How We Score Deals
Every deal on Fluxora is scored from 0 to 100 using seven factors. The score helps you quickly identify the best opportunities — and helps us prioritize which deals to surface first.
How the Score Works
Each deal earns points across seven categories. The raw total is capped at 100. Categories are weighted so that absolute cost (how good the deal actually is) dominates the score, while secondary factors like cabin class, route desirability, and tax efficiency add nuance.
On each deal page, the Quality Score Breakdown section shows a progress bar for every category — so you can instantly see what’s driving (or dragging) a deal’s score.
The Eight Scoring Categories
1. Absolute Cost Max 50 pts
The single most important factor — half the total score. It answers one question: is the effective cost actually good for the cabin class?
We compare the effective cost against a cabin-class threshold — what a “normal” award booking typically costs:
| Cabin | One-Way Threshold | Round-Trip Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | 80,000 pts | 160,000 pts |
| Premium Economy | 125,000 pts | 250,000 pts |
| Business | 320,000 pts | 640,000 pts |
| First | 500,000 pts | 1,000,000 pts |
Thresholds are adjusted by region — for example, West Coast↔Asia routes use a 1.2× multiplier because transpacific flights are inherently pricier.
| Cost vs Threshold | Points |
|---|---|
| <15% of threshold | 50 — Extraordinary value |
| <25% | 42 — Exceptional value |
| <35% | 35 — Excellent value |
| <45% | 28 — Great value |
| <55% | 20 — Good value |
| <65% | 12 — Decent value |
| <80% | 5 — Fair value |
| ≥80% | 0 — Not impressive |
A Business one-way at 45,000 effective points is 14% of the 320,000-point threshold — that’s under 15%, earning the full 50 points. A 160,000 effective-point Business one-way is 50% of threshold and earns 20 points.
2. Seat Availability Max 10 pts
How many award seats are available on this route. More seats means higher confidence you can actually book the deal.
| Availability | Points | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Plenty (7+ seats) | 10 | Wide open — high confidence, easy to book |
| Normal (3–6 seats) | 6 | Standard availability |
| Limited (1–2 seats) | 2 | Few seats — may vanish before you book |
Note: Plenty of seats scores highest because a deal you can actually book is more valuable than one that might disappear. Limited availability is still noted but scores lower since there’s a real risk the deal won’t be available when you try to book.
3. Cabin Tier Max 10 pts
Premium cabin deals are harder to find and worth more per point spent. This bonus rewards deals in higher cabin classes.
| Cabin | Points |
|---|---|
| First Class | 10 |
| Business Class | 8 |
| Premium Economy | 4 |
| Economy | 0 |
Economy gets zero cabin bonus because it’s the baseline — Economy deals compete purely on price value. A Business class deal with the same price drop will naturally score higher, reflecting that premium cabin award availability is rarer.
4. Freshness Max 1 pt
Deals discovered today get a 1-point bonus. This ensures recently detected deals get a slight edge in ranking over stale listings.
| Freshness | Points |
|---|---|
| Detected today | 1 |
| Older | 0 |
This is intentionally a minimal bonus — a great deal from yesterday shouldn’t be buried, but a tie-breaker should favor the fresher discovery.
5. Destination Tier Max 8 pts
Major international routes get a bonus because they represent higher-value redemptions and tend to generate the most interest.
| Route Type | Points | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Premium (transatlantic/transpacific) | 8 | SEA→LHR, LAX→NRT, SFO→ICN |
| Mid-tier (transcontinental) | 5 | SEA→NYC, LAX→BOS, SFO→MIA |
| Standard | 0 | Domestic short-haul or regional |
6. Tax Efficiency Max 18 pts
Taxes are already baked into the effective cost used by other categories, but this bonus rewards deals where the cash portion is small relative to the total cost. A deal where 95% of the value comes from points and only 5% is cash is a more efficient use of your miles than one where half the cost is out-of-pocket.
