Europe on sale with money or miles

Between cheap airfares and Iberia’s current promotion, there are a multitude of ways to get to Europe cheaply in 2017. Competition has meant that airfares on all alliances have been available to Europe at very competitive prices lately. On the other hand, Iberia’s current promotion means some fantastic business class pricing Europe on miles.

Airfares available today

Boston to Paris — from $354-368 Round Trip

IcelandAir has this on sale from $368 on most sites on many dates:

If you’re comfortable booking with one of the lesser-known OTAs listed on Momondo, similar flights are available for $354:

Also on Momondo, Oneworld flights are available around $379:

Best pricing on this route appears to be from mid-May to mid-June. Loyalty Traveler covers more on this sale including Boston to Frankfurt, Munich, and Amsterdam for $419-$429, though not all fares are still available.

Miami and Fort Lauderdale to Paris from $348:

Loyalty Traveler also has details on flights from Miami and Fort Lauderdale to Paris from March to May for $348-$448 on Star Alliance carriers.

Los Angeles or San Francisco to Copenhagen from $322:

A few days ago, View from the Wing covered sales running from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Copenhagen from $309. While the pricing from most sites has gone up to about $372 on the dates remaining, Momondo still comes up with pricing starting at $322:

From the west coast, this represents a great value on Star Alliance carriers. If you prefer to fly three out of four flights on Swiss Airlines, that’s available for $12 more:

Boston, New York and other cities to Paris, Scandinavia, Madrid, and others:

There are a LOT of other possibilities.  A quick look at the map view on Google flights shows a number of European cities available from Boston for under $400 round trip:

Flights from New York City on the same dates are just a bit more to some destinations:

Intra-Europe Flight Deal:

If you’re looking for other European destinations and you accept the limitations of a budget carrier, Secret Flying has details on a Vueling promo code for up to €30 off base fares for 2 passengers or more. I haven’t personally flown on Vueling, but I’ve flown on other European discount carriers (WOW Air, Ryanair, EasyJet) and they can provide a very cheap option for intra-Europe travel. Of course, there will be fees tacked on to your fare for things like checked bags, seat selection, etc.  The last time I flew on WOW Air, I paid with my Chase Ritz-Carlton visa and got the fees for everything from checked bags to upgraded seat selection credited back as part of its annual travel credit.

Iberia Award Seat Sale

As reported by One Mile at a Time, Iberia is having a fantastic sale on award seats through February 14th, 2017 — 25% off economy and business class seats on select routes on Iberia-operated flights:

• To/from Madrid to Zurich, London, Wien and Moscow (valid for travel through June 14)
• To/from Madrid to Bogota, Medellin, Johannesburgo, Miami, New York, Boston, Chicago, Panama, Shanghai, Mexico and Lima (valid for travel through June 14, except the month of April)
• To/from Madrid to Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires and Havana (valid for travel May 1 through June 14)

This means that a one-way business class ticket from Chicago, New York, or Boston for 25,500 miles one-way with no fuel surcharges. That’s a terrific value for business class if you can find availability. An interesting note — though Iberia has a distance-based chart and Chicago would technically be a bracket longer (and therefore more expensive) than New York and Boston, it seems that Iberia prices it as the same with New York and Boston. I haven’t personally redeemed this route, but multiple sources report this to be the case. YMMV. Miami would price at 31,875 miles one-way — still a bargain.

Another route I find interesting is Madrid to Johannesburg in business class for 31,875 miles one-way. For business class from Europe to South Africa, that is also a bargain price.

As a reminder, Iberia is an Amex Membership Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest transfer partner — though transfers aren’t instant, so beware that I can’t guarantee your points will transfer in time. You may also be able to transfer points from British Airways. See this One Mile at a Time post for an extensive rundown of Iberia’s program, including information on transfers.

Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.