Out of the SkyTeam carriers, some of the most popular options include Air France’s Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic’s Virgin Points programme, and Delta SkyMiles. In East Asia, there aren’t as many options – you’ve got XiamenAir, Vietnam Airlines, Korean Air, Garuda Indonesia, China Eastern, and China Airlines. Today I wanted to cover some sweet spots of Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles, as they’re about to become a new transfer option for Singaporean company HeyMax.
This post is part of a series I’m writing with Singaporean open-loop loyalty programme HeyMax, where you can earn Max Miles with your daily spending and transfer them to loyalty schemes such as Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles.
How to earn Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles
You can earn Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles when flying a SkyTeam carrier or one of their other partners. SkyTeam has 19 member airlines, including the six aforementioned East Asian carriers, as well as Air France/KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Delta, Aeroméxico, Saudia, ITA Airways, and others. You can credit any SkyTeam flight to Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles.
Vietnam Airlines’ non-SkyTeam partners include ANA, Bangkok Airways, China Southern, Cathay Pacific, Air Cambodia, Etihad, El Al, Finnair, Pacific Airlines, Lao Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and Singapore Airlines, though only on select routes. You can find those routes here, and you’ll likely have to book via Vietnam Airlines’ website in most cases, as these are codeshare partners.
Credit Air Europa flights (a SkyTeam carrier) to Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles
Vietnam Airlines miles are also some of the cheapest to buy outright – you can buy 1,000 miles for USD 25 (£19/HK$195). You can also transfer your HeyMax Max Miles, or Rove miles if you’re from the U.S..
How to redeem Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles
Vietnam Airlines allows you to redeem Lotusmiles online if you’re flying a Vietnam Airlines flight. However, you’ll have to call Vietnam Airlines’ call centre or email them if you’d like to redeem a flight on a partner carrier (I’d recommend calling, in case the partner award space goes quickly). Use the Air France/KLM website to search for award space before you book using Vietnam Airlines. You also can’t redeem for first class with Lotusmiles, or with premium economy outside of Vietnam Airlines.
Be aware that you’ll have to verify your Lotusmiles account by emailing them before you can redeem a flight, so don’t transfer upon seeing award space unless you’ve already done so. That being said, should be able to do so if you’re calling the Vietnam Airlines call centre to book a partner award anyway.
If redeeming on Korean Air, be aware that Korean Air has some mileage award blackout dates, which you can find here.
Best Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles Redemptions on Vietnam Airlines flights
The best Vietnam Airlines redemptions by far are on Vietnam Airlines flights, especially in business and premium economy class. Some of the best sweet spots are:
- Vietnam to Southeast Asia on Vietnam Airlines in economy class – 13,000 miles
- Vietnam to Korea on Vietnam Airlines in economy class – 22,000 miles or business – 60,000 miles
- Vietnam to Japan on Vietnam Airlines in business – 90,000 miles
- Vietnam to Australia on Vietnam Airlines in business class – 100,000 miles or premium economy – 70,000 miles
- Vietnam to Europe on Vietnam Airlines in business class – 150,000 miles or premium economy – 85,000 miles
As you can see, these aren’t the lowest numbers you’ll get on any programme. However, given that Lotusmiles are relatively cheap to acquire, some of these can be fairly good deals compared to cash prices.
Vietnam Airlines features a mixture of reverse herringbone or staggered seats in business class, so you’re guaranteed to get direct aisle access. Premium economy features recliners, and is a well-acclaimed product as well (which I personally haven’t flown yet).
Fly Vietnam Airlines business class longhaul from 100,000 miles
The better partner rewards include the following:
- Between China, Hong Kong, and Northeast Asia (not Korea or Japan) – 15,000-20,000 miles in economy, 30,000 miles in business class
- Between China, Hong Kong, and Northeast Asia (excl. Korea and Japan) to Korea or Japan – 60,000 miles in business class
- Within the Middle East – 50,000 miles in business class
Fly Korean Air business class for 60,000 Lotusmiles one-way
Other airlines you might want to watch out for using Lotusmiles
While these aren’t sweet spot redemptions, you might want to watch out for these SkyTeam airlines, which offer great business class products:
- Air France offers a fantastic business class product from Europe to the U.S. and Asia (business class would cost 100,000 miles to the U.S. including the West Coast, which could be a good deal)
- China Eastern has a good business class product onboard their A350s and 787s, which fly mainly to Europe and Australia (to Australia would be 150,000 miles one-way)
- XiamenAir also offers a good product to Europe, the U.S., the Middle East, and Australia – I’d avoid booking to the U.S. (245,000 miles is a LOT of miles!) though Australia and Doha are both 150,000 miles which could be reasonable in some cases
- China Airlines has a similarly good business class product that flies from Taiwan to the above geographies, so has the same lowest price of 150,000 miles
- Do note that Delta and Virgin Atlantic charge in the first class bucket for Lotusmiles, so I’d avoid them entirely
Fly China Eastern business class longhaul from 150,000 miles
Conclusion
Vietnam Airlines may not have the lowest redemption numbers out of all the frequent flyer programmes out there (even within SkyTeam), though miles are relatively low-cost to acquire, and there are some fair redemptions out there. Just be ready to pick up the phone before making any partner redemptions, and verify your account before redeeming on Vietnam Airlines.
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