We calculate the tax fraction: taxes in USD divided by the total effective cost in USD (points × program valuation + taxes). Taxes are automatically converted from the program’s native currency (EUR, GBP, JPY, etc.) to USD.
| Tax Fraction | Points | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5% | 18 | Almost all points — ideal redemption |
| 15% | 14 | Minimal cash outlay |
| 30% | 9 | Moderate taxes |
| 50% | 4 | Half the cost is cash |
| 100% | 0 | Cash dominates — questionable redemption |
Scores between anchor points are linearly interpolated — a 10% tax fraction scores 16 (halfway between 18 and 14), not a hard jump. This avoids cliff edges where a 0.1% difference causes a large score change.
Alaska Airlines deal: 28,000 pts + $56 tax. At 1.8¢/pt, the points are worth $504. Tax fraction = $56 / ($504 + $56) = 10% → interpolated between 18 (at 5%) and 14 (at 15%) → 16 pts. British Airways deal: 28,000 pts + $900 surcharge. At 1.3¢/pt, points = $364. Tax fraction = $900 / ($364 + $900) = 71% → interpolated between 4 (at 50%) and 0 (at 100%) → 2 pts.
Estimated Taxes by Departure Airport
When a loyalty program doesn’t report taxes via its API (e.g. Qatar, Singapore, SAS), we substitute a conservative estimate derived from real booking data. The table below shows the 75th-percentile one-way tax in USD by origin airport and cabin class. Round trips use 2× the one-way figure. These estimates are used both in Effective Cost (which feeds the Absolute Cost score) and in the Tax Efficiency score for deals without confirmed tax data.
| Airport | City | Economy | Prem. Eco. | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMS | Amsterdam | $289 | $351 | $485 | — |
| ATH | Athens | $105 | $54 | $54 | $98 |
| ATL | Atlanta | $163 | $231 | $347 | — |
| BCN | Barcelona | $124 | $43 | $43 | — |
| BOS | Boston | $91 | $161 | $347 | $1,432 |
| CDG | Paris (CDG) | $279 | $367 | $594 | — |
| CPH | Copenhagen | $121 | $121 | $92 | — |
| DEL | Delhi | $91 | $41 | $93 | $93 |
| DFW | Dallas (DFW) | $138 | $57 | $102 | — |
| DUB | Dublin | $62 | $48 | $60 | — |
| EDI | Edinburgh | $214 | $381 | $380 | — |
| EWR | New York (EWR) | $57 | $57 | $345 | $1,432 |
| FCO | Rome (FCO) | $88 | $64 | $64 | — |
| FRA | Frankfurt | $366 | $489 | $803 | — |
| HEL | Helsinki | $76 | $130 | $168 | — |
| HKG | Hong Kong | $101 | $74 | $76 | — |
| HND | Tokyo (Haneda) | $70 | $48 | $48 | $43 |
| IAH | Houston (IAH) | $163 | $230 | $347 | $1,534 |
| ICN | Seoul (ICN) | $58 | $38 | $38 | — |
| JFK | New York (JFK) | $86 | $109 | $345 | $1,427 |
| KEF | Reykjavik | $195 | $302 | $155 | — |
| KIX | Osaka (KIX) | $98 | $233 | $47 | — |
| LAS | Las Vegas | $163 | $296 | $578 | — |
| LAX | Los Angeles | $148 | $230 | $696 | $413 |
| LHR | London (LHR) | $461 | $685 | $914 | $413 |
| LIS | Lisbon | $91 | $64 | $64 | — |
| MAD | Madrid | $120 | $48 | $48 | — |
| MAN | Manchester | $303 | $566 | $858 | — |
| MIA | Miami | $163 | $231 | $347 | $413 |
| MNL | Manila | $60 | $35 | $35 | — |
| MSP | Minneapolis | $102 | $57 | $102 | — |
| MUC | Munich | $347 | $470 | $785 | — |
| NCE | Nice | $338 | $96 | $182 | — |
| NRT | Tokyo (Narita) | $95 | $44 | $44 | — |
| OPO | Porto | $79 | — | $53 | — |
| ORD | Chicago (ORD) | $103 | $57 | $345 | $1,428 |
| PDX | Portland | $352 | $231 | $347 | $1,534 |
| PEK | Beijing (PEK) | $31 | $31 | $31 | — |
| PVG | Shanghai (PVG) | $44 | $31 | $31 | — |
| SAN | San Diego | $305 | $709 | $1,291 | — |
| SEA | Seattle | $57 | $50 | $50 | — |
| SFO | San Francisco | $160 | $50 | $347 | $1,427 |
| SGN | Ho Chi Minh City | $260 | $260 | — | — |
| SIN | Singapore | $120 | $69 | $69 | — |
| TPE | Taipei | $60 | $46 | $46 | — |
| VIE | Vienna | $287 | $453 | $822 | — |
| WAW | Warsaw | $93 | $117 | $93 | — |
| XMN | Xiamen | $204 | — | — | — |
| ZRH | Zurich | $299 | $426 | $774 | — |
| Other | Global fallback | $227 | $349 | $485 | $932 |
All values are one-way, USD, p75 estimates derived from Seats.aero booking data. The highlighted row shows the global fallback used when the departure airport is not in the table.
