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Europe offers a little something for everyone — from historic cities and mountain adventures to sunny beaches and world-class cuisine. And while you can sometimes snag a great deal on paid flights, using points and miles is often the best way to minimize out-of-pocket costs for transatlantic travel.
Among all award options, economy flights between North America and Europe tend to require the fewest miles. That makes them ideal whether you're planning a quick getaway, trying to stretch your points across multiple trips, or booking for a whole family. And with many East Coast flights clocking in at under seven hours, economy can be more than comfortable.
In this post, we’ll cover the cheapest ways to book award flights to Europe — including options from Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus, Iberia, Emirates, and more — plus how to use transfer partners and promotions to your advantage.
Page Contents
- The Cheapest Award Flights to Europe
- Saver Virgin Atlantic award flights
- Off-Peak Aer Lingus flights to Dublin, Ireland via British Airways or Aer Lingus Avios
- Iberia flights to Madrid, Spain booked via Iberia
- Flights to Italy or Greece on Emirates
- Air France and KLM flights booked via Flying Blue
- Select Star Alliance routes booked with Avianca LifeMiles
- Best Transferable Points for These Sweet Spots
- Bottom Line
The Cheapest Award Flights to Europe
Saver Virgin Atlantic award flights
Virgin Atlantic recently adopted dynamic pricing. While that is typically bad news for award flights, in this case, there were some huge positives. When finding saver awards on Virgin to the U.K., both the award pricing and the notoriously high surcharges have been reduced. This means Virgin Atlantic's transatlantic economy awards stand out as the cheapest award flights to Europe:
- Northeast (Boston, New York, Washington D.C.) to U.K.: 6,000 points
- Midwest & South (Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Tampa) to U.K.: 7,500 points
- West (Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle) to U.K.: 9,000 points
As mentioned, the fees on these saver flights are lower as well. This one-way Orlando (MCO) to London (LHR) flight is incredibly only 7,500 miles and $76 in fees. These economy flight fees used to be in the hundred of dollars, but are now much more appealing.
Whereas Virgin Atlantic used to charge roughly the same award cost for flights on Delta metal as on Virgin's own metal, you can see that now the points and fees are lower when flying on Virgin metal.
Virgin Atlantic also offers an efficient use of miles for travel on partner airlines across the Atlantic. SkyTeam partner Flying Blue (think Air France and KLM) represents another excellent way to spend Virgin Atlantic miles.
As you'll see below, even when booking a Flying Blue Promo Reward, an award flight from Las Vegas to Amsterdam costs 18,750 miles and $101 in fees. Well, if booking through Virgin, the points are slightly lower (15,000) and the fees are slightly higher ($164).
This means Virgin is an alternative to consider when booking this flight, especially if you time it with a 30-40% transfer bonus. Just like many of the programs mentioned in this article, Virgin Atlantic partners with all major points currencies at a 1:1 ratio. That means you can transfer to Virgin Atlantic from Amex, Chase, Citi, Marriott, Bilt, and even Capital One — though you have to transfer to Virgin Red first with Capital One.
Related: Overlooking Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Can Be Costly
Off-Peak Aer Lingus flights to Dublin, Ireland via British Airways or Aer Lingus Avios
Redeeming Avios for flights on British Airways metal to Europe typically incurs high taxes and fees, therefore ruling out this option for many award travelers. However, flying on a partner airline often skirts these high taxes and fees.
Aer Lingus, for instance, participates in the Avios ecosystem. The geography of Dublin allows travelers to fly directly to Ireland for as low as 13,000 miles one way, plus taxes and fees. Search for award space through British Airways — making sure to log in and “Book with Avios” — and look for off-peak travel dates with nonstop availability:
Once a travel option is selected, the bottom of the webpage displays the Avios cost plus any applicable taxes and fees. In this case, that cash co-pay comes to a modest $120.80.
Thanks to the British Airways Avios' distance-based award chart, one-way, nonstop flights up to 4,000 miles in distance cost the same number of points. That means travelers as far away as the Upper Midwest qualify for the same pricing as the East Coast.
Taxes and fees vary slightly, depending on the exact routing, but the Avios cost remains the same, provided travel is on off-peak dates. Those traveling farther than 4,000 miles need only a marginally higher number of Avios for similar flights. For example, Seattle (SEA) to Dublin (DUB) spans 4,526 miles, yet British Airways charges just an extra 3,250 Avios for such a flight.
This same pricing in both miles and fees is available when booking directly with Aer Lingus AerClub.
How to book Aer Lingus flights
A number of bank programs transfer 1:1 to British Airways Avios, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Wells Fargo Rewards. You also can transfer points from Marriott Bonvoy to British Airways or Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus receives points from Amex, Bilt, Wells Fargo, and Chase, as well. Even better, you can freely transfer Avios between British Airways, Iberia, Qatar, Finnair, and Aer Lingus accounts.
Travelers should take advantage of any Avios transfer bonus that pops up, regardless of the program, to reduce overall travel costs. Getting your points into the Avios ecosystem and then moving them into the program you want is accomplished easily.
Related: How To Search and Book British Airways Avios Award Flights
Iberia flights to Madrid, Spain booked via Iberia
There's another Avios participant with attractive economy award prices to Europe. Iberia charges as low as 16,000 miles one way in economy from the East Coast (plus Chicago) to Madrid. Plus, Iberia charges less in taxes and fees than Aer Lingus. The graphic below shows the pricing options for a one-way economy flight from Boston to Madrid, starting at 16,000 Avios + $90:
Award redemptions begin at just 3,250 Avios each way for this route, which stands out as well. For the particular date of these results, the cash cost of the flight is only $561. It might seem odd, but the “best redemption” from a cents-per-points standpoint turns out to be the one with the lowest number of Avios!
