Best Ways to Travel to the Philippines with Points and Miles

It turns out that when you day-dream about paradise, you’re actually dreaming about the Philippines.

With over 7,000 islands, this Southeast Asian gem offers everything from powdery white-sand beaches in Palawan to surreal landscapes in Bohol and world-class diving across the country. Add in warm hospitality and outrageously good food (think adobo and lechon), and it’s no wonder that points-savvy travelers are setting their sights on this archipelago.

With very few nonstop flights from the United States to the Philippines, getting there on the cheap can seem daunting. Luckily, you can leverage frequent flyer programs across all three major airline alliances to get to the Philippines at low rates—we’re talking as low as 40,000 miles for round-trip economy fares and 108,000 miles for round-trip business class tickets.

Let’s take a look at the best programs to get you to the Pearl of the Orient without putting your bank balance in the red.

Planning Your Trip to the Philippines: Hotspots and Airports

When flying to the Philippines, you’ll most likely fly into Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila (MNL), Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu (CEB) or Clark International Airport in North Luzon (CRK).

While many travelers use Manila, Clark and Cebu as starting points for further island adventures, these cities and their surroundings are also worth exploring.

Manila, the country’s capital and largest city, is a dynamic metropolis steeped in history and contrast. You can stroll through the Spanish colonial walls of Intramuros, take in art and culture at the National Museum Complex or dive into the local food scene in neighborhoods like Poblacion and Binondo—the world’s oldest Chinatown. Similarly, you can reach Anilao by car from Manila for world-class macro- and muck-diving.

North of Manila, Clark is quickly becoming a favored alternative for travelers looking to avoid the congestion of the capital. Once a U.S. military base, Clark now boasts a growing airport, golf resorts and direct access to Mount Pinatubo hikes. It’s also a convenient base for road trips to the highlands of Baguio or the surf town of La Union.

Cebu, located in the Visayas region, is both a thriving city and a launchpad for island adventures. It offers a solid variety of beaches, historical sites like Magellan’s Cross, and culinary gems—from lechon to fresh seafood. Mactan-Cebu International Airport is a major hub for both domestic and regional flights, making it easy to reach nearby gems like Bohol, Siquijor and Dumaguete.

If you want to travel further afield than Manila and Cebu, you can easily book a cheap domestic flight (~$50-100) with Cebu Pacific, Philippines AirAsia, Sunlight Air or AirSwift. You can’t book these flights using points, so you’ll need to use cash to cover your airfare.

If you want to visit El Nido in Palawan, known for its limestone cliffs and turquoise lagoons, you can fly directly from Manila or Cebu to El Nido Airport (ENI) or to Puerto Princesa (PPS) for a longer land transfer. Coron, another Palawan favorite, is served by Busuanga Airport (USU), with flights from both Manila and Cebu.

Siargao, the Philippines’ surfing capital, is equally famous for its chilled-out atmosphere and pristine nature. It’s a 90-minute flight from Manila or Cebu to Siargao Airport (IAO).

Boracay also remains a staple, known for White Beach and sunset sailing. Caticlan Airport (MPH) is the closest, just an hour by air from Manila or Cebu, followed by a short ferry ride.

Bohol combines culture and coastline with the Chocolate Hills, tarsier sanctuaries and world class diving. Flying to Panglao International Airport (TAG) from Manila or Cebu makes this easy.

Whether you’re island-hopping, city-hopping or exploring the underwater world, the Philippines’ well-connected domestic air network and diverse range of experiences make it easy to find your version of paradise.

Let’s now look at how to get to the Philippines and back using points.

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards offers some of the best award rates as well as one of the best-connected networks when it comes to flying to the Philippines on points.

While Alaska Airlines doesn’t fly to the Philippines, it’s a member of the Oneworld alliance allowing you to book flights with a number of partner airlines.

When it comes to flying to the Philippines, you’ll have the following partner airlines to choose from:

• Cathay Pacific
• Japan Airlines
• Starlux
• Qantas
• Qatar

Alaska uses a distance-based award chart to price its partner-operated award flights. While its partner award chart is subject to dynamic price fluctuations, you can easily find economy fares at the saver award level. Similarly, you can usually find business class fares close to the saver award level, although this varies by route and airline.

Here’s an overview of Alaska’s partner award chart for the Asia Pacific region:

Flights from the United States to the Philippines fall between the 5,001-7,000, 7,001-10,000 and 10,000 and above distance categories, depending on the route you select.

For this reason, the cheapest fares tend to be with Asia-based partner airlines such as Cathay and Japan Airlines, as the location of their connecting airports keeps the total distance under 10,000 miles. In contrast, partners such as Qantas and Qatar have connecting airports based outside of Asia, resulting in total flight distances greater than 10,000 miles with higher price tags.

