Ah, the Old Continent. Whether you plan to search for Platform 9 3/4, hunt for trolls, sleep in castles, or just craving a ham baguette, Europe has an undeniable allure for many travelers. Fortunately, it is probably the foreign continent with the greatest number of connections from North America, giving you a plethora of possibilities whether looking to use miles or money.
It can still be tough to score an award ticket during peak travel periods. However, if you have some flexibility in terms of which airline(s) you’ll fly, the various programs below should give you at least a few options…even during busy times.
This guide has been updated for 2025 with award chart changes, surcharge information, and cancellation policies.
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What are transferable currencies?
If you want to use airline miles, it’s great to have transferable points. Transferable point programs let you transfer your points to any of a number of airline programs. This is appealing because it gives you the freedom to book many different flights through many different methods, some of which are strikingly cheaper than others. If you’re not familiar with transferable points programs, please check out our guides:
- Amex Membership Rewards Complete Guide
- Bilt Rewards Complete Guide
- Capital One “Rewards miles” Complete Guide
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide
- Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide
- Wells Fargo Rewards Complete Guide (coming soon)
Tips on “paid” flights to Europe
Using points for a paid fare may cost fewer miles than an award ticket and earn miles. You can sometimes find slightly cheaper pricing via small online travel agencies, though you might be sacrificing customer service if things go wrong with your flights.
It’s also worth noting that fares originating in Europe are often much cheaper; if you plan to visit Europe twice in the next year, it might make sense to consider booking an award ticket to Europe and then booking a paid fare (perhaps using points) from Europe to the US and back to Europe for your second trip. One-way business class flights from Europe to the US can also be quite reasonable, so there are a number of options to consider.
Stacking opportunities may also be available via memberships and credit cards. For example, you may be able to get $200 off a British Airways fare with a cheap AARP membership (anyone can join) and stack it with 10% off for being a Chase cardholder (See: Extreme Stacking British Airways, AA, and Iberia flights). Certain companion tickets can also save you some money when flying to Europe (See: Complete Guide to Travel Companion Tickets).
Best ways to get to Europe using airline miles
The deals below are sorted alphabetically. Remember that the lowest price isn’t the entire picture: be sure to consider which airlines levy fuel surcharges and the ease of amassing the miles for your chosen award. See each description for where to search, how to book, and which partners you can use to transfer. It is always best to confirm availability before transferring miles to be sure that the award you seek can be booked with the miles you intend.
Economy Class
Note that most major airline programs charge either 25K or 30K miles each way in economy class. For example, flights booked through American Airlines AAdvantage or United Mileage Plus generally cost 25K-30K each way for saver awards in economy class (though note that with variable pricing in effect at all three of the major US carriers, it’s always worth checking those airlines’ sites for unadvertised specials). We have focused on programs below that regularly offer better values for those same flights and flights with other partners, which provide a plethora of options between the US and Europe.
ANAÂ (for Star Alliance)
- The short story:Â ANA charges an excellent rate for round trip Star Alliance flights to Europe which is particularly good for those looking to take advantage of a free stopover on a round trip.
- Miles required: 55K round trip in economy class. Fuel surcharges are passed on, but are avoidable with the right carriers.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA’s website.
- Key warnings:Â You must book round trip (that requirement will end starting 6/24/25). High fuel surcharges are assessed by some carriers, others have none or low fuel surcharges. The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features. Note that transfers to ANA are not instant. Transfers typically take 2-3 days from Amex Membership Rewards or a week or more from Marriott, so there is risk of award space disappearing while you wait for a transfer.
- Change and cancellation fees: free to change / 3,000 miles per passenger to cancel.
- No fuel surcharges on:Â Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Etihad, United
- Low fuel surcharges on: Asiana, LOT Polish, Turkish (higher than the others but low by comparison to some)
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
Air France / KLM Flying Blue (for Air France / KLM or other SkyTeam airlines)
- The short story: Monthly Flying Blue Promo Awards can sometimes offer excellent value between the US and Europe.
- Miles required: Varies. Economy class awards are often available from as low as 10K-15K one way during Promo Rewards sales from select airports.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirFrance.us (you’ll need to create a free Flying Blue frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AirFrance.com. Can also book via phone or app.
- Change and cancellation fees: €70.
- Key warnings: Flying Blue does add fuel surcharges, though they are often reasonable.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Marriott Bonvoy, Wells Fargo.
Avios (for British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Iberia)
- The short story:Â You can use British Airways, Iberia, Finnair or Aer Lingus Avios to fly on those airlines for low mileage prices on nonstop routes.
