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Paris in the spring.
Spain’s Costa del Sol in the summer.
Christmas markets in Germany.
No matter what time of year it is, there is always a great reason to travel to Europe!
If you book award tickets to Europe with miles and points, you can use all that vacation money you saved to enjoy the destination.
Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to book award flights to Europe.
When you search for paid flights to Europe from the U.S., you will find a huge variety of options. From low-cost carriers to some of the world’s best first class products, there really is something for everyone. Just make sure you’re up to date regarding ETIAS and visiting Schengen countries in Europe before you book your ticket.
If you live on the East Coast, maybe you can handle the flight in economy class and save some of your points for another day.
But if you live on the West Coast, perhaps a lie-flat bed is a little more important so you can hit the ground running when you arrive at your destination.
We realize that many factors go into determining the best flight for a specific route, or even for a specific passenger: do you prefer lie-flat seats, great food, a friendly crew, or all of the above?
Choosing the best airline for you comes down to evaluating your personal preferences.
Below, we show you some of the best options for using your points for economy class, business class, and first class flights. No matter how you like to fly, we have you covered!
Hot Tip: We mainly discuss round-trip award prices, but keep in mind that many airline loyalty programs will let you book one-way award tickets for half the number of miles.
United Airlines’ MileagePlus program is one of the most popular ways to book award flights to Europe thanks to its extensive reach via the Star Alliance network.
MileagePlus is a fairly straightforward program that is easy to understand and use. Many of its partners are available to search for award space and book on the United site.
If you select Flexible Dates when doing your search, you can see a month-long calendar of award availability all at once. This makes finding award space much easier.
Although its mileage rates for award tickets to Europe are not the absolute best you can find, United has several things going for it. Specifically, the following are true:
Hot Tip: If you’re interested in learning more, don’t miss our in-depth United Airlines review!
You’ll notice that United charges more miles for partner flights than for its own flights, so you’ll want to make that consideration when thinking about which airline to fly on.
United doesn’t offer a first class product outside of North America, so if you have your mind set on flying first class, your main choice is Lufthansa.
Be prepared, though, as first class awards with Lufthansa are almost always not bookable until ~15 days before the departure date.
SWISS Air doesn’t make its first class available to partners. In fact, you’ll need top-tier elite status with SWISS Air to make these award bookings at all.
Also, nearly all European-focused Star Alliance partners such as Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish, and Turkish Airlines do not have first class.
The tradeoff when booking first class with a partner is that while it will cost a big chunk of miles, United will not hit you with carrier-imposed surcharges. This can save you over $500 in fees when you book Lufthansa first class, as other airline loyalty programs will pass those charges onto you.
If you want to fly in coach, however, choosing to fly with United or its partners doesn’t matter; it will cost the same amount of miles either way.
The following Star Alliance members and United partners operate flights between the U.S. and Europe — and are therefore bookable with your United miles:
Here is the United MileagePlus award chart for round-trip flights (one-way tickets will cost half the miles):
| Cabin Class | United Miles Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy | From 60,000 | ~$6 to $106 |
| Business | From 120,000 | ~$6 to $106 |
| Partner Business | From 154,000 | ~$6 to $106 |
Here are some fantastic routes you can book with United miles:
Follow these instructions to book your award flight using United miles:
In addition to earning miles when flying with United Airlines and its partners, you can transfer miles into the program from Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.
Bilt and Chase transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio.
Marriott Bonvoy transfers in around 3 business days, and it also has an improved transfer ratio of 3:1.1 instead of the standard 3:1 ratio.
If you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, you will receive 22,000 United miles plus a 25% bonus, increasing your total to 27,000 miles for 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points!
Recommended United Cards
Hot Tip: Check out our guide to the best Chase United credit cards where we compare the benefits and perks of United’s co-branded cards.
ANA Mileage Club offers some seriously unbeatable round-trip redemption rates for business class flights! For the most part, it blows the competition out of the water in terms of value for your miles.
It doesn’t charge fuel surcharges on some airlines, so you can choose to fly ANA to minimize your out-of-pocket cost.
Here’s how flights to/from North America and Europe price out (round-trip):
| Class of Service | Mileage Cost (Partners) |
| Economy | 55,000 ANA miles |
| Business | 88,000 ANA miles |
| First | 165,000 ANA miles |
In general, the best airlines to book with low fuel surcharges are Turkish Airlines, LOT Polish, SAS, and United Airlines.
