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Now is the time to book that trip to Europe! Luckily, you have tons of options in getting there with points and miles. And while it can be tough to score an award ticket during peak travel periods, with a little bit of legwork and some flexibility in which airline(s) you’ll fly, the programs below can get you there.
Welcome to our series on how to get to the regions of the world using points and miles. The article below focuses on Europe using miles – including the best mileage deals to the region using various credit card transfer partners. Please use this as a guide to finding some great deals. If you’re interested in other regions, choose from the articles below. Other destinations:
Updated 2025 with award chart changes, surcharge information, and cancellation policies.
Zac at The Louvre in Paris 2021
Transferable Currencies When it comes to airline miles, transferable points are the holy grail. Transferable points programs let you transfer your points to any of a number of airline programs giving you the freedom to book many different flights through a variety of methods. This can be the difference between saving hundreds of dollars and saving thousands.
If you’re not familiar with transferable points programs, please check out the guides below:
Read this first: Award Search Tools Quick disclaimer: If you struggle to find award flights, want to save time, or feel overwhelmed reading this article, I highly recommend checking out a tool that can search award flights for you. This can turn a beginner into an expert without spending 10,000 hours. Using an award booking search tool can be a huge time saver, while also erasing the learning curve.
There are some great tools out there. Lately, my favorite tool for beginners is PointsYeah.com . It is really fast, includes multiple-date searches, and has a free version! I previously recommended Point.me as my favorite, and I still think it is the best for step-by-step tutorials for the absolute award booking and points transfer beginner. But, you’ll quickly grow frustrated by how slow each search takes with Point.me, and you have to search one day at a time.
Read our review of Point.me here. If you want to check out the tool, here is our link to sign up for point.me . You can use the promo code TRAVELFREELY5 to get your first month for $5. To get the deal, select the Standard Plan (don’t select “I Have a code”). When you reach the checkout page, enter TRAVELFREELY5 and the $12 per month will become $5 (or use the code TRAVELFREELY20 to receive a 20% discount if you choose the annual plan).
Best ways to get to Europe using airline miles (in economy class)The deals below have been listed alphabetically. As you click on the provided links and conduct your search, it’s important to remember that the lowest price isn’t the entire picture: be sure to consider baggage fees, which airlines levy fuel surcharges, and how easily you can accumulate 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 seat availability before transferring miles to be sure that the award you seek can be booked with the miles you plan to use.
Note that most major airline programs charge either 25K or 30K miles each way to/from Europe 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 they’ve all recently adopted variable pricing, so it’s worth checking those airlines’ sites for unadvertised specials).
The focus below is on programs that regularly offer better values to and from Europe for those same flights and flights with partner airlines.
ANA Mileage Club® (for flights on Star Alliance member airlines) The short story: 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: You MUST book round trip (that requirement will end starting 6/24/25). Note: some carriers have high fuel surcharges, meaning more out-of-pocket expense for you. Others have none or low fuel surcharges. The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly and the search features can be tricky. Transfers to ANA 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: Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Etihad, Scandinavian Airlines, UnitedLow fuel surcharges on : ANA, Asiana, LOT Polish, Turkish (higher than the others but low by comparison to some)Transfer from : Amex , Marriott Air France / KLM Flying Blue® (for flights on Air France / KLM or other SkyTeam member airlines) The short story: Monthly Flying Blue Promo Awards can sometimes offer excellent value between the US and Europe.Miles required : It depends. Promo awards often offer good value, with economy class awards starting as low as 10K-15K one way during some sales from select airports. Some searches unveil good value on travel with SkyTeam partners like Delta or Alitalia.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: Air France / KLM do add fuel surcharges, though they are often reasonable.Transfer from : Amex , Bilt, Capital One , Chase , Citi , Marriott , Wells Fargo Avianca LifeMiles® (Star Alliance) The short story: 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, if you’re lucky, you may find an offer for less than the expected price.How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you must 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 possible.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 , Marriott , Wells Fargo Avios (for British Airways, Aer Lingus, Finnair, or Iberia) The short story: You can use British Airways, Aer Lingus, Finnair, or Iberia 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. Search 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 britishaiways.com or over the phone at 1-800-452-1201. 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 , Marriott , Wells Fargo. Also transfer to Qatar and then to BA with: Citi . Cathay Pacific Asia Miles™ (for flying a single oneworld partner airline) The short story: Cathay Pacific has reasonable pricing for single-partner oneworld redemptions, particularly those flight itineraries requiring connections since they charge based on cumulative distance. (Click here to calculate flight mileage.)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 must create a free Asia Miles frequent flyer account).