The Top 10 Flight Deals of 2025 (So Far)

We've been searching for cheap flights and hard-to-find award availability for more than 10 years here at Thrifty Traveler, sending more than 1,200 flight deals alerts a year to our Thrifty Traveler Premium members. But 2025 already might be the best year of flight deals in our company's history. 

This week, I took on the Herculean task of whittling down the more than 500 flight deals we've sent so far in 2025 to the top 10. On the cutting room floor were $77 roundtrip flights to Chicago, nonstop flights to Tokyo in the $700s roundtrip, and peak summer business class flights to Denmark from 26,000 points each way. All of those deals – cut – in the name of picking out only the top 10 (and two honorable mentions as a cop out…)

All that is to say, it's been an incredible year of deals so far, and we see no signs of stopping. Our Chief Flight Deal Analyst Jon Shallbetter told me on a recent episode of the Thrifty Traveler Podcast this week that he does not expect this bonanza of flight deals to dry up anytime soon, either. That's huge coming from him – the most plugged-in person in airfare on earth. 

That's right, folks: We're just getting started. 

But let's take a look back at the best deals our Thrifty Traveler Premium flight deal alert subscribers received in their inboxes so far this year, and rank them 1-10. 

 

Honorable Mention: QSuites & Starlux Biz Class

QSuites to the Africa, the Maldives, the Middle East, & SE Asia from 54k Points Each Way

Peak season availability to book Qatar Airways QSuites – the best business class in the world – from just 54,000 points each way…and it doesn't crack the top 10 deals of the year? 

Yeah…2025 has been that good. 

 

 

I already hate my own ranking here, because the value of this deal is insane. Thanks to a 30% transfer bonus from Citi to Qatar, these 70,000-point fares only cost you 54,000 Citi points each way!

 

 

The list of places you can fly QSuites is amazing, including to book your safari, your Middle East desert getaway, or a trip all the way to Thailand or elsewhere in Southeast Asia. 

Starlux Business Class to Taipei for 75k Points Each Way

Speaking of Asia, the buzziest new Asian airline is Starlux. Based in Taipei (TPE), this carrier is swinging for the fences with ultra-luxurious digs in the business class cabin. 

 

 

But until now, finding a way to book those seats (without spending $7,000) was nearly impossible. Enter Alaska Airlines and its Alaska Mileage Plan, which allows you to book Starlux business class, when available, for 75,000 points each way. 

Well, finally, it became available earlier this year, and we sent out a Unicorn Alert to show our subscribers how rare it truly is. From Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), and Seattle (SEA), you could have found those 75,000-mile rates for a trip this year. 

 

10. JetBlue Mistake Fare to Amsterdam, London, & Paris from $218 RT

At number 10 is a deal so good that it barely lasted more than a few minutes. JetBlue had a mistake fare come through right at the beginning of the year, featuring fares that broke our brains. 

 

 

Less than an hour after we found these fares, they had already disappeared, but not before our fastest members saw the alert and were able to book them. Because the deal was so short-lived, it wasn't higher on our ranking, but these fares to Amsterdam (AMS), London (LHR), and Paris (CDG) were some of the craziest we can ever remember. 

 

 

A word to the wise: If you see a mistake fare like this, book first and ask questions later. 

 

9. Rare Etihad First Class (& Biz Class) Availability

Etihad – the fancy United Arab Emirates-based airline – doesn't offer up a lot of points and miles availability to book its best seats. That's because, for a seat like it's First Class “Apartments” (pictured below), the airline can charge $10,000 or more instead. 

But occasionally, Etihad will release a few seats to be booked with miles…just like they did very recently. 

 

 

We caught this spontaneous release within minutes and sent it to our members. Best yet: You could book it with 115,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles from Toronto (YYZ), where they fly the apartment suites. 

But Etihad did something else unusual in the last few weeks: It released coveted business class awards, too. 

 

 

The new route from Atlanta (ATL) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) suddenly opened up, giving travelers a way to fly to Cairo (CAI), Johannesburg (JNB), Maldives (MLE), Nairobi (NBO), and more all included for 70,000 American Miles (75,000 to Johannesburg) each way. 

 

8. Delta Premium Select Mistake Fare to Spain from $603 RT

Delta's middle cabin – called Delta Premium Select – is a slick way to fly over the ocean. But Delta is stingy about how it prices these comfy seats – offering fares that more resemble business class than premium economy. 

Unless…that is…they make a mistake and forget an important, expensive surcharge and offer these seats up for the price of economy instead! 

 

 

This mistake fare turned many a Delta-flyer's heads – offering a stunningly low option to book these fares in the $600s roundtrip from Charlotte (CLT), Dallas (DFW), and Chicago (ORD, MDW), while also offering near-record-breaking fares in the $800s and $900s from many other Delta cities, too. 

 

 

To fly to Spain, this is one of the best values you could dream of, giving you about $2,000 off normal pricing!

 

7. Florida and the Northeast on JetBlue under 2k Points RT

We double and triple-checked this deal because we couldn't believe what we were seeing: One-way flights for 700 miles. 

Hundred! Not thousand. Seven. Hundred. Miles. 

This JetBlue TrueBlue sale was unhinged.

 

 

Roundtrip flights for 1,400 miles to Florida or up to the Northeast changed what I thought was possible for points and miles pricing. Think about it this way: A family of five for less than 10,000 points roundtrip…bananas. 

 

6. Taiwan from 25k Delta SkyMiles RT

Delta SkyMiles Flash Sales remain the best way to get the most value for your hard-earned miles. Sometimes they offer fares in the 30,000s to Europe. Sometimes it's fares in the 50,000s to Australia, New Zealand, or Tokyo. 

But fares in the 20,000s to Asia? That's no possible, right? 