For example, you can fly with Cathay Pacific from West Coast hubs like Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) for 42,500 miles each way in economy.

You can even fly to Manila from San Francisco for 37,500 miles each way in economy with Japan Airlines.

Similarly, you can fly to Manila from East Coast hubs such as New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS) with Cathay and Japan Airlines for 42,500 miles each way in economy.

You can also fly to Manila from the Midwest and Southwest when using Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards. You can fly with Japan Airlines from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Manila for 42,500 miles each way in economy.

You can also fly from Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) to Manila with Japan Airlines for 42,500 miles in economy or 110,000 miles in business each way. Alternatively, you could fly with Cathay for 42,500 miles in economy each way.

Business class award availability is generally scarce from the East Coast, with Qatar being the main option with rates starting at 255,000 miles per way. Likewise, although you have greater business class award space across multiple partners from the West Coast, most fares are priced between 200,000 to 250,000 miles each way. However, the exception to this is Japan Airlines.

If you want to book affordable business class fares to Manila through Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards, you can fly with Japan Airlines for 95,000 miles each way from San Francisco, with a connection in Haneda (HND) or Narita (NRT).

If you’d prefer to fly to Cebu or Clark, Alaska’s partners have you covered. In this case, you’ll want to focus on flights operated by Cathay Pacific and the Taiwanese carrier Starlux Airlines.

You can fly with Starlux to Cebu for 42,500 miles in economy or 55,000 miles in premium economy from San Francisco, Seattle (SEA) and Los Angeles. As long as you don’t mind a stop in Taipei, this is an easy (and cheap) way to get to Cebu.

Likewise, you can fly with Cathay to Cebu at the same rates from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Cathay also operates flights from New York, Boston and Chicago, and Japan Airlines from Chicago as well, to Cebu for 42,500 miles in economy each way.

For those wanting to arrive in Clark, you can fly with Starlux from Seattle for 42,500 miles in economy each way.

Overall, you have a ton of options for getting to the Philippines on the cheap with Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards.

How to Earn Alaska Atmos Rewards

Alaska Atmos Rewards miles aren’t the easiest to come by.

You can earn Alaska miles by flying with Alaska and its Oneworld partners. Similarly, you can transfer Bilt Rewards Points directly to Alaska miles at a 1:1 ratio. You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Alaska miles at a 3:1 ratio with a boost of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points transferred.

Alternatively, you can earn Alaska Atmos Rewards miles through welcome offers and everyday spending by holding one of its two co-branded Bank of America credit cards: the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Card, the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Card and for business owners, the Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card.

American Airlines AAdvantage

American Airlines AAdvantage is another solid program for booking Oneworld alliance fares to the Philippines.

While American Airlines itself doesn’t operate flights to the Philippines, it offers competitive award rates for partner-operated flights. Here’s an overview of its saver award fares for flights from the U.S. to the Philippines (Asia Region 2):

The AAdvantage rewards program comes in handy for booking cheap economy, premium economy and business flights to the Philippines with Cathay and Japan Airlines.

For example, you could fly to Manila from Seattle for 37,500 miles in economy and 50,000 miles in premium economy each way.

You could also fly from San Francisco to Manila with Japan Airlines for 70,000 miles in business each way.

Similarly, you could fly with Cathay Pacific from Los Angeles or New York for 37,500 miles in economy each way.

You can also book fares to Cebu operated by Cathay for the same award rates.

In contrast to Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards, Oneworld partner business class award space to Manila is more limited through the AAdvantage program. However, you can still find the occasional business class fare, particularly with Japan Airlines, if you have flexibility with your dates.

If you can find award space, be it economy, premium economy or business class, you can get even greater savings on Oneworld award flights to the Philippines than you would through Alaska Atmos Rewards.

How to Earn American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

You can earn American AAdvantage miles by flying with American Airlines and its Oneworld partners.

American Airlines only has one credit card transfer partner, which is Citi. Also, you can transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to American Airlines at a 3:1 transfer ratio.

You can also earn AAdvantage miles by spending with any of American’s co-branded personal credit cards, including the following:

• American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card ($0 annual fee)
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® ($0 annual fee in the first year, then $99 thereafter)
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® ($595 annual fee)

Barclaycard also offers AAdvantage credit cards, but only one is available to new applications, that being the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®.

If you’re a business owner, you can earn AAdvantage miles with this business card:

• Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® ($0 annual fee in the first year, then $99 thereafter)

United Airlines MileagePlus

If you have a stash of United miles or points that can transfer to United, booking your flights to the Philippines through United MileagePlus can be a solid choice.

