Best Frequent Flyer Programs in SkyTeam (2025)

Choosing the right SkyTeam airline rewards program can be tricky. SkyTeam is a group of 18 airlines (as of 2025) that work together. This group includes big names like Delta with its many U.S. flights, Aeroméxico and Aerolíneas Argentinas covering Latin America, Air France known for fancy cabins, SAS for its Nordic service, and Virgin Atlantic with its unique style. In this guide, we’ll look at the top programs to help you see which ones offer the best deals, easiest ways to book tickets with points, top perks for loyal flyers, and the best value for your points.

We use information from real travelers on AwardFares and official airline rules to help you pick the program that’s best for you. Let’s get started!

Quick Look — Best SkyTeam Airline Rewards Programs (2025)

The table below shows a quick comparison of some of the main SkyTeam airline rewards programs. You can tap the column names to sort the table by status levels, how point costs are set, or fees.

Program Name	Status Levels	When Points Expire (months without use)	Places Flown Directly (Roughly)	How Flight Point Costs are Set	Other Partner Airlines (Not in SkyTeam)	Fees for Stopovers	Extra Fees on Award Flights	Lifetime Status
SAS EuroBonus	3	60 (points expire after 5 years regardless of activity)	120+	Set point costs	3	No	Medium	Yes
Delta SkyMiles	4	Never	300+	Point costs change	2	No	Low	Yes
Flying Blue	3	24	300+	Point costs change	18	No	Medium	Yes
SKYPASS	3	120 (points expire after 10 years regardless of activity)	125+	Set point costs	8	No	Medium	Yes
Aeroméxico Rewards	3	Never	90+	Mix of set and changing point costs	3	Yes	High	No
Flying Club	3	Never	30+	Point costs change	17	No (except London)	High	No
Dynasty Flyer	3	36	160+	Set point costs	5	Yes	Medium	No

What Are the Best Frequent Flyer Programs in SkyTeam? (Our 2025 Picks)

1. Flying Blue (Air France/KLM Royal Dutch Airlines)

Flying Blue

Flying Blue offers monthly deals on flights booked with points within Europe and to other places. It’s a program where you can find good deals if you’re ready to grab them. You might fly between the U.S. and Europe in economy for 20,000 miles one-way, or in Business class from 55,000 miles one-way. Ticket point costs change often (dynamic pricing), but you can often find good deals, especially if you can be flexible with your travel dates to find the best availability. Flying Blue often has more seats available to book with points, especially in business class, than other programs.

To get higher status in this program (by earning Experience Points or XP), you need to fly with Air France, KLM, or their partners, use their airline credit card, or even earn XP by making eco-friendly choices like giving to charity or helping reduce carbon emissions. We should also mention that when you fly KLM Business Class, you not only earn XP and Flying Blue miles but also get one of the special small ceramic KLM houses that people like to collect!

One nice thing about this program is that you can book award tickets where you fly into one city and out of another, or visit multiple cities. Depending on availability, you can also book stopovers (long stops in a city on your way) for free. It’s also a very flexible program because you can turn points from major credit card programs (like Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, Capital One Miles, and Bilt Rewards) into Flying Blue miles.

As you move up the status levels, frequent flyers get into highly rated airport lounges, like KLM’s Crown Lounge or La Première lounge. But not everything is perfect. Extra fees for fuel can be expensive, especially for Business class award flights to or from Europe, often adding $200–$500+ in taxes and airline fees. The changing point costs can be unpredictable, especially during busy travel times or on certain routes. Also, your miles will disappear after 2 years if you don’t take a flight that qualifies, use the Flying Blue credit cards, or have a special status level.

Quick Summary: Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)

Good for: Travelers looking for monthly flight deals, those who can be flexible with travel, and people who transfer credit card points.
Things to know: Point costs change often, extra fees (especially for fuel) can be high on business class flights to/from Europe, and miles expire after 2 years if you don’t use your account (unless you have status or a Flying Blue credit card).
Earning Points: Earn by flying, using their credit card, or making eco-friendly choices. Earn XP for status.
Stopovers: Yes, you can often book free stopovers on award tickets if seats are available.
Points Expiry: After 24 months unless you fly, use their credit card, or have status.

Flying Blue Homepage.