- How to find awards: Search for British Airways available space at britishairways.com for Aer Lingus at United.com, Avios.com or using the award search tool. For Iberia, use the Advanced Avios tool. It's always best to search before transferring.
- How to book awards: Book British Airways flights online at britishairways.com. You can book Aer Lingus over the phone with British Airways, use Avios.com, or use this award search tool. Search for available space on Iberia at iberia.com or use the Advanced Avios Search tool. For Finnair, book at finnair.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: $55. If the taxes & fees on your ticket were less than $55, British Airways allows you to instead forfeit those fees rather than pay $55. However, in practice, they sometimes still refund the taxes.
- Key warnings: Note that it may be worth checking all 3 booking options (Avios.com, BritishAirways.com, and Iberia.com) to determine your best deal, though keep in mind that things like cancellation policies differ (note that Iberia offers no changes or refunds at all on most partner flights whereas British Airways offers cheap cancellation). Aer Lingus and British Airways charge for each segment separately, so multi-segment trips can get expensive quickly (Iberia charges based on cumulative distance each way, which can be cheaper on connecting itineraries).
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo. Also transfer to Qatar and then to BA with: Citi.
Avianca LifeMiles (for Star Alliance)
- The short story:Â Avianca LifeMiles increased award costs in 2025, but sometimes still offers a good deal for Star Alliance awards.
- Miles required: 35-40K one-way between the US and Europe. However, we have seen inexplicable variance, with some routes pricing well under the expected price. Also see: Trying to crack the LifeMiles secret code to Europe.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but also possible.
- Change and cancellation fees: Theoretically $50 within a region, though flights between regions can cost $200 to cancel.
- Key warnings: Availability at LifeMiles.com does not always match what you’ll find at United.com. Phone agents generally do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com and it seems that manual bookings via email have ended. Always check the LifeMiles site before transferring points. Keep in mind that the mandatory $25 booking fee (added to all bookings) is the same whether one-way or round trip, so book round trip to save.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Wells Fargo, Marriott.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (for oneworld partner airlines)
- The short story: Cathay Pacific has reasonable pricing for single-partner oneworld redemptions, particularly those requiring connections since they charge based on cumulative distance.
- Miles required: 27K miles one-way for a cumulative distance of 2,751 to 5,000 miles, which covers much of the US to Europe. The next distance band, which covers up to 7,500 miles, would be 40K miles.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AsiaMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Asia Miles frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AsiaMiles.com. Can also book via phone.
- Change and cancellation fees: $50 or 7,500 miles if done online / $90 or 13,500 miles if done over the phone (fees are per person, per sector) for changes. $120 or 17,000 miles to cancel.
- Key warnings:Â Fuel surcharges are moderate depending on route and origin.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
Etihad Guest (for AA or Brussels Airlines)
- The short story: Etihad Guest offers ok value for flying on partners American Airlines or Brussels Airlines between the US and Europe at the shorter end of its distance-based award chart, but watch out for the punitive cancellation policy.
- Miles required: 28K miles each way for flights of 2,001 to 2,500 miles flown or 34K for flights of 2,501 to 3,000 miles flown.
- How to find awards: You should be able to find and book American Airlines award space on Etihad's website. You may need to search United.com for Brussels Airlines space.
- How to book awards: Book on Etihad's website or call Etihad Guest at 1-877-690-0767.
- Change and Cancellation fees: Etihad has a punitive cancellation policy for all award bookings whereby you’ll lose a significant chunk of miles for cancelling your flight. If you cancel more than 21 days in advance, you’ll lose 25% of the miles used. If you cancel between 7 and 21 days in advance, you’ll lose 50% of the miles used. If you cancel within 7 days but at least 24 hours in advance, you’ll lose 75% of the miles used. Within 24 hours of departure, you’ll lose 100% of the miles used.
- Key warnings:Â Etihad also has a brutal expiration policy: miles will are valid for a period of 18 months, and that can only be extended if you take a flight with Etihad or a partner airline and credit it to Etihad Guest.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Citi Thank You Marriott Bonvoy
Emirates Skywards
- The short story:Â Emirates can be a great deal for economy class between New York (JFK) and Milan or Newark (EWR) and Athens.
- Miles required: Starting at 17.5K one-way.
- How to find awards: Search for availability at Emirates.com.
- How to book awards: Book online at Emirates.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: Date change: $25 / Destination change or cancel: $75
- Key warnings:Â Emirates can have high fuel surcharges and sometimes roundtrip saver awards can be difficult to find.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Citi, Chase, Capital One, Marriott
Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios (for JetBlue)
- The short story:Â Qatar Airways Privilege Club offers reasonable award pricing on JetBlue with no surcharges.
