10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or may no longer be available. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. You can view current offers here.
For travelers looking for affordable travel between the Americas and Europe, TAP Air Portugal is an airline that you might be familiar with. The Lisbon, Portugal-based carrier has made a name for itself in the U.S. market as a cheap way to get across the Atlantic. However, TAP Air Portugal can also help you save money through its Miles&Go frequent-flyer program, which offers a few sweet spots for U.S.-based travelers.
Although you can earn TAP Bonus Miles by flying with TAP Air Portugal, Star Alliance airlines or one of its other partners, you also can transfer Capital One Miles to the TAP Miles&Go program.
So, if you have a Capital One card that’s part of the Venture family or the Spark Miles family, then this article is particularly relevant to you. Capital One Miles can be transferred to Miles&Go and then redeemed in a multitude of ways, including booking flights on TAP Air Portugal and partner airlines, flight extras, hotel stays, donating to charity and more.
Keep in mind that if you want to maximize the value of your Bonus Miles, your best bet is to look for sweet spots in the award charts for TAP Air Portugal and partner award flights.
Let’s cover everything you need to know about the TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go program, including elite status, how to earn and redeem miles, and which redemption methods offer the most value.
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Program Overview
TAP Air Portugal was first formed under the name “Transportes Aéreos Portugueses” in 1945. At the time, the airline was state-owned. In 1953, the airline became privatized and also launched new routes to two destinations in Morocco: Casablanca and Tangier.
In 1955, the airline broke ground by completing its first transatlantic flight to Rio de Janeiro. TAP eventually partnered to make a jointly operated (with now-extinct airline Panair Do Brazil) route to Rio de Janeiro available to the public in 1960.
The airline wasn’t renamed TAP Air Portugal until 1979 when it launched a comprehensive “modernization” program, which was meant to make the airline more appealing to the international market. In the following decade, the airline would make several more changes to make itself more of an international player, the biggest of which was joining Star Alliance in 2005. Another major move was revitalizing its frequent-flyer program by replacing its old Victoria program with the current Miles&Go program.
Today, Miles&Go members can both earn and redeem TAP Bonus Miles for flying with the Portuguese carrier as well as any other member of Star Alliance, including:
| Aegean Airlines | Ethiopian Airlines |
| Air Canada | EVA Air |
| Air China | LOT Polish Airlines |
| Air India | Lufthansa |
| Air New Zealand | Shenzhen Airlines |
| All Nippon Airways (ANA) | Singapore Airlines |
| Asiana | South African Airlines |
| Austrian Airlines | Swiss International Air Lines |
| Avianca | TAP Air Portugal |
| Brussels Airlines | Thai Airways |
| Copa Airlines | Turkish Airlines |
| EgyptAir | United Airlines |
On top of the previously listed Star Alliance partners, TAP Air Portugal also has several other airline partners with which you can earn and redeem Bonus Miles:
| Azul |
| Croatia Airlines |
| Emirates |
| Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes (GOL) |
| SATA Azores Airlines |
Unfortunately, flying with the airlines listed above won’t help you earn elite status within the Miles&Go program. However, you can work toward elite status by flying with any member of Star Alliance.
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Elite Status Program
Like most major airlines, TAP Air Portugal has its own elite status program to reward Miles&Go members who fly with TAP Air Portugal or Star Alliance partners often.
TAP Miles&Go includes three elite status tiers: Silver, Gold and Navigator. Each of these tiers can be reached by either taking a certain number of flights on TAP Air Portugal or earning a certain number of Status Miles, which can be earned by flying with either TAP Air Portugal, any other Star Alliance airline or by spending on the TAP Miles&Go American Express® Credit Card.
The number of Status Miles you earn for a specific flight with TAP Air Portugal or another Star Alliance airline will always equal the number of Bonus Miles that you earn for that flight. The Bonus Miles earnings formula for these flights will be included in a later section under “How to Earn TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Miles.”
The following chart explains how many Status Miles you need to reach and retain each elite status tier:
| Status tier | Bonus Miles/flights required to achieve status | Bonus Miles/flights required to maintain status |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | 30,000 Bonus Miles or 25 TAP Air Portugal flights | 20,000 Bonus Miles or 15 TAP Air Portugal flights |
| Gold | 70,000 Bonus Miles or 50 TAP Air Portugal flights | 50,000 Bonus Miles or 40 TAP Air Portugal flights |
| Navigator | 125,000 Bonus Miles or 70 TAP Air Portugal flights | 100,000 Bonus Miles or 70 TAP Air Portugal flights |
To earn or maintain elite status, you must meet the above requirements during the annual accrual period, which starts the month following the date that you originally joined the Miles&Go program. Once you earn or maintain a status, that status is valid through the following annual accrual period.
If you earn or maintain Navigator status by reaching the required 70 TAP Air Portugal flights, at least 10 of these flights must be flown on Plus, Executive or Top Executive fares.
Unfortunately, while you can earn TAP Bonus Miles by flying with Azul, Croatia Airlines, Emirates, GOL or SATA Azores Airlines, flights with these airlines aren’t eligible to earn Status Miles directly. However, you also have the option to convert Bonus Miles to Status Miles, regardless of how those Bonus Miles were earned.
