Planning a European Vacation With Ink Business Preferred 80,000-Point Bonus

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    Looking to travel to Europe?  You can transfer the 80,000 point sign-up bonus from the Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card to Chase’s terrific airline partners for award flights to popular destinations like Dublin, London, and Paris!

    And because Chase has partners from all 3 major alliances, you can book award tickets on dozens of airlines, including Air France, Delta, and Lufthansa!

    With remaining points, you can book free hotel stays at chains like Hyatt or IHG.  And if you need more Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can combine your existing points from cards like the Chase Freedom or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

    Or you can redeem points directly through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal to get $1,000 worth of travel!

    Take Off to London or Many Other European Cities Using the Ink Business Preferred Sign-Up Bonus to Book Award Flights and Free Hotel Nights!

    I’ll show you how to use your points to get Big Travel to Europe!

    5 Ways to Get to Europe Using Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

    The Chase airline transfer partner you choose will likely depend on your US departure city and European destination.

    You might be able to save miles by booking a cheap award flight to somewhere in Europe and using budget airlines to travel to your final destination.

    In these examples, I’ll show you award pricing for flights in coach, Business Class, and First Class.  You’ll earn at least 85,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the Ink Business Preferred after meeting minimum spending requirements.

    Plus, you might have points you can combine from your Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Freedom accounts!

    1.   United Airlines Miles

    Link:   United Airlines Award Chart

    Link:   United Airlines Partner Award Chart

    The great thing about award flights on United Airlines and Star Alliance partner airlines is they cost the same amount of miles to Europe no matter which city you depart from in the continental US, Alaska, or Canada.  You’ll pay:

    For example, you’ll pay 60,000 United Airlines miles and ~$78 in taxes and fees for a round-trip non-stop coach ticket from San Francisco to Paris.

    Pay Just ~$78 Out of Pocket When You Use 60,000 United Airlines Miles to Book a Round-Trip Coach Award Flight From San Francisco to Paris

    Looking to fly Business Class to Europe?

    You can find plenty of award flights on United Airlines’ partner airlines.  For example, I found a one-way award flight from Chicago to Frankfurt on Lufthansa for 70,000 United Airlines miles and ~$6 in taxes and fees.

    Use Points From Your Ink Business Preferred Sign-Up Bonus to Fly Lufthansa Business Class to Europe

    For your return flight to the US, you could transfer points to book a one-way coach award flight.  Or pay for a one-way flight through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

    2.   British Airways Avios Points

    Link:   British Airways Award Calculator

    If you live on the East Coast, transferring Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways can be a great way to get to Europe cheaply.  Because British Airways uses a distance-based award chart.

    For example, you can use British Airways Avios points to fly partner airline Aer Lingus to Europe.  You’ll use only 26,000 British Airways Avios points for a round-trip off-peak coach flight between 6 US cities and Dublin, including Boston, Chicago, and Newark.

    Remember, off-peak times include almost 8 months out of the year!

    Visit Dublin for Fewer Miles by Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to British Airways to Book Award Flights on Partner Airline Aer Lingus!

    You can’t search for Aer Lingus award seats on the British Airways website.  So you’ll have to call British Airways at 800-452-1201 to check for available seats and book your flight.

    Or you can book award flights to Europe on partner airline Air Berlin.  The amount of points you pay will still depend on you departure city.  But as an example, you’ll pay:

    Of course you could also use points to book British Airways award flights.  But they usually add significant fuel surcharges to their own award tickets.  So you won’t get as good of a deal.

    3.   Flying Blue (Air France / KLM) Miles

    Link:   Flying Blue Promo Awards

    Last year, Chase added Flying Blue to the list of Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners!

    To make the most of your Ink Business Preferred bonus, you could get a fantastic deal with a Flying Blue Promo Award to Europe.

    Each month, Air France and KLM discount award tickets on certain routes by up to 50%.  Some months even include discounted Business Class award flights!  You’ll still pay taxes and fees depending on the route, but it could be worth it to save miles and points for another part of your European vacation.

    You’ll Use Fewer Miles Booking a Flying Blue Promo Award to Get to Europe. Maybe Your Flight Will Be on the Airbus A380!

    For example, the January 2017 Flying Blue Promo awards could save you 25% off when you book round-trip coach award tickets to Europe from 9 cities.

    If you live in one of the departure cities included in a Flying Blue Promo award, this might be the cheapest way to get to Europe.  And you don’t have to end your journey in Paris or Amsterdam.  You can connect to other European cities for the same number of miles!

    4.   Singapore Airlines

    Link:   Singapore Airlines Award Chart

    You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Singapore Airlines and book award flights between New York and Frankfurt.  When you book online you’ll get a 15% discount.  For one-way award flights you’ll pay:

    You’ll have to pay taxes and fees of ~$200 or more.  But, this can be an opportunity to fly in style to Europe on Singapore Airlines suites!

    Enjoy a Comfortable Bed, Amazing Food, and Terrific Service With Singapore Airlines First Class Suites

    5.   Korean Air Miles

    Link:   Korean Air Skypass

    Korean Air is a a Chase airline partner and member of the SkyTeam alliance, which includes Delta, Air France, and KLM.  If you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Korean Air, you can use the miles to book award tickets on any SkyTeam airline.

    Here’s a look at the number of miles you’ll need to book a partner award flight.

    You Can Pay 50,000 Korean Air Miles for a Round-Trip Award Flight to Europe on a Partner Airline Like Delta

    You can book a round-trip award flight from the US to Europe on a SkyTeam partner airline for 50,000 miles.

    And remember you can now use the Korean Air website to book SkyTeam partner awards online.

    Use the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal

    Link:   Save Points (and Money) Using the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal

    You get a 25% bonus on your points when you redeem for travel through the Chase portal.  This means the Ink Preferred 80,000-point sign-up bonus is worth $1,000!

    And you can buy a ticket even if award seats aren’t available on the flight you want.  Plus, you’ll earn airline miles for the ticket.

    I’ve found that flights are usually the same price in the portal as other online travel sites.

    For example, I found a non-stop Delta flight from New York (JFK) to Athens in April 2017.  The flight costs ~$910 if you pay cash.  Or you can redeem ~73,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points from your Ink Business Preferred card.

    There are NO Blackout Dates When You Use the Chase Travel Portal.  And Your Points Are Worth 1.25 Cents Each.
    You can also book travel activities through the Chase travel portal as well!

    For example, I found a pub crawl in Barcelona that costs 1,156 points.

    Get a Discount on Activities Using Your Ink Business Preferred Points to Book Through the Chase Travel Portal

    Hotel Stays in Europe With Ultimate Rewards Points

    After your award flights are booked, you can transfer any remaining Chase Ultimate Rewards points to hotel partners like IHG, Hyatt, Marriott, or Ritz-Carlton.

    Emily and I prefer Hyatt hotels because we’ve had great experiences staying with them, and their top-category hotels can be extremely expensive if you’re paying cash.

    Here are some posts on some top European hotels you could stay at using Chase Ultimate Rewards points:

    Bottom Line

    With the Ink Business Preferred℠ card, you’ll earn valuable and flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which you can transfer at a 1:1 ratio to many airlines for award flights to Europe.

    You can save miles to Europe booking a round-trip coach award ticket with a Flying Blue Promo Award.  Or you can splurge and book an award ticket on Singapore Airlines First Class Suites!

    Or you can redeem points directly through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal to get $1,000 worth of travel!

    For hotel stays in Europe, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to IHG, Hyatt, Marriott, or Ritz-Carlton.

    Where would you like to visit in Europe with the Ink Business Preferred bonus?

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)
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