The Best Ways To Fly From Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK)

The Los Angeles International (LAX) to John F. Kennedy International (JFK) route is one of the most frequented flights in the world — and it’s easy to see why. These are the 2 most populated cities in the U.S., and nearly all major airlines in the U.S. operate the route nonstop.

Even with so much competition on the route, LAX to JFK can still be costly to fly. This is in large part because the flight is nearly as long as flights from the East Coast to Europe, and it’s super business-heavy.

Don’t worry! A coast-to-coast trip doesn’t have to break the bank if you have miles and points. In this article, you’ll find all of the best ways to redeem points and miles for a free jaunt from Los Angeles to New York City in both business and economy class.

1. AAdvantage Miles Make It Easy To Fly American Airlines

American Airlines operates a proper 3-cabin plane between JFK and LAX. This plane features economy, business, and first class seating. Business and first class offer proper lie-flat seating and dining that’s comparable to international service on American Airlines.

The best way to book American Airlines’ upgraded transcontinental service used to be Etihad Guest, until the program significantly increased redemption rates for American Airlines flights.

However, the AAdvantage program‘s dynamic pricing structure means you can sometimes find fantastic deals on transcontinental flights. For example, nonstop flights between LAX and JFK are available from 8,500 miles one-way in economy class, 26,500 in business and 39,000 miles in first class.

To book an American Airlines award, you can find availability on American Airlines’ website.

American Airlines only has two transfer partners: Citi ThankYou Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy. ThankYou points transfer to AAdvantage at a 1:1 ratio (1:0.7 for Citi no-annual-fee cards), while Marriott points transfer at a 3:1 ratio.

2. Book Delta Air Lines Tickets With Virgin Atlantic

Delta Air Lines flies a mixture of Boeing 757 and wide-body Boeing 767 planes between JFK and LAX. In business class, branded as Delta One, travelers can expect a lie-flat seat and meal service comparable to that of an international flight. However, Delta SkyMiles are rarely the best way to fly Delta between JFK and LAX — instead, check Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

You can book business class for 70,000 points one-way or 22,000 for economy class. The economy pricing is pretty standard, but it is worth noting that business class seats are significantly more expensive than booking American Airlines tickets via Etihad Guest.

Thankfully, Virgin Points are pretty easy to come by. Currently, it is an AmexTravel.com partner, Chase travel partner, Citi ThankYou travel partner, and Marriott Bonvoy travel partner. Further, there is a Virgin Atlantic co-branded Mastercard from Bank of America.

3. Use Star Alliance Partners To Fly United’s 767-300

After a 5 year hiatus, United officially returned to JFK in 2021 to operate a route between LAX (and SFO) starting with 5 times weekly and increasing up to 2 times per day.

The flights are serviced by United’s fleet of 767-300 that features 46 Polaris business class seats, 22 Premium Plus seats, 43 extra-legroom Economy Plus seats, and 56 regular economy seats.

While you could use United MileagePlus miles to fly between the cities, a better option might be using one of its Star Alliance partners. Take the Turkish Miles&Smiles program for instance, which charges just 20,000 miles one-way for a transcontinental business class ticket with United, or 15,000 miles in economy.

Don’t have a stash of Turkish miles? The airline is a transfer partner of Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.

Another option is to use Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles to fly United from coast to coast. This costs just 29,000 one-way in business class or 15,000 miles when booked in economy class. You can transfer miles from American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. Just note that some of these transfers can take 24 hours or more to process, so transfer as soon as you find a flight you’d like to book.

4. Book Cheap Tickets Using JetBlue Points

JetBlue prices its award tickets based on the price of a paid ticket, meaning that more expensive tickets cost more TrueBlue points. When searching for a ticket 3 months in advance, you can generally find that economy tickets could cost around 9,200 points while business class tickets (in JetBlue Mint) could cost a whopping 68,400 points one-way.

On the other hand, these same flights cost $137 and $699 in economy and business class respectively. This means that you’ll receive somewhere between 1.42 and 1 cents per point in value when redeeming TrueBlue points.

You can transfer points to JetBlue from Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, and Wells Fargo Rewards at varying rates. Additionally, you can earn JetBlue TrueBlue points through shopping, dining, or a JetBlue co-branded credit card.

Do note that you can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards toward select paid flights at up to 2 cents per point if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve^®, making it a far better deal than transferring to JetBlue.

Final Thoughts

There is no shortage of ways to fly from LAX to JFK. Stick with the Turkish Miles&Smiles for United Airlines business class awards. No matter what you choose, though, you’ll get a safe, quick, and nearly free flight between the two largest cities in the U.S.

We also have helpful guides on the lounges at LAX and JFK if you need to find a place to relax before your flight.

What are your favorite ways to fly between LAX and JFK? Let us know in the comments below!