Bonus Miles convert to Status Miles at a 2:1 ratio and can be transferred in blocks of 2,000 Bonus Miles. So, the smallest possible transfer would be 2,000 Bonus Miles for which you’d receive 1,000 Status Miles.
The number of Bonus Miles that you’re allowed to convert into Status Miles per annual qualification period depends on how many status miles you already have in your account, your current elite status tier and what you intend to do with those Status Miles.
Here are the rules for converting Bonus Miles:
- If you have a basic Miles&Go membership and you want to move up to Silver:
- You must have at least 25,000 Status Miles in your account already.
- You can convert up to 10,000 Bonus Miles into 5,000 Status Miles (to reach the 30,000 Status Miles required).
- If you have Silver status and want to maintain that status:
- You must have at least 15,000 Status Miles in your account already.
- You can convert up to 10,000 Bonus Miles into 5,000 Status Miles (to reach the 20,000 Status Miles required).
- If you have Silver status and you want to move up to Gold:
- You must have at least 60,000 Status Miles in your account already.
- You can convert up to 20,000 Bonus Miles into 10,000 Status Miles (to reach the 70,000 Status Miles required).
- If you have Gold status and want to maintain that status:
- You must have at least 45,000 Status Miles in your account already.
- You can convert up to 10,000 Bonus Miles into 5,000 Status Miles (to reach the 50,000 Status Miles required).
Now that you’re aware of how to earn elite status with TAP Air Portugal, let’s look at the different perks that come with each tier.
The following table includes all of the benefits included with each membership tier in the Miles&Go program.
| Status tier | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Basic | • 25% off when booking child tickets on TAP flights with MilesOnly or Miles&Cash • Ability to book MilesOnly and Miles&Cash tickets on TAP flights • Special birthday present (usually miles or flight discounts) • Priority on waiting list bookings • Exclusive promotions and offers • Extra benefit of either free seat reservation for one flight, Fast Track security pass for one flight or extra luggage allowance for one flight if you have at least 15,000 Status Miles or 12 segments flown with TAP • Advance of up to 500 Bonus Miles |
| Silver | • All benefits included with basic Miles&Go status • 25% extra Bonus Miles on TAP flights • Last-minute upgrade option • Guaranteed seat up to 72 hours before departure when flying in Economy Plus (RBD Y) • Dedicated customer service phone line Priority standby at the airport • Priority boarding • Priority baggage handling • Unlimited complimentary access to Star Alliance lounges worldwide when flying TAP international in any fare • Up to four access passes to Star Alliance lounges in Lisbon when flying TAP to Europe or North Africa in any fare • Fast track security • Seat protection priority in the event of an irregularity • Advance of up to 5,000 Bonus Miles |
| Gold | • All benefits included with Silver status • 50% extra Bonus Miles on TAP flights • 40% off companion ticket on TAP flights when purchased with miles • Ability to gift Gold status to a friend or family member • Guaranteed seat up to 24 hours before departure when flying in Economy Plus (RBD Y) • Guaranteed seat up to 72 hours before departure when flying in Top Executive (RBD C) • Unlimited complimentary access for member and one companion to Star Alliance lounges worldwide whenever flying with a Star Alliance airline (companion must be on same flight as member) • Special Star Alliance Gold check-in desk • Extra baggage allowance of one 23-kilogram bag in economy class and one 32-kilogram bag in Executive Class on all Star Alliance flights • Access to the Premium Customer Center phone line • Exemption of fee charged for taking an earlier Ponte Aerea (Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) flight on the same day • Exemption of services for MilesOnly and Miles&Cash bookings • Advance of up to 10,000 Bonus Miles |
| Navigator | • All benefits included with Gold status • Complimentary seat selection for member and up to four other passengers traveling on the same reservation • Advance of up to 20,000 Bonus Miles • Free transportation of sports equipment • Elevated experience at the TAP Premium Lounge in Lisbon and on-board TAP flights in any fare • Free unlimited Wi-Fi on A330-900 and A321-LR aircraft • Two free upgrades |
Among the benefits listed above, the most valuable ones are probably earning extra Bonus Miles on TAP flights, Star Alliance airport lounge access, the ability to get companion award tickets up to 40% off (available with Gold and Navigator status) and free extra baggage allowance.
If you’re wondering what advance Bonus Miles are, it’s essentially a loan of Bonus Miles that TAP Air Portugal will issue you if you need it to reach the cost of a particular award.
For instance, if you have Gold status, you can get an advance of up to 10,000 Bonus Miles. So, if you wanted to purchase an award flight that cost 100,000 Bonus Miles but you only had 90,000 Bonus Miles in your account, you could get an advance of 10,000 miles to cover the difference. However, the next 10,000 Bonus Miles that you earned after that would be deducted from your balance to repay the loan.
All in all, the Miles&Go elite status program offers some fairly valuable benefits, but you’ll have to fly with TAP Air Portugal or one of its Star Alliance partners to earn them.
How to Earn TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Bonus Miles
There are plenty of ways to earn Bonus Miles, including flying with TAP Air Portugal, flying with airline partners, spending on a TAP Air Portugal co-branded credit card, transferring miles from Capital One Rewards, renting cars, booking hotel stays and more.
