7 Best Ways to Fly to Bali with Points

Bali, Indonesia, is one of the most exotic tourist destinations in the world. With more than 6 million travelers visiting this gorgeous destination with calm-easy surfing water and beautiful shorelines every year, you can surely get value for every buck you spend getting here.

There are no direct flights from the United States to Bali, meaning you’d have to have at least one or multiple layovers before arriving in Bali. One of the most cost-effective ways to fly to Bali is using points.

The number of miles you have will determine in which class you’ll travel. You’ll need fewer miles when traveling in the economy than in premium economy or in business class. If you have enough points, you can secure first-class award seats on some airlines.

With airlines adopting the dynamic pricing strategy, you may wonder whether using points and miles is worth it. If you want to use points to fly to Bali, keep reading to discover the best airline programs to fly to Bali.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

At the top of our list is Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles for many reasons, but we’ll mention these two:

• Unbeatable award prices
• No fuel surcharges when using their partner airlines, translating to low out-of-pocket cost

However, a major downside of the Mileage Plan program is that it partners with only one transferable currency program: Marriott Bonvoy. For this reason, the miles are hard to earn.

How to Book with Alaska Miles

Let’s look at the number of miles you’ll redeem to fly to Bali through Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. Alaska Air recently updated their award pricing showing flights starting prices, rather than how much they should cost. If you fly one way with Cathay Pacific, expect flights to start at 50,000 miles in business class and 70,000 miles in first class.

If you fly one way with  Korean Air, here’s the breakdown of miles based on the class in which you want to fly.

• Economy: 60,000 to 85,000 miles
• Business: 100,000 to 120,000 miles
• First class: 140,000 miles

Keep in mind that Korean Air award rates through Mileage Plan are the same whether you book a one-way or a round-trip flight, so it’s better to book a round-trip itinerary if you can find award availability in both directions.

Cards to Help You Earn Alaska Miles

Unfortunately, Alaska Airlines has just one transfer partner, Marriott Bonvoy, limiting your options for transferring from other partners. However, Alaska Airlines offers two co-branded cards to help you earn miles: one personal card and one business card.

• Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card
• Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Card

Convert Marriott Bonvoy points: Marriott Bonvoy members can transfer their points to the Alaska Mileage Plan at a 3:1 transfer ratio. For instance, every 10,000 points will get you 3,333 Alaska miles. Additionally, you earn a bonus of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 Marriott points converted, meaning you’ll end up with 25,000 miles after transferring 60,000 points.

Some of the recommended Marriott Bonvoy cards include:

• Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Credit Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club

Another interesting choice is All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club. ANA is a member of the Star Alliance and the biggest airline in Japan. The Mileage Club program has a provision to book award flights for other travelers as long as they’re registered in your account (preferably your family members). Mileage Club allows you to register up to 10 companions.

How to Book with ANA Miles

ANA’s partners include Air Canada, Asiana, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, United Airlines and others. ANA business awards are quite reasonable, making it an ideal choice.

However, remember that you must book round-trip awards at the rates mentioned below.

• Economy: 55,000 to 80,000 miles
• Business: 100,000 to 136,000 miles
• First: 195,000 to 240,000 miles

Cards to Help You Earn ANA Miles

Fortunately, ANA is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy. If you hold Membership Rewards-earning Amex cards, you may transfer points to ANA at a 1:1 ratio. Keep in mind that the points can take about 48 hours to post.

The following American Express cards earn Membership Rewards:

• American Express® Business Gold Card
• American Express® Gold Card
• American Express® Green Card
• Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card
• The Amex EveryDay® Card
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• The Platinum Card® from American Express

Marriott Bonvoy points, on the other hand, transfer at a 3:1 ratio. As usual, you’ll get a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer. However, the downside of Marriott Bonvoy points transfers is that it can take up to four days to post.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

If you’re a seasoned traveler, you probably know that Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles are definitely worth their weight in gold.

The KrisFlyer program has two redemption rates: the Saver award, which requires fewer miles to secure an award seat, and the Advantage option, which requires more miles but also offers extra benefits, such as expanded availability and the option to add a complimentary stopover on a one-way flight.

Keep in mind that Advantage awards require more KrisFlyer miles than Saver-level tickets.

How to Book with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Here’s a summary of points you need to fly to Bali via Singapore. Note that the redemption rates vary for travelers based on the East Coast and West Coast.

If your flight is originating from the West Coast, here’s the number of miles you need to fly to Bali on Singapore Airlines aircraft:

• Economy: 42,000 miles
• Premium economy: 75,000 miles
• Business: 107,000 miles
• First: 146,500 miles

If your flight is originating from the East Coast, here’s the number of miles you need to fly to Bali:

• Economy: 44,000 miles
• Premium economy: 80,500 miles
• Business: 111,500 miles
• First: 148,500 miles

Singapore KrisFlyer has a separate award chart for Star Alliance partner-operated flights. It’s worth noting that Singapore Airlines doesn’t pass on carrier-imposed surcharges.

Cards to Help You Earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles

The upside of the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program is that it partners with almost all major transferable points programs from banks, making it one of the easiest ways to earn KrisFlyer miles.

You can transfer the following points to Singapore KrisFlyer:

• American Express Membership Rewards: 1:1 transfer partner and can take up to a day.
• Capital One Miles: The transfer is instant with a ratio of 1:1.
• Chase Ultimate Rewards: Usually takes a day with a transfer ratio of 1:1, but it can take close to a week to take effect.
• Citi ThankYou Points: The transfer takes less than 24 hours and offers a ratio of 1:1
• Marriott Bonvoy: It takes a maximum of 48 hours to transfer at a ratio of 3:1, and for every 60,000 points, you get a bonus of 5,000 miles.