- Miles required: 25K each way. Taxes & fees departing the US are just $10.10.
- How to find awards: Search for space via QatarAirways.com. Theoretically, you should be able to start by finding "P" class space for economy class awards using advanced routing codes via ITA Matrix, though I've found awards available even when ITA Matrix shows no "P" class space, so your best bet may be to hunt around at QatarAirways.com.
- How to book awards: Book on QatarAirways.com
- Change and cancellation fees: $25 more than 24 hours in advance / $100 Between 3-24 hours in advance / Nonrefundable within 3 hours or after departure
- Key warnings: Note that Qatar only charges mandatory taxes ($10.10 departing the US and between ~$40-$100 departing Europe) with no additional carrier-imposed surcharges on JetBlue awards.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi. Also transfer to BA and then to Qatar with: Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo
Qantas Frequent Flyer (for oneworld partner airlines)
- The short story:Â Qantas offers decent pricing than traditional award prices from the US Northeast to Northwestern Europe on itineraries with a distance of 3600 miles or fewer each way.
- Miles required: 20,300 miles for itineraries covering a distance between 2401 miles and 3,600 miles. No fuel surcharges on American. On 8/5/25, this will increase to to 23,300 one-way.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at Qantas.com (you’ll need to create a free Qantas Frequent Flyer account).
- How to book awards: Book online at Qantas.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: 5,000 miles per passenger to change / 6,000 miles per passenger to cancel.
- Key warnings:Â Alaska Mileage Plan will often be a better value if you have direct flights.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
Virgin Atlantic (for Air France / KLM or Virgin Atlantic)
- The short story: Virgin Atlantic offers excellent economy class pricing on Air France / KLM, particularly from the Eastern US to Europe but also for its own flights to the UK (albeit with somewhat expensive surcharges). Premium Economy can also be an excellent deal. See the full Virgin Atlantic award chart for travel on Air France / KLM here.
- Miles required:
- For flying Air France / KLM During "standard season" (not peak) dates, 12,000 miles each way in economy class between the East Coast of the US and Western Europe or 20,000 miles each way to Central Europe (and North Africa). From the Western or Central US to Western Europe is 15,000 miles or Eastern Europe is 23,000 miles.
- For flying on Virgin Atlantic to/from the UK: Prices can start as low as 6,000 points each way to/from the East Coast or 9,000 points fto/rom the West Coast.
- Note that fees are ~$70-80 one-way to London or ~$250 one-way from London
- How to find awards: Search for available space at VirginAtlantic.com
- How to book awards: Book online at VirginAtlantic.com. See: Book Air France & KLM with Virgin Atlantic Miles.
- Change/Cancellation fees: $100. If your original taxes were less than $100, Virgin Atlantic will allow you to simply forfeit the taxes.
- Key warnings:Â The zone-based award chart for Air France / KLM flights can be a bit confusing at first, but the nice thing about booking Air France / KLM flights with Virgin Atlantic miles is that Virgin Atlantic does not charge each segment separately as they do with other partners or their own flights. In this case, you'll pay the region prices even if connecting.
- Transfer from: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Marriott, Bilt, Wells Fargo
Business and First Class
Now that variable pricing is in effect at all of the major US carriers, it’s always worth checking those airlines’ sites for unadvertised specials. We have generally focused on programs below that regularly offer better values for those same flights and flights with other partners, which provide a plethora of options between the US and Europe.
Air Canada Aeroplan
- The short story: Aeroplan uses the same "Atlantic" region for Africa, The Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. They also offer a stopovers on on a one-way award for 5,000 miles, which can present particular value. Lap infants are just $25 CAD or 2,500 miles per direction (far cheaper than what most programs charge). Note that Air Canada and United awards are priced dynamically, with no maximum cap.
- Miles required: 60K-110K each way in business class or 90K-140K each way in first class based on distance (See our complete guide to Aeroplan for more detail). Partner awards no longer incur fuel surcharges.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirCanada.com
- How to book awards: Book online at AirCanada.com. Can also book via phone. Complicated stopover itineraries must be booked via phone. Lap infants must be added to your reservation over the phone.
- Change and cancellation fees: Changes cost "$100" for "Lowest" fare awards; there's no fee to change Flex or Latitude awards. Cancellations cost $150 for most standard awards if done online at AirCanada.com (or $175 online for most awards via a call center). Other flex awards are free to change or cancel.