However, for most of our readers, the most lucrative ways to earn TAP Bonus Miles are going to be by flying with Star Alliance airlines and by transferring miles from Capital One Rewards.
Nevertheless, we’re going to cover all of the different ways to earn TAP Bonus Miles to help you boost your miles balance as quickly as possible.
Flying with TAP Air Portugal
The most obvious way to earn TAP Bonus Miles is to take flights on TAP Air Portugal. When flying with TAP Air Portugal, the number of Bonus Miles you’ll earn for each flight depends on the actual distance of the flight in miles and the fare class that you book.
The following table includes how many Bonus Miles you’ll earn in each fare class as a percentage of the actual miles flown:
| Fare class | Bonus Miles earnings (as a percentage of actual miles flown) |
|---|---|
| TAP Discount (all flights) | 20% |
| TAP Basic (Europe and North Africa) | 40% |
| TAP Basic (intercontinental flights) | 50% |
| TAP Classic (Europe and North Africa) | 70% |
| TAP Classic (intercontinental flights) | 100% |
| TAP Plus (Europe and North Africa) | 100% |
| TAP Plus (intercontinental flights) | 150% |
| TAP Executive (all flights) | 150% |
| TAP Top Executive (all flights) | 200% |
So, for instance, if you were to take a 2,500-mile intercontinental flight in TAP Basic class, you’d earn 1,250 Bonus Miles (2,500 miles flown x 50% = 1,250 Bonus Miles). However, if you were to take the same flight in TAP Plus class, you’d earn 3,750 Bonus Miles (2,500 miles flown x 150% = 3,750 Bonus Miles).
To have TAP Bonus Miles credited to your account, you should include your Miles&Go number when making your booking (whether you’re flying with TAP Air Portugal or one of its airline partners).
It’s also worth noting that, if you’re flying with TAP Air Portugal or a Star Alliance partner, you’ll also earn the same number of Status Miles for any number of Bonus Miles you earn.
Flying with Airline Partners
You can also earn TAP Bonus Miles by taking flights with any of TAP Air Portugal’s airline partners (both Star Alliance and non-alliance partners). Each partner airline has its own earnings table that works the same way as TAP Air Portugal’s own earnings table, meaning that Bonus Miles are calculated by multiplying the actual miles flown by a percentage associated with each fare class).
For instance, here’s the earnings table for Air Canada:
| Fare class | Bonus Miles earnings (as a percentage of actual miles flown) |
|---|---|
| Economy (international fare codes A, G, K, L, S, T, W) | 50% |
| Economy (domestic fare codes G, W) | 50% |
| Economy (international and domestic fare codes E, N, B, H, M, Q, U, V, Y, O) | 100% |
| Executive (international and domestic fare codes J, C, D, Z, P) | 200% |
So, if you were to take a 2,000-mile international flight on Air Canada in economy class (fare code Q), you’d earn 2,000 TAP Bonus Miles (2,000 miles flown x 100% = 2,000 Bonus Miles).
All of the earnings charts for TAP Air Portugal’s airline partners work in the same way as the example above.
Transfer Partners
As previously mentioned, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go is a transfer partner of Capital One Rewards, meaning Capital One Miles earned with Venture cards and Spark Miles cards can be transferred to the Miles&Go program at a 1:1 ratio. There’s a minimum transfer amount of 1,000 miles per transaction, and all transfers are final and can’t be reversed.
Transferring Capital One Miles to the Miles&Go program is probably the best way to boost your TAP Bonus Miles balance quickly, particularly for those who want to use Miles&Go for a one-off redemption and don’t want to use the program as their primary frequent-flyer program.
You also can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go. Unfortunately, doing so is usually a bad idea because Marriott Bonvoy offers a 3:1 transfer ratio. So, if you were to transfer 3,000 Bonvoy points to Miles&Go, you’d receive 1,000 TAP Bonus Miles. In general, you’re much better off redeeming Bonvoy points through their native program.
It’s worth mentioning you’ll receive 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points that you transfer at once. For instance, if you were to transfer 60,000 Bonvoy points, you’d receive 25,000 TAP Bonus Miles. However, even with this transfer bonus, transferring Marriott Bonvoy points usually isn’t worth it. If you choose to go this route, remember that you can transfer between 3,000 and 240,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per day.
Finally, you can transfer points from Pestana Guest Club (rewards program of Portugal-based Pestana Hotel Group) at a transfer ratio of 10:1, which is a poor deal.
TAP Air Portugal Co-Branded Credit Cards
In 2023, TAP Air Portugal unveiled a new co-branded credit card issued by American Express called the TAP Miles&Go American Express® Credit Card. This card is available to U.S. consumers with credit scores in the excellent range and has an annual fee of $79.
This card offers a welcome bonus for new cardmembers who spend a certain amount on their TAP Miles&Go Amex Card in a certain time period after account opening. See details below.
