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Step-by-step guidance for booking award flights. Covers the hold-before-transfer rule, phone numbers for major programs, and partner award booking workflows.
Passed 19 of 23 test cases with the skill, and 10 of 23 without it.
and 10 more in the full report
9 fixed10 passed either way4 still failing0 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
One of 9 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
I want to use Korean Air SKYPASS miles to book a partner flight. Explain whether this can be booked online or requires calling support, give Korean Air's phone number, and state whether SKYPASS allows award holds.
| Checked | Without skill | With skill |
|---|---|---|
| States Korean Air partner awards cannot be booked online. | Missed | Passed |
| Provides Korean Air phone number as 1-800-438-5000. | Passed | Passed |
| States Korean Air SKYPASS does not allow award holds. | Passed | Passed |
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
Finding the deal is half the battle. Telling the user how to actually book it is the other half. Every recommendation should include a booking path.
Reference data: data/alliances.json has booking details for major programs in key_booking_relationships.
Check this before recommending a transfer or locking in a departure city. Fees vary dramatically by program and origin airport and can add $100-700+ per person on top of the miles cost. Two things to keep in mind reading the table: (1) several programs are surcharge-free on their own metal and most partners but pass heavy surcharges on specific partners (notably British Airways metal) — the YQ column calls those out; (2) dollar figures are per direction and scale with cabin — economy surcharges are materially lower than the business-class figures shown for surcharge-heavy metal. Rows marked ⚠️ are high-surcharge programs that often lose to cash.
| Program | YQ Surcharge? | Typical fees/pp | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeroplan (Air Canada) | No | $50-100 | No YQ pass-through on Star Alliance partners. Low fees. Best for LH/LX/UA awards. |
| Flying Blue (AF/KLM) | Yes | ~$250-400/way economy, ~$489-600/way business, ex-CDG | AF passes full fuel surcharge; France adds heavy departure tax. Worst from Paris. |
| United MileagePlus | No | $50-100 | No YQ on most partners. |
| Virgin Atlantic | Yes (on VS metal) | Cabin-dependent: ~$150-300/way economy, ~$500-700/way Upper Class; low on Delta metal | Surcharges scale with cabin. Delta metal carries surcharges US↔UK specifically. |
| Turkish Miles & Smiles | No on UA/Turkish metal; YES on Lufthansa Group (LH/LX/OS/SN) | $20-50 (own/UA metal) | Extremely low on own/UA metal. Book by phone (online unreliable). Dec 2025 devaluation. |
| British Airways Avios | Yes | ~$200-400/way economy, ~$400-700/way business, BA long-haul metal | Notorious surcharges on BA metal. Use short-haul, or partner metal (AA/Alaska/Qatar), instead. |
| American AAdvantage | No on own metal + most partners; YES on British Airways & Iberia | $50-75 base; on BA/IB metal ~$200-400/way economy to $400-700+/way business | Surcharge-free on JAL/Cathay/Qatar. Route partner awards away from BA/Iberia metal. |
| Alaska / Atmos Rewards | No on own metal + most partners; YES on British Airways, Icelandair, Hainan | $25-75 base; on BA metal ~$150-400/way economy up to ~$1,000/way premium | Renamed from Mileage Plan (Aug 2025). Surcharge-free on Cathay/JAL/Qantas/Condor/Fiji. |
| Avianca LifeMiles | No | ~$25/ticket | No-YQ Star Alliance program. Predictable total even on ANA/Lufthansa/Swiss metal. |
| Iberia Plus (Avios) | Low (far less than BA) | ~$150-200 RT transatlantic business | The transatlantic Avios sweet spot: MAD-US business ~40.5K-59K Avios/way with modest surcharges. |
| JAL Mileage Bank | No on JAL metal | from ~$20 | Cheap distance-based partner chart. Partner metal (e.g. BA) may add YQ. |
| Qatar Privilege Club (Avios) | No fuel surcharge on Qatar metal | ~$30-100 per-segment fee | Excellent Qsuites value. Per-segment cash fee returned in 2025. |
| Delta SkyMiles | No | No award fees | Dynamic award pricing is the real cost, not fees. |
| ⚠️ ANA Mileage Club | Yes — heavy | ~$95-185/way US-Japan YQ | Round-trip booking only; no awards within 96h of departure. |
| ⚠️ Cathay / Asia Miles | Yes | High on long-haul; hiked again in 2026 | Passes full carrier-imposed surcharges. |
| ⚠️ Emirates Skywards | Yes — heavy | Among the highest YQ of any program | Surcharges often kill the redemption vs cash. |
Key rule: If the trip ends in Paris or London, or routes on Air France / BA / Virgin / Emirates metal, factor $300-700/pp per direction in fees before comparing programs. A 40K Flying Blue award from CDG often costs more in cash fees than a 50K Aeroplan award from FRA. When a program passes surcharges only on specific partners (AA/Alaska on BA metal, Turkish on Lufthansa Group), route around that metal to keep fees low.
test cases passed, vs 10 / 23 without
More skills from the same source and nearby in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.