Wide Open Business-Class Award Space to Europe on American
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
American Airlines is notorious for offering little to no business saver awards. Usually you'll be paying AAnytime rates, which are almost double what you'd pay for saver awards. But today, it looks like American has opened up lots of premium-cabin saver award seats on flights from the US to Europe.
You'll only be redeeming 115,000 AA miles plus taxes and fees for a round-trip flight instead of 220,000 miles at the AAnytime rate.
Note that while American's partner British Airways offers decent availability year-round, you're forced to pay exorbitantly high fuel surcharges, so what makes this news worthwhile is that you'll be flying on American metal. AA awards are still subject to the UK's Air Passenger Duty, so expect to pay a few hundred dollars in fees on flights departing from UK airports.
Discounted flights seem to be open from October 2017 through April 2018, with multiple seats available on each flight. You'll want to plug in your ideal departure city and destination on American's website and then make sure you click "show full calendar" to see what days have business saver awards available.
Just make sure you're checking what plane you'll be flying before booking a ticket, since American's business-class products can vary greatly. Reference our post Every American Airlines Premium Seat Ranked From Best to Worst to choose the best possible product.
If you want to accrue more American miles, you can earn 60,000 bonus miles if you sign up for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard and spend $3,000 in the first three months of account opening. The information for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The screenshots below show the routes/month with the most availability, though other dates and routes were still available. Here are a few examples that have lots of seats up for grabs:
New York to Barcelona
Plenty of seats are open on flights from JFK - BCN:
Chicago to London
Los Angeles to Madrid
Dallas to Paris
Will you be booking an AA award?
H/T: View From The Wing
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Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.Pros
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- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
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| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. and at U.S. supermarkets. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
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Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles50,000 Bonus MilesAnnual Fee
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Why We Chose It
Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.Pros
- Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
- First checked bag free
Cons
- Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
- SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees