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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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Sweet Spot Sunday: How to save thousands of miles on Delta One awards to Europe
Benji Stawski is a former reporter for the site, covering all things points, miles, credit cards, travel and aviation.
July 17, 2022 • 9 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
Booking business-class flights to Europe on a major U.S. airline can be much cheaper using a partner airline's loyalty program rather than the airline's own program.
Partner airline miles are often easier to accumulate due to transfer options from major points programs.
Award rates for nonstop flights from the U.S. to Europe can be significantly lower through the partner program, with minimal taxes and fees except for flights to the U.K., which incur higher charges.
Saver-level award space is required for these redemptions, and availability can be limited.
What to consider
Flights to the U.K. have higher taxes and fees compared to other European destinations.
Award availability depends on saver-level space, so flexibility with travel dates is important.
Transfers from most major points programs to the partner airline are typically instant and at a 1:1 ratio.
What you'll miss from the article
Step-by-step guidance on searching for and booking these discounted business-class awards, plus tips for maximizing availability and value.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
With closed-door suites on all Airbus A350s and A330-900neos and updated business-class seats on almost every Boeing 767-400ER aircraft, Delta offers several comfortable ways to fly across the Atlantic. Even on the A330s and B767-300ERs with older seats, Delta One (business class) passengers still get to enjoy the same great soft product (food, Westin bedding, Tumi amenity kits, etc.). However, these flights usually don’t come cheap, especially if you’re booking with Delta SkyMiles.
The best way to book Delta One award flights to Europe is typically through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Not only are the rates generally cheaper than using Delta SkyMiles, but Flying Club is also a transfer partner of most major transferable points currencies, making it easy to accumulate miles for these redemptions.
Let’s take a closer look at these redemptions in this week’s edition of Sweet Spot Sunday.
Why it’s special
Delta tends to charge exorbitant rates for Delta One award tickets, both domestically and internationally. It’s totally normal for Delta to charge 210,000 SkyMiles or more for a round-trip Delta One award to Europe. If you’re only booking one-way, expect to pay at least 200,000 SkyMiles. However, assuming there’s saver-level availability, you can pay a fraction of that by booking through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Delta One on the A350. (Photo by Zach Honig/The Points Guy)
Although Flying Club recently devalued most Delta award tickets, it kept the old pricing for award tickets to Europe. This means you can book nonstop Delta flights from anywhere in the U.S. to Europe for just 50,000 points one-way in business class.
That’s much cheaper than what’s offered through Delta’s SkyMiles program. Plus, the taxes and fees on these tickets are only $5.60. Just note that if your itinerary requires a connection, you’ll need to pay for the additional segment based on the distance.
This pricing applies to routes from Delta hubs like Atlanta and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to cities such as Amsterdam , Dublin and Frankfurt, among others.
The one exception here are flights to the U.K. Virgin Atlantic has a separate award chart for Delta flights from the U.S. to the U.K. and these awards have higher taxes and fees:
Standard season
Peak season
Route (U.S. to U.K.)
Delta One.
Delta One.
East Coast (Boston, New York) to U.K.
47,500 Virgin Points plus $643.50 tax.
57,500 Virgin Points plus $643.50 tax.
Central U.S. (Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis) to U.K.
47,500 Virgin Points plus $643.50 tax.
57,500 Virgin Points plus $643.50 tax.
West Coast U.S. (Salt Lake City) to U.K.
67,000 Virgin Points plus $643 tax.
77,500 Virgin Points + $643 tax.
Back to standard Europe awards. Let’s say we wanted to book a one-way Delta One flight from New York to Amsterdam in November. Delta is currently charging a mind-boggling 320,000 SkyMiles for the one-way ticket. (Screenshot from delta.com)
Meanwhile, the same award is available for just 50,000 Flying Club points plus $5.60 in taxes and fees. This is a far superior value. (Screenshot from virginatlantic.com)
Now, full disclosure: These awards aren’t available on all dates. Unlike when you book directly through Delta, there needs to be saver-level availability to enable booking through Virgin Atlantic.
Generally speaking, these awards are available when Delta offers its lowest tier of award pricing, but you may need to play around with dates on Virgin’s website. Your best bet would be to use ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG’s parent company, Red Ventures) to set alerts for when award space opens up. (Screenshot from expertflyer.com) Related: The ultimate guide to Delta One Suites
How to book this award
Booking Delta award tickets through Virgin Atlantic is simple and can be done online. What’s nice about the site is that anyone can search for availability — you only need to sign in to your account once it’s time to book. Here’s how to book this award, step by step:
Step 1: Enter your trip information
On the Virgin Atlantic homepage, enter your trip information as you normally would. Then, under “advanced search,” instead of showing the price in “money,” you’ll want to select “points.” I also recommend you check the “show flexible dates” box to find availability quicker. You can book this award as either a one-way or round trip. (Screenshot from virginatlantic.com) Related: Fly from the US to Europe, North Africa from 21,500 miles each way
Step 2: Confirm your travel dates
If you select the flexible dates option, you’ll be shown a week’s worth of results. If none of the dates work, you can browse even more options through the “Price Calendar” feature. This allows you to search and find availability across several months. (Screenshot from virginatlantic.com) Related: Save miles booking Delta awards with Virgin Atlantic
Step 3: Pick your flights
Once you pick a date, you’ll be shown all of the flight options and their respective prices. If there are many options, you can sort and filter the flights by price and number of stops. (Screenshot from virginatlantic.com)
Step 4: Confirm, sign in and pay
The final step is to review your itinerary and then sign in to your account to finalize your booking. Although the taxes and fees on these awards are minimal, it’s still important to pay using the right card, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express or Chase Sapphire Reserve. Not only do they earn bonus points on airfare, but they also come with perks like trip delay reimbursement and trip cancellation and interruption protection, which can be incredibly valuable when things go wrong.
Even if you’ve never flown on Virgin Atlantic before, you’ll have no trouble getting the miles you need to book this award. That’s because Flying Club is a transfer partner of most major points programs: American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards. All of these transfers are at a 1:1 ratio, and, based on our experiences, process instantly. It’s also not uncommon for banks to offer bonuses for transferring points to Virgin Atlantic.
If you’re new to points and miles, I recommend you start by picking up the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. The annual fee is just $95 per year and it currently offers a sign-up bonus of 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Alternatively, here are some other welcome bonuses currently available on travel rewards cards that earn these types of transferrable points:
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card: 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening. $95 annual fee.
The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. But, you may be targeted for a better bonus through the CardMatch Tool (offer subject to change at any time). $695 annual fee (see rates and fees).
American Express® Gold Card: 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership. You may also be targeted for a better bonus through the CardMatch Tool (offer subject to change at any time). $250 annual fee (see rates and fees).
Chase Sapphire Reserve: 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. $550 annual fee.
Booking Delta One awards to Europe through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club can be significantly cheaper than Delta’s own SkyMiles program. In some cases, you can save hundreds of thousands of points. Better yet, Flying Club miles are easy to earn. The only problem is that it’s not always easy to find saver-level Delta award space through partners.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here. For rates and fees of the Amex Gold card, click here.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