For those with elite status or a co-branded United credit card, you can enjoy exclusive perks when flying United, including access to expanded saver award availability (excluding New United Gateway℠ Card holders), free checked bags for eligible members and varying degrees of United Club access. When searching for fares with United, ensure that you’re logged into your United MileagePlus account to get access to expanded award space.

United has an easy-to-use search tool that lets you search by the month, making it simple to find and secure saver award fares.

United is the only U.S. airline to fly nonstop to Manila. It operates one nonstop route to Manila from San Francisco, with saver award rates starting at 46,700 miles each way in economy.

Given United’s extensive domestic network, it’s easy to catch a connecting flight to San Francisco from across the country, for a saver award rate level of 55,000 miles each way in economy.

Likewise, you can book Star Alliance partner-operated award flights to Manila through United for 60,500 miles at the saver award level in economy.

For example, you can fly with Singapore Airlines, Eva Airways and Asiana Airlines from Los Angeles to Manila for 60,500 miles each way in economy.

You can also fly with Singapore, Eva and Asiana from San Francisco to Manila for 60,500 miles each way in economy.

If you’re based on the East Coast, you’re better off flying with Asiana, Eva or Singapore rather than United. Asiana, Eva and Singapore all offer flights to Manila from New York, with connections in their respective hubs.

While United may not be the cheapest option when flying to Manila, its rates are still affordable and they’re one of the only airlines to offer nonstop flights to the Philippines. Similarly, United has a strong partner network as well as many options for affordable domestic connections.

How to Earn United MileagePlus Miles

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Bilt Rewards points to United MileagePlus miles at a 1:1 transfer ratio.

You can also earn United miles through flying with United and its Star Alliance partners. If you’re flush with Marriott Bonvoy points, you can transfer them at a 3:1 transfer rate to your United account. As a United MileagePlus member, you’ll receive a bonus of 10,000 miles for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada Aeroplan offers lucrative award rates on Star Alliance partner-operated award flights to Manila.

It uses a distance- and zone-based partner award chart to price its partner award flights, allowing you to fly at affordable rates no matter the season.

Flights from San Francisco to Manila fall into the 5,001 to 7,500 mile distance category with the following one-way award rates:

• Economy: 50,000 points
• Business: 75,000 points

For example, you can fly from San Francisco to Manila with Eva or Asiana for 50,000 points in economy.

If you’re based in Los Angeles, you’ll pay the following one-way award rates to Manila on Star Alliance partner-operated award flights:

• Economy: 60,000 points
• Business: 87,500 points

That means you could fly from Los Angeles to Manila with Asiana or Eva for 60,000 points in economy each way.

The East Coast and Midwest also fall into the 7,501 to 11,000 mile distance category, meaning award rates go for 60,000 points each way in economy. For instance, you could fly from Chicago or New York to Manila for 60,000 points in economy.

Business class award availability is generally scarce through Aeroplan. While you can find business class award fares for 75,000 points from the West Coast and 87,500 points from the Midwest and East Coast, most of the fares are mixed-cabin with the long-haul flight in economy.

That said, booking through Aeroplan opens up other options. For instance, if you’re open to a longer journey and want to take advantage of Aeroplan’s generous stopover policy, you could fly with Ethiopian Airlines from Chicago to Manila, with a stopover in Addis Ababa. You could even fly business for the entire trip, for 115,000 points each way.

Alternatively, you could fly from Chicago to Manila with Turkish Airlines with a connection in Istanbul for 75,000 miles in economy each way.

Aeroplan’s stopover policy lets you add one stopover for 5,000 miles on one-way trips, allowing you to explore another city on your way to Manila.

How to Earn Air Canada Aeroplan Miles

Air Canada Aeroplan miles are easy to earn, making it a great program for lucrative award redemptions.

On top of earning miles through flying with Air Canada and its partners, you can transfer Bilt points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Capital One Miles to Aeroplan miles at a 1:1 transfer ratio.

You can also transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to Aeroplan at a 3:1 ratio with a bonus of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points transferred.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club remains one of the most lucrative frequent flyer programs for getting to the Philippines on the cheap, even despite recent award chart devaluations.

ANA uses separate award charts for its own flights and partner-operated Star Alliance flights.

When booking an ANA-operated award flight, the fare is priced based on the zones you’re flying between (or within), the class of service and seasonality (high, regular or low season). In contrast, ANA prices partner-operated award fares based on the zones and class of service only.

In either case, you’ll be flying between Zone 6 (North America) and Zone 3 (Asia 1).

For flights operated by ANA, you can expect to pay the following round-trip award rates for flights between North America and the Philippines.

For its partner-operated award flights to the Philippines, you’ll pay the following rates.

For example, you could fly from San Francisco to Manila with United and Eva for 60,000 miles round-trip in economy.