This TAP Miles&Go Amex Card makes it easy for U.S.-based flyers to boost their TAP Bonus Miles balance by making everyday purchases. Here’s how many TAP miles you’ll earn for spending in different categories with the TAP Miles&Go Amex Card:
- 3X miles on TAP purchases
- 2X miles on hotels, car rentals and rideshare services (including Uber)
- 1X mile on all other purchases
Cardholders earn 3X miles on TAP flight fares as well as other incidental charges from TAP Air Portugal, including baggage fees, upgrades, seat selection and more. Certain in-flight purchases on TAP Air Portugal are processed by third-party merchants and therefore will not trigger the 3X miles spending bonus.
On top of the spending bonuses and welcome offer that come with the TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Amex Card, this card also offers several other important benefits, including the following:
- Two complimentary access passes to the TAP Premium Lounge in Lisbon per year (usable only when booked on a flight operated by TAP Air Portugal)
- Two complimentary checked bags (one per booking) on TAP Air Portugal flights per year (subject to cabin rules)
- Unlimited complimentary premium boarding for the cardmember and anyone else on their booking
- 1X Status Mile toward Miles&Go elite status for every 5 Bonus Miles you earn from eligible purchases (up to a maximum of 10,000 Status Miles per annual qualification period)
So, if you’re a U.S.-based frequent TAP Air Portugal passenger with excellent credit, then you should seriously consider adding the TAP Miles&Go Amex Card to your wallet.
Hotel Stays
Like many other frequent-flyer programs, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go allows members to earn miles for booking stays with certain hotel chains and hotel booking engines. The following table includes all of TAP Air Portugal’s hotel partners with which you can earn miles.
| Hotel partner | TAP Bonus Miles earnings |
|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless (ALL) | • 2.5X miles per 2 euros spent at Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Mercure, Grand Mercure, Novotel and Suite Hotel • 2X miles per 4 euros spent at Adagio • 2.5X miles per 4 euros spent at Ibis and Ibis Style • 1X mile per 4 euros spent at Adagio Access |
| Altis Hotels | • 3X miles per 1 euro spent • 10% discount on all stays |
| Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas | • 500 miles per stay |
| AVANI Hotels & Resorts | 500 miles per stay |
| Azoris Hotels | • 500 miles for stays between one and two nights • 1,000 miles for stays between three and five nights • 1,500 miles for stays of six nights or more |
| Booking.com | • 2X miles per 1 euro spent |
| DHM | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Dom Pedro Hotels | • 2X miles per 1 euro spent on hotel stays in Portugal • 4X miles per 1 euro spent on spas, restaurants or bars in Portugal |
| Eden Resort | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Herdade dos Grous | • 5X miles per 1 euro spent |
| IHG One Rewards | • 500 miles per stay |
| Laguna Resort Vilamoura | • 4X miles per 1 euro spentMarriott Bonvoy |
| Marriott Bonvoy | • 2X miles per $1 spent at certain brands • 1X mile per $1 spent at all other brands |
| Melia Rewards | • 500 miles per stay |
| Minor Hotels | • 500 miles per stay |
| Oasis Atlantico | • 3X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Palace Hotel Monte Real | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Lousã Palace | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
| PortoBay Hotels & Resorts | • 500 miles per stay of two or more nights • 1,000 miles per stay of two or more nights booked directly with the hotel via email |
| SANA Hotels | • 1X mile per 1 euro spent |
| Savoy Signature | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
| The Crest | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Tivoli Hotels & Resorts | • 500 miles per stay |
| TURIM Hotels | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Vila Gale | • 2X miles per 1 euro spent on stays in Portugal 1X mile per 2 Brazilian Real spent on stays in Brazil |
| Vila Vita Parc | • 5X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Villa C Hotel & Spa | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
It’s important to understand that some of these hotel chains have their own rewards programs, including Accor Live Limitless (ALL), IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy and Melia Rewards. By electing to earn TAP Bonus Miles on stays with these hotel chains, you’ll be sacrificing the opportunity to earn that hotel’s own rewards currency. So, before you choose to earn TAP Bonus Miles on your next stay with one of these hotel stays, consider whether you’d be better off earning that hotel’s native currency.
Many of these other hotel partners, including Azores Hotels, Eden Resort, Laguna Resort Vilamoura, don’t have their own rewards programs. With these hotel partners, there’s pretty much no downside to electing to earn TAP Bonus Miles for your next stay.
Car Rentals
TAP Air Portugal has several car rental partners with which you can earn TAP Bonus Miles for qualifying rentals. The following table includes all of TAP Air Portugal’s car rental partners and how many miles you could earn with each of them.
| Car rental partners | TAP Bonus Miles earnings |
|---|---|
| Avis | • 500 miles per rental in Europe, Africa or the Middle East • 20% discount on rentals for Miles&Go members |
| Europcar | • 500 miles per rental of a mini or compact vehicle • 750 miles per rental of an intermediate or full-size vehicle • 1,000 miles per rental of a premium or luxury vehicle • 10% discount on rentals for Miles&Go members |
| Hertz | • 500 miles per rental • 10% discount on rentals for Miles&Go members |
| Sixt Rent-a-Car | • 500 miles per rental |
| CarTrawler | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Rentcars | • 5X miles per 1 euro spent |
Most of these rental car companies don’t have their own rewards programs, so there’s really no downside to choosing to earn airline miles on your next car rental. However, most of TAP Air Portugal’s car rental partners also partner with other loyalty programs. So, before you choose to earn TAP Bonus Miles on your next eligible car rental, you may want to consider whether you’d rather earn a different airline rewards currency instead.