7. Airline Product Max 7 pts
Not all award seats are created equal. Flying Singapore Airlines Suites is a fundamentally different experience from a European short-haul business seat, even at the same points price. This category rewards deals on airlines known for outstanding hard product — the seat itself, cabin layout, meal service, and overall onboard experience.
Each loyalty program is assigned a product tier (1–4) based on the quality of the airline or partner airline you’ll actually fly:
| Tier | Points | Airlines |
|---|---|---|
| 4 — World-Class | 7 | Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways |
| 3 — Excellent | 5 | ANA (via VS/Alaska), American, Aeroplan, JetBlue, Flying Blue |
| 2 — Good | 3 | Delta, United, Finnair, Virgin Australia, SAS EuroBonus |
| 1 — Below Average | 1 | Lufthansa (high surcharges, dated cabins) |
Cabin adjustment: Business & First class get full tier points. Premium Economy gets 40% (rounded). Economy gets 0 — hard product differences matter far less in the back of the plane.
Singapore Airlines Business (Tier 4): 7 pts. United Polaris Business (Tier 2): 3 pts. Singapore Premium Economy (Tier 4): 7 × 40% = 3 pts. Any airline in Economy: 0 pts.
Effective Cost & Program Valuations
All cost comparisons in the scoring algorithm use effective cost, not raw points. Effective cost converts taxes into their points-equivalent using each loyalty program’s valuation, then adds them to the raw point price:
This means a deal with low points but high taxes is judged on its true all-in cost. Taxes in foreign currencies (EUR, GBP, JPY, KRW, etc.) are automatically converted to USD before the calculation.
Program Valuations Used For Scoring (click to expand)
Baseline values in cents per point, aggregated from The Points Guy, NerdWallet, Upgraded Points, One Mile at a Time, and Frequent Miler. Programs not listed default to 1.3¢/pt.
| Program | Valuation |
|---|---|
| Alaska Mileage Plan | 1.80¢/pt |
| American AAdvantage | 1.65¢/pt |
| Singapore KrisFlyer | 1.55¢/pt |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1.50¢/pt |
| Aeroplan | 1.50¢/pt |
| United MileagePlus | 1.35¢/pt |
| Qatar Avios (Privilege Club) | 1.30¢/pt |
| Finnair Plus / Avios | 1.30¢/pt |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1.30¢/pt |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1.20¢/pt |
| Flying Blue | 1.20¢/pt |
| SAS EuroBonus | 1.20¢/pt |
| Virgin Australia Velocity | 1.15¢/pt |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | 0.70¢/pt |
| All other programs | 1.30¢/pt (default) |
Reading the Score
Here’s a rough guide to what different score ranges mean:
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 80–100 | Exceptional deal. Far below threshold, premium route, and often a premium cabin. These are rare — book fast. |
| 60–79 | Great deal. Solid value across multiple categories. Well worth considering if the route fits your plans. |
| 40–59 | Good deal. Decent value, often stronger in one area (e.g., great price but Economy cabin, or premium cabin but modest drop). |
| 20–39 | Fair deal. Worth noting if you’re flexible, but not a standout. |
| 0–19 | Marginal. Price isn’t compelling relative to typical availability. |
Progress Bar Colors
On each deal page, the breakdown uses color-coded progress bars:
Strong performance in this category.
Moderate — contributing some value.
Weak in this category.
No points earned (e.g., Economy cabin tier or outside tracked corridors).
Common Questions
Why not just score by price drop?
