Award flight · one-way

San Francisco to Los Angeles on points

4,500 pts cheapest economy · Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards SFO → LAX great-circle 544 km · 338 mi 6 programs priced as of

San Francisco → Los Angeles on points: 13 options across the alliance backbones our cards can reach. Aeroplan books Star partner metal at a fixed 544 km distance band, AAdvantage prices the oneworld routing off its region chart, and Flying Blue covers SkyTeam dynamically. The verified charts crown THE PLAY; the dynamic row is shown as an honest estimate.

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Economy

The play · economy

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

Alaska Airlines own metal from SFO, distance-band award (544 km, North America chart)

4,500 pts
surcharge not published
₹4,500 all-in at house ₹

Which card mints this?

+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →

Program Metal / routing Points Surcharge All-in ₹ vs play
Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards the play Alaska Airlines own metal from SFO, distance-band award (544 km, North America chart) 4,500 — ₹4,500 the play
Air Canada Aeroplan Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (544 km) 6,000 — ₹6,000 1.3×
Air France-KLM Flying Blue Delta Air Lines metal — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) ~10,000 est. — ₹10,000 2.2×
United MileagePlus United Airlines own metal from SFO, dynamic award ~12,500 est. — ₹12,500 2.8×
American Airlines AAdvantage oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or American Airlines nonstop 12,500 — ₹12,500 2.8×
Delta SkyMiles Delta Air Lines own metal from LAX, dynamic award ~12,500 est. — ₹12,500 2.8×

Business

The play · business

Air Canada Aeroplan

Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (544 km)

15,000 pts
surcharge not published
₹15,000 all-in at house ₹

Which card mints this?

+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →

Program Metal / routing Points Surcharge All-in ₹ vs play
Air Canada Aeroplan the play Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (544 km) 15,000 — ₹15,000 the play
Air France-KLM Flying Blue Delta Air Lines metal — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) ~25,000 est. — ₹25,000 1.7×
American Airlines AAdvantage oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or American Airlines nonstop 25,000 — ₹25,000 1.7×

First

The play · first

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

Alaska Airlines own metal from SFO, distance-band award (544 km, North America chart)

15,000 pts
surcharge not published
₹15,000 all-in at house ₹

Which card mints this?

+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →

Program Metal / routing Points Surcharge All-in ₹ vs play
Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards the play Alaska Airlines own metal from SFO, distance-band award (544 km, North America chart) 15,000 — ₹15,000 the play
United MileagePlus United Airlines own metal from SFO, dynamic award ~28,000 est. — ₹28,000 1.9×
Delta SkyMiles Delta Air Lines own metal from LAX, dynamic award ~28,000 est. — ₹28,000 1.9×
American Airlines AAdvantage oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or American Airlines nonstop 50,000 — ₹50,000 3.3×

All-in ₹ = points × the program's house value (valuation index) + the sourced one-way surcharge; a dash means the carrier doesn't publish it and the ranking counts it ₹0 — the row's note carries the caveat. That surcharge is the airline's own cash charge on an award — YQ, as the notes below call it — and it is not the fuel-surcharge waiver your credit card advertises: that one hands back a hundred rupees or two at a petrol pump, this one runs to tens of thousands and decides whether the award is worth taking at all. “Dynamic” and estimated (~… est.) rows never compete for the play — the crown is always a verified, bookable price. Feed-ins come from the same transfer data as the optimizer, multi-hop chains included.

Chart-priced, not live seats. These prices are read off each programme’s published award chart and valued at our own house ₹/point. 37% of the 39,855 priced options on the board are stated estimates for programmes that publish no chart; they are marked ~ est. and never crowned the play. Nobody here can see whether a seat exists on your date — confirm the space with the programme before you transfer. Points that leave your issuer do not come back.

The cash on top of the miles. Air France-KLM Flying Blue states that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards, United MileagePlus and American Airlines AAdvantage make you liable for one if the operating airline levies it, without saying whether it does. Air Canada Aeroplan states it adds none on its own metal. Government taxes and airport charges are payable in every case. Almost no programme publishes the amount, so the desk carries each one’s policy in its own words — on its programme hub — rather than a number nobody published. 1 other programme priced here publishes nothing the desk could read.

Row by row

13 options · 6 sourced charts
Economy

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

the play 4,500 pts

Alaska Airlines own metal from SFO, distance-band award (544 km, North America chart)

Alaska Airlines oneworld

Alaska Airlines own-metal San Francisco→Los Angeles.60 one-way US domestic, ~$45 one-way on the Seattle long-haul). The heavy YQ people associate with Alaska comes from partner British Airways, which is not priced in this file. A valid Alaska Airlines routing is assumed.

Feed it: 13,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 27,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 9,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

as of awardwallet.com
Economy

Air Canada Aeroplan

6,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (544 km)

Star Alliance

Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN. This row is the direct great-circle band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. A valid Star routing (nonstop or via a Star hub within the maximum permitted mileage) is assumed.

Feed it: 3,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 6,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 15,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)

as of aircanada.com
Economy

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

~10,000 pts est.

Delta Air Lines metal — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic)

Delta Air Lines SkyTeam

Flying Blue prices dynamically — no fixed chart. This row is on Delta Air Lines metal, so it is a PARTNER award: Flying Blue prices those per segment and the operating carrier's surcharges apply, not Air France/KLM's. The number shown is still the older region-band level and has not been re-derived on this routing — see the stated assumption. Partner awards pass the operating carrier's surcharges — the published Oman Air datapoints run US$190–390 one-way — and Flying Blue publishes no per-route table, so this row's cash side stays unpublished.

