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Flying business class is one of those aspirational redemptions that many points and miles enthusiasts aim for. When I first got into this game, I was determined to experience some of the world’s best airlines and their premium cabins. But it's not a secret that business class can get expensive quickly — even with miles.
Fortunately, there are still some incredible deals if you know where to look. Here’s a list of lay-flat business class awards you can book for 50,000 miles or less!
Page Contents
- Virgin Atlantic Upper Class: North America to Europe (29k Virgin Points)
- Iberia Business Class: U.S. to Europe (34k Avios)
- United Polaris to Europe or Brazil (from 45k Avianca LifeMiles)
- Hawaiian Airlines First Class: U.S. to Hawaii (40k HawaiianMiles)
- Aer Lingus Business Class: U.S. to Ireland (45k Alaska Miles)
- Korean Airlines Business Class: Korean to Japan (15k SkyMiles)
- Qatar Airways Qsuites: Europe to Indian Subcontinent (42.5k AA Miles)
- Qatar Airways Qsuites: Asia to Middle East (40 AA Miles)
- Final Thoughts
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class: North America to Europe (29k Virgin Points)
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club switched to dynamic pricing in 2024, which often spells the elimination of a program's best sweet spots. However, there have been consistent deals for Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class at 29,000 points plus taxes and fees since the changeover, primarily from the airline's East Coast gateways to the UK. Some examples include Boston (BOS) to London (LHR) and Atlanta (ATL) to Manchester (MAN).
Even better, Virgin is regularly the subject of transfer bonuses from various credit card rewards programs. For example, American Express recently ran a 40% bonus, which means you’d only need 21,000 Membership Rewards points to book this deal after the bonus. And Amex is just one of Virgin Atlantic's many transfer partners:
Iberia Business Class: U.S. to Europe (34k Avios)
Iberia’s distance-based award chart offers excellent value for flights to Europe, especially during off-peak dates. You can book business class starting at 34,000 Avios for routes between 3,001–4,000 miles, like:
- New York (JFK) to Madrid (MAD) or Barcelona (BCN)
- Boston (BOS) to Madrid (MAD) or Barcelona (BCN)
- Chicago (ORD) to Madrid (MAD)
You can transfer points to Iberia from programs like Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Marriott Bonvoy.
Additionally, Avios can be transferred between Iberia, British Airways, Finnair, Aer Lingus, and Qatar Airways, so that's another way to grow your account. And almost all of these airlines have a co-branded card open to U.S. applicants — the one exception being Finnair.
- 3X Avios per $1 spent on purchases with Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL
- 2X Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations
- 1X Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Related: Best Cards for Earning Avios
United Polaris to Europe or Brazil (from 45k Avianca LifeMiles)
Avianca LifeMiles often offers incredible deals on award flights. And the program often sells miles for cheap. That's why it's pretty neat that you can book United Polaris business class from the northeast U.S. to the United Kingdom for just 45,000 LifeMiles each way!
Rather head south? LifeMiles also offers a business class sweet spot to Brazil for 50,000 LifeMiles each way.
Outside of buying them outright, there are dozens of ways to earn Avianca LifeMiles. From co-branded Avianca credit cards to a slew of credit card transfer partners, your options are endless.
Hawaiian Airlines First Class: U.S. to Hawaii (40k HawaiianMiles)
Hawaiian Airlines offers direct flights to Hawaii for 40,000 HawaiianMiles in first class. These flights present a comfortable and convenient way to reach the islands; there's no better way to start your Hawaiian vacation.
You can earn HawaiianMiles through Amex Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, or the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®. And thanks to the Alaska-Hawaiian merger, you can also use Alaska miles to book these awards for the same rate, so you have plenty of options here as well.
Aer Lingus Business Class: U.S. to Ireland (45k Alaska Miles)
Aer Lingus offers fantastic value for travelers heading to Ireland through its partner, Alaska Airlines. Business class flights start at 45,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles. Dublin makes for a great European gateway, and it’s cheap and easy to connect onward with carriers like Ryanair.
