Business class gets all the attention in the points-and-miles world. But sometimes you don’t need a bed in the sky; you just need to get to say, Europe, without spending a small fortune.

Fortunately, economy award availability to Europe is generally much easier to find than premium-cabin awards. The bad news? Not every award is a good deal. Depending on the airline, loyalty program, travel dates, and route, you’ll find wildly different award rates and out-of-pocket costs for essentially the same trip.

Finding a good economy award to Europe is less about memorizing award charts and more about knowing how and where to search. Here’s the process we recommend.

 

Start With Flexible Dates and Airports

It almost feels cliché to say it, but flexibility really is one of the best tools in your arsenal when searching for award flights. If you can shift your trip by even a day or two, it can mean the difference between finding a great-priced economy award to Europe and coming up empty-handed.

Dates not set in stone? Search several days before and after your preferred departure date, especially during the busy summer travel season and around holidays.

The same concept applies to airports. Instead of searching exclusively from your home airport to your final destination, consider positioning to a major U.S. gateway with more nonstop service to Europe, such as New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), or Washington, D.C. (IAD).

Do the same on the European side. If you want to visit Florence, for example, don’t limit your search to Florence (FLR). Look for awards to major European gateways such as Paris (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), London (LHR), Madrid (MAD), Frankfurt (FRA), or Rome (FCO).

Europe is particularly well-suited to this strategy, geographically. With dozens of transatlantic routes and an extensive network of low-cost airlines and trains, finding a great award to Europe can sometimes be more important than finding one to your exact destination.

Just remember to leave plenty of time between separately booked tickets. If your first flight is delayed and you miss a separately ticketed connection, the second airline generally isn’t responsible for getting you to your destination.

It’s also usually much easier to search one-way awards. Plus, booking your outbound and return flights separately lets you mix programs, airlines, and airports, rather than requiring the same option to work both ways.

 

Know Which Loyalty Programs To Search First

There isn’t one universally “best” loyalty program for booking economy awards to Europe. The sheer number of airlines flying between the U.S. and Europe means you’ll often have several ways to book the same trip—sometimes even the same flight—using different types of miles.

Still, there are several programs worth putting near the top of your search list.

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Airline Alliances (and How They Make Award Travel Easier)

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Air France-KLM Flying Blue is one of our favorite places to start. Air France and KLM operate flights between numerous U.S. cities and their hubs in Paris and Amsterdam, respectively, making it relatively easy to get to destinations throughout Europe.

Flying Blue uses dynamic award pricing, so the number of miles you’ll need varies. But its lowest-priced awards can offer excellent value.

Flying Blue also publishes monthly Promo Rewards, which discount select award routes for a limited time. And because Flying Blue partners with several major transferable points programs, it’s relatively easy to accumulate miles when you’re ready to book.

 

 

American Airlines AAdvantage

American Airlines AAdvantage is another program worth searching. Economy awards to Europe from anywhere in the U.S. can start as low as 19,000 miles, sometimes less. And the taxes and fees are insanely reasonable—just $5.60. 

American also partners with several European carriers through the Oneworld alliance, including British Airways and Iberia. Just keep an eye on taxes and carrier-imposed fees. An award that looks attractive based on miles alone can become considerably less exciting once you reach the checkout screen.

United MileagePlus

United MileagePlus can be useful for accessing United’s extensive transatlantic network as well as award space on Star Alliance partners such as Lufthansa, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, and Turkish Airlines.

United doesn’t pass along fuel surcharges on award tickets, which can make MileagePlus particularly useful when other programs tack substantial fees onto the same flight.

Like Flying Blue, United uses dynamic pricing on its own flights, so you’ll want to compare several dates to find the best rates.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada Aeroplan is another strong option for Star Alliance flights to Europe. Its large partner network opens up plenty of routing possibilities, even if you aren’t traveling through Canada, and Aeroplan partners with several transferable points currencies.

Other Airline Programs Worth Checking

These certainly aren’t the only programs capable of getting you across the Atlantic. Depending on your route, programs such as British Airways Club, Iberia Club, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club may also be worth checking.