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: Fuel surcharges are moderate depending on flight route and origin.Transfer from : Amex , Bilt, Capital One , Citi , Marriott The short story: Emirates can be a great deal for economy class between New York (JFK) and Milan or Newark (EWR) and Athens.Miles required : Starts 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: $75Key warnings: C an have high fuel surcharges and sometimes roundtrip saver awards can be difficult to find.Transfer from : Amex , Bilt, Capital One , Chase , Citi , Marriott Etihad Guest® (for American Airlines or Brussels Airlines) The short story: Etihad Guest offers average 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 can also search for American Airlines award space at Qantas.com. Note that you could also use the British Airways site, but it is known to sometimes show phantom AA availability (which means it shows available seats that you can’t purchase). You may need to search United.com for Brussels Airlines space.How to book awards : Once you find the flight you wish to book, you must call Etihad Guest at 1-877-690-0767.Change and Cancellation fees : Etihad has a punitive cancellation policy for all award bookings. 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: Etihad phone agents have historically had trouble booking partner awards. If your agent appears to be having trouble, you might want to HUCA (hang up, call again). 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 , Bilt, Capital One , Citi , Marriott The short story: 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.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 departureKey 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 The short story: Qantas offers decent pricing than compared to traditional award prices from the US Northeast to Northwestern Europe on itineraries with a distance of 3,600 miles or fewer each way.Miles required : 20,300 miles for itineraries covering a distance between 2,401 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: Alaska Mileage Plan will often be a better value if you have direct flights.Transfer from : Amex , Citi , Capital One , Marriott Virgin Atlantic Flying Club® (for flying Air France / KLM or Virgin Atlantic)Note that Virgin Atlantic also charges less miles than Delta each way for nonstop Delta flights, which is notable since Delta frequently charges many more miles for the same flights. See How to book Delta flights with Virgin Atlantic miles for more.
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: 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 .Change/Cancellation fees: $100. If your original taxes were less than $100, Virgin Atlantic will allow you to simply forfeit the taxes.Key warnings: The nice thing about booking Air France / KLM flights with Virgin Atlantic miles is that Virgin Atlantic does not charge each flight segment separately as they do with other partners or their own flights. So you’ll pay the region prices even if connecting.Transfer from : Amex, Bilt, Capital One , Chase , Citi, Marriott , Wells Fargo Best ways to get to Europe using miles (premium cabins) Again, the deals below are roughly sorted alphabetically. Remember that the lowest price isn’t the entire picture: always take into consideration baggage fees, 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 wish to use.
Also note, that with variable pricing in effect at all 3 of the major US carriers (American / Delta / United), it’s always worth checking those airlines’ sites for unadvertised specials. The programs listed below regularly offer better values for those same flights and flights with other partners, which provide many options between the US and Europe.
Flying First Class on Air France
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. Partner awards no longer incur fuel surcharges .How to find awards: Search for available space at AirCanada.com (you must create a free Aeroplan frequent flyer account to search).How to book awards : Book online at AirCanada.com or 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 Aeoplan a better deal if you’re looking to visit 2 countries in 1 trip (like Spain & India or Germany & South Africa or Portugal & Morocco as examples).Transfer from : Amex , Bilt, Capital One , Chase , Marriott Air France / KLM Flying Blue Flying Blue doesn’t have a set award chart, but their monthly Promo Rewards often make it possible to fly to Europe in business class for 45K miles or less.
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 : It depends. 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 must create a free Flying Blue frequent flyer account).How to book awards : Book online at AirFrance.com . Can also book via phone.Change and cancellation fees : €70.Key warnings: Air France / KLM do add fuel surcharges (about $150-$250 in taxes and fees each way).Transfer from : Amex , Bilt, Capital One , Chase , Citi , Marriott , Wells Fargo Business Class on Air France
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 : Flights of 1,501 to 3,500 miles flown between the US and Europe are 45,000 miles in business class. Flights of 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. Note: Alaska’s award chart is a mix of region-based and distance-based.How to find awards: Search for available space at AlaskaAirlines.comHow 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 do well. Alaska has started to introduce limited mixed-partner awards to Europe which should expand throughout this year.Transfer from : Bilt, Marriott 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 ANA Mileage Club If you can book round trip and avoid airlines with high fuel surcharges, ANA is the best deal for Star Alliance flights.
The short story: ANA offers one of the best deals 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 choose a carrier with no or low fuel surcharges.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 (you must create a free ANA Mileage Club account, and note that 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: 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: Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Etihad, Scandinavian Airlines, UnitedLow fuel surcharges on : ANA, Asiana, LOT Polish, Turkish (higher than the others but low by comparison to some)Transfer from : Amex , Marriott Avianca LifeMiles While the “regular” rate is 69-80K miles each way in business class, the nice thing about Avianca LifeMiles is their mixed-cabin pricing: if you have a long economy class leg in your itinerary, you may be able to get to Europe with the transoceanic leg in business class for under 50K miles. Also great for flying with no fuel surcharges.
