Benchmark

Airline partners benchmark

Alliances, partner earning and redemption, lounge and status reciprocity, and joint ventures for the six major US airlines.

What stands out

Delta's Aeromexico joint venture stands: the 11th Circuit vacated DOT's order ending its antitrust immunity on Aug 20, 2026. On the other side, Alaska plans to join American's Atlantic and Pacific joint businesses (announced Sep 29).
United and JetBlue's Blue Sky is now a two-way elite deal: since May 2026 Premier and Mosaic members get priority boarding, a free bag and extra legroom seats on each other's flights, and TrueBlue members earn 5 to 10 points per $1 on United.
Lounge reach differs by status: Delta Gold Medallion and up enter partner and SkyTeam lounges in any cabin, United ties Star Alliance lounge access to Premier Gold and up, and American's Admirals Club members get every Alaska Lounge and Qantas Club.

Tap an airline to see its partners.

DeltaDelta SkyMilesSkyTeam · 4 joint ventures

Alliance: SkyTeam
Key partners: More than 20 airline partners, including Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Korean Air, LATAM, Aeromexico, China Airlines, Saudia, SAS, Vietnam Airlines, Kenya Airways, WestJet and EL AL.
Earn on partners: Partner-marketed flights earn miles and MQDs by a percentage of distance flown, set by fare class. Delta-ticketed Aeromexico-marketed flights switch to distance-based earning for tickets issued from Sep 10, 2026.
Redeem on partners: Miles for award travel and upgrades on partner airlines.
Lounge access: Gold, Platinum and Diamond Medallion status gets entry to Delta partner-operated or SkyTeam-branded lounges in any cabin. Same-day international First or Business on a SkyTeam-operated flight gets Sky Club access.
Status perks: Medallion Mileage Bonus on Base Miles: Silver 40%, Gold 60%, Platinum 80%, Diamond 120%.
Joint ventures: Transatlantic with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic; Korean Air; LATAM; Aeromexico. DOT moved to end the Aeromexico immunity in 2025, and the 11th Circuit vacated that order on Aug 20, 2026.

Sources

UnitedUnited MileagePlusStar Alliance · 4 joint businesses · Blue Sky

Alliance: Star Alliance
Key partners: Star Alliance members including Lufthansa, Air Canada, ANA, Singapore, Turkish, SWISS, Air New Zealand, EVA and Copa. Outside the alliance: Aer Lingus, Emirates, JetBlue, Azul, Virgin Australia, flydubai, Hawaiian and others.
Earn on partners: Preferred partners earn 1 PQP per 5 miles (cap 1,500 premium, 750 economy). Other MileagePlus partners earn 1 PQP per 6 miles (cap 1,000 premium, 500 economy). Tickets starting 016 earn 1 PQP per $1.
Redeem on partners: Miles on partner airlines; with Blue Sky, miles book JetBlue flights on united.com.
Lounge access: Premier Gold, Platinum and 1K get Star Alliance perks including airport lounge access.
Status perks: Star Alliance perks (priority check-in, extra bag, lounges). Blue Sky with JetBlue: priority boarding, free checked bag, preferred and extra legroom seats, same-day standby on JetBlue.
Joint ventures: Four passenger joint businesses: Air Canada and Lufthansa Group (transatlantic), ANA (transpacific), Air New Zealand, and Air Canada (US-Canada transborder).

Sources

AmericanAAdvantageoneworld · 3 joint businesses

Alliance: oneworld (founding member)
Key partners: oneworld: Alaska, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Fiji, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia, Oman Air, Qantas, Qatar, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan. Strategic alliances with Alaska and Qatar.
Earn on partners: Earn AAdvantage miles on oneworld and other participating airlines.
Redeem on partners: Use miles on oneworld and other partner airlines (oneworld and other airline award chart).
Lounge access: Admirals Club members can use all Alaska Lounges (on AA or Alaska flights), all Qantas Clubs (on Qantas-operated flights) and select third-party partner lounges.
Status perks: oneworld links members' loyalty programs, including reciprocal lounge access.
Joint ventures: Atlantic Joint Business (British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Aer Lingus, LEVEL), Pacific with Japan Airlines, and Qantas (Australia and New Zealand). Alaska announced its intent to join Atlantic and Pacific on Sep 29, 2026.

Sources

SouthwestRapid RewardsNo alliance · interline partners

Key partners: Interline partners: Air Premia, ANA, China Airlines, Condor, EVA Air, Icelandair, LOT, Philippine Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAP and Turkish Airlines.
Earn on partners: Rapid Rewards earning with Icelandair, China Airlines and Etihad starts in spring 2027.
Redeem on partners: Redemption on Icelandair, China Airlines and Etihad starts in spring 2027.

Sources

Alaska/HawaiianAtmos Rewardsoneworld · joint business plans

Alliance: oneworld
Key partners: 30+ airline partners. oneworld airlines plus global partners Aer Lingus, Air Tahiti Nui, Condor, Hainan, Icelandair, Korean Air, Philippine Airlines and STARLUX, and regional partners such as Porter and Contour.
Earn on partners: Points and status points on partners. From Jan 1, 2027 the member's choice of distance, price or segments applies to partner flights booked on Alaska or Hawaiian sites and all American flights.
Redeem on partners: Points on oneworld and partner airlines (award charts).
Lounge access: Alaska Lounge members get in with a same-day boarding pass on Alaska, Hawaiian, a oneworld airline or global partner. Lounge+ adds nearly 90 partner lounges. Atmos Sapphire and Emerald can use Alaska Lounges when flying a oneworld airline to or from outside the US, Canada or Mexico.
Status perks: Atmos status maps to oneworld Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald on all member airlines.
Joint ventures: None today. Announced intent on Sep 29, 2026 to join American's Atlantic and Pacific Joint Businesses, pending DOT approval.

Sources

JetBlueTrueBlueNo alliance · Blue Sky with United

Key partners: Earn and redeem: United (Blue Sky), Condor, Etihad, Icelandair, Qatar, Cape Air. Earn only: Singapore, South African. Redeem only: China Airlines. Codeshare or interline without TrueBlue earning: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Turkish and others.
Earn on partners: On United flights booked at jetblue.com: 5 points per $1 for members, 8 for Mosaic 1 and 2, 9 for Mosaic 3, 10 for Mosaic 4, plus tiles toward Mosaic.
Redeem on partners: Points for United-operated flights on jetblue.com, and on other redeem partners.
Status perks: Mosaic members on United get priority check-in, security and boarding, one free bag, preferred and Economy Plus seats, and same-day standby (Blue Sky, since May 2026).

Sources

Checked Oct 24, 2026.