Here are a few amazing routes you can book:
ANA is a pretty easy program to redeem miles with. You can make bookings completely online using its award search engine. However, we recommend doing your initial search on United’s website:
There are 2 transfer partners for ANA miles: American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
Amex transfers at a 1:1 ratio, while Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio with 5,000 ANA bonus miles after each 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy point transfer!
Amex takes 2 to 3 business days to transfer, while Marriott Bonvoy takes closer to 7 business days.
Recommended American Express Cards (Personal)
Business Owner? Check out our article on the best Amex business cards that earn Membership Rewards.
Hot Tip: For more ways to earn ANA miles, check out our in-depth guide on how to earn a lot of ANA miles.
Air Canada’s Aeroplan program is one of our favorite ways to fly to Europe.
On a high level, Air Canada Aeroplan is an easy program to use. It has access to the Star Alliance network, and the number of Aeroplan points required for a flight is quite reasonable.
Unlike many airline loyalty programs, Air Canada uses a distance-based award chart for flights from North America to the Atlantic region, which includes all of Europe:
| Distance (Miles) | Operated By | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
| 0 to 4,000 | Air Canada | 35,000 to 60,000 | 50,000 to 80,000 | 60,000 to 160,000 | 90,000 to 180,000 |
| Partner airlines | 35,000 | – | 60,000 | 90,000 | |
| 4,001 to 6,000 | Air Canada | 40,000 to 70,000 | 60,000 to 90,000 | 70,000 to 180,000 | 100,000 to 200,000 |
| Partner airlines | 40,000 | – | 70,000 | 100,000 | |
| 6,001 to 8,000 | Air Canada | 55,000 to 80,000 | 70,000 to 100,000 | 85,000 to 200,000 | 120,000 to 225,000 |
| Partner airlines | 55,000 | – | 85,000 | 120,ooo | |
| 8,001+ | Air Canada | 70,000 to 100,000 | 85,000 to 160,000 | 100,000 to 220,000 | 130,000 to 250,000 |
| Partner airlines | 70,000 | – | 100,000 | 130,000 |
Hot Tip: Aeroplan allows stopovers, even on one-way flights, for an additional 5,000 points. Better yet, these stopovers are bookable 100% online! If you’re not able to see the availability you want, give Aeroplan a call at 800-361-5373.
Of its Star Alliance partners that fly to Europe from the U.S., Air Canada does not add fuel surcharges to award flights.
As a result, you can fly on airlines such as SWISS Air, Lufthansa, and Austrian Airlines without having to worry about paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket!
Here are some great example routes you can book:
Follow these steps to book your flight using Aeroplan points:
In addition to earning Aeroplan points by flying Air Canada and its partners, you can transfer points into the program from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.
Amex, Bilt, Capital One, and Chase transfer almost instantly at a 1:1 ratio, while Marriott Bonvoy transfers in 5 business days at a 3:1 ratio.
For every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer to Aeroplan in a single transaction, you’ll get 5,000 extra Aeroplan points.
Recommended Capital One Cards
Recommended Aeroplan® Credit Card
Bottom Line: Several airlines fly routes between the U.S. and Europe. Aeroplan has enhanced redemption value because it does not pass on any fuel surcharges on partner flights, which lends a huge helping hand for most Star Alliance airlines.
LifeMiles is the loyalty program of Avianca. There are tons of great ways to redeem LifeMiles, and one of the best ways is either in business or first class to Europe.
LifeMiles has a Star Alliance award chart, and it prices awards based on regions. It does not allow stopovers, but it never levies fuel surcharges. This is an easy way to save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on fuel surcharges!
Additionally, it periodically offers Promo Awards that can discount your flights up to 48%!
Economy class tickets are 30,000 miles, business costs 63,000 miles, and first class is 87,000 miles. Keep in mind that these prices are one-way prices.
Taxes and fees will be around $30 to $50 each way — what a steal!
And since Avianca is a Star Alliance partner, you can book Star Alliance flights to Europe.
You pretty much have to book with its online search engine. It can be clunky at times, especially with connecting flights or flights with 2 or more stops. If you’re booking nonstop flights, you shouldn’t have any issues.