 

 

These 30,000-SkyMile fares (bookable one-way for 15,000, too!) flying through Delta's Seattle (SEA) hub to Taipei (TPE) is maybe the cheapest way we've ever seen to get to and from Asia. If you have a Delta SkyMiles credit card and use the 15% off benefit, you can get these rates down to 25,400 miles roundtrip with only $44 in taxes and fees. 

 

 

As you can see, almost every Delta city in the country was included on this deal, too, meaning you could take advantage if you were in New York (JFK) or Pasco (PSC) for the same number of SkyMiles. 

 

5. Rare Qantas First (& Biz) Class Award Availability to Australia

It had been so many years without a great Qantas First or Business class deal. We were wandering the points and miles to Australia desert for so long that we thought it was a mirage. It wasn't. It was a barrage of Qantas premium cabin flight deals flying down under, highlighted by this sweet First Class unicorn alert. 

 

 

110,000 American Airlines miles were enough to secure these seats flying to Sydney (SYD) in January 2026 – peak season down under. You could also book with Alaska miles or Qantas's own frequent flyer miles, too. These swanky first class suites were enough to make us giddy, but if you're willing to slum it down in *checks notes* one of the nicest business class seats on earth, you could find even more availability. 

 

 

You could fly lie-flat from New York (JFK) to Auckland (AKL) in this seat for 127,000 points each way or from Los Angeles (LAX) to Brisbane (BNE) for 109,000 points each way using this deal. 

Qantas didn't stop there, either, offering availability on the Dallas (DFW) flights to both Sydney (SYD) and Melbourne (MEL), too for the same rates. This flurry of Qantas availability was ultra-rare, but thanks to our dedicated team of analysts looking for it every day, we caught it as soon as it popped up!

 

4. Biz Class Mistake Fare to Europe on Lufthansa from $1063 RT

Want to fly business class to Europe? You'd better have saved up $4,000 in cash or more. That's the typical going rate for a roundtrip business class ticket. 

But not when the airlines make a mistake!

 

 

Flying in August and next winter, this Lufthansa Business Class mistake fare was one for the ages. All of these routes listed below featured sale fares under $1,500 roundtrip! That's way less than half the usual cost to fly lie-flat to Europe. 

 

 

We heard from several travelers who were able to snag these unbelievable rates and make their next Euro-trip the comfiest yet. 

 

3. Cathay Pacific First & Biz Class Combo to SE Asia & Oceania

What if I told you that your Cathay Pacific First Class ticket from New York (JFK) to Hong Kong (HKG) will cost you 160,000 miles each way, but if you added another flight onto it in business class connecting to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and more…it got cheaper. 

Look, sometimes airfare doesn't make sense, but that's exactly what we found with this mind-bendingly bougie flight deal earlier this year. 

 

 

Cathay Pacific First Class on the long haul to Hong Kong (HKG) is the stuff of dreams thanks to a beautiful airplane seat, true dedicated service, and access to Cathay's The Pier First Class Lounge, but having the ability to connect on to the rest of Asia and Oceania for even fewer points is one of the best deals I've ever seen in travel. 

 

 

2. A Europe Flight Bonanza – Under $398 RT!

It started slowly…and then happened all at once. The airlines started dropping fares in the $400s to compete with each other on Europe fares this fall and winter…and then the competition really heated up. How hot, you ask? 

 

 

Roundtrip flights to Rome (FCO), Dublin (DUB), Zurich (ZRH) and more in the $300s are almost unheard of, especially from interior hubs like Detroit (DTW), Salt Lake City (SLC), and Minneapolis (MSP) – not to mention from the west coast like Seattle (SEA). 

It was one of several deals that featured fares in the $300s. But then it got even better. Almost all of the most coveted nonstop flights to Europe all fell in to the $400s and $300s, too. No connections required on these sizzling fares! 

 

 

This is just a tiny sample of the bonanza that was Europe flight deals earlier in May. For the price of a flight to Florida, you could visit Venice or Naples instead. 

And these flights were not on low-cost or budget carriers, either. Almost all of these fares were on American, Delta, and United. 

 

1. Emirates First Class (& Biz Class) to Italy from 102k Points Each Way

Nothing says luxury, or prestige, or fancyness, or the number one flight deal of the year quite like Emirates First Class on the A380. 

The crazy first class suites with Dom Perignon, caviar, and access to an onboard bar and shower scream elegance…elegance that could cost you $11,000 or more. 

Because we're “Thrifty” Traveler and not “Wealthy” Traveler, the only ways we search to book seats like these are using points and miles, so when we finally saw some availability pop up, we issued this Unicorn Alert. 

 

 

102,000 Emirates Skywards miles – transferable from Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, or Citi – were enough to secure one of these seats flying to and from New York (JFK) and Milan (MXP) early next year. And yes, that includes access to the shower and the bar you see below. 

But behind that first class cabin is the business class cabin – which still offers an unreal flying experience with access to this swanky looking bar in the sky. 

 

 

Plus, when you book roundtrip through Emirates, you only need 108,000 miles to fly business class both ways! And what jumps out at me most about this deal, besides the incredible roundtrip rate, is the availability. Hmmm…what's going on in Italy in February 2026? The Winter Olympics! 

 

 

Maybe I'm just obsessed with this flight deal, or maybe you agree that it's the best deal of 2025 so far. It is my list after all. But it's undeniable that the value of flying Emirates' stacked double-decker A380 is one of the best flying experiences out there. 

 

Bottom Line

So there's our list of the 10 best flight deals of 2025 so far. Do you agree? Is there anything I missed? Let us know in the comments or on social media @thriftytraveler. 

The best part of this stellar list is that it's not over yet. We still have seven more full months of flight deals that will compete to join this list. I can't wait to see which ones can jump into that top spot!