8 Business Class Flights You Can Book for 50K Points (Or Less!)

If you don't think you have enough points and miles to fly business class, think again. We're here to prove you wrong. 

Sure, if you have Delta SkyMiles, you're all-too-used to seeing business class award tickets selling for 400,000 miles each way. But that's one extreme – it's time to look at the other. Even when airlines are charging $5,000 or more for those same flights, you can book some of the nicest lie-flat seats around the world for 50,000 points or less.

The trick is knowing which airlines to fly, whose miles to redeem, finding the flights you can actually book, and having a stash of transferrable credit card points to make it a reality – sometimes with the help of a transfer bonus from the bank. With the right redemptions that combine all three essential ingredients, a single credit card welcome bonus is more than enough to get you on one of these business class seats.

From a slew of redemptions that clock in just under 50,000 points to others as low as 23,000 miles each way, here are a handful of ways to book that business class flight for 50,000 points or less. 

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Flexible Points (& Transfer Bonuses) are Key

Many of the best ways to book business class for under 50,000 points are with airlines that actually sell those seats at criminally low rates. A handful, though, might require taking advantage of a transfer bonus to stretch your miles a bit further.

Big banks like American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and even the upstart loyalty program Bilt, routinely roll out bonuses of 15%, 25%, 30%, or more when transferring points to a specific airline partner. For example, Chase recently offered two 25% transfer bonuses when sending Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Air France/KLM Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. 

Read next: Save Points When Booking Flights: Transfer Them to an Airline Partner

That means you don't have to transfer as many points as you normally need to book an award flight. Think of these transfer bonuses as a way to get free miles. 

Transfer bonuses come and go every month or so. They can range from a lowly 15% bonus when transferring points to even some one-day-only 100% or more transfer bonuses we've seen from Bilt. If you can strike while the transfer bonuses are hot, it can lead to outsized savings on business class flights, helping you book flights for 40,000 points (or less!) when it would normally cost far more. 

Here are all the active transfer bonuses you can take advantage of right now: 

As you can see, there are some great ways to multiply the value of your hard-earned points for travel this year or next. And it could take the cost of your next business class flight down to economy rates just like that. 

Whenever there's a transfer bonus, we clue our Thrifty Traveler Premium members into all the best ways they can use it to maximize their points and miles. Here are some of the best business class deals we've found, all for under 50,000 points. 

Iberia Biz Class to Spain (& Beyond) from 32K Points Each Way

Iberia practically invented the cheap business class flight to Europe, and we love them for it. 

That's because in the off-peak months – excluding holidays and peak summer travel season – Iberia charges only 40,500 Avios each way to fly in their lie-flat seats to and from their Madrid (MAD) hub. That's up from the previous 34,000-mile rate after a devaluation earlier this year, but it's still a stellar deal.

But transfer bonuses of 25% to 30% from big banks like Chase and American Express are common – we see them at least a few times each year. That means you can book this flight for as few as just 32,000 points each way!

Read our full guide to booking these Iberia business class flights!

But with low rates like these, you don't even need to book during a transfer bonus to get elite value. We'd recommend booking the routes from Boston (BOS) or maybe even San Juan (SJU) so you can fly the brand new A321neo business class that we flew earlier this year. It's a treat.

But flights from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), New York City (JFK), and Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) all benefit from the lowest pricing. Departing from or returning to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Miami (MIA), or Los Angeles (LAX) will run you at least 50,000 miles.

Flying Iberia is a surefire cheap way to fly lie-flat to Europe this year or next. 

A One-Way to Switzerland for 47K Points

Ready for a weird one?

Long one of the best ways to book a lie-flat seat on virtually any Star Alliance airline, most transatlantic business class redemptions now cost 69,000 Avianca LifeMiles each way after a nasty devaluation earlier this year. But there's an exception – in fact, a few deals got even better. 

Virtually all transatlantic business class redemptions will set you back 69,000 LifeMiles, if not more flying carriers like United. But then there's SWISS business class, which you can book for just 55,000 miles each way on exactly one route: New York City (JFK) to Zurich (ZRH). 

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And OK, sure, that's over 50,000 miles … but factor in a transfer bonus like a current 15% transfer bonus with Capital One or a previous 15% bonus from Amex, and that brings your total cost for this flight to just 48,000 points.

Avianca LifeMiles isn't our favorite way to book flights using miles, as its website is wonky and customer service can be quite bad. But when you can book a business class seat to Europe for under a fraction of what other airlines charge, it's worth it.

Plus, Avianca LifeMiles are incredibly easy to earn. You can transfer points to LifeMiles from cards like American Express, Capital One, and Citi.

Aer Lingus Biz Class to Ireland for 45K Each Way

Aer Lingus has a sneakily awesome business class that doesn't get enough credit in our opinion. It might just be the best way to get to Dublin (DUB).

And we just put it to the test again thanks to this deal, too! 

Flying Aer Lingus's nonstop routes from all over the U.S. and Canada, you can snag these seats from just 45,000 miles from Alaska Airlines each way … or a few miles more using other airline programs. 

