Europe is a continent with incredible diversity. From the food, people, and culture, there’s a near limitless list of things to do, see, eat, and drink. Having visited a number of European countries, I can attest to this first hand. There’s nothing better than enjoying Sangria on the beach in Barcelona, having coffee in a cafe on a busy street in Paris, or tasting wine in Italy.
What’s great about Europe for US travelers is the number of major airports offering nonstop flights to Europe from the US. Oneworld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam airline partners, as well as non-alliance airlines like Aer Lingus have a ton of flights giving you plenty of award flight options.
The Best Credit Cards to Use to Travel to Europe
There are 5 transferable point programs in American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Marriott. Each program offers personal and business credit cards that earn points that can be transferred directly to its airline and hotel partners.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express Platinum (Learn More Here), and American Express Gold (Learn More Here) are personal credit cards to consider. These cards have high earn rates in select bonus categories that will help you to quickly earn points to book an award flight to Europe.
Business owners should check out the Chase Ink Business Preferred or the American Express Business Platinum (Learn More Here). Mirroring the personal credit cards, these business cards also have high earn rates in select bonus categories.
Best Ways to Fly to Europe
As you’re reviewing the programs in this list, keep in mind that you can book one-way flights for half of the miles shown below. The only exception to this is ANA Mileage Club that requires you to book round trip partner airline flights. With that said, here are a few of the best ways to fly to Europe.
ANA Mileage Club
Japan-based ANA is a Star Alliance program with a ton to offer. For those of you looking to fly to Europe, ANA offers a competitive award price option for both economy and business class flights.
The one drawback when using ANA miles is that you’ll be on the hook for the fuel surcharges. Most Star Alliance partners have no or low fuel surcharges so this won’t be an issue. If you’re looking to fly airlines with high fuel surcharges like Austrian Airlines or Lufthansa, consider using Avianca LifeMiles or United MileagePlus miles instead.
With 88,000 ANA miles, you can book a round trip Star Alliance business class flight. Another option to consider booking is a round trip Star Alliance economy flight with 55,000 ANA miles.
Search for award availability on United, confirm the same availability on ANA, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Avianca LifeMiles
Colombia-based Avianca Airlines is an airline you may not have considered using to fly to Europe. Its LifeMiles program can be confusing at times, however, when you learn its quirks there’s a ton of upside. One of the many reasons to use Avianca LifeMiles is because you will not pay fuel surcharges.
The biggest obstacle when using Avianca LifeMiles is award availability. Unfortunately, the lifemiles.com website doesn’t show the same award availability as you’ll find on Aeroplan or United. Add on the fact that Avianca agents are known to be challenging to work with during the award search process.
With 126,000 Avianca LifeMiles, you can book a round trip Star Alliance business class flight to Europe. An expensive but high value option is to redeem 174,000 Avianca Lifemiles to book a round trip Star Alliance first class flight to Europe.
Search for award availability on United, confirm the same availability on lifemiles.com, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Korean Air SkyPass
South Korea-based Korean Air is a SkyTeam airline partner that works great if you’re looking to fly to Europe. Korean Air has competitive award prices on a number of routes including economy and business class flights to Europe.
One of the downsides when redeeming Korean Air miles is the fuel surcharges. In the case of flights to Europe, it’s hard to avoid paying fuel surcharges but you can minimize them by flying Delta.
With 80,000 Korean Air miles, you can book a round trip business class SkyTeam flight to Europe. Also consider redeeming 50,000 Korean Air miles to to book a round trip economy SkyTeam flight to Europe.
Search for award availability on Delta, confirm the same availability on Korean Air, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees. You can also call Korean Air at 800-438-5000 to book the flight over the phone.
Air France KLM Flying Blue
Flying Blue is the loyalty program of Air France and KLM. This program works great if you’re flying through Paris (CDG) or Amsterdam (AMS) to another European city. The miles you’ll be required to pay will be significantly lower by not stopping in Paris or Amsterdam.
A downside to keep in mind when redeeming Flying Blue miles is that you’re dealing with dynamic pricing. This means there is no award chart. Instead, the number of Flying Blue miles you’ll need is tied to the cash cost of the flight.
With 106,000 Flying Blue miles, you can book a round trip Air France or KLM business class flight to Europe. An even better option is book these flights during the Flying Blue 25-50% off promo sale. You’d be looking at less than 80,000 Flying Blue miles round trip at a maximum during the sale.
Search for award availability on Air France or KLM, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees. You can also search for flights on Delta, and then head to Air France or KLM to finish the booking process.
Asiana Airlines Asiana Club
Another South Korean airline to check out is Asiana Airlines. It’s a member of the Star Alliance, which works out well due to the number of Star Alliance members based in Europe.
Two drawbacks to take note of are that you can’t book partner airline flights online and Asiana Airlines passes on fuel surcharges to you. With respect to fuel surcharges, this really comes into play if you’re wanting to fly Austrian Airlines or Lufthansa.
With 80,000 Asiana Airlines miles, you can book a round trip Star Alliance business class flight to Europe. You can also book a round trip Star Alliance first class flight to Europe with 100,000 Asiana Airlines miles.
Search for award availability on United, call Asiana Airlines at 800-227-4262 to confirm award availability, book the flight over the phone, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Air Canada Aeroplan
The Aeroplan program will see changes in 2020 when it merges with Air Canada. In the meantime, it’s an interesting program to use to book premium cabin flights to Europe.
A downside when redeeming Aeroplan miles is fuel surcharges. As previously mentioned, Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa have high fuel surcharges so you’ll want to avoid booking these flights.
With 110,000-115,000 Aeroplan miles, you can book a round trip Star Alliance business class flight. The number of miles required will depend upon the European country that you’re flying to.
Search for flights on United, confirm the same availability on Aeroplan, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Conclusion on How to Fly to Europe with Points and Miles:
For those of you looking to travel to Europe from the US, you’re in luck. There’s a near limitless supply of award program booking options that will ensure you can use the miles you want to fly the airline you want.
The name of the game for me is to earn transferable points. With these types of points, you have maximum flexibility in booking your next European vacation.
What about you? Do you use points and miles to travel to Europe? Which programs do you participate in? Please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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