There’s great news if you’re wanting to get to Europe during the shoulder seasons this year – there are cheap flights to Europe for under $400 from major US cities and lots more from smaller cities for under $500!
These won’t last long. With prices this low it can make sense to pay for your flight with points, especially if you have either of these cards:
When you use points to pay for cheap flights you can save points (compared to booking an award ticket), get a free flight, and earn frequent flyer miles all at the same time.
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Cheap Flights to Europe Through Fall 2019
Lots of these fares are for Basic Economy flights, but international Basic Economy should still include a carry-on. And with low cost carriers, like WOW Air or Norwegian be sure to pay attention to extra fees. Also, the connections won’t always be the most convenient for this deals, especially if you’re flying from a smaller airport. But if you have airport lounge access that can make the trip much more manageable.
Most of the best deals are for flights through March and from October to December 2019.
Even if you don’t find an exceptional deal to the city you want to visit remember, getting around mainland Europe is cheap once you’re there. There is a great train system and there are plenty of low-cost carriers like Ryanair that are very affordable. Plus, you can use miles & points to hop around for very little. Check out this guide for how to book short-haul flights within Europe starting at just 4,500 points.
Here are a few of the best round-trip deals I saw from major US cities:
- Boston to Copehagen for $324
- Boston to Oslo for $329
- Boston to Iceland for $200
- Boston to London or Paris for $330
- Chicago to London for $322
- Chicago to Copenhagen $358
- Detroit to Iceland for $240
- Detroit to Dublin for $300
- Los Angeles to Barcelona for $344
- New York to Paris or Amsterdam for $300
- New York to Madrid for $310
- Miami to London for $375
- San Francisco to Paris or London for $389
And here are some great deals from smaller US airports:
- Boise to Frankfurt for $438
- Charlotte to Amsterdam for $466
- Charlotte to Madrid for $469
- Harrisburg, PA to Rome for $489 or Amsterdam for $466
- Las Vegas to several Italian cities with prices in the $480s
- Nashville to Amsterdam for $460
- Oklahoma City to Amsterdam for $461
- Omaha to Madrid for $460, Amsterdam for $468 or Rome for $489
- Phoenix to Helsinki for $461
- Portland, OR to Frankfurt for $411
As you can see, certain bigger European cities (London, Paris, Amsterdam) seem to be have the best deals. But there are very few US cities that don’t have prices much cheaper than normal.
To search for flights from your home airport I found it easiest to use Google flights. If you just want to get the cheapest deal to any city in Europe then type in your home city and “Europe” into the Google Flights search. Then select flexible dates and you can see all the best prices for flights in the next 6 months.
If you’re looking for flights this fall, you’ll have to search each airport individually. Otherwise you can see the best deals to all of Europe for a specific month or the next 6 months.
Normally, an award flight to Europe would cost 60,000 miles or more. But if you pay with points for the flights, instead of booking an award ticket, you can save a bunch.
Here’s a quick primer on how to do that.
Paying for Cheap Flights to Europe With Points
If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® you can pay for airfare through the Chase travel portal for 1.5 cents per Chase point. Or with the U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card your US Bank points are worth the same 1.5 cents per point toward airfare. So even a $500 flight would only cost you ~33,333 points!
That’s a great deal considering you’ll also earn frequent flyer miles at the same time!
Hat tip: Points With a Crew
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