- Key warnings: You'll pay more miles based on distance, but keep in mind that you can add a stopover on a one-way for 5,000 miles, which makes Aeroplan a better deal if you're looking to visit two countries in one trip (like Spain & India or Germany & South Africa or Portugal & Morocco as examples).
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One, Marriott
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- The short story: Alaska's distance-based award chart offers excellent pricing on shorter business class routes to and from Europe at 45K or 55K miles in business class with a free stopover on a one-way award.
- Miles required: Alaska has a mix of a region-based and distance-based award chart. Between the US and Europe, flights of 1,501 to 3,500 miles flown are 45,000 miles in business class. Flights covering 3,501 to 5,000 miles flown cost 55,000 miles one way in business class. Economy flight can be had for half the price of business class.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AlaskaAirlines.com
- How to book awards: Book online at AlaskaAirlines.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: None for award tickets. There is a non-refundable $12.50 partner booking fee.
- Key warnings: You'll pay more miles based on distance, but those based on the East Coast can make out well. Alaska has started to introduce limited mixed-partner awards to Europe and that should expand throughout this year.
- Transfer from: Bilt Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
American Airlines AAdvantage
- The short story: American Airlines charges 57.5K miles one-way for partner business class awards to/from Europe. It no longer publishes an award chart for its own flights, but connecting itineraries sometimes price very reasonably.
- Miles required: 57.5K miles one-way for partner business class to/from Europe. American does not publish an award chart for its own flights, but we often see itineraries that connect within the US price for less than nonstop awards to Europe.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AA.com.
- How to book awards: Book online at AA.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: None for award tickets. Note that Web Specials can not be changed, but can be cancelled and redeposited without a fee.
- Key warnings: Watch out for high surcharges on British Airways awards to/from the UK (surcharges can be much more reasonable departing other European countries on British Airways). Note that nonstop routes on American Airlines-operated flights to Europe can often cost an exorbitant number of miles, but connecting from a non-hub within the United States can sometimes drastically reduce the cost of an award.
- Transfer from: Marriott Bonvoy
Air France / KLM Flying Blue
- The short story: Monthly Flying Blue Promo Awards and even regular standard awards can sometimes offer excellent value between the US and Europe.
- Miles required: Varies. Air France no longer has an award chart, but business class awards between North America and Europe start at 60K one way (when you can find them). Promo awards often offer better value, with business class awards sometimes available in the 40K’s.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirFrance.us (you’ll need to create a free Flying Blue frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AirFrance.com. Can also book via phone.
- Change and cancellation fees: €70.
- Key warnings:Â Air France / KLM do add fuel surcharges, though they are often reasonable (about $150-$250 in taxes and fees each way). Business availability at the lowest price levels has been terrible recently.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Marriott Bonvoy, Wells Fargo.
ANA Mileage Club
- The short story:Â ANA offers one of the best deals around for round-trip business class to Europe on Star Alliance airlines.
- Miles required: 100K round trip in business class. Fuel surcharges are passed on, but are avoidable with the right carriers.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA’s website.
- Change and cancellation fees: free to change / 3,000 miles per passenger to cancel.
- Key warnings:Â You must book round trip (it will finally be possible to book one-way awards starting 6/24/25). High fuel surcharges are assessed by some carriers, others have none or low fuel surcharges. The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features. Note that transfers to ANA are not instant. Transfers typically take 2-3 days from Amex Membership Rewards or a week or more from Marriott, so there is risk of award space disappearing while you wait for a transfer.
- No fuel surcharges on:Â Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Etihad, United
- Low fuel surcharges on: Asiana, LOT Polish, Turkish (higher than the others but low by comparison to some)
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
Avianca LifeMiles
- The short story:Â Avianca LifeMiles offers competitive-ish business class pricing for Star Alliance awards to Europe, with no fuel surcharges.
- Miles required: 69-80K each way in business class with no fuel surcharges. Note that there is some variance and see: Avianca LifeMiles’ awesome mixed-cabin award pricing for ways to fly for even fewer miles).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account) or with any of several tools that support LifeMiles (see: Which award search tool is best?)
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but also possible.
- Change and cancellation fees: Theoretically $50 within a region, though flights between regions can cost $200 to cancel.
- Key warnings: Availability at LifeMiles.com does not always match what you’ll find at United.com. Phone agents generally do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. Always check the LifeMiles site before transferring points. Keep in mind that the mandatory $25 booking fee (added to all bookings) is the same whether one-way or round trip, so book round trip to save.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Wells Fargo, Marriott.