In general, Alaska actually charges 55,000 miles each way for a nonstop business class award between the U.S. and Europe. But thanks to a pricing quirk with Alaska miles, you can drop that to 45,000 miles by adding a connection (in economy) either within the U.S. or over in Europe.

The best part about booking Aer Lingus, though, is simply how much business class availability there is to book. While it varies from city to city and time of year, it's among the easiest business class cabins you to book with your miles – especially because with the dozen-plus cities in the U.S. and Canada Aer Lingus flies to, there are plenty of options.

Finnair Business Class to Helsinki

Finnair is a criminally underrated European airline flying brand-new business class cabins across the Atlantic from a half-dozen U.S. cities like New York City (JFK), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), and Chicago-O'Hare (ORD).

No matter where you start from, the airline charges just 62,500 Avios and reasonable fees each way to fly business class to Helsinki (HEL) or even connect onward throughout much of Europe. Those miles are incredibly easy to earn whether you transfer Capital One miles directly or send points from any of the major banks to British Airways, then kick them over to Finnair. And while that's well above this 50,000-point threshold, frequent transfer bonuses to British Airways of 30% can easily bring that down to just 49,000 points each way.

But here's the best part: Availability is typically wide-open for two passengers … so long as you know how to book it. And there's an important trick. 

Fly business class for less with your points and Thrifty Traveler Premium!

International airlines have been throttling business class award space for U.S.-based travelers lately, and Finnair might be one of the worst offenders. You can only book one seat in Finnair business class from the States…

…unless you set your location to “Finland” or another European country on Finnair's website, in which case you can easily find two seats on the exact same flights! 

This loophole is the only way to book for two passengers on the same flight using Avios. Use it while you can!

American Biz Class to Europe for 45K Each Way

The foreign airlines get a lot of credit for their comfortable lie-flat seats – and for good reason. But don't sleep on American Airlines … especially if you're looking for a bargain.

It's been easier (and cheaper) to book lately than you might expect, especially into London-Heathrow (LHR).

We've repeatedly found tons of availability to book these business class seats to Europe lately, including many dates with award space for up to nine passengers! If you're looking to use miles to fly the whole family in business class this year or next, AA business class might be your best bet. 

AAdvantage miles will do you right, but using a smaller stash of Alaska Airlines miles is even better. Thanks to that same quirk we highlighted booking Aer Lingus, you can fly to many cities throughout Europe on American using just 45,000 Alaska miles each way.

Read our guide to booking award tickets with Alaska miles!

Hawaiian Biz Class to Hawaii, Japan & Australia for 40K to 50K Each Way

If you thought only Europe gets to have fun with sub-50,000-point business class awards, you're wrong! You might just have to work a little harder to snag the same rates across the Pacific. 

Hawaiian Airlines' business class seats – plus its fancy new first class suites on its Boeing 787s – are one of the few tried-and-true redemptions to get to Hawaii in lie-flat seats. Here's the best part: You can book it for just 40,000 miles through either Alaska or Hawaiian itself.

But you can go much further. From its hub in Honolulu (HNL), you can fly lie-flat nonstop to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea for just 50,000 points each way on Hawaiian Airlines. 

This deal is exceptional because of the price, of course. But it's also great for the opportunity to book a stopover in Hawaii on the way to or from your final destination. Just grab the cheapest flight you can to Hawaii, spend a few days there, and then continue on in a lie-flat seat to the South Pacific or Asia. Incredible. 

LATAM Biz Class to South America for 35K 

Finally, you can fly south – like, 10-plus hours south – for just 35,000 points each way, too! Check this out. 

LATAM business class seats fly all over South America from the U.S., with routes as far south as Sao Paulo (GRU) and Santiago (SCL) in Chile. And while they're not the mega suites that you'll see from some airlines, it's still one of the best ways to get to South America. You might even get lucky and fly one of the brand-new business class suites the airline started rolling out late last year. 

Oh … and did I mention that you only need 35,000 Alaska miles to grab these flights, too?

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If Alaska miles aren't in your arsenal, then 50,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points – which you can transfer from all the major banks, often with a bonus – can get you to Lima (LIM) in Peru from several U.S. cities as well! 

Virgin Upper Class to London from 23K Points Each Way

When Virgin Atlantic announced it would shift to dynamic award pricing, we braced for the worst. Airlines like to hide price increases in these kinds of changes, after all. 

But this time was different. Virgin's new dynamic pricing means many flights actually got cheaper: As low as just 29,000 miles each way for a Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat! 

Those outstanding fares – from just 29,000 Virgin Atlantic points each way (or less with a transfer bonus) – mean you can fly nonstop to London-Heathrow (LHR) or Manchester (MAN) for under 30,000 points in some cases! Fold in a frequent transfer bonus, and it can get even cheaper!

This crazy flight is a treat for U.S.-based flyers who can earn Virgin points (and trust us, they're so easy to earn!). While the points rate is delicious, this deal recently took a big hit: Virgin now tacks on close to $600 in taxes and fees on a one-way business class ticket to London. 

But that could be well worth it to book not one but two business class flights for under 50,000 points.

Bottom Line

You don't have to be hoarding hundreds of thousands of points to fly business class. Choose your battles, and might not need more than 50,000 points to book the best lie-flat seats in the world.