Act Now: Secure Your World Cup 2026 Travel with Points and Miles

North America is preparing to host the most significant sporting event globally. For the first time, the United States, Canada, and Mexico will jointly welcome the FIFA World Cup, with 16 host cities across the continent. This will be the largest World Cup ever held.

With the draw and full match schedule now official, fans can finally determine where their favorite teams will play. If you have a dream of experiencing a World Cup match live or following your team through multiple cities, planning can begin immediately. While tickets may come at a high cost, getting to the games doesn’t have to be expensive. Below, we explore how to use your points and miles to make a 2026 World Cup trip possible.

Start Earning Transferable Points Now

The tournament will feature 104 matches spread across 16 host cities:

• Atlanta: ATL
• Boston: BOS
• Dallas: DFW, DAL
• Houston: IAH, HOU
• Kansas City: MCI
• Los Angeles: LAX
• Miami: MIA
• New York/New Jersey: EWR, LGA, JFK
• Philadelphia: PHL
• San Francisco Bay Area: SFO, OAK
• Seattle: SEA
• Toronto: YYZ
• Vancouver: YVR
• Guadalajara: GDL
• Mexico City: MEX
• Monterrey: MTY

When planning World Cup travel, nothing offers more flexibility than transferable points from programs like Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Bilt Rewards, or even Marriott Bonvoy (transferred at a 3:1 ratio to most airline partners). These points allow you to transfer your balance to whichever program has availability for your desired route and date. Programs such as Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca Lifemiles, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, and British Airways Club collectively cover every World Cup host city across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, ensuring you’re never limited to one plan.

These are all international programs, and that’s intentional. They are often the cheapest way to book flights within North America. Instead of paying high rates with Delta SkyMiles or United MileagePlus, you can use a partner’s award chart and secure the same seat for a fraction of the cost. Aeroplan is ideal for Canada and major U.S. gateways; Lifemiles is one of the easiest ways to book United flights nationwide; Flying Blue excels on East Coast routes; and using British Airways Avios often results in ultra-cheap short-haul hops between nearby host cities.

Hot Tip: You can also tap into credit card and loyalty programs to purchase World Cup match tickets. AAdvantage members can redeem miles for select tickets, and Bank of America is providing exclusive access for eligible new cardholders.

Best Travel Cards With Massive Welcome Bonus Offers

Taking advantage of welcome bonus offers is key to having the flexible points needed to book award flights for next year. The cards below all earn points or miles that can be transferred to programs like Aeroplan, Lifemiles, Flying Blue, and British Airways Club (among others), giving you better odds of finding award space during an event as demanding as the World Cup.

Use Award Search Tools To Find Space Quickly

To demonstrate how this works, let's consider an example. Suppose you want to attend the opening match of the tournament: Mexico versus South Africa in Mexico City. The first step would be to head to an award search tool like Seats.aero and search for award flights from your home airport to MEX:

Once you find options that get you into Mexico City by June 10 (the day before the match), you can simply book through whichever airline program offers the best price in miles. In the example above, if you were flying from Houston or Washington, D.C., you could transfer points from any major flexible currency to Air France–KLM Flying Blue and book this award, priced at about 8,500 miles from Houston or 11,000 miles from D.C. in economy.

This is the beauty of transferable points. Regardless of the game’s location or schedule changes, you can travel quickly, locate award space, and reach your destination without incurring exorbitant flight costs.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Searching for Flight Award Space

Best Frequent Flyer Programs for Booking 2026 World Cup Flights

Since most of these flights will be relatively short hops, I always look at distance-based programs first — especially using British Airways Avios for flights operated by American Airlines. On many quick routes (think Dallas-Houston, New York-Boston, Miami-Atlanta, or Los Angeles-San Francisco), Avios pricing can be significantly cheaper than using American Airlines AAdvantage miles for the exact same seat on an American Airlines flight.

Southwest Rapid Rewards points are another solid option. They’re flexible, they cover a ton of U.S. host cities, and the lack of change fees makes them perfect when your plans depend on how your team performs — or whether your team moves forward as first or second place in the group. You can transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Airlines, which gives you a quick way to boost your balance if you need it.

If you’re moving around the East Coast, JetBlue TrueBlue is a great program for short hops between cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. TrueBlue partners with Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards, so it’s easy to transfer points over and grab a seat.

And for anyone watching matches in Canada, Aeroplan is the move. Flights between Toronto and Vancouver can be surprisingly cheap in points — especially when booked early. Aeroplan is also one of the simplest programs to use, and transfers are available from Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

Hot Tip: If you already live in or near a host city, you're in luck. World Cup tickets won't be cheap, but at least you're saving big on flights and hotels. For everyone else, smart positioning flights can make all the difference. Using the tactics above to get yourself to the right gateway city is often the key to making your World Cup trip come together.

Book Refundable Hotels With Points Now

Now that we officially know the host cities and match schedule, hotel prices in many of these markets have already started climbing. And while some people won’t book their stay until a few months — or even a few weeks — before kickoff, that’s a big mistake during a World Cup year. When millions of fans are all trying to be in the same place at the same time, the early bird really does get the worm.

This is exactly why booking with points is such an advantage. Most hotel programs let you cancel award reservations for free, which means there’s almost no downside to locking something in now if you’re eyeing a specific city. Even if you haven’t secured your game tickets yet, having a room in place takes a huge stress off your plate. And if plans change? Just cancel — penalty-free — and rebook somewhere else. Across the 16 host cities, these major hotel programs give you plenty of reliable options:

• Marriott Bonvoy easily has the biggest footprint, and dynamic pricing means booking early can save you a ton. If the rates drop later, you can simply cancel and rebook your stay.
• Hilton Honors is a smart pick if you’re staying multiple nights, especially for group-stage matches. Hilton elites get the fifth night free on award bookings, which stretches your points nicely.
• World of Hyatt tends to offer the best redemption value in pricier cities like New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Mexico City. If you can snag availability now, do it. These markets will only get hotter.
• IHG One Rewards often comes through when other chains start selling out. The chain’s mid-tier and business hotels near stadiums can be great redemptions when cash rates are high.

Our advice? Book now, think later. Lock in refundable award nights today, even if your match tickets aren’t in hand yet. It’s one less thing to worry about, and it protects you from the sticker shock that hits once the World Cup rush begins.

Related: The 9 Best Credit Cards for Hotel Upgrades and Perks [2025]

Final Thoughts

The 2026 World Cup in North America is going to be massive. Tickets may hit your wallet hard, but your travel doesn’t have to. By leaning on transferable points, smart award searches, and strategic hotel bookings, you can lock in World Cup travel without paying World Cup prices.

The schedule is officially out, award space is plentiful (for now), and most hotel rooms are still refundable. If you already know which matches you’re targeting — or even just the city you want to be in — now’s the time to start booking. Use your points to secure your stays and give yourself the flexibility to follow your team wherever the tournament takes you.

A little planning now can turn one of the most expensive sporting events on Earth into a surprisingly affordable once-in-a-lifetime trip.