Estimate BASIS PREDATES THE METAL. The number here is the OLD Flying Blue region-band estimate that was set when this row still claimed Air France / KLM SkyTeam metal; the 1-Aug-2026 phantom sweep corrected the metal to Delta Air Lines but deliberately froze the price. It has NOT been re-derived on the new routing, because the row states metal but no routing, so there is no segment list to band. Treat it as an order-of-magnitude region level, not a per-segment partner price. Never crowned THE PLAY.

Feed it: 10,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 5,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 10,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)

as of flyingblue.com
Economy

United MileagePlus

~12,500 pts est.

United Airlines own metal from SFO, dynamic award

United Airlines Star Alliance

United Airlines own-metal San Francisco→Los Angeles. United MileagePlus is fully dynamic — no award chart. Levels below are the typical one-way per person; ranges are the honest low/high seen across dates and demand. A valid United Airlines routing is assumed.

Estimate Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way economy level San Francisco→Los Angeles (range 7k–25k); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.

Feed it: 6,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 31,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 37,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)

as of united.com
Economy

American Airlines AAdvantage

12,500 pts

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or American Airlines nonstop

American Airlines oneworld

AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.

Feed it: 37,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 75,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 25,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

as of aa.com
Economy

Delta SkyMiles

~12,500 pts est.

Delta Air Lines own metal from LAX, dynamic award

Delta Air Lines SkyTeam

Delta Air Lines own-metal San Francisco→Los Angeles. Delta SkyMiles is fully dynamic — no award chart, no saver level. Levels below are the typical one-way per person; ranges are the honest low/high seen across dates and demand. Delta One is business class, priced under 'biz'. A valid Delta Air Lines routing is assumed.

Estimate Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way economy level San Francisco→Los Angeles (range 7k–25k); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.

Feed it: 37,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 75,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 25,000 HSBC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))

as of delta.com
Business

Air Canada Aeroplan

the play 15,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (544 km)

Star Alliance

Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN. This row is the direct great-circle band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. A valid Star routing (nonstop or via a Star hub within the maximum permitted mileage) is assumed.

Feed it: 7,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 15,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 37,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)

as of aircanada.com
Business

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

~25,000 pts est.

Delta Air Lines metal — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic)

Delta Air Lines SkyTeam

Flying Blue prices dynamically — no fixed chart. This row is on Delta Air Lines metal, so it is a PARTNER award: Flying Blue prices those per segment and the operating carrier's surcharges apply, not Air France/KLM's. The number shown is still the older region-band level and has not been re-derived on this routing — see the stated assumption. Partner awards pass the operating carrier's surcharges — the published Oman Air datapoints run US$190–390 one-way — and Flying Blue publishes no per-route table, so this row's cash side stays unpublished.

Estimate BASIS PREDATES THE METAL. The number here is the OLD Flying Blue region-band estimate that was set when this row still claimed Air France / KLM SkyTeam metal; the 1-Aug-2026 phantom sweep corrected the metal to Delta Air Lines but deliberately froze the price. It has NOT been re-derived on the new routing, because the row states metal but no routing, so there is no segment list to band. Treat it as an order-of-magnitude region level, not a per-segment partner price. Never crowned THE PLAY.

Feed it: 25,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 12,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 25,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)

as of flyingblue.com
Business

American Airlines AAdvantage

25,000 pts

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or American Airlines nonstop

American Airlines oneworld

AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.

Feed it: 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 150,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 50,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

as of aa.com
First

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

the play 15,000 pts

Alaska Airlines own metal from SFO, distance-band award (544 km, North America chart)

Alaska Airlines oneworld

Alaska Airlines own-metal San Francisco→Los Angeles.60 one-way US domestic, ~$45 one-way on the Seattle long-haul). The heavy YQ people associate with Alaska comes from partner British Airways, which is not priced in this file. A valid Alaska Airlines routing is assumed.

Feed it: 45,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 90,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 30,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

as of awardwallet.com
First

United MileagePlus

~28,000 pts est.

United Airlines own metal from SFO, dynamic award

United Airlines Star Alliance

United Airlines own-metal San Francisco→Los Angeles. United MileagePlus is fully dynamic — no award chart. Levels below are the typical one-way per person; ranges are the honest low/high seen across dates and demand. A valid United Airlines routing is assumed.

Estimate Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way first level San Francisco→Los Angeles (range 17k–45k); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.

Feed it: 14,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 70,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.14:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)

as of united.com
First

Delta SkyMiles

~28,000 pts est.

Delta Air Lines own metal from LAX, dynamic award

Delta Air Lines SkyTeam

Delta Air Lines own-metal San Francisco→Los Angeles. Delta SkyMiles is fully dynamic — no award chart, no saver level. Levels below are the typical one-way per person; ranges are the honest low/high seen across dates and demand. Delta One is business class, priced under 'biz'. A valid Delta Air Lines routing is assumed.

Estimate Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way first level San Francisco→Los Angeles (range 17k–45k); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.

Feed it: 84,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 168,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 56,000 HSBC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))

as of delta.com
First

American Airlines AAdvantage

50,000 pts

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or American Airlines nonstop

American Airlines oneworld

AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.

Feed it: 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 300,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 100,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

as of aa.com

More corridors

39 from SFO · 48 to LAX

Flying back? Los Angeles to San Francisco on points (LAX–SFO). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into North America — 510 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.