Dining
TAP Air Portugal also has several dining partners with which you can earn miles while you’re eating out. The following table includes these dining partners.
| Dining partner | TAP Bonus Miles earnings |
|---|---|
| Aura Lisboa Restaurant | • 100 miles per 25 euros spent |
| Bistrô4 | • 1X mile per 1 euro spent |
| Bistrot Le Cafe | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Cave de Vinhos | • 5X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Il Galo d’Oro Restaurant | • 1X mile per 1 euro spent |
| Restaurante Il Gattopardo | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
All of the restaurants listed above are located in Portugal, meaning most U.S.-based travelers probably won’t earn many TAP miles through dining partners. However, if you’re planning a trip to Portugal, it may be worth trying to earn some extra TAP Bonus Miles while you experience the country’s cuisine.
Shopping and Experiences
You can also rack up TAP Bonus Miles for shopping as well as booking certain leisure and wellness experiences. The following table includes these partners and how many miles you could earn with each one.
| Shopping and experience partners | TAP Bonus Miles earnings |
|---|---|
| Amieira Marina | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Diario de Noticias | • 1,500 miles when you sign up for a one-year digital subscription |
| Evasões | • 900 miles when you sign up for a one-year digital subscription |
| Fashion Gate | • 1X mile per 1 euro spent |
| Jornal de Noticias | • 1,250 miles when you sign up for a one-year digital subscription |
| O Jogo | • 1,250 miles when you sign up for a one-year digital subscription |
| Royal Caribbean Cruise | • 3X per 1 euro spent on cruises |
| Fundação de Serralves | • 500 miles when you sign up for an “Individual Friend” membership • 750 miles when you sign up for an “Family Friend” membership • 500 miles when you spend 60 euros or more at the Serralves shop and bookstore • 1,000 miles when you spend 120 euros or more at the Serralves shop and bookstore |
| Vertigem Azul | • 2X miles per 1 euro spent |
| Volta ao Mundo | • 850 miles when you sign up for a one-year digital subscription |
| Windpassenger | • 750 per one flight of up to 150 euros • 1,000 per one flight of up to 600 euros • 1,500 per one flight of more than 600 euros |
| Yellow Bus | • 4X miles per 1 euro spent |
Once again, most of these partners are based in Portugal. So, for most U.S.-based travelers, these partners won’t be much help with earning TAP Bonus Miles. However, if you plan on shopping or booking an experience with any of the aforementioned partners during a trip to Portugal, then you may as well earn some TAP Bonus Miles while you’re at it.
Finance Partners
The TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go program also has a few partners in the financial sector that allow you to earn TAP Bonus Miles for using their services.
One fairly good way for U.S.-based travelers to boost their TAP Bonus Miles balances is to transfer points from HSBC Rewards. HSBC Bank USA allows its customers to transfer rewards points to the Miles&Go program at a 1:1 ratio, which is a pretty great deal.
If you plan on traveling to Portugal, you’ll probably need to exchange dollars for euros. And you can rack up TAP Bonus Miles by doing so with Unicambio, Portugal’s oldest and largest currency exchange agency. You’ll receive 500 miles when you sign up for a prepaid Unicambio or Cash4Travel card, and you also earn 1X mile per 1 euro spent topping up that card.
Finally, you can earn TAP Bonus Miles for filing your tax return with utu Tax Free Card. To do so, you’ll need to download utu Tax Free app, activate your utu Tax Free Card and choose TAP Miles&Go as your preferred program.
Buying Miles
Like many other loyalty programs, TAP Miles&Go gives you the option to purchase Bonus Miles for cash. Unfortunately, as with most other frequent-flyer programs, doing so is a bad deal. TAP Air Portugal charges 70 euros (about $75) per 2,000 Bonus Miles, which is the minimum purchase amount.
So, if you were to purchase Bonus Miles from TAP Air Portugal, no matter the purchase amount, you’d be paying over 3.7 cents per mile, which is high. Considering that it can be difficult to find redemptions of TAP Bonus Miles that exceed even 2 cents per mile in value, purchasing Bonus Miles at this rate is a bad idea and should be avoided.
Join Club TAP Miles&Go
TAP Air Portugal offers a paid subscription service that provides members with a fixed number of Bonus Miles and Status Miles every month as well as the ability to earn even more Bonus Miles when flying with TAP Air Portugal. There are four tiers of Club TAP Miles&Go, each of which has a different annual fee and different benefits.
| Benefits | Club Basic | Club Extra | Club Top | Club Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $122 | $309 | $499 | $999 |
| Bonus Miles on subscription/renewal | 2,000 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 16,000 |
| Bonus Miles per 12 months | 14,000 | 28,000 | 56,000 | 112,000 |
| Status advantages | N/A | N/A | N/A | Automatic Silver status |
| Premium Boarding | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Miles validity extension by one year | N/A | N/A | Up to 30,000 | Unlimited |
| Monthly Bonus Miles | 1,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 8,000 |
| Monthly Status Miles | 50 | 100 | 200 | 400 |
| Extra Bonus Miles on TAP flights (%) | 15% | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| Extra Miles on TAP flights (cumulative maximum) | 5,000 | 7,500 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Status Miles on renewal | 400 | 800 | 2,600 | 5,200 |
Signing up for Club TAP Miles&Go is a surprisingly good deal if you tend to fly with TAP Air Portugal often and you’re set on earning Miles&Go elite status. You might even want to consider signing up for Club TAP Miles&Go if you fly with one of TAP Air Portgual’s partners often.
