Flight deal alert: Barcelona, Paris, London, Rome from $227 round trip on major carriers
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Valentine's Day is coming. Rather than planning a fancy dinner out, how about a fancy dinner out... in Paris?
These are the lowest cash-price tickets we've seen to Europe thus far in 2020, even amidst the many great sales kicking off the year. Even better, many of these flights are operated on alliance airlines, meaning that you can fly a Europe-local airline but still earn valuable miles toward travel on American, United and other U.S. carriers. Some of these deals are even available from the West Coast as well, which means extra miles for low prices.
We're seeing sub-$300 round trip fares throughout the year, but the lowest rates appear to be in February and November. The cheapest destination appears to be Spain, with Barcelona and Madrid both offering a number of flights originating from New York in the $200s.
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Some of these fares may book into basic economy, which means different things to different airlines, but often means you may not have free use of the overhead bins for a carry-on bag. You probably also won't be able to select your seat, get an upgrade, or earn PQM/PQS/PQDs. However, it’s possible to defeat many of basic economy’s negative aspects by having elite status or a cobranded credit card.
To find a deal, head to Google Flights and enter your origin and destination cities. Scroll through the calendar function to find dates and prices that work for you. Finally, click through to book directly with the airline or an OTA like Orbitz or Expedia.
Here's a summary of what's available:
Airline: Iberia, Emirates, Delta, Air France/KLM, Norwegian, Swiss, United, Air Canada, Lufthansa
Routes: JFK/EWR/ORD/LAX/SFO and more to BCN/MAD/CDG/LHR/FCO and more
Cost: from $227 round trip
Dates: January — November 2020
Pay With: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare booked directly with the airline), Citi Prestige® Card (5x on airfare), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3x on airfare when booked directly with the airline) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on travel)
The information for the Citi Prestige 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.
Here are some examples of specific flights that are available:
New York (JFK) to Barcelona (BCN) for $227 round trip direct on Iberia if purchased separately, or $237 on a single itinerary:
New York (JFK) to Madrid (MAD) for $264 round trip direct on Norwegian via Gotogate:
Newark/New York (EWR) to Paris (CDG) for $296 round trip direct on United (Dreamliner!):
Chicago (ORD) to Paris (CDG) for $343 round trip nonstop on Delta:
Los Angeles (LAX) to London (LHR) for $347 round trip on United/Lufthansa:
San Francisco (SFO) to Rome (FCO) for $328 round trip on TAP Air Portugal:
Maximize your purchase
Don’t forget to use a credit card that earns additional points on airfare purchases, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel), Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express® Gold Card, Citi Premier® Card, Citi Prestige Card (5x on airfare) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on all travel purchases). Check out this guide for more on maximizing airfare purchases.
