a redemption will be cheapest.
The most expensive award routes for Thanksgiving include longer itineraries, such as flights from Hawaii. The list also includes a nonstop route from New York to Houston. Among the cheapest awards are short routes, including Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Even those lower-cost redemptions are more expensive than they were for Thanksgiving last year.
Fuel costs are adding pressure. Jet fuel prices have surged since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, eating into airline profits. Carriers have sought to pass as much of those costs as possible along to consumers, through cash fares and award pricing alike.
For travelers, the result is a smaller return on frequent flyer miles during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. The 32% figure is an average across large U.S. airport pairs; individual routes can vary because dynamic pricing responds to demand and availability. With capacity still constrained and demand strong, the mileage required for a Thanksgiving trip is running well above last year’s level.