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With 18 Amex airline transfer partners, determining the best ways to use your American Express Membership Rewards can be a daunting process. Factor in airline alliances and partnerships of each Amex partner airline, and travelers have exponentially more options to consider. In order to save you time, we at AwardWallet looked into all of the possibilities to compile this list of the best Membership Rewards sweet spots for flights to Europe.
Without further ado, let's dive into the best Amex Membership Rewards sweet spots to Europe
Page Contents
- Fly From the U.S. To Ireland for 13,000 British Airways Avios
- Fly to Europe for as Little as 17K Iberia Avios in Economy or 34K in Business Class
- Fly Business Class to Europe From 45,000 Avianca LifeMiles
- Fly Business Class to Europe From 60,000 Aeroplan Points
- Fly Round-Trip Business Class to Europe for 100,000 ANA Miles
- Book Discounted Awards With Flying Blue
- Fly business class to Europe for 50,000 Flying Blue miles
- Save up to 50% on award flights to Europe via Flying Blue Promo Rewards
- Hop Across the Pond for as Little as 10K Virgin Atlantic Points
- Fly from the U.S. to the U.K. from 10,000 Virgin points
- Fly Virgin Atlantic partners to Europe from 12,000 Virgin points
- Fly business class to Europe from 48,500 Virgin points
- Fly Singapore Airlines first class to Europe for 97,000 KrisFlyer miles
- Best Ways To Earn Amex Membership Rewards Points
- Final Thoughts
Fly From the U.S. To Ireland for 13,000 British Airways Avios
Many award travelers may be surprised to see British Airways on a sweet spot list due to their hefty award surcharges when flying through their hub in London Heathrow (LHR). While that may often be the case on British Airways metal, redeeming Avios for flights on British Airways partner airlines often provides great value. Plus, this sweet spot redemption avoids the high taxes and fees of British Airways flights.
For example, a transatlantic flight on Aer Lingus matches these criteria. Thanks to both British Airways' distance-based award chart, and Dublin's location, flights between Ireland and the East Coast or even Upper Midwest regions in the United States price at just 13,000 Avios one-way for flights in economy.
Fly to Europe for as Little as 17K Iberia Avios in Economy or 34K in Business Class
While Iberia Plus Avios exists in the same points ecosystem as British Airways Avios, where transfers between Avios programs are quick and easy, the Iberia Plus program offers further redemption sweet spots. Specifically, direct flights between North America and Madrid on Iberia metal offer incredibly favorable award prices with very reasonable taxes and fees.
For flights in economy from the East Coast (plus Chicago) to Madrid, Iberia charges just 17,000 Avios one way. Even sweeter, business class one-way pricing begins at double that or 34,000 Avios. This redemption tops our list of the cheapest business-class awards to Europe.
Fly Business Class to Europe From 45,000 Avianca LifeMiles
While the LifeMiles program has a poor reputation for customer service, its favorable award pricing makes the program overall worthwhile. Despite a recent devaluation, award pricing is still competitive for many for transatlantic flights.
Many route combinations represent good value for Membership Rewards points, particularly the ones in business class. The best part about these awards is that LifeMiles does not pass along airline surcharges on awards. That means unlike through ANA, booking award flights on airlines such as Lufthansa and SWISS avoids exorbitant cash copays.
For those keeping track, United often charges a large sum of miles for business class awards to Europe. However, a new sweet spot within Avianca LifeMiles allows you to book these one-way flights as low as 45,000 miles. Routes in its unpublished award chart — formally known as “U.S. Region 1” to “Northern Europe” price at just 22,500 miles in economy and 45,000 miles in business. For this region, think Washington, D.C., Boston, or Newark to Great Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia.
Fly Business Class to Europe From 60,000 Aeroplan Points
Air Canada Aeroplan‘s hybrid award chart creates a number of sweet spots across the globe. While economy award pricing between North America and Europe can be more expensive than other programs, partner business class flights spanning less than 4,000 miles are only 60,000 points in each direction. That includes many flights between the U.S. East Coast to much of Western Europe.
Where the Aeroplan program really shines is when it comes to stopover awards, allowing you to add additional stops to your itinerary. In this case, Aeroplan allows adding a stopover to award tickets for only 5,000 additional miles, with a few stipulations:
- Stopovers are only allowed for award travel outside of North America (Canada and the United States).
- The points cost for stopover awards are 5,000 Aeroplan points each.
- Stopovers are limited to 45 days.
What's even better is that stopover awards are bookable directly on the Aeroplan website. For instance, a business class trip from Chicago (ORD) to Athens (ATH), with a six-day stopover in Istanbul, shows up with the correct pricing online:
If a stopover award is not appearing online for any reason, a call to Aeroplan should often fix the issue.
Fly Round-Trip Business Class to Europe for 100,000 ANA Miles
United Airlines MileagePlus — the popular U.S.-based Star Alliance program and Chase transfer partner — routinely charges 100,000 miles for a one-way business class ticket on partner airlines from the U.S. to Europe. However, with ANA (an Amex transfer partner), it's possible to book round-trip economy award flights to Europe for only 55,000 miles and 100,000 miles for business class.
However, there are some limitations to the ANA Mileage Club program. First, note ANA's award booking constraints:
- ANA only allows round-trip awards, so you cannot book one-way awards.
- Transfer times for Amex Membership Rewards to ANA typically takes 1-2 days to complete.
- ANA attaches high award surcharges to partner awards except for flights operated by: Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, and United Airlines.
And it's those taxes and fees that can certainly add up to a significant amount. Take for instance, the above flights, substituting the return segment to Lufthansa instead of United:
As of the time of making these award searches, the ¥31,150 in taxes and fees on the United Airlines award converts to just $217 out-of-pocket for that award. However, the ¥179,920 taxes and fees on the United and Lufthansa redemption convert to about $1,250 — a large difference!