United MileagePlus

For those holding huge reserves of United miles, now is the time to use them. Let the MileagePlus program be your magical red carpet to Bali’s breathtaking clear waters. The perks of using United MileagePlus include their ease of booking process and a reasonable award rate for those who earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

How to Book with United MileagePlus

United partner airlines like Air Canada, ANA, Asiana, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways provide a platform for using MileagePlus points. Keep in mind that United Airlines uses a dynamic award pricing model. As such, the number of miles required will keep fluctuating based on demand and cabin class.

Here’s the number of miles you’ll need for a one-way trip to Bali starting from:

• Economy: 60,500 miles
• Business: 110,000 miles
• First: 220,000 miles

Cards to Help You Earn United MileagePlus Miles

Chase credit cards are one of the best options to ramp up United miles. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card allow you to transfer points to United MileagePlus at a ratio of 1:1. You can choose a personal or business card to cover you in various ways.

Marriott Bonvoy is another option, which lets you transfer points to United at a 3:1 ratio posting within 24 hours. Marriott has a special partnership with United, which awards you a bonus 10,000 miles per 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred. So for every 60,000 Marriott points converted to United, you’ll end up with 30,000 MileagePlus miles.

If you travel with United, you’ll have a ton of options for airline credit cards. Whether personal or business cards, United has you covered. Consider the following co-branded United Airlines cards:

• United℠ Business Card
• United Club℠ Business Card
• United Club℠ Infinite Card
• United℠ Explorer Card
• United Gateway℠ Card
• United Quest℠ Card

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

KLM is touted to be the oldest airline in the world, having been established in 1919. The airline runs a joint loyalty program with Air France called Flying Blue. In general, the true worth of Flying Blue miles is based on the versatility with which they may be redeemed for rewards.

How to Book with KLM Flying Blue Miles

KLM employs variable award pricing, making it difficult to determine the exact number of miles required to fly to Bali. In this case, we’ll use an estimate from Flying Blue’s mileage price calculator, which indicates the minimum number of miles a particular itinerary should cost.

Award rates for a one-way trip to Bali using Flying Blue miles start from:

• Economy: 35,000 miles
• Premium economy: 91,500 miles
• Business: 125,000 miles

Please note that the number of miles may change depending on your route and time of the year. Expect at least one layover before arriving at Denpasar, Bali (DPS).

Cards to Help You Earn Flying Blue Miles

The easiest way to earn Flying Blue miles is by transferring points from partners:

• American Express Membership Rewards
• Bilt Rewards
• Capital One
• Citi ThankYou Reward
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Marriott Bonvoy

Most cards offer a transfer ratio of 1:1, except for Marriott Bonvoy, a 3:1 transfer partner. Marriott guarantees a bonus of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points transferred. Once in a while, Citi ThankYou and Amex add as much as 30% bonus miles to conversions, which can boost your mile points, allowing you to secure a flight award seat for fewer points.

Avianca LifeMiles

Avianca LifeMiles is another intriguing program for using points to fly to Bali on any Star Alliance flight. Avianca LifeMiles is one of the most underappreciated and yet deservedly valuable programs.

How to Book with Avianca LifeMiles

Here are the redemption rates for each class for a one-way trip:

• Economy:40,000 miles
• Business: 78,000 miles
• First: 99,000 miles

Cards to Help You Earn Avianca LifeMiles

You can earn LifeMiles by transferring points from American Express Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One, Citi ThankYou Rewards at a 1:1 ratio.

Marriott Bonvoy points also transfer to Avianca at a 3:1 ratio. Marriott transfers typically take one business day, whereas Amex, Capital One and Citi transfers are nearly instant.

American Airlines AAdvantage

American Airlines is a member of the Oneworld alliance, and you can utilize the AAdvantage program to fly to Bali with one of the partner airlines. The best part is that the program has reasonable award pricing and no fuel surcharges, except if you fly British Airways.

How to Book with American Airlines AAdvantage

You can fly directly to Bali with Japan Airlines (JAL) and Malaysia Airlines with layovers in Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, respectively, before proceeding to Indonesia. As such, you’ll need the following miles for a one-way trip to Bali:

• Economy: 37,500 miles
• Business: 70,000 miles
• First: 110,000 miles

You’re looking at double the miles mentioned above for a round-trip award in each cabin class.

Cards to Help You Earn AAdvantage Miles

Marriott Bonvoy is a 3:1 transfer partner of American Airlines AAdvantage—perhaps one of the easiest ways to restock and earn AAdvantage miles. In addition, American AAdvantage also partners with Bilt Rewards. You can transfer Bilt points at a 1:1 ratio.

Credit Cards: You can use many credit cards to earn American Miles. Consider the following cards:

• AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®
• AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
• Citi®/AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
• CitBusiness®/AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®

Bottom Line

Although there are no direct flights to Bali from the U.S., that’s no excuse not to visit Bali using the options discussed in this post. Most airlines include at least one stop before reaching Bali, the heart of natural beauty.

Irrespective of where you are, you can fly to Bali using credit card rewards. The three major global airline alliances (Oneworld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam) have elaborate networks and miles programs that make it possible to earn and use points for travel.

Depending on your location, convenience and flexibility, you can choose what programs you’ll invest in. In the end, use a program in which you have the points and the one that has award space.