Who offers the best deal for redeeming airline miles?

Southwest Airlines is cited by the Wall Street Journal as providing the best availability among the big airlines. However, discount airlines are also listed as having better availability compared to big airlines.

More than 90 percent of customer queries about using airline miles found available seats on flights at the discount airlines, compared to slightly more than 60 percent of queries at the big airlines.

Customers seeking flexibility in their airline mile usage also found it at Southwest Airlines, which converted from miles to points that can be applied toward tickets. The earned points are much easier to understand and use compared to complex rules for earning and using miles.