Three of the more popular Chase airline partners for US travelers are British Airways, Southwest, and United. The reason is because these partners help you to book American Airlines, Southwest, and United flights respectively. What you may not have thought of is how to use Chase Ultimate Rewards with all of the other Chase airline partners.
There are 9 airline programs that partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards. The best ways to Capital One Miles to travel to Europe showed that some airline programs offer more value than others. With Chase, the programs that provide more value are Aer Lingus, British Airways, Flying Blue, Iberia, Singapore Airlines, United, and Virgin Atlantic.
Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards have a ton of value due to the ability to book premium cabins with its airline partners. For flights to Europe, you’ll also be able to book a premium cabin for your next European vacation.
Best Credit Cards To Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards to Travel to Europe:
Compared to American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Marriott, Chase offers the most credit cards that earn transferable points. The points that you earn from these personal and business credit cards can be transferred directly to its airline and hotel partners.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Ink Business Preferred, Chase Ink Business Cash, and Chase Ink Business Unlimited are the credit cards to consider. Each has high earn rates in select categories. For the cash back cards, you can convert the cash back into Chase points if you have an Ultimate Rewards card.
All in all, the best way to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards is to align your spend on credit cards that have the highest earn rate in that category. For example, you’ll want to put your restaurant spend on the Sapphire Reserve to earn 3X points. The bonus earn rates range from 2-5X Chase points per dollar spent.
How to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards to Travel to Europe:
It’s important to note that the transfer ratios from Chase to all of its airline and hotel partners is 1:1. While the transfer ratios are the same, the transfer times are not.
Chase points transfer instantly to Aer Lingus, British Airways, Flying Blue, Iberia, United, and Virgin Atlantic. Singapore Airlines point transfers take 24 hours. Now that we have that covered, let’s highlight how to fly to Europe!
Aer Lingus AerClub
The first non-airline alliance program to make the list is Aer Lingus AerClub. Aer Lingus is best known for the ability to redeem Avios (miles) to book off-peak economy flights to Ireland.
With 26,000 Avios, you can book an off-peak round trip Aer Lingus economy flight from Boston, Chicago, Hartford, Minneapolis, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, and D.C. to Dublin. Other economy flights at this price include Boston and New York to Shannon. You should also consider booking these same flights for 100,000 Avios off-peak round trip in business class.
Off-peak dates in the 2019 Aer Lingus calendar include all of February, March, May, October, and November. Most of January, September, and December are considered off-peak. For the remaining months, the majority of the month is peak pricing.
Search for Aer Lingus flights on Aer Lingus, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees. Another option is to search for flights on United, confirm the same availability on Aer Lingus, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
British Airways Executive Club
British Airways is the first Oneworld program to make the list. US travelers are likely familiar with the ability to redeem British Airways Avios (miles) to fly American Airlines flights.
With 41,500+ British Airways Avios, you can book a roundtrip off-peak economy Oneworld flight to Europe. Another option to consider is booking an Aer Lingus economy flight to Europe with 26,000 British Airways Avios during off-peak dates.
Off-peak dates in the 2019 British Airways calendar include most of January, February, May, June, September, and October. All of March is off-peak. For the remaining months, most of the month is peak pricing.
Search for Aer Lingus and Oneworld flights on British Airways, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees. It’s important to note that off-peak pricing is only offered for Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Iberia flights.
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
Flying Blue is the lone Skyteam program to join this list. The loyalty program of Air France and KLM is best known for the ability to book discounted award flights during the Flying Blue Promo sale.
With 79,500 Flying Blue miles, you can book a roundtrip business class Air France or KLM flight. When not flying directly into Amsterdam or Paris, this flight will normally cost 106,000 Flying Blue miles. However, during the 25% Flying Blue Promo sale, you’ll be able to a flight for less than 80,000 miles round trip.
Search for flights at Air France or KLM, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees. You can also search for flights on Delta, confirm the same availability on Air France or KLM, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Iberia Plus
Another Oneworld member to check out is Iberia. The Iberia Plus program is known for 2 things. One, booking domestic American Airlines flights. Two, booking off-peak Iberia flights to Europe.
With 68,000+ Iberia Avios (miles), you can book a round trip off-peak Iberia business class flight to Europe. Also consider booking a round trip off-peak Iberia economy flight for 34,000+ Iberia Avios (miles).
Off-peak dates in the 2019 Iberia calendar include most of January, March, April, May, June, October, and November. All of February and 1/2 of September are also off-peak. For the remaining months, the majority of the month is peak pricing.
Search for Iberia flights on Iberia, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
The first Star Alliance airline partner on this list is Singapore Airlines. The KrisFlyer program is best known by travelers two things. One, the ability to book Singapore Airlines premium cabin award flights. Two, booking Singapore Airlines flights during the Spontaneous Escapes sale.
With 45,000 KrisFlyer miles, you can book a roundtrip Singapore Airlines economy flight to Europe. While expensive, you can redeem 144,000 KrisFlyer miles to book Singapore Airlines business class to Europe.
Search for Singapore Airlines economy flights on United, confirm the same availability on Singapore Airlines, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees. The process is same for Singapore Airlines business class except that you’ll only search for flights on Singapore Airlines.
United MileagePlus
A second Star Alliance partner to put on your radar is United Airlines. The MileagePlus program is primarily known for the Excursionist Perk. For those not familiar, you can book a free one-way flight on a round trip itinerary between two different United award regions.
For example, let’s say you booked a round trip Austrian Airlines flight between Chicago and Vienna. United will let you book a free one-way flight from Vienna to Amsterdam for free. The free flight is the Excursionist Perk.
With 60,000 United miles, you can book a round trip Star Alliance or United economy flight to Europe. Another interesting, but expensive, option is to use 140,000 United miles to book Lufthansa round trip business class to Europe with no fuel surcharges.
Search for award flights on United, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees. It’s important to note that it can make a ton of sense to use United miles to reduce your taxes and fees. In the case with Lufthansa, we’re talking hundreds of dollars in taxes fees.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Like Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic is not in a major airline alliance. This works in your favor particularly with Delta flights to Europe. The reason is because you can fly Delta to Europe for much less than Delta’s own program will charge.
Pro trip to keep in mind: if you fly Delta into London, the taxes and fees will be substantial. Think hundreds of dollars. Instead, fly into another European destination on Delta to keep your taxes and fees low.
With 100,000 Virgin Atlantic miles, you can book a round trip Delta business class flight to Europe. Round trip Delta economy flights to Europe with 60,000 Virgin Atlantic miles is another option you should consider.
Search for Delta flights on Virgin Atlantic, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees. If the destination does not show up on the Virgin Atlantic website, search Delta flights on Delta, call Virgin Atlantic at 800-365-9500 to confirm availability, book the flight over the phone, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Conclusion on How to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards to Travel to Europe:
Chase continues to push the envelope on both the earning and redeeming side. By offering new credit cards and adding new travel partners, you’ll have a ton of award flight options to book for your next trip to Europe.
What about you? Which Chase airline partners do you recommend to book flights to Europe? How do you use your Chase Ultimate Rewards? Please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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