For instance, we can assume you’ll get at least 1 cent per mile for every TAP Bonus Mile that you redeem. So, if you sign up for Club Basic, you’ll automatically earn 14,000 Bonus Miles, which is worth at least $140 when redeemed. Considering that you have to pay $122 annually to retain Club Basic status, that means you’ll be at least $18 on top if you use all of those miles. And that doesn’t even factor in the potential value of the Status Miles you’ll earn from Club Basic or the 15% extra Bonus Miles you’ll earn when flying with TAP Air Portugal.
Additionally, as we’ll demonstrate later in the article, TAP Bonus Miles can be worth far more than 1 cent per mile when redeemed in the right ways. So, the value that you could get out of those 14,000 miles earned from Club Basic could be worth far more than $140 in the hands of a savvy frequent traveler.
If you’re willing to pay a large annual fee, Club Platinum could also be a good deal. The 112,000 Bonus Miles that you’ll earn automatically are worth at least $1,120 (and possibly much more when redeemed for certain flight awards), which quickly makes up for the $999 annual fee. Plus, you’ll automatically get boosted to Silver elite status when you join Club Platinum.
So, if you think you’ll use all of the Bonus Miles that’ll earn from Club TAP Miles&Go (as well as the Status Points and other perks) and you can afford to pay the annual fee upfront, then it’s actually probably a pretty good idea to sign up for Club TAP Miles&Go.
How to Redeem TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Bonus Miles
Now that you’re aware of all of the different ways to accumulate TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Bonus Miles, let’s discuss why you might want to do so in the first place. Miles can be redeemed for a multitude of awards, including flights with TAP Air Portugal or one of its airline partners, dining experiences, merchandise and more.
It’s worth noting that while TAP Air Portugal’s website claims that you can redeem Bonus Miles for hotel stays with certain hotel chains, we couldn’t find any way to make these bookings online. In general, booking hotel stays with miles doesn’t provide good value anyway. So, it’s probably not worth the time or effort to investigate this redemption method.
However, if you want to maximize the value of your TAP Bonus Miles, you should redeem them for flight awards only. In general, redeeming miles for flight awards, whether with TAP Air Portugal or one of its airline partners, provides far more value than other redemptions do.
However, before choosing a flight award to use your miles on, you should compare the value of different flight awards by dividing the comparative cash price of that award by its price in miles. This will help you determine the best way to maximize the value of your miles.
We’ll explain all of this in the following sections as we go through all of the different ways to redeem TAP Bonus Miles and the value that they offer.
Flying with TAP Air Portugal
The most obvious way to redeem your TAP Bonus Miles is to book award flights on TAP Air Portugal-operated award flights. Sometimes, they’re priced according to a series of fixed, region-based award charts, which means that it’s possible to find sweet spots on these flights that offer outsized value.
However, other award flights seem to follow a dynamic pricing model that mirrors the cash prices of those flights. So, if you want to get outsized value for your redemptions, you’ll need to stick to the award flights that reflect the values in these award charts.
To use these award charts, you can visit the “Book with MilesOnly and Miles&Cash” page on the TAP Air Portugal website. Then, select the “TAP” option and scroll down and select your departure region.
Choose your desired cabin class, whether you’ll be flying one-way or round-trip and whether you’d like to pay with MilesOnly or Miles&Cash. Once you confirm your selections, scroll down and find the award rates from your desired departure region to every other region that TAP Air Portugal serves.
Unfortunately, due to the introduction of dynamic pricing, it’s difficult to find TAP-operated award flights that offer value much higher than 1 cent per mile. However, you may be able to get a value slightly higher than 1 cent per mile by finding business-class award flights that are priced according to the award charts.
For instance, according to the TAP Air Portugal award charts, a TAP-operated round-trip business-class award between North America and the Azores should cost 200,000 miles. We found a round-trip TAP Air Portugal-operated business-class flight from Newark (EWR) to Ponta Delgada (PDL), the largest airport in the Azores, for 200,000 miles plus about $99 in taxes and fees.
If you were to book the same flight on the same dates with cash instead of miles, it would cost you $2,440.
So, factoring in the $99 in taxes and fees you’d have to pay to book the award flights, you’d be getting a value of about 1.2 cents per mile, which is alright.
There are many TAP-operated flights that you can purchase with Bonus Miles that offer similar or even better value. Flights between Europe and Brazil and between Europe and Southern Africa tend to offer especially good value, especially in business class. Either way, with some searching, you can definitely find decent value for your miles by redeeming for TAP Air Portugal flights.
