How to get to Europe on points and miles
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Going members tell me all the time how they want to use their points and miles to fly to Europe. And if you recently opened a card, you may have points burning a hole in your pocket. Here are several ways you can turn them into a flight.
Here at Going, we often send Europe points deals for under 70K points in economy and under 140K in business.
For example, we’ve sent a roundtrip business class to Dublin for 90K, and regularly send roundtrip economy tickets to Paris or Amsterdam for under 40K.
In other words, you can get a roundtrip ticket to Europe with one card’s signup bonus.
Here’s how:
Airline transfer partners to get to Europe on points and miles
Below are several airline transfer partners I’d recommend to get to Europe. This list is not exhaustive. You can find more ideas on our
website.
Also, I’ve prioritized airlines that are transfer partners with credit card points. If you have a bunch of American AAdvantage miles or Alaska miles, that could be a great way to get to Europe, too!
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Flying Blue
Flying Blue is an accessible way to fly to Europe on points and miles. Taxes and fees are somewhat high, so if you’re flying from a big US airport (like JFK or ORD) you might find better cash deals. But, if you’re flying out of a mid-size US airport (like DTW or PDX), it can be a great option.
Flying Blue’s hubs are in Amsterdam and Paris, and because of its region-based award chart, flying to other European cities from the US will cost the same amount of miles. You’ll just have a brief connection in one of its hub airports.
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Good for going to: Paris, Amsterdam, or other European cities (via a connection)
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Transfer partners: All
Reasons why I like Flying Blue
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The region-based award chart means award tickets cost the same throughout the regions
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Flying Blue’s Europe region is quite large, including several North African countries like Morocco.
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Flying Blue runs regular “Flying Blue Promos,” which means you can find award seats up to 25% off.
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You can book a
stopover in its hub cities of Paris or Amsterdam for an additional 5K miles per person per way.
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Flying Blue will hold award space for several days, but you will need to call to request this. One of my friends reported she had the program hold award seats for 3 days.
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Emirates Skywards
Emirates offers direct flights from New York to Milan and Athens. And despite its reputation as an ultra-posh airline, you can get award seats for reasonable prices: We sent points deals in economy class for 35K points roundtrip and in business class for 108K roundtrip!
To be honest, I’m eyeing the business class seats to Milan for my next trip.
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Good for going to:
Athens or Milan
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Transfer partners:
All
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Aer Lingus Avios
Aer Lingus is a great option to get to Ireland. We’ve sent Going deals in business class for ######### roundtrip (depending on dates).
Avios are the miles currency that Aer Lingus uses. British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, and Qatar Airways also use Avios miles. Because they all share a common currency, you can transfer Avios between airline programs. The process varies from airline to airline, but we walk you through it in our guide to
transferring Avios. This tactic could be helpful if you want to use a credit card whose points transfer to British Airways but whose points do not transfer directly to Aer Lingus.
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Good for going to:
Dublin
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Transfer partners:
MR points, BR points, UR points, WF points
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Iberia Plus Avios
Iberia has one of the most affordable business class redemption rates. If you’re curious to try out a premium cabin without breaking your points bank, or if you’re trying to get business class seats for a family, Iberia is a viable option.
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Good for going to:
Madrid
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Transfer partners:
All
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Want points deals to Europe?
Do you want points deals to Europe without having to search yourself?
The
Going app sends flight itineraries to Europe (and beyond!) that you can book with your points. No searching, just deals.
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Cards to help you get to Europe
If you want to travel to one of these European cities, you could earn all the points you’d need for a roundtrip economy ticket just by earning a card’s welcome offer.
And if you need to earn the points to get your European flight, here are some of the best offers available now:
This card:
Earn 100,000 points
This card:
Earn 75,000 points
- Transfer partners:
Air Canada, British Airways, Emirates, Flying Blue, Iberia, United, and Virgin.
This card:
Earn as high as 175,000 points. Apply to find out your offer.
This card:
Earn as high as 100,000 points. Apply to find out your offer.
- Transfer partners:
Air Canada, Avianca, British Airways, Delta, Emirates, Flying Blue, Iberia, and Virgin.
This card and
this card:
Earn 75,000 miles
- Transfer partners:
Air Canada, Avianca, British Airways, Emirates, Flying Blue, and Virgin.
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With expert:
Kurt Adams
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Kurt Adams is the Points and Miles Expert for the Going travel app. As a personal finance expert with a deep understanding of credit card rewards and frequent flier programs, Kurt helps consumers navigate the intersection of money and travel. A graduate of Princeton, he lives in New York.
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A disclaimer about card names:
Due to the quirks of credit card compliance, we are sometimes not allowed to use the actual names of cards or certain banks in emails. This means we have to resort to using more generic language when talking about some credit cards.
We know this can be confusing or frustrating, but we encourage you to click through to our site, where we can name and talk more candidly about the cards and their benefits. While we are bound by the rules of credit card compliance, our mission will always be to put our readers first and help you travel better for less.
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