Here are some of our favorite LifeMiles redemptions you can make to Europe:
Once you’re ready to make your booking, follow these instructions:
Avianca’s phone staff can be difficult to work with, so you’re pretty much out of luck if you can’t find the flight you want using its online award search.
Avianca LifeMiles is a transfer partner with American Express Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.
Amex, Brex, Capital One, and Citi transfer at a 1:1 ratio almost instantly (Brex may take up to 1 business day).
Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio, so for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred in a single transaction, you would get 20,000 LifeMiles.
Lastly, you can buy LifeMiles. There are frequent sales of pretty ridiculous bonus amounts — up to 200% bonus miles on top of your purchase.
These sales make purchasing miles very tempting, seeing as how you can fly first class for around $1,000!
Recommended Citi Cards
Asiana Airlines’ Asiana Club is what we’d consider an intermediate-to-advanced method for using points. Some of its redemption rates will blow your mind, but booking your award involves several additional steps.
Specifically, flying first class one-way from North America to Europe only costs 50,000 Asiana miles, and business is 40,000 miles!
We believe the best deal is first class for only 10,000 miles more. Yes, you will be paying fuel surcharges, but it may be worth it considering the points you would be saving.
Asiana Airlines is also a Star Alliance partner, so you can book all of the Star Alliance partners listed in the above sections.
Since there are very few Star Alliance partners that operate a first class cabin to Europe, we think the best use of Asiana miles is Lufthansa first class.
You’ll need to pay for surcharges on all partners, so prepare for that. Check out some of our favorite ways to redeem Asiana miles for flights to Europe:
The process for redeeming Asiana miles is a bit more complex:
Unfortunately, this is where the main drawback of Asiana Airlines comes in.
Asiana Club is transfer partners with just 1 points currency: Marriott Bonvoy.
Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio to Asiana Club with a bonus of 5,000 Asiana miles when you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to Asiana all at once. This makes it more difficult to earn Asiana miles.
Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards
Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue loyalty program can be a great way to book award flights to Europe, especially when it runs Promo Rewards.
With connecting flights routing through either Amsterdam (AMS) or Paris (CDG) and being bookable on either airline, Flying Blue has some of the best award availability on its own flights between the U.S. and Europe.
Air France has variable award pricing, and the best thing you can do is use Flying Blue’s award calculator and search for the lowest-level award availability.
You cannot book first class awards with Air France or KLM — you must earn elite status with Flying Blue. Since not many of us earn the required status, that means most of us can’t book first class awards, so we are leaving it out of the discussion here.
Perhaps the best part of the Flying Blue program is that it has Promo Rewards. These awards are available for a special selection of destinations and are offered for a reduced number of miles — between 25% and 50% off what would normally be required for an award flight! Promo Rewards change every month and are limited in terms of availability, when you can book, and what airlines you can fly. If your schedule is flexible or you can book a trip closer to when it takes place, these Promo Rewards can be great options.
Air France and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance and also partner with additional airlines. You can use Flying Blue miles to book flights on any of the following airlines between the U.S. and Europe:
Flying Blue adds carrier-imposed surcharges on its award redemptions, but depending on the routing, it often isn’t that bad.
Of course, as with any program, these surcharges are significantly higher for premium cabins. When booking an award, you will need to look at the charges and decide if it is still a good enough value.
For those partners that aren’t bookable on the Flying Blue site, you can check where to search them and then book awards by phone with either Air France or KLM.
Here are some of our favorite redemptions you can make:
To book your flights, follow these steps:
In addition to earning miles when flying with Air France, KLM, and their partners, you can transfer points into the program from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.
Amex, Bilt, Brex, Capital One, Chase, and Citi all transfer at a 1:1 ratio almost instantly.
Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio in 3 business days. Also, when you transfer 60,000 points in a single transaction, you’ll get a bonus of 5,000 Flying Blue miles.
Having all of these transfer partners really makes it easy to earn enough miles for your trip!
For more recommendations, read our post on how to earn lots of Flying Blue miles.
Recommended Chase Cards
Business Owner? Read our article on the best Chase business cards that earn Ultimate Rewards.
Although Delta SkyMiles uses variable award pricing and has removed its award chart, there is still good value to be had utilizing Delta SkyMiles to book flights to Europe.
Delta Air Lines is the flagship U.S. SkyTeam partner, so it makes sense that it’s a must-use for U.S.-based travelers.
Its online booking system is very robust, partner award rates are reasonable, and there are tons of ways to earn SkyMiles.