Book Discounted Awards With Flying Blue
Flying Blue is the loyalty program for Air France and KLM. Back in 2018, it did away with its award chart, but, award pricing followed a general pattern. Butin the second half of 2023, to many peoples' surprise, Flying Blue standardized award rates between North America and Europe. Fortuitously, this decreased redemption costs for many routes. Flying Blue now charges the following pricing for transatlantic flights when there is availability:
- Economy Class: 20,000 miles
- Premium Economy: 35,000 miles
- Business Class: 50,000 miles
Fly business class to Europe for 50,000 Flying Blue miles
While all cabin options represent great redemption opportunities for your Membership Rewards, the business-class prices certainly stand out the most. If you can find a date with availability, you can fly from anywhere in the U.S. to anywhere in Europe for just 50,000 miles in business class.
If you need some help finding available space at these prices, here's our tip about how to access the Flying Blue award calendar.
Save up to 50% on award flights to Europe via Flying Blue Promo Rewards
To make things even sweeter, the monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards provide 25% – 50% discounts on award flights to select destinations, which could potentially reduce award costs further. For example, a flight from Detroit to Paris sometimes costs just 15,000 miles plus taxes and fees, thanks to Promo Rewards discounts. And you aren't limited to nonstop flights. You could also add a connection onwards to other cities in Europe — such as Stockholm or Amsterdam — at the same mileage cost.
Hop Across the Pond for as Little as 10K Virgin Atlantic Points
Fly from the U.S. to the U.K. from 10,000 Virgin points
This U.K-based airline offers sweet spot redemptions in both economy and business class. Virgin Atlantic's transatlantic economy award prices stand out as the lowest of any program for standard (think: not “peak” dates) calendar dates for one-way flights:
- Northeast (Boston, New York, Washington D.C.) to U.K.: 10,000 points
- Midwest & South (Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Tampa) to U.K.: 12,500 points
- West (Austin, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle) to U.K.: 15,000 points
Anyone who wants to stretch their miles further, especially those who don't mind a moderate amount of taxes and fees, will be pleased to find relatively plentiful award availability.
Unfortunately, even though award pricing for Virgin Atlantic's flights remains highly competitive in premium cabins, the massive surcharges spoil the appeal of these redemptions for many.
Fly Virgin Atlantic partners to Europe from 12,000 Virgin points
As a member of SkyTeam, Virgin Atlantic miles provide redemption options on other SkyTeam partners as well. In this case, Air France, KLM, Delta, and soon-to-be SAS, are the notable SkyTeam partners flying between North America and Europe.
Recall the Flying Blue example from above for economy class travel. Normally, Flying Blue charges 20,000 miles for such an itinerary between Detroit and Paris. With the 25% discount thanks to monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards, this brings costs down to just 15,000 miles.
Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club requires only 12,000 points for the same itinerary (with slightly higher taxes and fees). This pricing comes without any special promotional timing requirements, either.
Fly business class to Europe from 48,500 Virgin points
Additionally, business class flights operated by Air France or KLM booked through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club offer great value for Membership Rewards points. On standard dates, these awards cost just 48,500 miles from the East Coast with a fairly reasonable amount of taxes and fees.
Fly Singapore Airlines first class to Europe for 97,000 KrisFlyer miles
Some may be surprised to see Singapore Airlines on this list. The Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program offers one sweet spot between the United States and Europe: awards flown on Singapore Airlines itself!
Since Singapore limits first-class award space from its partners, the only realistic option to book this Singapore Airline's incredible first-class experience is to use Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. You can fly between New York and Frankfurt for just 97,000 miles in one of the world's best first-class products.
While 97,000 miles may sound like a lot, most programs charge even more for the same flight — even if they ever get access to the award space. Even better, for this particular route, taxes and fees come out to just the minimum of $5.60 for flights starting in the United States.
Related: How To Redeem Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles for an Award Flight
Best Ways To Earn Amex Membership Rewards Points
Several cards earn Amex Membership Rewards points. In other words, by collecting a welcome offer and spending on your card regularly, you should quickly unlock many (if not all) of the sweet spots discussed in this post.
If you're interested in earning a large batch of Amex points, here are some of the best welcome offers available now:
- American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, receive 20% back in statement credits on eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $100 back. Limited time offer. Offer ends 11/6/24.
- The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- American Express® Business Gold Card: Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Apply Now
Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Annual Fee$695
Welcome OfferEarn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a powerhouse for business travelers, offering cardholders up to $400 in yearly Dell Technologies credits, $360 with Indeed, $150 for Adobe business plans, and $120 for U.S. wireless services. The card includes extensive lounge access, a $200 airline fee credit each year, up to $199 CLEAR® Plus credit, Marriott Bonvoy™ and Hilton Honors Gold Statuses, exclusive Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits, and a TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry fee credit. Enrollment required for select American Express benefits.
- Welcome Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases.
- Earn 1.5X points (that's an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
- Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card®. Enrollment required. See how you can unlock over $1,000 annually in credits on select purchases with the Business Platinum Card®, here.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to the Card.
- $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card®.
- The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 03/2023.
- $695 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. shipping providers.
- 1.5X earning rates are subject to a cap of $2 million in purchases per calendar year.
Final Thoughts
American Express Membership Rewards points offer countless options to travel from North America to Europe across programs and airline alliances. These are just a few of the many sweet spots that help maximize the value of Membership Rewards point redemptions. Minimizing points costs while avoiding sizable surcharges allows for the best possible outcome for prospective travelers. Knowing the sweet spots — whether in economy, business, or even first class — helps these best redemptions happen.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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