 

Earn Flexible Points for More Options

This is also why earning flexible credit card points can pay off. Instead of being locked into a single airline’s miles, transferable currencies such as Chase Ultimate Rewards ®, American Express Membership Rewards®, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou® Points, and Bilt Points give you access to multiple airline partners. 

 

Use Award Search Tools To Find Availability Faster

Searching airline websites one by one works, but it can get tedious quickly. Award-search tools can make the process much faster by searching multiple loyalty programs and routes at once. Popular options include Seats.aero, PointsYeah, Roame, and AwardTool.

These tools are especially helpful when you’re flexible. Instead of repeatedly searching individual airline websites for “Denver to Paris on June 10,” you can look at a broader range of dates, departure cities, and destinations to see where award availability is popping up.

Think of these tools as a starting point rather than the final word, though. Award inventory changes constantly, and third-party tools don’t always display real-time availability. Once you find an award you want, search for it directly through the loyalty program you plan to book with before transferring any points.

 

 

Compare the Total Cost, Not Just the Miles

Finding a low award rate doesn’t automatically mean you’ve found a good deal. Taxes and carrier-imposed surcharges can vary dramatically between loyalty programs and airlines. That’s particularly important with economy awards, where a large cash surcharge can wipe out much of the value you’re getting from your miles.

For example, an award requiring 15,000 miles plus $250 in taxes and fees isn’t necessarily better than one requiring 25,000 miles plus $30. And neither may be a particularly good deal if the cash ticket costs $350.

Before booking, compare:

• The number of miles required
• Taxes, fees, and surcharges
• The cash price of the same or a comparable flight
• Any transfer bonuses available
• Your other options for using those points

Cash fares to Europe can occasionally be surprisingly cheap, particularly during the off-season. With so many airlines competing on transatlantic routes, you could even find round-trip economy fares low enough that redeeming miles—especially if the award carries hefty surcharges—simply doesn’t make sense.

 

Look for Ways To Lower the Award Price

Once you’ve found an award that works, take a minute to see if you can make the deal even better.

First, check for transfer bonuses. Banks regularly offer bonuses when transferring points to select airline loyalty programs. For example, a 20% transfer bonus means you’d only need to transfer 20,000 bank points to book an award costing 24,000 airline miles.

The order of operations matters, though. You’ll want to find the award first. Only then should you transfer your points. Transfers are one-way. Once you’ve moved your flexible points into an airline loyalty program, you can’t move them back. So if the award disappears, you could be stuck with that airline’s miles instead of transferable points.

Also check for airline award sales and discounted awards. Flying Blue Promo Rewards are a particularly good example, offering discounted awards on select routes each month. These promotions won’t always match your destination or dates, but when they do, they can significantly reduce the number of points required.

 

Don’t Get Too Fixated on the “Perfect” Redemption

Points and miles make it tempting to optimize everything. If you find an economy award to Europe for 20,000 miles, should you keep searching in case there’s one for 17,500? What if a transfer bonus launches next week? What if another airline releases more award space tomorrow?

But award availability can disappear while you’re hunting for a marginally better deal. If you’ve found an award with reasonable pricing, manageable fees, and an itinerary that works for you, booking it is probably better than continuing to chase the theoretical perfect redemption.

Before booking, check the program’s change and cancellation rules. If you can cancel or change your award for little or no cost, you may be able to lock in a good option now and keep watching for something better.

 

Bottom Line

Finding economy awards to Europe doesn’t require memorizing every airline award chart or checking 20 loyalty programs every morning.

Start with flexibility. Search multiple dates and airports, check a handful of useful loyalty programs and use award search tools to identify availability more quickly. Once you find an option, compare the total cost—including taxes and fees—against other awards and the price of buying the ticket outright.

Then check for transfer bonuses or award promotions, verify that the award is actually available, and book it before someone else does.

Economy awards might not come with champagne and lie-flat seats, but getting to Europe for a reasonable number of points is still a pretty great redemption.

 

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