Delta’s award pricing system is very complicated for flights on its own metal. For partner flights, though, it’s usually a set price to Europe:
| Class of Service | One-way Delta SkyMiles Cost (Partner Flights) |
| Economy | 35,000 SkyMiles (55,000 within 21 days of departure) |
| Business | 120,000 SkyMiles (195,000 within 21 days of departure) |
You won’t pay for fuel surcharges except for flights originating in Europe.
The best part about Delta’s online award search is that you can search using a flexible date and 5-week search! This will allow you to save tons of time when looking for award availability, so you can book awards quickly and completely online.
Check out some great example redemptions to make:
Here’s how to book your flights using Delta SkyMiles:
There are loads of ways to earn Delta SkyMiles, but Delta is a transfer partner with American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
There are also a bunch of different co-branded Delta credit cards from American Express that can give you a huge boost in SkyMiles, especially from the welcome bonuses!
Recommended Delta SkyMiles Cards
Hot Tip: Need some help finding award space? Use this guide to search for SkyTeam award availability.
Though Korean Air SKYPASS is sort of strange with its requirements for booking awards for other passengers, it’s still hugely worth it to save tons of miles.
We love Korean Air because of 1 main reason: redemption rates.
There are a few rules you must follow to book awards, such as booking round-trip awards for SkyTeam partners.
Other than that, the only hiccup is for booking other passengers. You can get around this by creating a Korean Air SKYPASS account for each passenger.
Here’s what Korean Air SKYPASS charges for round-trip flights to Europe:
| Class of Service | Korean Air Miles Cost (Partners) |
| Economy | 50,000 |
| Business | 80,000 |
| First | 100,000 |
You’ll be responsible for fuel surcharges regardless of which airline you fly.
Here are the partners you can book directly online (the others you’ll need to call to book):
Here are some great example routes you can book with Korean Air miles:
Once you’re ready to book, you can follow these instructions:
Unfortunately, Korean Air is only a transfer partner with Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott transfers to Korean Air at a 3:1 ratio.
There are a few other ways to earn Korean Air miles, including the co-branded U.S. Bank credit cards that earn SKYPASS miles directly.
American Airlines’ AAdvantage program can help you book award tickets on its own flights, as well as on several of its Oneworld alliance partners.
It has an easy-to-read award chart, so you will always know the saver award price for the flights you are trying to book.
One great thing about the AAdvantage program is that it offers off-peak awards for economy travel to certain regions at certain times of the year.
These are discounted redemption rates and include flights on its partners as well as on its own planes.
Hot Tip: The off-peak awards date ranges will vary, and the best way to find out is to visit AA’s flight award chart. Then, click on Details on award travel to see the off-peak travel dates.
| American Airlines Miles Required To Book Round-trip U.S. to Europe | |
| Cabin | Miles Needed |
| Economy Off-Peak | 45,000 American miles |
| Economy | 60,000 American miles |
| Business | 115,000 American miles |
| First | 170,000 American miles |
Of American’s partners, you can fly between Europe and the U.S. on American, British Airways, Finnair, and Iberia.
Taxes and fees on some American Airlines awards can be quite high. In addition, it adds carrier-imposed surcharges to award flights on British Airways and Iberia.
The surcharges aren’t as bad on Iberia as they are on British Airways, but you should still keep an eye on them. If you can find availability on other airlines instead, you can save a significant amount of money when booking your awards.
For more information, check out our guide to the best ways to search for Oneworld award availability.
Hot Tip: Check American Airlines’ region definitions to confirm that your destination falls within the European region.
Here are some great routes you can book using AAdvantage miles:
Check out the following directions to book your Europe flights using AAdvantage miles:
In addition to earning AAdvantage miles by flying American Airlines and its partners, you can transfer miles into the program from Bilt Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
Bilt Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 almost instantly.
Marriott Bonvoy transfers to AAdvantage at a 3:1 ratio in 2 business days.
We’ve also covered many other ways to earn lots of American miles, which include signing up and using various co-branded credit cards.
Wherever you are headed in the world, when booking award tickets, you may run into a few unexpected snags.
Every segment may not be available, fees on the ticket may be very high, or maybe there just aren’t enough available seats.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help make your life easier when booking flights to Europe with points.
In Europe, certain airports are much more expensive to fly through than others. Avoiding the more expensive airports can save you as much as a few hundred dollars on your trip!
When searching for award space, be sure to look at a couple of routes to see the difference in taxes and fees. By adjusting the departure or even the connection location, you can sometimes cut costs significantly.
The U.K., for example, adds a hefty Air Passenger Duty (APD) onto each ticket departing the U.K. and flying over 2,000 miles. This fee is a whopping £180 per person (approximately $195) if you are flying in a premium cabin.
But avoiding this fee is easy! Just make sure your return from Europe doesn’t depart from the U.K. If you want to visit London, simply add in a few days in another country before your return to the U.S.
You’ll get to see another place, and it could save you a lot of money (especially if you are traveling with several passengers). Here you can see what we mean:
In this first example, we are looking at a one-way flight from London to New York. You can see that in economy class, the taxes and fees on an American Airlines-operated flight are $188.
In business class, the fees are $631 on a British Airways-operated flight. This larger amount is partially because British Airways adds hefty carrier-imposed surcharges to its flights, and partially because of the U.K. Air Passenger Duty. Now let’s look at flights on the same day from Paris.
You can see above that the taxes and fees are significantly less for these flights on the same operators out of Paris.
The American Airlines coach flight’s fee drops to $87, and the British Airways business class flight drops to $389.
You may notice that the business class flight does not decrease by the entire amount of the U.K. Air Passenger Duty — this is because there are 2 flights on British Airways with this award, so there are added carrier-imposed surcharges.
London and Paris were used in these examples because they are well-known cities, and it was easy to find award space on the same day on multiple carriers.
You should know, however, that Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) is one of the more expensive airports in continental Europe to fly out of.
By looking at other European cities (especially Istanbul, Oslo, Stockholm, and Warsaw), you can often get the taxes and fees to drop even further than what we have shown.
One of the great parts of award travel to Europe is that you don’t necessarily need to find available flights to the exact place you want to go.
Europe has a combination of multiple low-cost carriers and excellent rail service. Together, these mean it’s easy and fairly inexpensive to hop between cities.
Want to go to Munich but can only find availability to Frankfurt? No problem. Grab a cheap Eurowings flight, hop on a Deutsche Bahn train, or even buy a Eurail Pass and you’ll be there later that day. Maybe even add a night or 2 in Frankfurt and see what the city has to offer.
This same idea works with cities all over Europe, so be sure to stay flexible when choosing your flight destinations.
A general issue for award travel (not just on flights to Europe) comes into play when you are traveling with multiple people in your party.
Looking for a single ticket? You’re in luck — those are much easier to find.
Traveling as a couple, a family of 4, or an even larger group? Finding award tickets for everyone in your party can be tough.
When traveling with a large party, you generally want to start searching for award seats right when the schedule opens for booking. However, even if you do this, there often won’t be enough seats for a larger group. This is where it helps to be a little flexible.
If possible, splitting up your group will give you a better chance of all flying on award tickets.
Splitting up could mean that part of your group flies on the next flight on the same day, or it could mean part of the group even flies on a different day.
If you have miles available with airlines in different alliances, your choices increase. Sometimes you can even find award seats with 2 different alliances that arrive at your destination within minutes of each other. That way you can meet up before even leaving the airport!
Obviously, splitting up the group isn’t an ideal situation, but it could mean you can all experience an amazing business class product.
In other cases, it could mean that you can all get to a top destination during peak times. It’s up to you whether finding award seats is worth flying separately.
Europe is a fantastic destination for your travels from the U.S. For those who are new to traveling, you can find many of the comforts of home and plenty of people who speak English.
If you are a history buff, you will love strolling through the cobbled alleyways and visiting the historic castles and churches scattered throughout the countryside. If you are a foodie, it’s hard to beat the amazing cuisine served in France and Italy.
Europe has something for everyone — with so many airlines flying between the U.S. and Europe, it should be easy for you to book your next flight using miles and points.
The question simply becomes whether you want to fly in a premium cabin or in coach, and which airline miles you will use to make your booking. Happy traveling!
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Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.
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43 comments
leo
July 30, 2018
Fantastic article, so many points that i wrote down. Thanks a lot!