2. SAS EuroBonus

SAS

SAS’s rewards program, EuroBonus, has become more interesting since SAS joined the SkyTeam group in 2024, and many things have changed. To start, SAS EuroBonus uses charts with set point prices for flights. This means the main challenge is finding available seats, not how many points they cost. SAS has usually offered great deals when you use points for their flights. For example, you might find a one-way business class flight from Europe to the US for 50,000 points, or to Asia for 75,000 points. But these tickets can be hard to find, so we suggest using AwardFares to search easily and save a lot of time. Important: Your EuroBonus points disappear 5 years after you earn them, even if you use your account, so make sure to use them!

There are many ways to earn points in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. If you live there, you’ll find lots of opportunities to earn EuroBonus points through SAS airline credit cards (from Amex, Mastercard), hotels, car rentals, and partners for everyday things (like groceries, shopping, or electricity). SAS also lets you combine points with family members and share points. This is helpful for their regular Monthly Promo Awards, which offer up to 50% off flights booked with points, in any seat type, on SAS’s own long-distance flights.

Using your points for SAS flights is a great deal, but it can be hard to find seats you can book with points. So, it’s good to plan far ahead (SAS releases award seats 330 days before the flight) or hope to get lucky with special deals using points. Also, because SAS joined SkyTeam fairly recently, they are still finishing the setup for using your miles on all partner airlines.

Quick Summary: SAS EuroBonus

Good for: Travelers in Scandinavia, people looking for good value with set point costs for flights, families who want to pool points.
Things to know: Points expire 5 years after you earn them (no matter what), finding award seats can be tough, using points on all SkyTeam partners is still being fully set up.
Earning Points: Many ways to earn in Scandinavian countries (credit cards, shopping). Uses set point charts for flights.
Stopovers: No extra fees for stopovers if allowed (based on table data, but not a highlighted feature).
Points Expiry: Points expire 5 years after earning, regardless of account activity.

SAS Homepage.

3. Delta SkyMiles

Delta

In a tough market like the U.S., Delta works hard to stay on top. They’ve surprised us with new ideas in the past. A big plus for SkyMiles is that, unlike many programs, Delta SkyMiles never expire. This is great for people who don’t fly often or who are saving up miles to use later.

Another advantage is their wide reach in the U.S. and around the world. They have hundreds of flights within the U.S. and good connections to other countries thanks to SkyTeam and other partners like Shanghai Airlines, LATAM, and AirBaltic. You earn status and miles when you fly with these partners. You use Delta SkyMiles to book flights with points or get upgrades. To earn and keep Delta Medallion status (their special frequent flyer levels), the main thing is Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs), which track your spending. Delta airline credit cards from Amex also let you earn MQDs just by using the card.

You can use your SkyMiles for flights, upgrades, hotels, car rentals, Delta Vacations (vacation packages), and other experiences. You can also buy SkyMiles, but be careful: buying miles usually costs more than they are worth when you use them. Delta is a good choice if you often fly to or from the U.S. or want to use SkyTeam partners. But keep in mind that their point costs for flights change often (dynamic pricing), which can be unpredictable. However, if you set alerts on AwardFares, you might catch deals like short domestic flights for under 5,000 miles or one-way economy flights to Europe starting at 20,000 miles.

Delta also got rid of change fees for tickets starting in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean to anywhere in the world (but not for Basic Economy, their cheapest tickets). Delta doesn’t charge extra for booking award flights at the last minute. However, first and business class seats can be very expensive in points, the value you get for your miles might not always be the best, and if you don’t live in the U.S., it’s not as easy to earn miles.

Quick Summary: Delta SkyMiles

Good for: People in the U.S., travelers who want miles that don’t expire, and access to many flights in the U.S. and worldwide.
Things to know: Point costs for flights change a lot, nicer seats (first/business) can cost a lot of points, and earning miles can be harder if you’re not in the U.S.
Earning Points: Based on spending (MQDs for status). Amex credit cards help earn status.
Stopovers: No extra fees for stopovers if allowed (based on table data).
Points Expiry: Never expire.

Delta Homepage.

4. SKYPASS (Korean Air)

Korean Air

Great service is what Korean Air is known for, and this includes their SKYPASS airline rewards program. One reason to choose Korean Air SKYPASS is that they usually have many seats available to book with points in Business and First Class. Korean Air regularly offers more award seats in these nicer cabins.