Flying with Partner Airlines
In addition to redeeming your miles for flights with TAP Air Portugal, you can use TAP Bonus Miles to book flights with Star Alliance and non-alliance partners. TAP Air Portugal’s website includes a set of award charts that apply to Star Alliance partners and a set of award charts that apply to non-alliance partners. These award charts work in the same way as the award charts that are used to price TAP Air Portugal flights.
To access these partner award charts, you’ll once again have to go to the “Book with MilesOnly and Miles&Cash” page on the TAP Air Portugal website and select either the “Star Alliance” or the “Other airlines” tab. From there, select your departure region, your desired cabin class and whether you’re flying one-way or round-trip. Then, you can see the award rates from your departure region to every other region.
There are also many sweet spots in these partner award charts that offer good value per mile. To get you started, as an example, let’s take a look at just one of the many ways to get excellent value out of the TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go program.
Fly Nonstop from Tokyo to India in ANA Business Class for 100,000 Miles Round Trip
One great way to use your TAP Bonus Miles is to redeem them for nonstop flights between Tokyo and India in ANA business class. All Nippon Airways (ANA) is known for offering an outstanding business-class product. In particular, the airline’s business-class cabin aboard some of its Boeing 777-300ER aircrafts called “The Room” and is known to be particularly luxurious. So, if you really want to get the best value for your miles, you may want to look for these flights.
Regardless of the type of aircraft you’re on, ANA offers a solid premium experience and you can get some excellent value by booking these flights with TAP Bonus Miles. For instance, we found a round-trip flight from Tokyo (HND) to Delhi (DEL) in ANA business class for 120,000 miles and about $366 in taxes and fees.
While the out-of-pocket costs of this award are fairly high, they’re nothing compared to what you’d pay if you booked this flight with cash. We found the same flight on the same date being offered through the ANA website for $4,229 in cash.
So, factoring in the $366 in taxes and fees that you’d have to pay to book the award flight, if you were to book this flight with miles instead of paying cash, you’d be getting a value of 3.2 cent per mile. That’s a fantastic deal.
Star Alliance Round-the-World Awards
The TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go program allows you to book round-the-world award itineraries operated by Star Alliance airlines. These itineraries can include flights with any Star Alliance airline (including TAP Air Portugal), up to 10 flights with a maximum of six stopovers or open-jaws that are more than 24 hours each.
The route must cross both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, and all flights must continue in the same direction (either east to west or west to east). Your itinerary also must begin and end in the same country.
Here’s how may TAP Bonus Miles a Star Alliance round-the-world itinerary would cost in each cabin class:
- Economy Class – 250,000 miles
- Business Class – 350,000 miles
Flights in different classes within the same round-the-world itinerary are permitted. However, you’ll be charged the award rate corresponding with the highest class of service for the whole itinerary. For instance, even if only one business-class flight is included in your whole itinerary, you’ll be charged 350,000 miles (the rate for a business class round-the-world award).
Before you decide to book a Star Alliance round-the-world award through the Miles&Go program, you may want to look into booking your round-the-world trip through another Star Alliance program. Both ANA Mileage Club and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer offer similar rules and better rates for Star Alliance around-the-world awards.
ANA Mileage Club prices its round-the-world awards based on the total flight distance of your itinerary (using an award chart). However, the maximum number of miles you’ll redeem in economy class is 200,000 miles, and the maximum in business class is 300,000. This program also offers round-the-world awards in first class for a maximum of 450,000 miles.
With Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, a round-the-world award will cost you 200,000 miles in economy class and 280,000 miles in business class. This program also offers round-the-world awards in first class for 405,000 miles.
So, if you plan on transferring miles from Capital One Rewards to purchase a Star Alliance round-the-world award, you’re better off transferring them to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, which is also a Capital One transfer partner. However, if you already have a large sum of miles in the TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go program, you can get a lot of value out of those miles by booking a Star Alliance round-the-world award.
Upgrade Awards
TAP Bonus Miles can be used to book upgrade awards on TAP Air Portugal or Star Alliance airlines. For TAP Air Portugal upgrades, there are three types of upgrade awards: Early Upgrade, Upgrade and Last Minute Upgrade.
- Early Upgrade awards are generally the most expensive and can be booked only by calling the TAP Air Portugal Contact Center. These awards allow you to upgrade from economy class to business class far in advance of your flight’s departure date.
- Upgrade awards can be booked a few days before your departure date either online or by calling the Contact Center. These awards usually cost less than Early Upgrade awards but more than Last Minute Upgrade awards.
- Last Minute Upgrade awards are the most affordable type of upgrade award and can be booked by Silver and Gold elite members only at the boarding gate before your flight.
By contrast, there’s only one type of Star Alliance upgrade available. Each Star Alliance upgrade award is applicable to one flight segment and will get you into the next higher class of service for that segment.
Star Alliance upgrade awards can be booked up to 24 hours before departure with the exceptions of ANA (which can be booked up to 56 days before departure) and Asiana (which can be requested only on the day of departure).
Star Alliance upgrades can’t be combined with other awards and are not transferable in the case of rebooking.
To view the rates for upgrade awards, you can visit the TAP Air Portugal website and go to the “Upgrade with miles” page. Then, select either “TAP” or “Star Alliance” as well as the departure region of your flight and see the upgrade award rates to all available destination regions.
