Yes, you can book a flight for someone else with your points or miles. Almost every airline program and card travel portal lets you enter any passenger’s name while paying with your own balance, and the traveler doesn’t need an account or a card. The hard part isn’t the booking. It’s moving points between people, which is restricted and sometimes expensive.
Here’s how each route works and where people lose money.
How do you book an award flight for another person? #
You have three options. The first is almost always the cheapest.
1. Book from your own airline account #
If the miles are already in your airline account (United, Delta, American, Atmos Rewards and so on), search for award seats, select the flight, and enter the traveler’s details instead of yours at checkout. The miles come out of your account, and you can pay the taxes and fees with your own card. The ticket is issued in the passenger’s name and they check in normally.
2. Book through your card’s travel portal #
Chase Travel, Amex Travel, Capital One Travel and Citi Travel work like online travel agencies. You search cash fares, pay with points, and enter anyone as the passenger. This route doesn’t need award availability, but the value per point is fixed or boosted by the portal rather than set by the airline.
3. Transfer card points to an airline, then book #
Transferable card points can go to airline programs, and you then book from that airline account as in option 1. The rules on whose airline account can receive the transfer vary by bank.
Can you transfer points into someone else’s airline account? #
Only with limits, and the rules tightened in 2026.
| Program | Can you send points to another person’s airline account? | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | Yes, to one household member | They must be an authorized user on your card |
| Amex Membership Rewards | Yes, to an authorized user | They must have had their card at least 90 days before you link their airline account |
| Capital One miles | Indirectly | You can transfer miles to another Capital One cardholder, who then transfers to their airline |
| Citi ThankYou | No | Citi ended person-to-person points sharing on May 17, 2026 |
Chase also lets you move points into a household member’s Chase account without the authorized user requirement, and they can transfer from there. See how to transfer Chase points to a family member for the steps.
The easier path in every program is option 1: transfer into your own airline account and book the ticket in their name.
Why shouldn’t you transfer airline miles to another person? #
Because airlines charge heavily for it. Delta, for example, charges 1 cent per mile plus a $30 processing fee per transaction, with a maximum of 30,000 miles per transfer. Moving 30,000 miles to a relative costs $330, which is about what the miles are worth.
Booking the same ticket from your account in their name costs nothing extra beyond the usual taxes and fees. If you need to combine balances with family, look for a free pooling program instead:
- JetBlue TrueBlue Points Pooling: up to seven people, friends included.
- Air Canada Aeroplan Family Sharing: up to eight family members.
- British Airways Household Account: people living at the same address share one Avios balance for redemptions.
- Atmos Rewards (Alaska and Hawaiian): points pooling is tied to the program’s co-branded credit cards.
More options are in can you combine miles from different airlines.
Step by step: booking an award ticket for someone else #
- Get their exact details. Legal name as it appears on their ID or passport, date of birth, gender, and contact email. Add their Known Traveler Number or Redress number if they have one.
- Add their frequent flyer number for the operating airline so their own status benefits apply and they earn any miles the fare allows.
- Search award space in your account and choose the flight.
- Enter their information carefully. Turn off autofill, which often drops your own name into the passenger field.
- Pay taxes and fees with a card you’re happy to have on the reservation.
- Forward the confirmation and tell them how to manage the booking if something changes.
If you’re opening a new card to earn the points for a family trip, the sign-up bonus is usually the biggest chunk of it. Credit Card Central tracks each bonus’s minimum spend with a progress bar and the daily pace you need, and reminds you 30, 7 and 1 day before the deadline, so the points are there when you’re ready to book.
What can go wrong when you book for someone else? #
Travel protections may not cover them #
Card trip delay, cancellation and baggage coverage typically covers the cardholder and certain family members, not friends or extended relatives. If you book for a friend, they may want their own travel insurance. Check your card’s benefits guide for who counts as a covered traveler.
Refunds go back to you, or to them #
For award tickets booked with airline miles, cancelled miles usually return to your account and taxes return to your card. For portal bookings, the airline’s rules apply, and a future flight credit is normally issued in the passenger’s name. That can leave your points turned into a voucher only they can use.
Some airlines check the payment card #
A few international carriers may ask to see the card used to pay taxes and fees at check-in. If you’re booking a foreign airline for someone traveling without you, check its payment verification rules first.
For timing and value questions, see when to book flights with points vs. cash.
Frequently asked questions #
Do I earn miles when I book a flight for someone else? #
No. The passenger earns any miles or status credit the ticket allows, as long as their frequent flyer number is on the booking. Award tickets usually earn little or nothing, while portal bookings are treated as paid fares.
Is it allowed to book flights for strangers in exchange for money? #
No. Selling award tickets or points breaks the terms of every major airline and card program. Programs can cancel tickets, close accounts and confiscate balances when they find it. Book only for people you actually know and aren’t being paid by.
Can two people combine points for one ticket? #
Only in programs with pooling, such as JetBlue, Aeroplan or a British Airways household account. Otherwise one account needs enough miles for the whole ticket, though the owner can then book it in anyone’s name.
Does the passenger keep their elite status benefits? #
Yes, if their frequent flyer number is attached to the reservation. Benefits like free checked bags and priority boarding follow the traveler, not the account that paid.
Do I need to travel with the person I book for? #
No. Award tickets and portal bookings don’t require the account holder to be on the flight.