SKYPASS uses charts with set point prices for flights based on regions of the world, which makes point costs predictable. They have different point prices for busy (peak) and less busy (off-peak) travel times, but the difference usually isn’t too big. You can find good deals for business or first class seats to or from Asia, which often cost fewer points than with other programs. For example, one-way long-distance flights from the U.S. to Korea in business class can be 62,500 miles during off-peak times, or in First Class for 80,000 miles one-way. You also have plenty of time to save up miles, as they are valid for 10 years. However, don’t get too excited; it’s hard to earn SKYPASS miles because not many other rewards programs let you turn their points into SKYPASS miles. Currently, only Bilt Rewards (in the U.S.) does. SKYPASS has Korean airline credit cards, but they are hard to get if you’re not a Korean citizen.

Another benefit is that SKYPASS allows one free stopover on a one-way ticket, even when you book with points. This is great for breaking up long trips or planning bigger adventures to multiple destinations. For those flying with family and friends, you can combine miles with up to 8 family members, making it easier to book for a group. Finding flights isn’t a problem either, since Korean Air is part of SkyTeam and also partners with select airlines outside the group, like Alaska Airlines, Etihad, and Emirates (for flights where Korean Air sells tickets for an Emirates-operated flight).

An important rule for those who like to fly in top comfort: you can only use SKYPASS miles to book Korean Air First Class. Most other airline programs (like Delta, Flying Blue, etc.) can’t book Korean Air’s best First Class seats (Kfly Kosmo Suites 2.0). This could be good or bad depending on how you look at it. But a definite downside is that for flights on partner airlines, SKYPASS usually requires you to book a round-trip, even if you only want to fly one way (though some one-way partner awards are now allowed). Also, be ready for high fees.

Quick Summary: SKYPASS (Korean Air)

Good for: Travelers who want nicer seats (business/first class), predictable point costs using set charts, and pooling miles with family.
Things to know: Hard to earn miles as few programs transfer to SKYPASS, Korean Air First Class can only be booked with SKYPASS miles, usually need to book round-trip for partner flights, and high fees.
Earning Points: Uses set point charts based on regions. Miles are good for 10 years.
Stopovers: Yes, one free stopover is allowed on one-way award tickets.
Points Expiry: Points expire after 10 years (strict).

Korean Air Homepage.

5. Aeroméxico Rewards

Aeroméxico

Aeroméxico Rewards (formerly Aeroméxico Club Premier) has some unique benefits. For example, it’s useful if you’re looking for a rewards program based in Latin America that lets you travel worldwide. But there are some downsides, like high extra fees for fuel on award flights, especially in business class. Also, their website isn’t very informative and is much harder to use than Flying Blue’s or United’s.

When it comes to earning points, Aeroméxico offers the usual ways: flying with them and their partners, hotel stays, car rentals, and credit cards. Aeroméxico will give you eight points (they call them Premier Points) for every dollar you spend on a ticket. Compared to other airlines, they give out many more points, which can make it confusing if you want to compare directly with other airlines. At least your points do not expire, and you can claim points for flights up to 9 months after you flew.

If you want to use your Aeroméxico points, remember that this airline uses a mix of set and changing point prices. This means Aeroméxico Rewards still uses a chart with set point amounts for flights to certain regions (but not many seats are available at these prices) and also offers tickets with changing point prices that are less predictable (but more seats are available). A good thing about this system is that it rewards you for booking far in advance. Some good deals include Mexico to Europe in business class for 75,000 Premier Points (with changing prices) or Mexico to the U.S. in economy for 18,000 Premier Points during off-peak times (with set prices).

Quick Summary: Aeroméxico Rewards

Good for: Travelers based in Latin America who want to fly worldwide, and those who like getting many points per dollar spent (but check the value).
Things to know: High extra fees for fuel on award flights, website is not easy to use, and uses a mix of set and changing point prices which can be confusing.
Earning Points: Earn 8 points per dollar spent on tickets.
Stopovers: Yes, but there are fees for them (based on table data).
Points Expiry: Never expire.

Aeroméxico Homepage.

6. Flying Club (Virgin Atlantic)

Flying Club

If one thing makes Virgin Atlantic’s rewards program, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, stand out, it’s their fantastic partner airlines for using points and many ways to get points from other programs. Even though Virgin Atlantic is a smaller airline, its program is one of the most flexible and surprising. You can find all their options on their easy-to-use website, and your Virgin Points (which they call their points) never expire.