A route dropping from 1,000,000 to 200,000 points is an 80% drop — sounds amazing, right? But 200,000 points for an Economy ticket is still a terrible deal. A big percentage drop on a still-overpriced route isn’t a good deal. That’s why our scoring focuses on absolute cost — how the effective cost compares to what a normal award booking costs for that cabin class. The result: the true all-in cost is what really drives the score, not how far the points price fell.
What are the program valuations used for effective cost?
Each loyalty program’s points have a different baseline value. We use per-program valuations to convert taxes into points-equivalent — see the expandable Program Valuations Used For Scoring table above for the full list. Programs not in the table default to 1.3¢/pt.
Why does an Economy deal score lower than Business at the same price?
The Cabin Tier bonus gives Business +8 and First +10. Economy has no cabin bonus, so it competes purely on cost metrics. A 50% price drop in Economy can still score in the 60–80 range — but an equivalent Business deal will score higher because premium cabin availability is rarer.
Why does a new route score lower than a price drop?
Price drops have confirmed history — we know the price was higher before, so the deal is verifiably better. A new route sighting might be a great deal, but we can’t confirm it until we have comparison data. As we track it over time and see price changes, the score will adjust.
Can a deal score above 100?
No. The raw total across all categories can theoretically reach 104 points, but the final score is capped at 100. This means an exceptional deal that maxes out multiple categories won’t inflate beyond 100.
Does the score affect which deals appear on the site?
Yes. Deals are ranked by quality score, and higher-scoring deals are surfaced more prominently. However, all detected deals are published — the score affects ordering and prioritization, not inclusion.
Is the score the same for everyone?
The default score is calculated identically for every visitor using the same algorithm. The breakdown on each deal page shows the exact point values so you can make your own judgment.
Which programs don’t report taxes, and how does that affect the score?
A small number of programs — currently Qatar Privilege Club, Singapore KrisFlyer, SAS EuroBonus, Ethiopian ShebaMiles, and LATAM Smiles — return $0 in the tax field via the search API. This is a data limitation: it doesn’t mean the booking is actually tax-free, just that the tax amount isn’t available. For these programs, we substitute a conservative estimated tax based on real Seats.aero data: thousands of actual route records are analyzed to find the 75th-percentile tax for each origin airport and cabin class (the high end, not the average, so the estimate errs on the cautious side). That estimate feeds into both the Effective Cost calculation and the Tax Efficiency score. Because the actual cash outlay is uncertain, Tax Efficiency is capped at 4 / 18 for unknown-tax deals — these deals can still rank highly on absolute cost, cabin tier, and other factors.
🏆 Community Sweet Spots
Some deals carry a gold 🏆 Sweet Spot badge. These are not a scoring category — they don’t add or remove points. Instead, the badge flags deals that match well-known community sweet spots: specific program + cabin + price combinations that the award travel community considers exceptional value.
A sweet spot is typically a saver-level award price on a high-quality product that’s broadly recognized as a standout redemption. Examples include:
| Sweet Spot | What It Is | Max Cost (OW) |
|---|---|---|
| VS → ANA J | Virgin Atlantic miles for ANA Business to Japan | 50,000 pts |
| Alaska Partner J | Alaska miles for partner Business (Cathay, JAL, etc.) | 60,000 pts |
| AA OneWorld J | AAdvantage miles for OneWorld Business saver | 60,000 pts |
| Flying Blue J | Flying Blue Promo or saver Business to/from Europe | 55,000 pts |
| Aeroplan J | Aeroplan partner awards in Business | 75,000 pts |
| KrisFlyer J | Singapore Airlines Business saver | 92,000 pts |
| Avios QSuites | Qatar QSuites Business via Avios | 75,000 pts |
| UA Polaris | United Polaris Business saver | 80,000 pts |
Round-trip deals are compared against 2× the one-way threshold. The badge appears on both the deal page (gold banner) and the main index (gold tag). Use the 🏆 Sweet Spots Only filter on the main page to show only these deals.
Sweet spot definitions are community-driven and subjective — they reflect consensus about which redemptions offer outsized value, not a measurable metric. Adding them to the score would bias toward specific programs. The tag lets you quickly find these deals without distorting the objective quality ranking.