With airfare on the rise, the power of your points and miles has never been greater.
While roundtrip fares to Europe are routinely in excess of $1,000 or more as jet fuel prices soar and airlines pass those costs onto consumers, points and miles rates have barely budged. We've seen it happen in economy, premium economy, and all the way up front in lie-flat business class, too.
Here's a perfect example. Travelers who want to book a Christmas trip to Portugal don't have to pay the $1,130 (yes, that was the real cost of these flights …) roundtrip that Delta is asking for. They can instead use their Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles (which are transferable from most U.S. banks) to book the same flights for 43,000 miles roundtrip and just pay the taxes and fees instead!
That $1,130 cash fare booked you into basic economy – eliminating your ability to select a seat or change your ticket without paying a fee. The Air France 43,000-point booking? Main Cabin! That gives you seat selection and a free checked bag, too.
Giving yourself the ability to book a fare like this one is all about having the right points and miles. Here are the points you should be earning for a trip to Europe this year and how you can earn them.
Air France/KLM Flying Blue Miles
How to Earn Flying Blue Miles
Transfer your points to Flying Blue from …
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Bilt Rewards
- Capital One Miles
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Citi ThankYou Points
- Rove Miles
- Wells Fargo Rewards
What are Flying Blue Miles best for?
We search for Flying Blue flight deals every day for our Thrifty Traveler Premium flight deal alert subscribers. Here are the most frequent examples of flight deals to Europe using Flying Blue miles.
Europe economy flights: Book flights to Amsterdam, Paris, and beyond from just 50,000 miles roundtrip (sometimes less with Flying Blue Promo Rewards) on Air France or KLM. Or book roundtrip Delta flights from just 43,000 miles, like we showed above.
Premium economy flights: Book spacious premium economy seats to Amsterdam, Paris, and beyond from just 30,000 miles each way.
Business class flights: Book Air France or KLM business class to Amsterdam, Paris, and beyond from just 60,000 miles each way – including some peak summer flights. We've found availability from Minneapolis (MSP), Phoenix (PHX), New York (JFK), and Toronto (YYZ) in the last three weeks for flights in 2026.
Air Canada Aeroplan
How to Earn Air Canada Miles
You can pick up an Air Canada Aeroplan credit card to get a sign-up bonus of Air Canada Aeroplan cards.
But the best way to stack up your Aeroplan miles is through its transfer partners …
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Bilt Rewards
- Capital One Miles
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
What are Air Canada Aeroplan miles best for?
We search for Aeroplan flight deals every day for our Thrifty Traveler Premium flight deal alert subscribers. Here are the most frequent examples of flight deals to Europe using Air Canada miles.
Business class flights: Aeroplan frequently offers easy-to-book business class availability for just 70,000 miles each way. Our subscribers were alerted to availability to use your Aeroplan miles on Austrian business class, Lufthansa business class, LOT Polish Airlines business class, and other Star Alliance partners, too.
United economy flights: United has a fun network of nonstop flights to Europe that you can book for 70,000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles roundtrip! It's a flat rate, so you can get outsized value on flights that cost $1,000 or more. Recently, we showed our subscribers availability flying United to Madeira (FNC) and to Greenland (NUK)!
Connections from your home airport: The sneaky best part about Aeroplan? You don't have to live at a major hub to get a good deal, because Aeroplan often charges the same rate for connecting flights as they do for nonstops. For example, if you live in Des Moines (DSM) and want to fly Austrian business class to Vienna (VIE), Aeroplan will charge you 70,000 points for both the United flight from DSM to Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) and the Austrian business class flight from ORD to VIE!
Delta SkyMiles
How to Earn Delta SkyMiles
You can stack up your SkyMiles in many ways. One, you can pick up a Delta SkyMiles American Express credit card and get a welcome bonus to get a head start. There are four cards to choose from, but you'll want one of the top three cards with annual fees for the biggest bonuses and a chance to get 15% off all SkyMiles bookings when flying Delta!
Another way to fill up your SkyMiles account is by transferring from American Express Membership Rewards. Just beware: You'll have to pay a small fee (0.06 cents per point transferred, capped at $99) when you do.
What are Delta SkyMiles best for?
We search for Delta SkyMiles flight deals every single day at Thrifty Traveler Premium, and we find several unadvertised flash sales per week. Here's how we find the best deals.
Delta SkyMiles flash sales: Delta doesn't have fixed award rates like its partners Air France or Virgin Atlantic. Instead, Delta's miles rates fluctuate up and down as Delta pleases. They're called SkyMiles Flash Sales.
You can normally find them in the shoulder seasons like September-November or January-May instead of during peak times.
This is bad news when rates go sky-high (like 100,000 or more for a basic economy seat), but can be great news when fares plummet. For flights in 2026, we've found 19,000-SkyMile roundtrip fares to London (LHR), and we've found 26,000-SkyMile roundtrip fares to almost everywhere else in Europe from more than 100 U.S. cities with Delta service.
Delta One flash sales: While they aren't common or routine, Delta will steeply discount its Delta One business class SkyMiles rates from time to time. We've seen Delta offer Delta One seats from just 84,000 SkyMiles each way on its newest route to Malta (MLA) this summer, for instance.