Darla Perry
May 09, 2019
Best airline to book business class LHR to US east coast with lots of Capital One transferable miles? (optimizing comfort)
Erin Miller
May 21, 2019
Hi Darla, this is what our contributor James has to say…
“Hi Darla! Great question. I recommend looking at Aeroplan award availability from London, particularly on Swiss, Austrian, Brussels, Lufthansa or United where there won’t be as many surcharges as on Air Canada. In most cases, you’ll have to connect, but Swiss, Austrian, Brussels, Lufthansa and United all have decent products, particularly Swiss and Austrian. If you’re feeling adventurous, I recommend trying Lufthansa’s First Class product – it’s wonderful. From LHR you could travel to Newark, Chicago, or Dulles on United, or you could connect in several different European cities with plenty of options to other cities on the eastern portion of the US. Try looking into Washington Dulles, since this is a Star Alliance hub, or also New York JFK, or Newark.”
The Big Easy Traveler
May 26, 2019
Another option for Aeroplan to Europe is on the new Egypt Air 787-9 out of IAD. Doing this IAD-CAI-ATH next month for 57.5k. If you book just to CAI, it’ll cost you 82.5k (Aeroplan), 78k (Lifemiles), 85k (United). Tack on another leg and the price decreases. I don’t think AV or UA can see this space yet.
Stephen Au
May 27, 2019
Hey The Big Easy Traveler,
Thanks for reading and we appreciate your feedback! Many of our travelers would prefer not to transit to Europe through Africa due to the lost time in connection. However, we definitely appreciate your feedback.
Doug
July 15, 2019
Hi great article! But how exactly does one proceed to book on a partner? For example, using Avianca miles to book SAS from Washington to Copenhagen. Of course this will not show up as a flight option on the Avianca site. Whose booking website do you use and how would you apply miles? I have lots of Chase Ultimate points that I can move around and some Citi Lifemiles to move around, but to who?? United? Avianca? SAS? Thanks, Doug
Stephen Au
July 15, 2019
Avianca’s mileage program is separate from their website. It is called LifeMiles. You can search directly on their website: Lifemiles.com.
Otherwise, you’ll have to play around with the dates to find availability. If you have lots of Chase points, you can transfer your points to United to book SAS, Avianca, or other Star Alliance partners.
TonyM
July 20, 2019
Hey guys – thanks for the amazing amount of effort you put into this post! Not gonna lie, my head is kinda spinning. So much to take in and try to understand.
I’m trying to understand how to transfer AMEX or UR points to a partner of theirs to get the best use of my points for flights to Milan or Rome, we’d also be fine if we had to go into one of the other major cities before catching another flight into Italy, next spring. Flying from LAX or even SFO, what would be our best method/who to transfer points to which airline? I think I understand once I get the points to say one airline I can then look for flights on a partner airline and then call the airline where my points (now miles) are with to book the flight. I’m just not sure which would be the best use of my points. – can you explain?
Thanks!
Stephen Au
July 22, 2019
Hey Tony,
Yes, booking award travel is complex, but those who decide to learn the ropes stand to gain tens of thousands of dollars that would otherwise be left on the table. To fly from LAX-MXP, try looking for Air Italy business class booked using British Airways Avios. Award availability tends to be excellent, and the product is underrated. The hard product is angled-flat seats, but the soft product is awesome. If you want to fly from the West Coast, your best bet is NOT going to be Alitalia business class.. as it’s nearly impossible to book for multiple passengers. Thanks for reading.
TonyM
July 22, 2019
Thank you Stephen! Yes, I’ve looked at how to move points to Avios, it seems straight forward. One thing I’m not super thrilled about with Air Italy is the angled-flat seats, I always feel like I’m going to slide down. It is still a better ride then a main cabin seat for 11 hours. I do appreciate your response!
Stephen Au
July 22, 2019
Hey Tony,
For what it’s worth, Air Italy’s angled-flat seats are more comfortable and closer to lie-flat seats than, say, regional business class seats. Thanks for reading.
TonyM
July 22, 2019
You’re probably right, it’s been years since I flew on AA when their business class seats were angled. I’m sure there have been improvements on the quality.
Angela
August 21, 2019
Thanks for this very in-depth and well-researched article. We have a baby we’d like to take as a lap infant (please don’t kill us…) next summer to Scandinavia (ARN and then returning from OSL) from SFO. We used to be willing to bend over backward and take longer flight paths to use points and fly business/first, but with a baby in tow, I think we are valuing shorter travel time significantly more. Any tips on how to optimize searches? If we can fly business/first from SFO or even LAX directly to somewhere in Europe, we’d be fine taking economy on a (presumably) short flight to Scandinavia.