Alternatively, you could score yourself business class seats with ANA from Los Angeles to Manila for 105,000 miles round-trip.

You could also fly for as few as 45,000 miles round-trip in economy with ANA from Los Angeles, offering incredible value for your miles.

ANA-operated flights from the U.S. to the Philippines always have a connection in Tokyo (NRT or HND), meaning you can easily find these lucrative award rates from any U.S. airport from which ANA operates.

For example, you could fly from Chicago or Houston to Manila in business class for as few as 105,000 miles round-trip, offering you luxurious long-haul flights there and back.

You can also catch partner-operated flights to Manila from the East Coast with airlines such as Eva, for just 60,000 miles round-trip in economy.

Similarly, if you’re flying from Honolulu (HNL), you can find round-trip economy fares to Manila for as few as 40,000 miles and round-trip business class fares for 90,000 miles.

When booking your trip to the Philippines through ANA, you aren’t limited to just Manila. You can also fly to Cebu and Clark on ANA and partner-operated flights at competitive rates.

For instance, you could fly with Eva to Cebu for 60,000 miles round-trip in economy.

You could also fly from Chicago to Cebu with Eva or from Los Angeles or New York with Asiana to Cebu, for as few as 60,000 miles in economy round-trip.

And if you want to fly to Clark, Eva operates routes with a connection in Taipei from Los Angeles and New York for 60,000 miles round-trip.

When it comes to booking affordable economy and business class Star Alliance award fares to Manila, Cebu and Clark, you can’t do much better than ANA Mileage Club.

How to Earn ANA Mileage Club Miles

You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio to ANA Mileage Club miles.

ANA also has a range of hotel transfer partners, but at suboptimal transfer rates, including Hilton Honors (10:1), IHG One Rewards (5:1), Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 (plus 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points you transfer in a single transaction)) and World of Hyatt (2.5:1).

You can also earn ANA miles by flying with ANA and its Star Alliance partners.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is another solid option for flying to the Philippines from the U.S. Singapore Airlines offers multiple flights to Manila from the West and East Coast, with a connection in Singapore (SIN).

When looking for award fares, you’ll quickly see that Singapore Airlines offers Saver Award Tickets and Advantage Award Tickets, with the latter being priced higher than the former. You’ll want to focus your search on Saver Award Tickets to help you secure the lowest rates to the Philippines.

You can find the saver award level for all routes that Singapore Airlines operates on its website. Simply enter your departure and destination airports and filter by class and you’ll find the saver award level.

You can fly from Los Angeles to Manila for 42,000 miles each way in economy and 107,000 miles each way in business class.

You can also fly from New York to Manila for 44,000 miles in economy and 111,500 miles in business class each way.

While not as cheap as other Star Alliance partner programs, KrisFlyer offers much more direct business award space as well as affordable economy fares. If you want to fly to the Philippines in one of the most luxurious business class cabins in the world, this is a good way to go about doing so.

How to Earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles are easy to earn thanks to the program’s wide range of transfer partners.

Aside from flying with Singapore Airlines and its partners, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One Miles and Citi ThankYou points to KrisFlyer. All of these transfer partners use a 1:1 ratio.

Also, you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to KrisFlyer at a 3:1 ratio with a bonus of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points transferred.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Booking partner-operated flights through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is another option for getting to Manila and back.

While Virgin doesn’t offer as wide a range of partners as other transfer programs do when it comes to flying to Manila, it makes up for this with lucrative award rates and the potential for transfer bonuses of up to 40%.

You can fly with Air France and KLM, with a connection in Paris (CDG) or Amsterdam (AMS), from Los Angeles and New York for 36,000 points and 33,000 points, respectively, each way in economy.

If you’re looking for cheap economy rates and don’t mind a stop in Europe, booking through Virgin offers solid value for your miles.

How to Earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points are easy to earn with such a wide range of credit card transfer partners.

Virgin is a transfer partner of American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Citi and Chase. You can transfer your points between these programs at 1:1 ratios. For Capital One transfer, you’ll need to transfer your points to your Virgin Red account and link it with your Flying Club account.

You can also transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to Virgin at a 3:1 ratio with a bonus of 5,000 points for every 60,000 points transferred.

Final Thoughts

There are plenty of ways to travel to the Philippines using points from all major credit card issuers. There are also a ton of affordable options when it comes to flying to Manila, Cebu and Clark, whether you’re based on the West Coast, East Coast, Midwest or Southwest.

In fact, the points earned from a single credit card welcome offer could be enough to have you fly in economy or even business to the Philippines and back. To learn how to maximize your everyday spending and turn it into point-funded travel, sign up for the free 10xTravel course today.