Emirates Skywards
- The short story:Â Emirates charges a very reasonable number of miles for business or first class between New York (JFK) and Milan or Newark (EWR) and Athens, with round-trip business pricing being particularly attractive.
- Miles required: 87K one-way or 108K round-trip in business class. First Class is 102K one-way and 204K round-trip.
- How to find awards: Search for availability at Emirates.com.
- How to book awards: Book online at Emirates.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: Date change: $25 / Destination change or cancel: $75
- Key warnings:Â Emirates can have high fuel surcharges and sometimes roundtrip saver awards can be difficult to find.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Citi, Chase, Capital One, Marriott
Iberia Avios
- The short story:Â Iberia charges as few as 34K miles one-way in business class on its own flights from New York, Boston, Chicago, or DC to Madrid during off-peak season. Sometimes they run a winter travel promotion for even less. We don't recommend using Iberia for partners awards as they completely nonrefundable.
- Miles required: Varies by distance, but starts at 34K during off-peak dates or 50K during peak dates on Iberia metal. Fuel surcharges are very mild (Around $175 in total taxes & fees round trip. If booking one-way, surcharges are higher leaving Europe than flying to Europe.)
- How to find awards: Search Iberia.com using the Advanced Avios Search Tool
- How to book awards: Book at Iberia.com after using the Advanced Avios Search Tool.
- Key warnings:Â Iberia's website can be challenging to navigate and availability can be challenging to find. There are some surcharges, but at under a hundred bucks from the US to Europe, they are much milder than when using British Airways Avios. Note that Iberia's award chart is distance-based, so itineraries with connections will require more miles. Sometimes connecting itineraries will have availability even when the nonstop legs between the US and Spain are not available on their own.
- Change and cancellation fees: €25/$40 for Blue, Premium Economy, or Business Class (we’ve had recent data points that suggest that this is $40 for US customers despite there being no mention of it on the website). Only on flights operated by Iberia, Iberia Express, and Air Nostrum, partner awards are nonrefundable.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Chase, Wells Fargo. Also transfer to BA and then to Iberia with: Capital One, Citi
Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios (for JetBlue Mint)
- The short story:Â Qatar Airways Privilege Club offers reasonable award pricing on JetBlue, which can be a great way to book Mint (business) class to Europe.
- Miles required: 78K each way. Taxes & fees departing the US are $10.10.
- How to find awards: You can search for space via QatarAirways.com, but it is easier to start by finding "I" class space for business class awards. You can find this via a paid tool like ExpertFlyer or with advanced routing codes via ITA Matrix. See the video instructions in this post for detailed instructions about how to find and book space.
- How to book awards: Book on QatarAirways.com
- Change and cancellation fees: $25 more than 24 hours in advance / $100 Between 3-24 hours in advance / Nonrefundable within 3 hours or after departure
- Key warnings: Note that Qatar only charges mandatory taxes ($10.10 departing the US and between ~$40-$100 departing Europe) with no additional carrier-imposed surcharges on JetBlue awards.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi. Also transfer to BA and then to Qatar with: Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo
Qantas Frequent Flyer (for oneworld partner airlines)
- Miles required: Qantas charges 57,000 for American Airlines business class awards with a distance of 2401-3600 miles each way. This includes the Northeast US to much of Western Europe. Starting 8/5/25, this will increase to 68,400 each way.
- See the full award chart here. No fuel surcharges on American Airlines or Alaska.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at Qantas.com (you’ll need to create a free Qantas Frequent Flyer account).
- How to book awards: Book online at Qantas.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: 5,000 miles per passenger to change / 6,000 miles per passenger to cancel.
- Key warnings: Alaska Mileage Plan or AA might be a better value if you have direct flights (though this varies with precise distance).
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
Turkish Miles & Smiles
- The short story:Â Turkish has decimated rates to and from Europe on partners, but still offers what could be a reasonable value on its own flights, particularly when they offer expanded award availability to their own members.
- Miles required: 65K miles each way in business class. Note that connecting itineraries on Turkish price as the sum of both segments, making them much more expensive. Partner awards are much less competitive at 85-90K each way between the US and Europe.
- How to find awards: Go to turkishairlines.com and click the button to book an award ticket, then log in to your account and search. Note that there may be bookable options on Star Alliance partners that do not appear on the site but which may be bookable via email.
- How to book awards: Book online at turkishairlines.com or over the phone at 1-800-874-8875 or via email.
- Change and cancellation fees: The fee to change or cancel is $70 per passenger, though I've been unsuccessful in finding agents who know how to change a partner award. Thus cancelling for $70 is your best bet.
