How to get to Europe on points and miles

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

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! 

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.

• Good for going to: Paris, Amsterdam, or other European cities (via a connection)
• Transfer partners: All

Reasons why I like Flying Blue

• The region-based award chart means award tickets cost the same throughout the region
• Flying Blue’s Europe region is quite large, including several North African countries like Morocco.
• Flying Blue runs regular “Flying Blue Promos,” which means you can find award seats up to 25% off.
• You can book a stopover in its hub cities of Paris or Amsterdam for an additional 5K miles per person per way.
• 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. 

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! 

• Good for going to: Athens or Milan
• Transfer partners: All

Aer Lingus Avios

Aer Lingus is a great option to get to Ireland. We’ve sent Going deals in business class for 100K-120K 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.

• Good for going to: Dublin
• Transfer partners: American Express® Membership Rewards® Points, Bilt Rewards points, Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, Wells Fargo points

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.

• Good for going to: Madrid
• Transfer partners: All

Now that you know why you should transfer points and how to find transfer partners in your credit card account, I’m going to share some of the best airline partners to transfer your points if you’re looking to travel to a particular destination in Europe. 

British Airways Executive Club Avios

British Airways can offer deceptively low award rates, but then catch you with astronomical taxes and fees. Always look at the entire price before you transfer any points to British Airways. That said, we have sent deals with this partner. 

• Good for going to: London, Dublin, Madrid, Finland
• Transfer partners: All

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin has reasonable redemption rates, but its taxes and fees are often quite high. If you’re willing to think about the points more as a rebate on the price of a cash ticket, you might be willing to swallow the higher taxes. It’s Upper Class cabin (the airline’s term for first class) is where Virgin truly sings. 

• Good for going to: London, other UK cities
• Transfer partners: All

Avianca Lifemiles

Pro tip: Avianca and Air Canada are both part of the Star Alliance, so if your credit card points don’t transfer to Avianca, you probably can still book the flight through Air Canada. We often send points deals to the same destination with both options. 

• Good for going to: Portugal, Ireland
• Transfer partners: Amex, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Points, Wells Fargo

Air Canada Aeroplan

Like Flying Blue, Air Canada has a stopover option. Adding a stopper on Air Canada costs an extra 5,000 miles. Air Canada also 

• Good for going to: Greenland, Portugal, Germany, United Kingdom
• Transfer partners: All

By European city

Paris

• Recommended transfer partner: Flying Blue, and book an Air France flight
• You could also transfer to Virgin Atlantic if the taxes and fees aren’t too high.

Amsterdam

• Recommended transfer partner: Flying Blue and fly KLM

Dublin

• Recommended transfer partners: Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, or Aer Lingus 

Madrid

• Recommended transfer partner: Iberia Plus
• You could also transfer to British Airways, but British Airways tends to charge higher carrier-imposed surcharge fees. Iberia will likely be less expensive. You can also transfer Avios between British Airways and Iberia.

Lisbon

• Recommended transfer partners: Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles, fly TAP

Rome

• Recommended transfer partner: Flying Blue, fly Air France; or Emirates Skywards and fly into Milan

Frankfurt

• Recommended transfer partner: Air Canada, fly Singapore Airlines

Germany or Switzerland

• Recommended transfer partner: Air Canada or Avianca Life Miles, fly Lufthansa

London 

The UK is a bit trickier to book on points and miles because many UK-based airlines, including  British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, impose fairly high carrier-imposed surcharges and fees. Virgin will likely be the airline with the fewest points needed to book a seat, but your taxes and fees will be a bit higher. Flying Blue could be another option, but you’ll have a connection in Paris (CDG) or Amsterdam (AMS).

If you want to pay fewer taxes and fees and still use points and miles to book a flight to London, you might have better luck transferring to US airlines. This option may cost more in points and miles, so you’ll have to weigh the costs and benefits. 

Of course, this list is not the final word. Can you book a flight to Paris with Delta SkyMiles, American AAdvantage miles, or United MileagePlus? Absolutely. It just may cost you more miles.  

How to earn points and miles to book flights 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. 

Depending on where you want to visit, this list can help you find the card that will help you get there.

This guide outlines all the transfer partners by credit card.