American AAdvantage Miles
How to Earn AAdvantage Miles
American Airlines has a suite of Citi credit cards that can help you quickly earn AAdvantage miles. There are three types of cards you can open, each with big bonuses of their own. But American also has a transfer partner relationship with Citi's own suite of cards – meaning you can transfer your points in from Citi as well.
That's how you can quickly stack up at least 110,000 American miles in just a few months with this strategy. (I just did this a few months ago, and it funded business class flights to and from Italy this May!)
What are AAdvantage miles best for?
American economy flights: Like Delta, American routinely offers flash sales on its economy seats to Europe. And while American won't lower its prices to lows like Delta does, it will consistently offer 45,000-mile roundtrip flights to Europe (sometimes less) … and I think it's actually a better deal.
Why? Because American only offers Main Cabin on its points bookings abroad – meaning that flight comes with seat assignment, free changes and cancellation for a full refund of your points and taxes, and a free checked bag. These super-flexible fares are a no-brainer to get your trip planning started.
Business class on American or Aer Lingus: AAdvantage miles are great points to have for business class flights to Europe. On its own planes, American sometimes drops rates to as low as 55,000 miles each way to fly American Airlines business class (the newest version of which our colleague just raved about). Plus, a recently expanded partnership with Aer Lingus means you can also book business class flights to and through Dublin (DUB) on their fancy business class for just 57,500 American miles each way!
Connecting flights: Like we mentioned with Air Canada and Delta above, AA doesn't penalize you for adding connections when you book their partners like Aer Lingus. Remember when I said I used the strategy to earn 110,000 AA miles a few months ago? Well, I used those to fly Dublin-based Aer Lingus … to Italy! I added a connection from DUB to Rome (FCO), and the price stayed the same: 57,500 AA miles in business class from Minneapolis (MSP), through DUB, to FCO.
The same thing works for connecting flights in the U.S. getting to Aer Lingus hubs using American flights.
Honorable Mention: Programs That Are Great for One Thing
Those four programs above are the most versatile options for a flight to Europe in 2026, but there are five other programs worth pointing out that offer some incredible opportunities to fly to Europe for fewer points, too.
ANA Mileage Club
Transfer your Amex Membership Rewards to ANA to take advantage of this quirky, but awesome Japanese program. Note: Transfers take up to 48 hours, so think ahead!
Best for: Star Alliance business class flights, bookable for just 50,000 points each way! Think TAP Air Portugal, LOT Polish, United Polaris, and more! It's by far the best way to book TAP business class (which I loved, by the way!).
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Virgin is another one of those programs (like Avios and Flying Blue), where it has so many transfer partners that you may have Virgin points and not even know it. Transfer to Virgin from Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, or Wells Fargo.
Best for: Nonstop Delta flights to Europe for 60,000 miles roundtrip. Instead of paying Delta's sky-high prices during peak season, check to see if you can book with Virgin for a flat rate of 30,000 miles each way instead. You can usually book the same seats with Flying Blue, too.
Air France/KLM flights are a bargain, too, often pricing at just 30,000 points or less roundtrip – or as high as 50,000 points in peak season. But beware of higher taxes and fees on many of these routes.
Avios (Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, or Qatar)
Transfer … well … just about anything to one of the five main Avios programs. Amex, Bilt, Citi, Capital One, Chase, or Wells Fargo all transfer to at least one of these programs. And once the points are there, you can move them from program to program (with some quirks) to book the best deals! My advice: Sign up for all these programs today to avoid booking delays just in case you want to use them!
Best for: Business class flights to all over Europe. JetBlue Mint Suites for 78,000 Avios (bookable with Qatar), Finnair business class (one of my favorites ever) for 63,000 Avios, or Iberia business class (look for the A321 for the best product!) from 40,500 Avios each way.
Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
Another funky Japanese airline program that offers incredible value for award flyers is Japan Airlines Mileage Bank (JAL). You can transfer points from Bilt, Rove, and Capital One to JAL, but Capital One's transfer ratio is 750 Capital One miles to 1,000 JAL miles – making for some funky math.
Best for: Emirates business class from New York City to either Athens (ATH) or Milan (MXP) for 85,000 miles roundtrip! Emirates operates these two funny routes from New York (JFK) to MXP and Newark (EWR) to ATH every day. And this is by far the best way to book them. This is one of the best deals in travel.
Alaska Atmos Rewards
Formerly known as Mileage Plan, the new Atmos Rewards program still has some intriguing, fun redemptions … if you can earn the points, that is. Sign up for one of Alaska's Atmos Rewards credit cards or transfer Bilt Rewards to stack points quickly.
Best for: Aer Lingus business class or Condor business class from 45,000 miles each way. The aforementioned Aer Lingus can be booked for its lowest rates through Alaska. The same goes for German-based Condor when flying to or through Frankfurt (FRA).
And interestingly, while the nonstop to either Dublin (DUB) or Frankfurt (FRA) would cost you 45,000 or 55,000 Alaska miles on some of those routes, if you tack on a connection in economy to a nearby city like London (LHR) or Paris (CDG), the total cost comes down! It's one of the best travel hacks out there.
Bottom Line
If you're planning a trip to Europe in 2026, you'd do pretty well earning one of these points currencies to fuel your trip.
As airfare goes up all over the world due to rising jet fuel prices, points and miles are getting more valuable by the second.