- Key warnings:Â Turkish is sometimes unable to see Star Alliance availability for no explicable reason. No fuel surcharges on Air Canada, United, Avianca, or SAS. Low fuel surcharges on LOT Polish and Turkish.
- Transfer from: Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Citi Thank You, Marriott Bonvoy
Virgin Atlantic (Virgin Atlantic or Delta)
- The short story:Â Virgin Atlantic often offers Delta flights for many fewer miles than Delta would charge for the same itineraries, which used to make them an attractive option for booking Delta One to Europe. However, they have unfortunately added very high surcharges to these flights, which makes them far less appealing than they once were. Surprisingly, Virgin can also be a very good deal for flights on its own metal now that it prices them dynamically.
- Miles required:
- Delta flights: 57.5K miles each way in business class (for direct flights) between the East Coast and Central US and Europe or 77.5K between the West Coast and Europe in peak season. Off-peak prices are 47.5K / 67.5K.
- Virgin flights: Prices start at 29K each way in business class and can go up to the stratosphere due to dynamic pricing.
- Surcharges can add an additional $1000+ each way.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at VirginAtlantic.com. See: Book Delta with Virgin Atlantic miles online.
- How to book awards: Book online at VirginAtlantic.com.
- Change/Cancellation fees: $100. If your original taxes were less than $100, Virgin Atlantic will allow you to simply forfeit the taxes.
- Key warnings: Virgin Atlantic charges each segment separately, so they are not a good choice for connecting itineraries. Note that Virgin Atlantic adds significant surcharges on Delta flights to and from Europe. Some major European airports are not loaded into Virgin Atlantic’s website, so you may have to call to check availability / book.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
United
- The short story:Â United charges a relatively hefty sum of miles for business class flights between the US and Europe (~88K on partner airlines), but the lack of fuel surcharges can be a major advantage for booking partners like Lufthansa...and free changes / cancellation are appealing. Also note that the excursionist perk could get you a free flight within Europe if your travel begins and ends in the US.
- Miles required: Starting at 88K one-way in business class between the US and Europe on partner airlines and 80K on United. Economy awards start at ~26-27K.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com.
- How to book awards: Book online at United.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: There are no fees to change or cancel award tickets.
- Key warnings:Â United has eliminated its award chart, so you may see many different prices for award tickets.
- Transfer from: Chase Ultimate Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Bilt Rewards
List of transfer partners (how to get the miles)
The following chart shows the available transferable points programs for each of the above airline frequent flyer programs:
| Rewards Program | Amex Transfer Ratio | Chase Transfer Ratio | Citi Transfer Ratio | Marriott Transfer Ratio | Capital One Transfer Ratio | Brex Transfer Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus Avios | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 via Qatar | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 via BA | |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | ||
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K |
| ANA Mileage Club | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | ||||
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 3K to 1K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K | |
| British Airways Avios | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 via Qatar | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | |
| Emirates Skywards | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K |
| Etihad Guest | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | ||
| Iberia Avios | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 via Qatar | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 via BA | |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K | |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 via BA | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 via BA | |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | |||
| United MileagePlus | 1 to 1 | 60K to 30K | ||||
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 |
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How far in advance does Turkish release award space (even in their own program)? I thought it was 350 days, but I’m looking at the end of March next year, and there’s nothing so far. Does it have to do w/ the Summer 2026 schedule? thanks
Booking partner awards via Iberia are nonrefundable. Caution. This should be added to the Avios section in this post.
That’s a key point, which is why we usually only recommend Iberia for awards on Iberia flights (which is noted in the post).
not sure where to ask this question .. Next year I’ll be going to Arusha (ARK) Africa from Orlando (MCO) and returning about two weeks later from Nairobi (NBO). Dates not settled. We are currently Delta Platinum, but that will run out at end of 2025, so I need to get equivalent status somewhere before then. We have around 750,000 Delta points, 500,000 Marriott points, 200,000 Chase points, and 1.5 Million Hilton points. (maybe 200,000 Southwest). Given the length of journey, looking to fly at least business class for majority of flight. How would you engineer status and point movement to minimize dollar spend ? EG it appears to do this on Emirates would be about $ 11k /pp. Thanks
You mentioned for Emirates: “Miles required: 87K one-way or 108K round-trip in business class. First Class is 102K one-way and 204K round-trip.”
Is 108K round-trip a typo? I’m seeing 174K round-trips.
No, it’s not, but that’s the price for roundtrip saver awards – which we note can be hard to find. If you’re seeing higher prices, one or both legs is not a saver award. I think it’s easiest to look for the one-way saver awards (which are higher-priced), then pair two of those into a roundtrip search. You’ll then see the lower price reflected.
