MileValue is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.
I tweeted this deal first from @MileValueAlerts. Follow @MileValueAlerts on Twitter and follow these directions to get a text message every time I tweet from that account. I tweet from @MileValueAlerts only a few times a month because it is designed to be used only for the best and most limited-time deals–like mistake fares–so that you aren’t bombarded by text messages.
Multiple Star Alliance carriers are offering roundtrip economy flights from cities across the United States, ranging from Los Angeles to Boston, to cities all over Europe. The majority of available travel dates span from the end of this summer through fall.
Contents
- What city pairs are available?
- When are the cheap fares?
- Mileage Earning
- Baggage Allowance
- Best Credit Card to Buy the Ticket
Available City Pairs
San Francisco to:
- Amsterdam
- Barcelona
- Rome
- Madrid
- Venice
Boston to:
- Amsterdam
- Barcelona
- Rome
- Madrid
Miami to:
- Amsterdam
- Rome
- Venice
- Paris
Orlando to:
- Barcelona
- Madrid
Los Angeles to:
- Amsterdam
- Rome
- Venice
- Madrid
When are the cheap fares?
The easiest way to see the cheap fares is on Google Flights. Prices start as low as $348 (from Boston) and climb to around $450 from Los Angeles. Available date ranges for the low price span from mid August through November, however to between the west coast and Europe travel dates span from November to March.
I brought up this calendar of roundtrip prices between Boston and Barcelona on Google Flights by clicking the Flexible dates tab.
You can’t purchase tickets directly on Google Flights, but after choosing an outbound and return flight you will be given links to follow to buy on the airline’s website (or, in some circumstances, for cheaper through sites like Expedia–just know that you risk worse customer service in the event you need to cancel or make a change when you buy through one of those online travel agencies).
Mileage Earning
If you’re flying United, check out our post about where to credit butt in seat miles. And no matter what airline you end up flying, just remember that you can enter your frequent flyer number with any partner instead. All of these cheap fares to Europe are classified in a discounted economy fare bucket so do a little research about which airline is most advantageous to credit miles to considering the fare class. You can find the fare class for the ticket on ITA Matrix. Wheretocredit.com is an easy tool to use that will help you figure out the most advantageous program to credit your miles to.
Baggage Allowance
The airlines I saw with the $350 to $450 fares are United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and Swiss. As far as I’ve checked, these are not basic economy fares, but double check just to make sure before purchasing so you don’t get screwed over at the airport with baggage.
Flying United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and Swiss, you should get a free personal item, free carry on, and one free checked bag up to 50 pounds included in the ticket price.
Best Way to Buy the Ticket
You should buy this ticket with the Barclaycard Arrival Plus. The card comes with 50,000 Arrival miles after spending $3,000 on the card in the first three months. Arrival miles can be redeemed for 1 cent each toward any travel expense, so the bonus alone will more than cover this roundtrip to Europe. Learn How to Redeem Arrival Miles.
With the Arrival Plus, you don’t even have to wait to meet the minimum spending requirement before you spend the miles. Open an Arrival Plus, put whatever revenue tickets on the card you want now to help you meet the minimum spending requirement, and then redeem Arrival miles within 120 days to offset the charges.
Don’t have the Arrival Plus card? Put it on whatever card you have travel statement credits for, like the Sapphire Reserve or Citi Prestige. Don’t have any travel statements credits to earn? Check out the Best Credit Card to Buy Airfare if you’re concerned with earning more rewards. Check out our series on the travel protection benefits of popular rewards cards if you’re more concerned with travel insurance.
Credit card links have been removed from posts and added to the menu bar at the top of every page of MileValue under the heading Top Travel Credit Cards
Hat Tip The Flight Deal & Secret Flying
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.
The comments section below is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all questions are answered.