For example, we found flights from New York (JFK) to Dublin (DUB) in February 2025 for 45,000 Alaska miles plus $19 in fees.
An easy way to earn Alaska miles is to apply for the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card. New applicants can earn 50,000 miles + buy one ticket, get one for just the taxes and fees ($0 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
- LIMITED TIME ONLINE OFFER-Buy One, Get One + 50,000 Bonus Miles!
- Buy one ticket, get one for just the taxes and fees ($0 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) and get 50,000 bonus miles with this offer. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
- Get Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year. Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.
- Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. Earn unlimited 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases. And earn unlimited 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases. And, your miles don't expire on active accounts.
- Earn a 10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America® account.
- Free checked bag and enjoy priority boarding for you and up to 6 guests on the same reservation, when you pay for your flight with your card - Also available for authorized users when they book a reservation too!
- With oneworld® Alliance member airlines and Alaska's Global Partners, Alaska has expanded their global reach to over 1,000 destinations worldwide bringing more airline partners and more ways to earn and redeem miles.
- Plus, no foreign transaction fees and a low $95 annual fee.
- This online only offer may not be available elsewhere if you leave this page. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
- Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases
- Earn unlimited 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging stations, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases
- Earn unlimited 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other eligible purchases
Leveraging the Bilt Rewards program and Alaska's hotel transfer partners are additional ways to grow your account incrementally.
Korean Airlines Business Class: Korean to Japan (15k SkyMiles)
So far, we've focused our examples on posts that touch the U.S. — which is where most AwardWallet readers are based. But there are plenty of great overseas redemptions that you can book for incredible rates using U.S.-based mileage currencies.
One of these is a route that AwardWallet Editor-In-Chief just flew: Korean Air's brand new Boeing 787-10 business class seat — which the airline is flying between Seoul and Tokyo, Japan at least daily.
The airline also operates lay-flat business class seats on its Airbus A321neo between Seoul and a half-dozen Japanese airports, including Sapporo, Japan.
Do you need a lay-flat business class seat on a short ~3-hour hop between Japan and Korea? Probably not. But at a cost of just 15,000 SkyMiles, this ranks up there as one of the best ways to redeem Delta SkyMiles.
Qatar Airways Qsuites: Europe to Indian Subcontinent (42.5k AA Miles)
American Airlines AAdvantage® miles are a fantastic way to book partner awards, and Qatar Airways’ Qsuites are one of the most luxurious business class experiences out there.
A sweet spot in the AAdvantage award chart lets you book a business class flight between Europe and India for 42,500 miles. Qatar has world-class service and catering, so this is nothing short of a fantastic deal.
The easiest way to earn AA miles is to apply for an American Airlines credit card and earn the sign-up bonus. However, with the right strategy, you can also earn a bundle of miles through AAdvantage eShopping.
Qatar Airways Qsuites: Asia to Middle East (40 AA Miles)
Speaking of great deals flying in Qatar Qsuite, you can fly between most parts of Asia and the Middle East for 40,000 AAdvantage miles each way. Stretched to the maximum, you can fly from Japan to Egypt — almost 20 hours in business class — for just 40k miles.
Even better, if you're flying on a route with a first-class cabin, you can fly between these regions in first class for just 50k AAdvantage miles each way! For example, fly Qatar first class on a former Cathay Pacific aircraft from Hong Kong (HKG) to Doha (DOH), enjoy Qatar's incredible Al Safwa lounge, and then continue to Cairo, Egypt (CAI), all for 50k miles. That's an incredible deal for almost 12 hours in Qatar First Class — plus one of the best lounges in the world!
Related: From Maldives in Qatar Qsuite to Sydney in First: My 9 Best Mileage Redemptions of 2024
Final Thoughts
Flying business class doesn’t have to cost a fortune — or a ton of miles. With some planning and creativity, these sweet spots make luxury travel more accessible.
Have you tried booking any of these deals? Let us know in the comments below!
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