No plans for TAP?
I have 45k TAP miles that expire May 31st.
How on earth do I use them?
Thks.
https://frequentmiler.com/recent/tag/best-ways-to-get-to – this link is broken, FYI,
Thanks – I’ve just fixed that
I consistently find saver partner awards that are bookable with UA but not Aeroplan. Just booked 2 J tickets operated by Air Canada, and Aeroplan did not even see 1 of them (well, it wanted 250k each). The irony…
It’d be great to separate these out for West coast v/s East coast+Central US, as these posts tend to anchor more on east coast (coz of generally much better award availability). But for us West Coasters (non-LA even more so), it’d be helpful to see what are the best ways geared to us.
I know the overwhelming majority of people are gladly upsold into discounted premium cabins these days, but there are still some who resist in order to keep travel costs down. For them, I have provided some comments to the economy section of this post:
1- you say “American Airlines AAdvantage or United Mileage Plus generally cost 25K-30k each way for saver awards.” Sadly this is not true any more for United, since last year’s devaluation, saver awards to/from Europe are in the neighborhood of 44k.
2- In the Flying Blue section you say “Economy class awards are often available from as low as 10K-15K one way during Promo Rewards sales from select airports” Sadly since the 2023 devaluation, Flying Blue Promos only go down to 15k, not 10K anymore from select airports these days. 20K being the common lowest regular starting price, when before it was 15k.
3- The Avios section should at least identify Aer Lingus and the sweet spot from the northeast (PHL, BOS, EWR, JFK, CLE, ORD, MSP). 13k to Dublin, 19.5k to Europe as far west as Vienna where Aer Lingus flies.
Thanks. I know that Aer Lingus is supposedly transitioning award booking to its own site from the Avios site. Not sure if that’s live now. Is there any price difference for Aer Lingus flights when booking on the various Avios-participating airlines? And if you go to, say, the BA website, will they readily display Aer Lingus award options?
The Aer Lingus award options I have seen at 13K/19.5K are on Aer Lingus flights only. The BA metal awards booked through Aer Lingus are similar to BA award prices. I don’t remember BA showing AerLingus flights on their sight, but I could be wrong.
I’ve seen Aer Lingus nonstops on BA, but they seem to be scarce and random. It would seem better to book them directly with Aer Lingus. But is Aer Lingus’ new award booking tool working yet (and is it working effectively)?
It looks like the award tool is starting to work. I can’t seem to book a two segment itinerary, but single segment itineraries seem to be possible now.
Thanks for the feedback!
When did Flying Blue totally end 11,250mi awards? I guess I missed that. We saw them in September and October of 2023. I admittedly haven’t kept a close eye on them for the past few months.
Side note: I find it interesting to consider your point about people being “gladly upsold” to premium cabins — yet if United is charging 44K for an economy class award to Europe, business class isn’t really an upsell when there are some programs charging 35K-45K in business class! That’s part of the reason I do accept the “upsell” — in many cases, the difference is pretty small. If business class were 3 or 4 times the cost of a similar economy class award, I’d probably lean more toward an economy award. At 1.5x or 2x economy (or as is the case with United, sometimes for less than the cost of an economy class award!), I do admittedly accept that upsell for the increase in comfort.
Wait, wait — before you tell me that Flying Blue charges 20K ordinarily or 15K with Promo Rewards, let me add that they also add about $80 in surcharges. The premium to fly premium is sometimes a pretty small upsell, all things considered.
But your core point that plenty of people want to stretch their miles as far as possible is of course true and understood.
I’ll make some updates here thanks to your comments. Quick note: United appears to be charging either 39.4K or 40K in economy on the routes that they serve (closer to 44K on partner awards). Interestingly, they are charging 50K for Premium Economy. While 50K isn’t a particularly good price for premium economy to/from Europe, availability looks like it may be pretty decent — and if I were considering spending 40K or 44K, I could see the appeal of accepting the upsell there I suppose.
After widening my search options, I did find some United transatlantic flights award prices at 30K and even below that. I guess, it is just my normal routes that always price around 44k when they used to price at 30k to 33k. Thanks for making me dig a little deeper.
