Fly Amazing First Class Suite to Europe With Little More Than 1 Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus

Update:   One or more card offers in this post are no longer available.  Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers. 

Did you know you can fly to Europe in a luxury First Class suite by signing-up for just 1 credit card?

Singapore Airlines’ A380 First Class suites are consistently ranked as 1 of the best airline experiences in the world.  You’ll get fine champagne, caviar, and a private, enclosed suite with a lay-flat bed.

Use your miles & points for whatever makes sense for you!   That might be domestic coach flights like Emily and I enjoy on Southwest, hotel rooms, or for an experience like this that you probably wouldn’t want to pay for!

What’s the Deal?

Link:   Citi Prestige

Link:   Citi ThankYou Premier

Link:   Chase Ink Plus

Singapore Airlines First Class suites are available on their direct flights from New York to Frankfurt.  (But I’ll show you how to easily get to New York and travel to other places in Europe!)

This paid ticket can cost over $4,700!

But you can book this trip as an award ticket for only 57,375 Singapore Airlines miles and ~$203 1-way!  That’s including the 15% miles discount for booking online.

I’ll show you cards offering 50,000 bonus points that transfer to Singapore Airlines!

You can only book Singapore Airlines suites using Singapore Airlines miles (not through their Star Alliance partner airlines like Air Canada or United Airlines).  But fortunately, Singapore Airlines miles are very easy to get!

That’s because you can move points from all 4 transferable points programs to Singapore Airlines at a 1:1 ratio:

• American Express Membership Rewards
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Citi ThankYou
• Starwood Preferred Guest

Note:  It normally takes a day or 2 for points to transfer to Singapore Airlines from most programs.  But be aware that it can take up to 4 weeks to transfer points from Starwood Preferred Guest.  However, in my experience, transfers usually complete between 2 and 12 days.

And remember, you’ll get a 5,000 mile bonus when you transfer 20,000 Starwood points to airlines!

You can earn almost all the points required for this award ticket by signing up for ONE credit card and meeting the minimum spending requirements.

For example, you’ll earn 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the Chase Ink Plus business card after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account.

So you’d earn at least 55,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points in total (50,000 points from sign-up bonus + 5,000 points from meeting minimum spending requirements).

Or you could apply for the current sign-up bonuses on the Citi Prestige and Citi ThankYou Premier cards.  With each card you’ll earn 50,000 Citi ThankYou points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account.  (BOTH EXPIRED.)

So by meeting the minimum spending requirements on these cards, you’ll earn at least 53,000 ThankYou points (50,000 from sign-up bonus + at least 3,000 from meeting minimum spending).

And you can easily earn the remaining 4,375 points required for a Singapore Airlines award ticket because both the Citi Prestige and Citi ThankYou Premier have points bonuses for spending in categories like travel, dining, and entertainment.

And you could transfer the remaining miles required for the award ticket from your American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, or Starwood Preferred Guest account.

This is a fantastic deal from just 1 card!  And an experience of a lifetime.

These Suites Are Not Often Available!

Singapore Airlines suites award seats can be difficult to find, so you’ll have to be flexible.  But you can find them either very last-minute or if you book well in advance (up to ~11 months).

But don’t be discouraged.  You can add yourself to a waiting list for these flights and if you get lucky, someone might cancel and you’ll get their seat!

That said, most folks find available award seats 1st then plan their trip to Europe around those dates.

Note:   Folks looking for other ways to Europe can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to use on United Airlines.  Or use Citi ThankYou points with the Citi Prestige to book any American Airlines flight (no blackout dates) through at 1.6 cents per point.

Exploring Europe From Frankfurt

From Frankfurt, you can easily travel to other cities by train or low-cost airline like Air Berlin.

Folks who’d rather use points instead of cash can use British Airways Avios points to fly on Air Berlin, Finnair, or Iberia.   You can see how many points are required to fly to other cities by checking the Wandering Aramean’s British Airways Avios tool.

For example, you can fly 1-way in coach from Frankfurt to:

• Barcelona for 7,500 British Airways Avios points
• Berlin for 4,500 British Airways Avios points
• Vienna for 4,500 British Airways Avios points

Note:   If you want to continue to Singapore from Frankfurt, you’ll pay a total of 93,500 Singapore Airlines miles and ~$285

What If You’re Not in New York?

You can travel to New York very cheaply using miles and points!  For example:

• United Airlines – Check out the all the ways you can earn United Airlines miles, including transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United Airlines.  And here’s my series on booking United Airlines award flights like a pro!

• Southwest – You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest.  Plus, if you have the Southwest Companion Pass, your companion flies with you for nearly free on paid and award tickets!

• British Airways – If you’re within 1,150 miles of New York, you could save miles by using British Airways Avios points to book an award flight on American Airlines.  And you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points, American Express Membership Rewards points, and Starwood Preferred Guest points to British Airways.

Or you can check sites like Kayak or Orbitz for cheap paid tickets.

Bottom Line

You can fly in a private, enclosed Singapore Airlines First Class suite with a bed and fancy food between New York and Frankfurt for only 57,375 Singapore Airlines miles and ~$203 1-way.

And you can earn almost all the miles required for this ticket from 1 credit card sign-up bonus, like the Chase Ink Plus, Citi Prestige, or Citi ThankYou Premier!  That’s because you can send points from all 4 transferable points programs to Singapore Airlines.

This is a great deal for folks who want to splurge for a special occasion.

Have you flown Singapore Airlines First Class suites?   Please share your experiences in the comments!