The Best Ways to Fly from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO)
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Flights between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport(SFO) are aplenty; after all, it’s either a day-long train or car ride, or a flight that’s just over an hour and a half each way. With so much competition on this route, flights are generally pretty cheap too. Prices usually hover around $49 one-way when booking at least a few weeks in advance.
But as you’d expect, prices jump during peak travel times or when booking at the last minute. So if you commute between LAX and SFO often, it’s good to have a mileage backup plan in place for when flights jump.
Here are the best ways to use airline and credit card miles to book award tickets between LAX and SFO focused on finding options that provide the best value between the two cities. This will allow you to save your hard earned miles for future trips.
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Keep a Lookout For Delta Promotion Awards
Delta Air Lines has a dynamic award chart meaning that award ticket prices can fluctuate up and down depending on passenger load, dates, and other factors. Because of this, Delta often runs promo awards on its flights between LAX and SFO. Sometimes pricing flights as low as 5,000 miles one-way, so mess around with Delta’s booking calendar to find the best deal.
You can use a Delta co-branded American Express credit card to earn Delta SkyMiles or transfer points in from American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
American Express currently offers several Delta co-branded personal credit cards, each with varying benefits and welcome bonuses.
Fly Alaska Airlines Between The Cities For Cheap
After acquiring Virgin America, Alaska Airlines set up hubs at both LAX and SFO. Because of this, the airline flies multiple times per day between these 2 cities, as well as other Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area airports like San Jose (SJC).
Like Delta, Alaska flights between the cities start at just 5,000 miles one-way in economy, but may be higher during peak dates.
Currently, Alaska Airlines’ only transfer partner is Marriott Bonvoy, so it can be tough to earn points with the program. But never fear, check out this mega list of ways to earn Alaska Airlines miles through credit card spend, partners, and more.
United Awards Start at Just 7,000 miles
United Airlines recently started charging fewer miles for short-haul tickets. Currently, you can fly between LAX and SFO for just 7,000 United miles one-way in economy. This is 7,500 miles less than a standard economy award ticket, and it can be a good deal depending on the price of a paid ticket.
Hot Tip: United gives its co-branded credit cardholders access to expanded award space. This may open up more award options between LAX and SFO.
As you’d expect, you can earn United MileagePlus® miles with a co-branded United credit card from Chase. Alternatively, you can transfer in points from Chase Ultimate Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, so you have a few options if you want to use United to fly between LAX and SFO.
Book a Short-Haul American Airlines Award Ticket
Like United, American Airlines also charges fewer miles for short-haul redemptions under 500 miles. The airline charges 7,500 miles for flights between LAX and SFO, giving you a 5,000 mile discount from a standard domestic redemption. If you prefer to fly in business class between LAX and SFO, those awards cost 15,000 miles one-way.
Note that American partners with Alaska Airlines on flights between LAX and SFO. So with that in mind, American Airlines elite status members will want to search for flights operated by American Airlines so they can take advantage of benefits like preferred seating and upgrades. Unfortunately, it’s harder to acquire American Airlines miles than other options on the list.
Currently, you can only transfer in miles from Marriott Bonvoy, but if you still need extra miles, consider trying a few of these many ways to earn American Airlines miles.
Get a Low Flat-Rate Redemption with British Airways Avios
British Airways Avios is a popular way to redeem for short-haul flights around the United States. All North American flight redemptions under 1,151 miles cost 9,000 Avios in economy class and are operated by Oneworld partner American Airlines or Alaska Airlines. For the LAX to SFO route, you can find excellent award space on American even when booking at the last minute.
Even better, you can transfer points to British Airways from American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.
Additionally, you can move Avios from Iberia to British Airways so long as both accounts have been open for at least 90 days. This means that you have plenty of options for flying
British Airways has a co-branded credit card with Chase too. You can use this card to earn Avios on every purchase, putting you closer to more award tickets up and down the California coast.
Cover Cheap Tickets with JetBlue or Southwest Miles
JetBlue TrueBlue and Southwest Rapid Rewards are more similar than you might think. Both airlines price awards based on how much a paid ticket costs, so the lower the cash price, the lower the cost of an award ticket. Use these options if paid tickets are cheap but you’d still rather use points to cover your purchase.
Here’s a look at how to use both programs to book an award ticket between LAX and SFO, or surrounding airports:
Using JetBlue TrueBlue to Fly Between LGB and SFO
JetBlue doesn’t operate flights from LAX to SFO, but it does offer regular service between its Long Beach Airport (LGB) and SFO. When booking roughly a month in advance, you can usually find paid tickets are around $49, or just 2,600 TrueBlue miles. This gives TrueBlue miles a cent per point value of 1.66 miles on this route, making this redemption a surprisingly good use of miles.
Currently, you can transfer miles from American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One, Citi ThankYou, and Marriott Bonvoy to JetBlue. Note that the transfer ratios vary by program, so do the math to ensure that you’re getting the best value for your points before transferring.
Additionally, JetBlue has a suite of co-branded credit cards with Barclays. Each of the 3 cards, two personal and one business, has varying sign-up bonuses and other features, so check out the credit cards page to find the best card for your wallet.
Using Southwest Rapid Rewards to Fly Between LAX and SFO
Southwest Airlines has 12 daily flights between LAX and SFO, and even more flights from other Los Angeles area airports like Ontario International Airport (ONT) and Bob Hope Airport (BUR).
When looking for flights between LAX and SFO 3 weeks in advance, you can find tickets for $49 one-way or just 2,517 Rapid Rewards points; this gives you a value of 1.7 cents per point. This is a pretty solid Rapid Rewards redemption, so definitely give it consideration for your next jump up the coast.
Hot Tip: Southwest Airlines offers 2 free checked bags on all of its flights. This includes award tickets, so if you’re planning to check bags to SFO, it’s worth your consideration.
If you need Rapid Rewards miles, you can transfer miles in from Chase Ultimate Rewards or Marriott Bonvoy. Alternatively, you can open a co-branded Southwest credit card or try one of these earning methods.
Final Thoughts
In this article, you learned all of the best ways to use miles and points to fly between LAX and SFO. Remember, these flights can be had for very cheap when booking in advance, so only use points when booking at the last minute or other times when flights are expensive. Otherwise, your points and miles may be better saved for a more exciting redemption.
If you do need to book LAX to SFO with points, check Southwest, JetBlue, and Delta first; these usually provide the best value right off the bat. If that doesn’t work out, search with United, American, and British Airways if your mileage portfolio allows.
Feature Image Credit: Maks Ershov