Jarrod West
August 23, 2019
Hi Angela,
What type of points and miles do you have at your disposal? If you’re wanting to fly business class round-trip between California and Scandinavia your best option would probably be to fly out of LAX and use Amex Membership Reward points to book a round-trip award through ANA on Scandinavian Airlines metal. This route would only cost 88,000 points per person, which is really exceptional value for a round-trip business class flight.
To search for availability for this flight you’ll want to search on the ANA and United websites.
Thanks for reading!
Dano
September 28, 2019
Hi, I have over 230K Amex Membership Rewards points. I would like to transfer to an airline where I can book a family of 5 or as many as I can to Ireland using my points. I would use PHL/EWR/JFK or, if necessary BOS, as departure airports depending on how many points are required per round trip ticket.
Which airline should I transfer the amex points into? Avios or others? Thanks!
Andrew Kunesh
October 08, 2019
Hey Dano!
Great question – I recommend using British Airways Avios to book Aer Lingus awards. New York (JFK) to Dublin (DUB) is 41,500 Avios per round-trip ticket per passenger in economy class, so you’d be able to book all 5 passengers on award tickets. You can find Aer Lingus availability by searching for flights on United.com – when doing this, look for Saver tickets operated by Aer Lingus as this is what can be booked with British Airways Avios. Once you’ve found flights, note the flight numbers and call British Airways Executive Club to book. Unfortunately, Aer Lingus awards cannot be booked online with Avios.
Please don’t transfer your miles until you’ve found award space and have verified it with a British Airways phone representative. Transfers are instant, so you can transfer right before booking on the phone.
Thanks and safe travels!
Keana A
November 25, 2019
I want to find 2 business seats from SFO to Rome around 5/12 and return around 5/25. There are plenty of UA seats for 155K one way but I’m hoping to find something with fewer points. Any suggestions on where I might look?
Jarrod West
November 25, 2019
Hi Keana,
What type of points are you hoping to use to book your trip?
Keana
December 21, 2019
I prefer to use Chase points but have Amex points also.
Keana
December 21, 2019
I have both Chase and Amex points and able to fly out of SFO or SJC to Venice or Rome.
Jarrod West
December 23, 2019
Hi Keana,
The best option would be to use your Amex points and transfer them to ANA. You can get a round-trip business class ticket between SFO and FCO or VCE for 88k Amex points per person.
Another option would be to go through Virgin Atlantic, which is a transfer partner of both Chase and Amex. Through Virgin Atlantic, you would need to pay 100k points per person, for round-trip business class tickets.
I hope this helps!
jess
December 27, 2019
I’m trying to fly to Rome and Venice, we currently have points with Chase, Amex, and Capital One. Any suggestions on where to transfer our points to get the best value? thank you!
Jarrod West
December 27, 2019
Hi Jess,
Have you seen our post on the best ways to fly to Italy with points and miles? I think you will find it very helpful!
/best-ways-to-fly-to-italy-with-points
Thanks for reading!
Jamie
December 31, 2019
Thank you for the detailed article. I’m trying to find business class lay flat seats from IAH for 6, using Marriott points, flying around June 6th for a 15 day trip to Greece. We could split three and three if we half to but we are traveling with kids and I really don’t want to do that to my husband, kids, or myself!
Jarrod West
December 31, 2019
Hi Jamie,
To minimize your post costs, your best options with Marriott points would likely be through Asiana, Korean Air, or ANA. Although, finding 6 business class award seats on the same flight can be difficult depending on the destination and time of year, so you may need to be flexible with your dates.
For Asiana and ANA, use the United website to search for award space. For Korean Air you can use their own website, as well as Delta and Air France, but make sure you make note of which airline is operating the flight and do not transfer any points until you’ve located the award space, confirmed it’s available, and placed it on a courtesy hold (if allowed).
Thanks for reading!
Charles Mix
January 29, 2020
Hello, I am trying to book an awards ticket LAX/ZRH/LAX on dates 17 Sept / 27 Sept. I have a little flexibility but not much. I have 225,000 Delta miles, but it seems (if I am looking correctly) that DL SkyMiles is charging 465,000 miles for Delta One RT. KLM and AF are charging over 300,000 miles for their business class awards. You mention in your article that DL partner airlines might offer RT business class award tickets to Europe from 150,000 miles. How might I find these?
