Redeeming miles & points can be complicated under the best of circumstances. If you’re traveling with infants, it gets even more complicated — and it’s a reality that many people are thrust into once they start a family.
This guide covers what you can generally expect when trying to add lap infants to airline award tickets, including which frequent flyer programs offer the best and worst policies.
Basics of Flying with an Infant in Your Lap
Airlines will let you travel with an infant in your lap as long as they’re under two years old (meaning under 24 months old, not until their third birthday). Generally speaking:
- The infant won’t cost you anything when traveling domestically
- The infant will cost you 10% of the adult fare when traveling internationally
If you travel with an infant in your lap, they won’t be entitled to a seat. You’ll be holding them the whole flight, which may not be comfortable — especially if they’re not newborns. Some long-haul planes have bassinets, but you can’t consistently count on that working out.
Many people prefer to buy a seat for their infant, both because it’s safer and more comfortable:
- It’s safer because you can put the infant in an approved car seat, so they’re properly secured
- It’s more comfortable, as you’ll have more room to stretch out and don’t have to worry about holding the baby the whole flight
- It’s also a great way to get your infant into miles & points, so they can start earning rewards with their own travel
If you do buy a seat for an infant, you can generally expect it will cost the same as an adult fare. The airline infant policies below apply specifically to lap infant travel.
Infant Award Tickets Usually Cost 10% of Revenue Fare
Want to add an infant in your lap to an award ticket? Most commonly, you’ll be on the hook for paying 10% of the revenue fare for the class of service you’re traveling in. Some airlines and frequent flyer programs have much better policies, which are covered below.
10% might not sound like a lot, but it can add up quickly — especially if you’re redeeming miles for first or business class. Booking a roundtrip international first class ticket that would cost $20,000 on revenue? You could be out of pocket $2,000 just for the privilege of traveling with your infant.
Adding Infants to Award Tickets Can Be Frustrating
Beyond the cost, the process of adding an infant to an award ticket can itself be frustrating:
- It’s strongly recommended to add an infant to an award ticket during the actual ticketing process, rather than after the fact
- It’s also strongly recommended to book through a program that lets you add infants online, rather than requiring a phone call
You can add infants to award tickets after initial ticketing, but the process can be difficult. Two common pain points:
- If your award ticket involves travel on a partner airline, you may get bounced between the booking carrier and the operating carrier over which airline should ticket the infant reservation. In practice, either carrier can add an infant to an award ticket, but you’ll often get better pricing if you add the infant through the airline you ticketed through.
- While the general policy is 10% of the revenue fare, pricing can vary significantly in practice. Some agents charge 10% of the current lowest fare; others charge 10% of the full published fare.
The Best Frequent Flyer Programs for Infant Award Travel
Some frequent flyer programs have especially infant-friendly policies that could save you significant money. The programs listed below all partner with at least one major transferable points currency in the United States, making them reasonably attainable for most travelers.
Alaska Atmos Rewards Lap Infant Policy
Alaska Atmos Rewards offers one of the most generous infant award policies available. Atmos Rewards charges only government taxes and fees for a lap infant on an award ticket — even for international travel. This applies whether you’re flying Alaska, Hawaiian, or any partner airline.
The one catch is that you must add the infant by phone; online booking is not available for this. Hold times can be long and some agents may not be familiar with the policy, but the savings can be substantial.
Transfer partners: Bilt Rewards
Air Canada Aeroplan Lap Infant Policy
Air Canada Aeroplan is the best program for infant award travel if you value the ability to book online. You’ll pay just 2,500 Aeroplan points or 25 CAD to add an infant to any award ticket one-way — including travel on all of Aeroplan’s partner airlines. Aeroplan has more airline partners than any other frequent flyer program, which makes this policy particularly valuable.
You can ticket the infant at the same time you book the adult’s ticket online. For example, on a one-way business class award on Lufthansa from Chicago to Frankfurt, the cost to add a lap infant is just 2,500 points.
Transfer partners: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards
Qantas Frequent Flyer Lap Infant Policy
Qantas Frequent Flyer charges 10% of the points required for the adult ticket when adding a lap infant, rather than 10% of the cash revenue fare. Since award rates are typically a fraction of the published cash fare, this can result in a much lower effective cost than programs that charge 10% of the revenue price.
Transfer partners: Amex Membership Rewards
Finnair Plus Lap Infant Policy
Finnair Plus allows you to add a lap infant to an award ticket for just the applicable government taxes and fees, similar to Alaska Atmos Rewards. This applies to travel on Finnair-operated flights. The infant can be added online during the booking process.
Transfer partners: Amex Membership Rewards
British Airways Club Lap Infant Policy
British Airways Club charges 10% of the Avios required for the adult ticket when adding a lap infant — not 10% of the cash fare. As with Qantas, this can result in a significantly lower cost than cash-based infant pricing, especially in premium cabins.
Transfer partners: Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One
All Nippon Airways Mileage Club Lap Infant Policy
ANA Mileage Club charges 10% of the miles required for the adult award when adding a lap infant. Again, paying a percentage of the miles cost rather than the cash fare can represent meaningful savings in premium cabins.
Transfer partners: Amex Membership Rewards
Japan Airlines Mileage Bank Lap Infant Policy
Japan Airlines Mileage Bank similarly charges 10% of the miles required for the adult award for a lap infant. This makes it a favorable option compared to programs that base the infant charge on the revenue fare.
Transfer partners: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Turkish Miles&Smiles Lap Infant Policy
Turkish Miles&Smiles charges a flat fee in miles for lap infants rather than a percentage of the revenue fare. The exact fee varies by route and cabin, but the flat-rate structure can be advantageous on expensive long-haul itineraries.
Transfer partners: Citi ThankYou
United MileagePlus Lap Infant Policy
United MileagePlus allows you to add a lap infant online during the award booking process. While United charges 10% of the revenue fare for international travel — consistent with the general industry standard — the ability to handle everything online without a phone call is a meaningful convenience advantage.
Transfer partners: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Lap Infant Policy
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club charges 10% of the miles required for the adult award for a lap infant on Virgin Atlantic-operated flights. For partner award bookings, policies may differ, so it’s worth confirming at the time of booking.
Transfer partners: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One
The Worst Frequent Flyer Programs for Infant Award Travel
Programs that charge 10% of the full cash revenue fare — rather than a percentage of the miles cost or a flat fee — tend to be the most expensive for lap infant travel. This is especially painful in first and business class, where published revenue fares can be extremely high. If you have flexibility in which program you use to book a given award, prioritizing one of the programs above can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a single trip.
Bottom Line
Adding a lap infant to an award ticket is rarely as simple as booking the adult ticket itself. The general rule is that an infant will cost 10% of the revenue fare for the cabin you’re booking, even if you’re redeeming miles — but programs vary significantly in how they calculate and apply that charge. Programs like Alaska Atmos Rewards and Air Canada Aeroplan stand out for charging only taxes and fees or a small flat points fee, while others base the infant cost on the cash fare, which can get expensive fast in premium cabins. If you’re planning international travel with a lap infant and have flexibility in your program choice, the infant policy alone can be a deciding factor worth hundreds of dollars.
