The Best Award Flights to Book to Toronto

Whether it's to catch a game, attend a film festival or explore the magnificent city, Toronto offers many compelling reasons to visit. But, no matter your reason, the best way to start your trip is by booking a cheap flight to Toronto. Thankfully, airline miles and bank points can help you slash your travel costs — giving you more money to enjoy your trip once you're there.

The good news is that several airline loyalty programs offer award flights for under 10,000 miles each way. And depending on your dates and route, you might even be able to book award flights for just 9,000 miles round trip.

Let's look at how you can use points and miles to book cheap flights to Toronto.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

From 4,500 miles one way through Delta SkyMiles

Delta SkyMiles currently offer the cheapest award flights to Toronto. We're finding nonstop flights from NYC to Toronto or Boston to Toronto for just 4,500 miles each way in basic economy or 5,000 miles each way in standard economy.

However, there's a catch. Delta ditched its award charts years ago. That means award travelers no longer have predictable award pricing. Instead, Delta prices award flights based on demand.

Delta's lack of an award chart is a good thing for flights from New York and Boston to Toronto. However, Delta can charge much higher award prices on other dates or more expensive routes. We found one example where Delta charges as much as 59,000 SkyMiles for a one-way economy award from Atlanta to Toronto.

If you find a reasonable rate but need more Delta SkyMiles, you can transfer Membership Rewards points to Delta at a 1:1 ratio.

» Learn more: Your guide to the Delta Air Lines SkyMiles program

6,000 points each way using Air Canada Aeroplan

The new Air Canada Aeroplan program is the cheapest way to fly United or Air Canada to Toronto. If you can fly a route less than 500 miles long, you'll pay just 6,000 Aeroplan points each way. That includes popular routes like NYC to Toronto, Chicago to Toronto, Boston to Toronto and Washington, D.C. to Toronto.

Between 501 and 1,500 miles, longer routes can also be a good deal at 10,000 points each way in economy or 20,000 points each way in business class.

You're not out of luck if you don't have Aeroplan points yet. You can get Aeroplan points by transferring AmEx Membership Rewards points, Chase Ultimate Rewards® points or Capital One miles to Aeroplan at a 1:1 transfer ratio.

12,000 points round trip using Japan Airlines Mileage Bank

If you have Marriott Bonvoy points or have Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles, you can book award flights on American Airlines for 12,000 miles round trip. Japan Airlines' distance-based award chart lets you book round-trip award flights for:

• Up to 1,000 miles in distance: 12,000 miles round trip.

• 1,001 to 2,000 miles: 15,000 miles round trip.

• 2,001 to 4,000 miles: 23,000 miles round trip.

That means you can book American Airlines flights to Toronto for 12,000 miles round trip from:

• Chicago.

• New York.

• Boston.

• Washington, D.C.

American Airlines' route from Charlotte to Toronto costs 15,000 miles round trip. However, the route from Dallas to Toronto stretches over 1,000 miles each way, so you need to pay 23,000 miles round trip.

7,500 Avios each way using British Airways or Iberia

British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus might be the best options to book one-way flights to Toronto on American Airlines. Both British Airways and Iberia partner with American Airlines, using a distance-based award chart and price award bookings by flight segment. You'll want to stick to nonstop flights for the best rates.

» Learn more: The complete guide to the British Airways Avios program

British Airways and Iberia currently charge 7,500 Avios each way for routes up to 650 miles. That's far enough to fly American Airlines routes from:

• NYC to Toronto.

• Chicago to Toronto.

• Boston to Toronto.

• Washington, D.C. to Toronto.

• Charlotte to Toronto.

Avios are very easy to accumulate, even if you don't credit flights to British Airways or Iberia. In addition, British Airways is a 1:1 transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards®, AmEx Membership Rewards and Capital One miles — giving you plenty of options for topping off your account.

Similarly, you can transfer points to Iberia from AmEx Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards® or transfer Avios to Iberia from other Avios programs.

Cheapest award flights to Toronto by route

As you can see, many of the cheapest ways to get to Toronto depend on which route you're flying. So, let's dive deeper into award pricing on three popular routes.

Chicago to Toronto

As a sub-500-mile route, you can utilize any sweet spots in this post to book award flights from Chicago to Toronto. Aeroplan will be your best option for United and Air Canada flights, starting at just 6,000 points each way.

Delta awards from Chicago to Toronto currently start at 6,500 SkyMiles each way. If you don't have SkyMiles or AmEx Membership Rewards, you can also book Delta saver awards through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for just 7,500 points. Virgin points can be generated by transferring points from Chase Ultimate Rewards® or Citi ThankYou Points.

NYC to Toronto

At a distance of just 348 to 366 miles — depending on the New York airport you fly from — distance-based award charts also come in handy for booking an award flight from NYC to Toronto. And thankfully, there's a slew of options. For example, the route from New York-LaGuardia to Toronto is the busiest route in North America and one of the top 10 busiest routes globally.

Delta currently offers the cheapest award pricing on this route, starting at just 4,500 SkyMiles each way in basic economy or 5,000 SkyMiles one way in standard economy.

Again, Air Canada's Aeroplan is the best option for United and Air Canada flights. Book nonstop award flights between any New York City airport and Toronto for 6,000 Aeroplan points each way — with some dates pricing slightly cheaper.

Boston to Toronto

As yet another sub-500-mile route, you can score award flights from Boston to Toronto using the sweet spots highlighted in this post.

On this route, Delta award flights start at just 4,500 SkyMiles each way for basic economy. If Delta's charging more than 7,500 SkyMiles for a flight, it's worth checking if Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is charging fewer miles for the same flight.

Per the Aeroplan award chart, Air Canada flights on this route should start at 6,000 points each way. Although again, Air Canada sometimes charges fewer points than that.

In addition, you can book a round trip for just 12,000 miles if you have JAL Mileage Bank miles.

Looking for cheap flights to Toronto?

The best way to save on a flight to Toronto is by using points and miles. For example, you can book flights to Toronto from just 4,500 Delta SkyMiles each way. Or score flights on United or Air Canada for just 6,000 points each way — or sometimes less — by leveraging the new Aeroplan program.

The key is to use distance-based mileage programs for short flights, such as from NYC, Boston or Chicago to Toronto. For longer flights, you'll want to utilize region-based award charts.

Additional affordable options available through other international loyalty programs:

• 16,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer miles round trip on American.

• 20,000 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles round trip on American.

• 20,000 Korean SKYPASS miles round trip on Alaska.