- ($561 – $240) / 3,250 Avios = 9.8 cents per point
- ($561 – $90) / 16,000 Avios = 2.9 cents per point
- Put another way, Iberia provides the option of paying $150 for 12,750 Avios, or 1.18 cents per Avios, with this particular redemption.
Still, award travelers typically want to minimize any out-of-pocket costs, and using 16,000 Avios in this situation makes for a great redemption option. For those located on the West Coast, mileage costs are slightly higher at 20,000 Avios.
Iberia's recent award chart changes resulted in higher award costs for premium cabins, but serendipitously, economy awards went down slightly.
Along with the option for moving Avios from other programs (discussed above), here are partners that transfer to Iberia:
Related: How To Avoid Paying High Fuel Surcharges When Booking Flights with Avios
Flights to Italy or Greece on Emirates
Dubai-based airline Emirates operates two operates two “fifth freedom” routes between the U.S. and Europe, from Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH) and New York (JFK) to Milan (MXP). These routes can be found as low as 17,500 miles and very low fees. This is a tremendous deal to get to Italy or Greece, though it would require a positioning flight for those not in the New York area.
Emirates miles can be obtained by transferring from all the transferable points programs, although transfers from Chase and Amex are paused through June 2025. Also, Citibank will reduce its transfer rates to 1:0.8 beginning July 27, 2025.
Air France and KLM flights booked via Flying Blue
Flying Blue offers transatlantic travelers multiple direct options between North America and Europe. Recent program changes standardized the one-way transatlantic economy price at 25,000 miles, no matter where you're flying from. That easily makes one of the cheapest award flights to Europe.
Savvy points and miles aficionados know that Flying Blue regularly discounts transatlantic routes during monthly promotions, further reducing the cost of travel. A typical discount is 25% off, though periodically this will be as high as 50%! That means an award redemption coordinated with monthly Promo Rewards costs, at most, 18,750 miles one-way.
Very modest taxes and fees make this a particularly attractive award redemption, as well. The above Las Vegas (LAS) to Amsterdam (AMS) flight is $101.40 in fees. Plus, flight distance does not factor into award cost, so those located on the West Coast will find these awards particularly useful.
Add a stop for no extra miles
Travelers can also add on additional flights at no extra cost, provided they stay within Europe. For instance, you could fly from Las Vegas to Zurich (ZRH) with a stop in Amsterdam for the same price of 18,750 miles. Programs like British Airways, which price by the segment, would charge more for a second flight, but not Flying Blue. Flying Blue also allows free stopovers, meaning you could visit both Amsterdam and Zurich during this trip.
For those short on miles, Flying Blue is a transfer partner of all major transferable points programs.
Select Star Alliance routes booked with Avianca LifeMiles
Those familiar with the LifeMiles program know how fruitful —and perhaps also how frustrating — award bookings can be. Recent devaluations have eroded at the sweet spots in this program. As it pertains to flights to Europe, you can still fly Swiss Air economy for 27,500 miles and $28.50 in fees.
With a LifeMiles+ membership, you would save 25% on this award booking, which could make sense for those using LifeMiles with some regularity.
Other European locations start at 30,000 miles, but in comparison to others on this list, Lifemiles has dropped back in the pack.
Fortunately, Avianca LifeMiles partners with multiple transferable points currencies: Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou Points, Wells Fargo Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, and Bilt Rewards. Check the AwardWallet transfer times page to see how quickly miles should show up in your account for redemptions.
Related: How To Consolidate Transferable Points for an Award Ticket
Best Transferable Points for These Sweet Spots
One of the best parts about booking award flights to Europe is that most of these sweet spots are easily accessible through major transferable points programs. If you have rewards from Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt, or even Wells Fargo, you’re in a great position to book these deals:
- Chase Ultimate Rewards® points transfer 1:1 to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Avios (and by extension Iberia and Aer Lingus), and Emirates Skywards.
- American Express Membership Rewards® points transfer 1:1 to all of the same partners above — plus Avianca LifeMiles.
- Capital One miles transfer to Virgin, Flying Blue, Emirates, and more — though you’ll need to go through Virgin Red to book Virgin Atlantic flights.
- Citi ThankYou® Points transfer to Flying Blue, Emirates, and Avianca LifeMiles — though Emirates transfers will drop to 0.8:1 after July 27, 2025.
For more details on each program and who they transfer to, check out our full guide: Best Transfer Partners for Each Major Credit Card Program. And if you're looking to build your balance, here are some of the best card offers to consider:
- 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
- 3x points on dining worldwide
- 1x points on all other purchases
(Terms apply)
- 4X Membership Rewards® Points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel booked on amextravel.com
- 1X on other eligible purchases
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
Bottom Line
Getting to Europe can be quite expensive; thanks to points and miles, it doesn't have to be. Several different avenues exist to save on airfare costs for those seeking transatlantic adventures. No matter what kind of transferable points you collect, finding the cheapest award flights to Europe is right at your fingertips.
Taking advantage of these economy-class travel options allows you to spend money on other aspects of the trip, rather than just getting to and from the destination. Even better, economy awards cost the fewest number of points, providing the opportunity for more people to join a trip, for more trips to happen, or both!
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), and American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees)
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