You can sometimes find decent value by redeeming your TAP Bonus Miles for upgrade awards. However, for the most part, you’ll get superior value by redeeming your miles for award flights rather than upgrades.
Flight Extras
In addition to redeeming your miles for award flights and upgrades, you can use your Bonus Miles to purchase flight extras such as lounge access, Fast Track security passes, checked luggage, seat selection, pet fees, sports equipment fees and musical instrument fees.
To do so, you’ll need to log in to your Miles&Go account and access an existing reservation. Under your reservation details, you’ll find all of the extra services that can be added. Select the extra that you want to add to your reservation and choose to pay with miles instead of cash.
In general, booking flight extras with miles provides low value for your miles. So, you’re usually better off paying for flight extras with cash and saving your TAP Bonus Miles for a flight award.
Shopping Through TAP Store
TAP Air Portugal has its own online shopping portal called TAP Store through which you can purchase merchandise with TAP Bonus Miles. To do so, visit the TAP Store website, sign in to your Miles&Go account, select the item you’d like to purchase and then elect to pay with miles instead of cash at checkout.
Unfortunately, redeeming this way typically doesn’t provide good value. For instance, we found a smartwatch that was available through the TAP Store for about 180 euros ($192) or about 45,000 miles.
Shopping Through TAP Store
TAP Air Portugal has its own online shopping portal called TAP Store through which you can purchase merchandise with TAP Bonus Miles. To do so, visit the TAP Store website, sign in to your Miles&Go account, select the item you’d like to purchase and then elect to pay with miles instead of cash at checkout.
Unfortunately, redeeming this way typically doesn’t provide good value. For instance, we found a smartwatch that was available through the TAP Store for about 180 euros ($192) or about 45,000 miles.
So, if you were to purchase this watch with miles instead of cash, you’d be getting a value of about 0.4 cent per mile, which is poor. We’d recommend not spending your TAP miles on merchandise and saving them for award flights.
Convert Bonus Miles to Status Miles
As previously mentioned, the Miles&Go program offers the unique option of being able to convert Bonus Miles to Status Miles at a 2:1 ratio. You can convert Bonus Miles in blocks of 2,000, each of which will get you 1,000 Status Miles.
While converting Bonus Miles to Status Miles isn’t a good way to get value out of your Bonus Miles, it’s actually a pretty good option if you’re nearing the end of your annual accrual period and you need a few thousand more miles to level up to the next elite status tier or maintain your current elite status tier.
For instance, to earn Silver elite status, you need to accumulate 30,000 Status Points in an annual accrual period. So, if you have 29,000 Status Points in your account and only a few days are left in your annual accrual period, you may want to convert 2,000 Bonus Miles to earn the last 1,000 Status Points needed to achieve Silver status. Then, you can enjoy Silver status through the entire next annual accrual period.
Donate Miles
Like many frequent-flyer programs, TAP Air Portugal allows you to donate your miles to one of their partner charities. At the current time, TAP Air Portugal has three charity partners:
- AMI – Assistencia Medica Internacional
- Helpo
- Terra dos Sonhos
It’s unclear exactly how much money will be donated to each charity per mile that you donate. However, if you have no plans for your Bonus Miles and you want to use them for a good cause, then you may want to consider donating them to one of the aforementioned charities.
The Bottom Line
The TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go program has become much more relevant for U.S. flyers in recent years since it became a transfer partner of Capital One Rewards. Capital One Venture or Spark Miles cardholders can transfer their Capital One Miles to the TAP Miles&Go program at a 1:1 ratio and then redeem those miles for outsized value.
TAP Bonus Miles also can be earned in a myriad of other ways, including flying with TAP Air Portugal or one of its airline partners, booking hotel stays, renting cars and much more. However, for most U.S. citizens (who likely prefer crediting their flights to another Star Alliance program), transferring Capital One Miles will probably be the most effective way to boost your TAP Bonus Miles balance.
When it comes to redeeming TAP Bonus Miles, the best way to get maximum value is to book award flights with TAP Air Portugal or one of its Star Alliance partners. In particular, booking Star Alliance round-the-world awards can give you fantastic value (however, it may be cheaper to book one of these awards through another Capital One transfer partner).
It’s also possible to get decent value on one-way or round-trip award flights between the U.S. and Portugal operated by TAP Air Portugal. Unfortunately, as many TAP-operated award flights are priced according to a dynamic pricing model, it takes a lot of searching to find valuable TAP awards. Luckily, you can usually find better value on certain premium-cabin flights on ANA and other partner airlines.
And, finally, if you tend to fly with TAP Air Portugal or one of its airline partners often, it may be worth considering paying for a subscription to Club TAP Miles&Go, TAP’s paid subscription service that offers certain number of Bonus Miles and Status Miles per year as well as other benefits. While most services like this aren’t worth the fees, Club TAP Miles&Go is actually a pretty good deal.
New to the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best card to start with.
With a bonus of 100,000 bonus points after $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. , 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
bonus cash back
after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Bonus Miles
once you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
bonus points
after $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
Membership Rewards® Points
after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