This wide range of partnerships starts with their own Virgin companies. From Virgin Wines to books and even free space travel, you can get many things using Virgin companies while earning and spending your points. But the partnerships don’t stop there. You can turn points from all major credit card programs (like Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, Capital One Miles, Bilt Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, etc.) into Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points. When it comes to airline partners, Flying Club members can find some of the best deals for using points, like a round-trip business class flight between the U.S. and Japan on ANA (a Japanese airline) starting from 120,000 points, or Delta One business class to Europe for 50,000–60,000 points one-way. So, if you know where to look, Flying Club can make your points worth a lot more, and AwardFares is the place to look because it makes finding and booking these deals easy.

Another plus for Flying Club is the luxury perks Virgin Atlantic offers. From special plane interiors and areas to hang out on the plane, to lounges with spas, and even a whole airport section at London Heathrow for their premium passengers, Flying Club is worth considering. However, keep in mind that it has high extra fees for fuel. Sometimes, you’ll pay £400–£600+ in fees for a round-trip. Also, a one-way ticket might cost more than half the price of a round-trip ticket.

Quick Summary: Flying Club (Virgin Atlantic)

Good for: People looking for great deals when using points on partner airlines (like ANA or Delta), and those who transfer points from credit card programs.
Things to know: High extra fees (especially for fuel), one-way award flights aren’t always half the round-trip price, and Virgin Atlantic has a smaller flight network itself.
Earning Points: Many credit card transfer partners and ways to earn through Virgin companies.
Stopovers: Generally no, except sometimes in London (based on table data).
Points Expiry: Never expire.

Flying Club Homepage.

7. Dynasty Flyer (China Airlines) [Honorable Mention]

China Airlines’ rewards program, Dynasty Flyer, doesn’t get as much attention as others, but it can offer great value if you fly to or from Asia or use SkyTeam airlines often. For example, it usually has good availability for award flights on China Airlines’ own planes, especially in business class. So, it’s a good choice if you’re looking for a reliable way to fly in a nicer seat to or from China, and even better if you need to fly to their main airport hub in Taiwan.

China Airlines does not use changing point prices for award flights; instead, they have a chart where the number of points needed depends on how far you fly. Some good deals include a round-trip flight from China to New Zealand in Business Class for 60,000 miles, and many flights within Asia can cost as little as 20,000 miles round-trip. But miles can be hard to earn, and you can’t easily turn points from big credit card programs (like Amex, Chase, Citi, etc.) into Dynasty Flyer miles.

The same miles you earn from flying are the ones that help you move up the China Airlines Dynasty Flyer status levels. Compared to Delta or Flying Blue, it might be easier to reach higher status levels based on how many miles you earn. However, you also need to meet other conditions, like earning miles on at least six specific types of international flights operated by China Airlines or Mandarin Airlines. Also, your miles expire 3 years (36 months) after you earn them. If you have any problems, the website is difficult to use and not very user-friendly. The tool for booking flights with points is basic and not easy to figure out.

Quick Summary: Dynasty Flyer (China Airlines)

Good for: Travelers flying to/from Asia (especially Taiwan), those who want good availability for nicer seats on China Airlines, and using a distance-based point chart.
Things to know: Miles are hard to earn as there are no major credit card transfer partners, miles expire after 3 years, and the website is difficult to use.
Earning Points: Uses a set point chart based on flight distance.
Stopovers: Yes, but there are fees for them (based on table data).
Points Expiry: Expire 36 months (3 years) after earning.

China Airlines Homepage.

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About the Author

Germán is a technologist and travel strategist with a PhD in Computer Architecture and a rare ability to bridge the worlds of advanced computing and real-world adventure. With experience at global tech giants like Google and Ericsson, he’s an expert in high-performance hardware powering AI, simulation, and digital twins—translating complex systems into actionable insights for enterprise innovation.

Outside the data center, Germán has taken nearly 700 flights across the globe, applying a hacker mindset to travel. He demystifies award travel and optimization strategies, helping others explore the world smarter, cheaper, and with less stress. Germán specializes in optimizing award redemptions, tracking loyalty program changes, and making complex airline systems easy to navigate.