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One of the biggest advantages of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program is the ability to transfer points to travel partners, which can help you unlock incredible value on award flights and hotel stays. However, since there are so many Chase transfer partners (14) and redemption options, knowing which partner to use and when can quickly become overwhelming.
If you're looking to use your hard-earned Ultimate Rewards for a trip across the pond, these sweet spots to Europe will help you stretch your points for maximum value.
Looking to build your stash of Ultimate Rewards points? Here are the top offers on cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points:
$795Rates & Fees
- 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
$95Rates & Fees
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
$795Rates & Fees
- 8X points on all Chase Travel℠ purchases
- 5X total points on eligible Lyft rides through 9/30/2027
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
- 3x points on advertising purchases made with social media platforms and search engines
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases
Fly to the U.K. From Just 6,000 Virgin Points
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club offers some of the best-value redemptions for flights to the U.K. Virgin uses a dynamic pricing model, so award rates can fluctuate alongside the cash price of the ticket. But it's not all bad news, as some routes now cost even fewer points (and require fewer out-of-pocket fees) than before.
Transatlantic economy awards that previously started in the 10,000–15,000 range can now be as low as 9,000 points from the West Coast. For instance, you can book an economy one-way flight from Seattle to London for just 9,000 points plus $109 in taxes. Premium economy starts at 16,500 points plus $236, and upper class at 46,000 points plus $576. The key is finding fares marked “Saver” for the lowest rates.
Flights from the East Coast come in even cheaper, depending on the day. A one-way flight from somewhere like Washington, D.C. (IAD) to London now starts at 6,000 points in economy plus $109 in fees. If you can find these saver awards, Virgin Atlantic flights to London, Manchester, or Edinburgh can offer tremendous value for your Chase points.
Don't forget, Virgin has a monthly calendar-view reward checker that allows you to put in your cities and search for award flights in a month-by-month format.
Virgin Atlantic points are also useful for SkyTeam partner redemptions, including Air France, KLM, and Delta. Partner economy awards to Europe start at 12,000 points, while business class starts at 48,500 points. If you are lucky enough to transfer Chase points to Virgin during a transfer promotion, your Ultimate Rewards will go even further.
You can transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic at a 1:1 ratio — and transfers generally happen instantly. But if you need to top off your account using a different currency, here are all of the Flying Club transfer partners:
Fly to Europe for 25,000 in Economy, 40,000 in Premium, or 60,000 in Business With Flying Blue
Flying Blue, the loyalty program of Air France and KLM, remains a favorite among award travelers with a stash of Chase points. While the program recently increased award costs, its rates are still some of the best for flights to Europe. Standard pricing starts at:
- Economy class: 25,000 miles
- Premium economy: 40,000 miles
- Business class: 60,000 miles
You can even connect throughout Europe at that price, like this Chicago (ORD) to Athens (ATH) flight via Paris (CDG). Fees tend to be higher through Flying Blue than some other programs, so take note of the extra costs.
Flying Blue also offers monthly Promo Rewards, discounting award flights by 25%. These deals can drop economy flights as low as 18,750 miles one way or business class to just 45,000 miles.
Business class availability can be hard to come by — even when there's no applicable discount. But if you’re flexible, you can find routes like Raleigh/Durham (RDU) to Paris at the lowest rates.
Flying Blue allows free stopovers, making it easy to explore two European cities for the price of one award ticket. Thus, you can unlock fantastic value by transferring Chase points to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio. But if you need more Flying Blue miles, the program has several other transfer partners, too, namely:
Fly Business Class to Europe From 60,000 Aeroplan Points
The Air Canada Aeroplan program is another excellent option for redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards if you want to fly to Europe. Aeroplan uses a distance-based award chart, with business-class flights starting at 60,000 points each way for routes under 4,000 miles, such as New York (JFK) to Geneva (GVA). Longer flights up to 6,000 miles increase to 70,000 points each way.
Although Aeroplan isn’t always the cheapest option to get across the pond, its access to partner airlines (Air Canada has over 50 partner airlines) and ease of use make up for the cost difference. Another great feature is the ability to add a stopover for just 5,000 additional points and turn one trip into two.
For example, a business-class ticket from Houston to Rome with a three-day stopover in Frankfurt costs just 75,000 points. Many Aeroplan stopover awards can be booked online, though calling Aeroplan may be necessary if you can't ticket specific itineraries.
Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio. However, you can get a 10% bonus on each Chase-to-Aeroplan transfer of 50,000 points or more if you have the Aeroplan® Credit Card in your wallet alongside an Ultimate Rewards-earning card.
If you need to top off your Aeroplan balance, consider leveraging these other transfer partners as well:
Book Flights to Spain From 16,000 Avios in Economy or 40,500 in Business
Iberia Avios offers some of the best-value awards for direct flights to Spain. Since Iberia is part of the Avios ecosystem (alongside British Airways, Qatar Airways, Finnair, and others), you can transfer Avios between programs to maximize different sweet spots.
During off-peak dates, Iberia charges just 16,000 Avios one-way in economy from Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York to Madrid. Business-class pricing starts at just 40,500 Avios one way, with taxes and fees ranging from $100–$140 depending on class.
Earlier this year, Chicago (ORD) flights moved up to the technically correct band-six pricing. However, we are now seeing it at the lower pricing reserved for East Coast distances — making it quite the sweet spot.
This redemption remains one of the cheapest business-class awards to Europe. And you can transfer your Chase points directly to Iberia at a 1:1 ratio to book it — though it's also worth noting that you can also initiate a transfer to Iberia from several other programs as well:
Use JetBlue Points for Cheap Flights to Frankfurt or Iceland
JetBlue’s TrueBlue program isn’t really known for high-value international redemptions, but it does offer some solid deals on flights to Europe. Since JetBlue prices most of its own flight awards based on cash fares, you won’t get the same outsized value as with other airline programs, but flying partners could be well worth it.
For example, a one-way flight from New York to Frankfurt on Condor Airlines can cost around 19,000 points in economy and 54,000 in business class. Plus, the fees are minimal. This is a decent way to fly a great business-class product across the Atlantic for little out-of-pocket cost.
JetBlue's partnership with Icelandair has good options as well. Economy flights from Boston (BOS) to Keflavik (KEF) in Iceland only cost 17,000 points. The 69,600 price in business class is likely not worth it for this just over five-hour flight, but economy is a steal.
If you're short on TrueBlue points, you can also initiate a transfer from a few other programs as well — but pay close attention to the transfer ratios.
Related: How To Redeem JetBlue Points for Maximum Value
Fly to Finland For 62,500 Avios in Business Class
This is a bit of a niche redemption, but still a great use of Chase Ultimate Rewards. Finnair isn't a direct transfer partner of Chase, but because you can transfer Avios among the partner programs, you can easily get your points from Chase to British Airways and then to Finnair. Finnair has a region-based award chart, and flights from the U.S. to Finland come in at:
- Economy: 30,000 Avios
- Premium Economy: 43,500 Avios
- Business Class: 62,500 Avios
Even better, the price doesn't change if you are connecting within Finland. As such, this Los Angeles (LAX) to Rovaniemi (RVN) flight connecting through Helsinki checks in at 62,500 Avios plus $180 in business class. The economy and premium economy totals aren't bad either. This is an awesome way to get to Lapland and visit Santa's home.
Just to give you an idea of why comparing can pay off, here is the same Los Angeles (LAX) to Helsinki flight when booked through British Airways. Although there is no availability all the way to Rovaniemi, you can see the business-class fees to Finland are $1,438 compared to $180 through Finnair. Wow!
Final Thoughts
Chase Ultimate Rewards are some of the most valuable points you can use to find flights to Europe. With several airline partnerships and business-class sweet spots, it's pretty clear that these redemptions can help you travel farther for fewer points. Now that you understand your options, you can compare to find the best deal. Remember, if you focus on just getting to Europe with the best deal, it's easy to hop around the continent cheaply to get to your final destination.
Page Contents
- Fly to the U.K. From Just 6,000 Virgin Points
- Fly to Europe for 25,000 in Economy, 40,000 in Premium, or 60,000 in Business With Flying Blue
- Fly Business Class to Europe From 60,000 Aeroplan Points
- Book Flights to Spain From 16,000 Avios in Economy or 40,500 in Business
- Use JetBlue Points for Cheap Flights to Frankfurt or Iceland
- Fly to Finland For 62,500 Avios in Business Class
- Final Thoughts
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), and Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (Rates & Fees)
