Asiana Miles to Be Maintained for 10 Years... 1:1 Conversion for Flight Miles, 1:0.82 for Partner Miles to Korean Air

Separate Accounts for Ten Years, Differential Conversion Rate for Partner Miles
Mandatory Supply of Bonus Seats at Highest Levels in Past Ten Years

The plan for integrating frequent flyer miles following the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines has been finalized after a year of negotiations. Even after the two companies fully merge, existing Asiana miles will retain their independent redemption rules and validity for the next ten years. When converting Asiana miles to Korean Air miles, flight-accrued miles will be exchanged at a 1:1 ratio, while miles accumulated through credit cards and other partner channels will be converted at a 1:0.82 ratio. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has mandated that the newly combined airline maintain its supply of bonus seats on popular long-haul routes, such as those to North America and Europe, at the highest levels observed in the past ten years. The KFTC has also stated that failure to comply with these requirements will result in corrective penalties for noncompliance.

A Korean Air aircraft moving on the ramp at Gimpo Airport. Photo by Yonhap News.

Separate Accounts for Ten Years... Differential Conversion Rate for Partner Miles

The KFTC announced on the 15th that it had approved the final plan for the mileage integration, which was submitted after seven KFTC–Korean Air face-to-face meetings and four rounds of revisions. This plan will take effect on December 17, 2026, when the two airlines officially launch as a single entity.

According to the approved plan, even though Asiana’s corporate entity will cease to exist, existing Asiana miles will be managed in a separate account for ten years from the date of the merger. Customers can keep their Asiana miles without conversion and continue to enjoy the same redemption rates and expiration terms. After the merger, these miles can be used for bonus ticket purchases, seat upgrades, mixed payment (paying for regular seats by combining cash or card with miles), shopping, and more on all Korean Air-operated routes.

For those wishing to convert their miles to Korean Air, different conversion rates apply depending on how the miles were earned. Miles accrued from actual flights will be converted at a 1:1 ratio, while partner miles—such as those earned via affiliated credit cards or shopping—will be converted at a ratio of 0.82 Asiana miles for each Korean Air mile. To prevent confusion in elite tier qualification, conversions must be made for the entire balance at once. Any unused balance remaining after ten years of separate management will be automatically converted at the stated rate to Korean Air miles.

Expanded Bonus Seats on Popular Long-Haul Routes... Measures to Prevent Loopholes

The KFTC has established “actual boarding performance” and “total annual mileage redemption” as control metrics to prevent Korean Air from offering only a nominal supply of mileage seats. Over the next ten years, Korean Air must maintain its total bonus seat boarding performance at or above the levels recorded in 2024, at the time of the merger. In particular, for highly sought-after long-haul routes—such as those to North America, Europe, and Oceania—the airline is required to provide seats at or above the record-high levels achieved in 2023 over the past decade.

To prevent the practice of releasing inventory mainly in the off-season and reducing seats during peak travel periods, Korean Air is also required to submit annual peak season seat supply results to a compliance monitoring committee comprising external experts. Additionally, based on 2025 levels, the total amount of miles redeemed each year must be increased incrementally: to 106% in 2027–2028, 112% in 2029, and 121% from 2030 to 2036. If these targets appear unattainable, the airline may be required to operate “special mileage flights” exclusively for bonus seat redemption on popular international routes during peak periods. Safeguards have also been strengthened to minimize the expiration of small mileage balances: when purchasing economy class tickets, customers will now be able to use between 100 miles and up to 40% of the fare via mixed payment, and the range of non-flight products available for fewer than 2,000 miles will be doubled compared to previous offerings.

Automatic Elite Tier Matching... 24-Month Extension for Satisfied Members Before Merger

Measures to retain and maintain status for existing Asiana elite members have also been confirmed. After integration, Asiana’s five elite tiers will be automatically matched with corresponding Korean Air tiers. When converting miles, the combined flight records from both airlines will be reviewed, and if the sum qualifies for a higher elite tier, members will be upgraded immediately. If the review results in a lower tier assignment, the existing elite tier will still be retained.

A safety net is in place for travelers who would have lost their elite status around the time of the merger. If a 24-month term-based elite member has already satisfied the requirements for renewal prior to the merger, their status will be extended an additional 24 months from the original expiration date, even if that extension period surpasses the merger date.

This mileage integration plan will go into effect on December 17. Korean Air will be required to comply with these integration measures for the next ten years, and the KFTC will continuously monitor adherence to bonus seat supply and mileage redemption rules via the compliance supervision committee. Before the plan’s implementation, both Korean Air and Asiana will provide detailed guidance to Asiana customers on how to use and convert their miles.

Seongbok Jeon, Director General for Business Combination Review at the KFTC, stated, “Given that Korean Air will become the sole mileage program operator in the country after the merger, we focused on developing supplementary measures to address possible weakening of consumer incentives. Any breach of the conditions or changes to the plan that disadvantage consumers will be deemed noncompliance, and severe corrective penalties will be imposed.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.