If you’ve been dreaming of spending your points and miles to fly to Europe in business class later this year, we have good news: United Airlines and Swiss have plenty of seats available at great award prices.
A number of dates from October 2024 to March 2025 are available in business class for flights on Star Alliance carriers United and Swiss traveling between the US and Europe.
Based on our search, you may find John F. of New York. Can fly nonstop on United and/or Swiss from Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Denver International Airport (DEN), Dulles International Airport (IAD). Washington, DC, and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Zurich Airport (ZRH). We are also looking at connecting flights available from other cities from JFK, EWR and IAD on routes operated by both Swiss and United, as well as similar points and miles offers to Geneva Airport (GVA).
Avianca LifeMiles is likely the cheapest way to book these flights if you have any points or miles in the following credit card programs:
You can transfer points or miles from each of these credit card programs to your LifeMiles account at a 1:1 ratio.
Right now, we’re seeing award availability for 56,000 to 63,000 LifeMiles each way in Business Class between North America and Europe without fuel surcharges.
Transfers to LifeMiles are usually instant, but make sure you check availability on LifeMiles’ own site before transferring credit card points or miles. Also note that as with all programs, transfer delays can and do occur at times, so transferring for immediate redemption always carries some risk.
If you want to book with Air Canada Aeroplan, know that that is also an option. If you have:
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Aeroplan charges just 60,000 points for short flights (under 4,000 miles) from the East Coast to Western Europe in business class and 70,000 points for most other US itineraries, and there seems to be plenty of award availability during the winter for flights from the various USs. Cities up to Zurich.
There’s also currently a 20% transfer bonus available from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Aeroplan, meaning you’ll only need to transfer 50,000 to 59,000 Chase points each way for a business-class ticket.
You can also book these flights through the United MileagePlus program; These flights require 80,000 to 88,000 miles each way in business class. Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to United at a 1:1 ratio.
If you want to search across multiple dates, United’s “Flexible Dates” search engine will show you 30 days worth of prices on one screen so you can see which dates are offering the lowest prices.
We are seeing decent availability throughout the winter, especially in January and February 2025.
Related: Is United Polaris Business Class Right for Singapore?
The best credit cards to earn points and miles for award travel
All of the following cards currently offer strong welcome bonuses with points and miles that you can transfer to your LifeMiles and/or Aeroplan accounts so you can be prepared the next time one of these opportunities arises:
Bottom line
Right now, the best awards are available from US airports to Zurich this winter, to take advantage of what will hopefully be a powder-rich Swiss ski season.
You usually need to redeem your miles several months in advance to score a low price like this for business class. Fortunately, an impressive amount of business-class award seats on United and Swiss are currently available for as little as 56,000 miles each way.