Stephen Au
January 30, 2020
Hi Charles,
In general, it’ll be hard to book this flight using Delta miles.
To find these cheaper tickets, you need to have more flexibility and/or better planning in-advance. The best time to search for flights is almost always 11-12 months before departure. The only thing you can do is check back frequently to see if there’s any additional tickets that are released and you can redeem for lower cost.
Charles V Mix
January 31, 2020
Thank you. I appreciate the advice.
George
March 04, 2020
Need to fly DFW to BUH (Bucharest, Romania) around April 15 and back the 22. I have chase miles, Amex points and 180k of united miles. What is my best bet for business class?
Jarrod West
March 04, 2020
Hi George,
Depending on how many Amex Membership Reward points you have, using them to book with ANA would likely be your best bet. The ticket should cost around 90k miles round-trip. Search for availability with United.
cynthia brown
October 26, 2020
We are dreaming ( planning ) to see the Northern Lights in Finland/Lapland in Spring 2022. ( originally planned for 2021 ) Would like to fly from Birmingham Alabama or Atlanta Georgia to Helsinki on business class…Plan to gather the requisite miles to accomplish this in the next bit…. have a ton of UR points; some Delta, American and United. What kind of mile to target? Thanks in Advance.
Jarrod West
October 26, 2020
Hi Cynthia,
I would continue trying to amass as many Chase points as possible – transferable programs offer you the greatest flexibility when it comes time to redeem. American Airline miles are also a great option for flights to Helsinki.
Gail
February 06, 2021
I’d love to visit Riga, Latvia. Are there any cities within a short train trip that would be a better award flight destination to save miles? coming out of New York, Philly or DC. I have United, American. Delta, BA, and Chase miles/points.
Jarrod West
February 08, 2021
Hi Gail,
That depends on what you would categorize as a short train trip. But given Riga’s location, there aren’t really any nearby “major” cities/airport (based on the number of travelers) that would help you save miles. Flying from the east coast of the U.S. would definitely be your best bet though in terms of the outbound flight. If you can locate a cheap cash fare, then using your Chase points and booking through the Chase portal might be a great option.
Carla
September 09, 2022
Such great information! Thank you! I am a newbie to all this! I am wanting to use AA Advantage points from the cheapest airport around Little Rock – DFW, Memphis, etc) to Venice in later July of 2023 for 2 adults ( I am a “senior” in case that matters… ) We will be heading home from Barcelona in early August, 2023. When should I “book” and any other tips you have would be greatly appreciated!
Jane
January 12, 2023
Hello! I’m trying to fly business class for two from IAD to LHR for 7 days in September 2023 and I see availability on United but I don’t see the availability on ANA. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong?
Jarrod West
February 09, 2023
Hi Jane,
If you are planning to book through ANA, try calling their customer support team and giving them the flight details that you are seeing on the United website. If it is bookable through ANA then they can do it manually for you on their end.
Mike
February 06, 2023
Tried finding the Delta One flight from ATL to AMS you referenced.
Searched every day for next 3 months and lowest one way found was 375000 points, where in the hell did you find same flight for 30% the points for 120000 points?
Jarrod West
February 28, 2023
Hi Mike,
That is the best possible pricing if saver space is available. Delta now uses a dynamic pricing model so the prices of award tickets can vary wildly. Due to that, it is best to be as flexible as possible with what dates you fly, and to book as far in advance as you can.
Jay
March 03, 2023
Hi there, searching business class for 2 people on September 11 or thereabouts NYC to European Hub and connect to Corsica. Return 10 days/2 weeks later via Paris. I have close to 174k in Chase points. Dates are somewhat flexible in that date range. Any guidance/strategies would help this honeymoon planner?
Chris Hassan
April 24, 2023
Hey Jay,
You could start by using a point search engine like point.me, which will give you a rough idea of your options, and then dive deeper once you find something that you like. /news/bilt-point-me/
BnB
August 14, 2023
Hi. Am i doing something wrong? All dates for United partners in business showing around 200k to 295k for one way. Is that possible?? Thanks
Jarrod West
August 14, 2023
Hi BnB,
It is likely the dates you are searching for don’t have saver award space available. Try using a tool like seats.aero to locate better award pricing.
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