The short story: 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 with no fuel surcharges. Note that there is some variance. For example, booking a mixed-class award may lower the overall price.How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you must create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account)How to book awards : Book online at LifeMiles.com . Can also book via email or phone. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but 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.Transfer from : Amex , Bilt, Capital One , Citi , Marriott , Wells Fargo Emirates Skywards® You’ll need to book round trip to get the best deals, but at 87K round trip in business or 204K round trip in first, they are deals indeed.
The short story: 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 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: $75Key warnings: Emirates can have high fuel surcharges and sometimes roundtrip saver awards can be difficult to find.Transfer from : Amex , Bilt, Capital One , Citi , Chase, Marriott Etihad Guest While the Royal Air Maroc and Brussels Airlines sweet spots have soured a bit, Etihad still offers a competitive rate to Brussels or Casablanca (easy connections to Europe from there) or on American Airlines.
The short story: Etihad Guest offers a good value for flying on American Airlines, Brussels Airlines, or Royal Air Maroc between the US and Europe.Miles required : 44K each way in business class on Brussels Airlines or 44K to Casablanca on Royal Air Maroc (connections to Europe will add additional miles now, fuel surcharges around $170 each way) or 50K each way in business class on American Airlines (no fuel surcharges). First class on AA is only 62.5K miles one-way, but AA only operates 3-cabin first class on a couple of routes and award space may be hard to come by.How to find awards: Search for Brussels award space on United.com , American award space on AA.com (you may want to double-check availability at Qantas.com), or Royal Air Maroc award space on RoyalAirMaroc.com (you’ll need to create a free Safar Flyer account)How to book awards : Call Etihad Guest at 1-877-690-0767.Key warnings: Etihad phone agents have historically had trouble booking partner awards, though the new call center in Serbia appears to be quite competent. If your agent appears to be having trouble, you might want to HUCA (hang up, call again).Transfer from : Amex , Capital One , Citi , Marriott Iberia Avios Potentially the cheapest deal on miles, Iberia is one you shouldn’t ignore if you can fly direct from one of their Eastern US gateways to Spain.
The short story: 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 : It depends (based on the distance). Best deals are from the cities mentioned above to Madrid: 34K during off-peak dates or 50K during peak dates. 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.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. Key warnings: 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.Transfer from : Amex , Bilt, Chase , Marriott , Wells Fargo The short story: 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.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 departureKey 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 Miles required : 57,000 for American Airlines business class awards with a distance of 2,401-3,600 miles each way (includes the Northeast US to much of Western Europe). Starting 8/5/25, this will increase to 68,400 each 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: 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 Airlines Miles&Smiles® The short story: 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 using the instructions above 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 it can be difficult to find agents who know how to change a partner award. Thus cancelling for $70 is your best bet.Key warnings: Turkish is sometimes unable to see Star Alliance availability for no explicable reason. However, Turkish allows a hold for long enough for points to transfer from Citi. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you get your desired itinerary on hold via phone before transferring points.No fuel surcharges on Air Canada, Avianca, SAS, and United.Low fuel surcharges on LOT Polish and Turkish.Transfer from : Bilt, Capital One , Citi , Marriott United United doesn’t offer the most competitive mileage pricing to Europe, but they do have the most user-friendly website experience, have no cancellation fees for award tickets, and they do not pass on fuel surcharges, which can make them an option to consider if you have a lot of United miles.
The short story: United charges a relatively large number of miles for business class flights between the US and Europe (~88K), but the lack of fuel surcharges can be a major advantage for booking partners like Lufthansa. Plus, free changes / cancellation have a lot of appeal. 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 : Starts 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: United has eliminated its award chart, so you may see many different prices for award tickets.Transfer from : Bilt, Chase , Marriott Virgin Atlantic The short story: Virgin Atlantic often offers Delta flights for many fewer miles than Delta 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 .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 , Bilt, Capital One , Chase , Citi, Marriott Travel Freely member Megan went Italy! (Pictured at the Vatican)
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 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 ANA Mileage Club 1 to 1 60K to 25K Avianca LifeMiles 1 to 1 1 to 1 3K to 1K 1 to 1 Emirates Skywards 1 to 1 1 to 1 1 to 1 60K to 25K 1 to 1 Etihad Guest 1 to 1 1 to 1 60K to 25K 1 to 1 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
(Some of this content originally appeared on The Frequent Miler and has been posted with permission.)
More from the best ways to get to various regions around the world using miles:
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