I appreciate all your arguments to defend those who are upsold to discounted premium cabins, it reminds me of my sister-in-law’s mental gymnastics when she bought a car and declared “she got a good price.” Just because Turkish charges 55k to get across the Atlantic in economy, does not mean that you are not being upsold when you fly to Madrid on Iberia for 35k in business when a seat in economy on the same plane costs 22.5k miles. The point is that you would never book that Turkish flight, a reasonable comparison would be the lowest business price vs the lowest economy price to make a fair determination if you are willing to pay that price difference for the product being upsold. I don’t denigrate those who chose to pay a little extra for extra comfort, I have turned left on many occasions, thanks to my employer and/or status. I know it’s nice. I purposefully (and accurately, I believe) termed it “gladly upsold into discounted premium cabins” because that it what it is. And we should each be aware of it and make a deliberate conscious decision to do so or not do so.
My core point is not necessarily about stretching my miles, it’s about getting the best price, because after all, points, especially transferable ones can be converted to cash which can be invested or spent as one desires.
When United jacked up their prices on my regular route, I stopped booking transatlantic flights through them. Excursionist perk could make it worth considering, if my plans permit, otherwise its Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic, Flying Blue and more often than not, its cash. In 2023, I crossed the Atlantic 4 times, all on Flying Blue awards. Then the Flying Blue devaluation happened (which was actually a price drop for those on the west coast and those who fly premium cabins as you reported on FM on the Air). This year I have booked 3 trips, two round trips to Vienna with cash (SAS, $564 in Apr & $581 in Aug) and a third RT via two one-way awards, flying out with Flying Blue award and returning via a Virgin Atlantic award. From my perspective, it is not often that economy award pricing beats the cash price (even in points) when one uses creative ways to cash out transferable currencies.
Great post, but I would warn anyone who wants to go to Europe in early summer — from say late June to July — that it is extremely unlikely they will find reasonably priced award tickets. I’ve never seen published fares higher (plan on spending $1500 from the East Coast for a revenue ticket with a seat and checked bag) and this has impacted the availability of “regular” award tickets. Virgin did just have a half-off sale to London (now ended) which is the best I’ve seen so far, and you can hunt the most obscure routes on FlyingBlue and hope to find unicorn flights. AA also has a few 27,000 mile award tickets from Paris through PHL (use their award map tool to find them). And maybe there might be a few plausible Avios awards on Iberia and Aer Lingus? I can’t imagine anyone finding (and being willing to pay for) biz class award tickets. My best advice for non-persistent travellers: postpone your trip to late August, when there’s more availability.
Fantastic, extremely helpful research, Nick! Under ANA key warnings, you might mention that if you end up not going, your ANA miles will have a hard expiration.
I just went through booking a trip for earlier this month from the US to Europe in business class.
I found two one-way business class awards on Austrian Air with Lifemiles (63K each plus about $11 in fees). This was ORD-VIE.
I found a return flight CDG-IAD (visiting family) with 2 business class awards for 50K each but about $350 in fees/taxes on Air France using Flying Blue.
Unfortunately while on the trip I got sick in Munich and after sort of recovering I wanted to be home and managed to find 2 more business class awards from Munich to Chicago using LifeMiles on United (Polaris) with very low fees.
I put in a request to get the Flying Blue award canceled. Will see how long that takes. Unfortunately I can’t get those back to Chase but will need to use them for some other trip.
Thanks for the write up. You guys and Award Wallet have the best content nowadays without a lot of other useless material on the blog.
Thank you!
Re: that LifeMiles award — FYI, you must have paid $36 in fees — LifeMiles has a $25 booking fee that’s added on to award taxes.
Re: Flying Blue: It’ll happen. I’ve had it work automatically and reasonably quickly, but then I also had one last year where I didn’t get the refund (of either the miles or the money) for a few months. I kept meaning to call and follow up and just didn’t get around to it. Then, one day, I got an email from them apologizing for the long delay and saying that they were waiving the ~$50 per passenger cancellation fee (x 4 passengers!) because they had been so slow. I considered that a win!
@Nick Reyes did you forget Turkish gutted its award chart? Perhaps it’s just a little unclear, but with additive segment pricing TK’s finished these days right?
Weird — no, I did not, and I edited that section before republishing this. For some reason, my changes didn’t save (I just went back into the editor and the changes were auto-saved, but not published — so I was able to just hit “update”). Weird that everything else I edited updated properly — and as you probably say, I had a line saying “not the value it once was” above the table with the info, and that published properly. Very weird. Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for the update Nick!
[…] Europe has an undeniable allure for many travelers. Fortunately, it is quite probably the foreign continent with the greatest number of connections from North America, giving you a plethora of possibilities whether looking to use miles or money. It can still be tough to score an award ticket during peak travel periods, but if you have some flexibility in terms of which airline(s) you’ll fly, it should give you at least a few options even during peak times. ➡️ Read more […]