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United Business Class To Europe, Up To 9 Seats |
| United has a nice chunk of business class award space to Amsterdam if you’re looking for a trip early this year. This is a great chance to take advantage of Chase’s transfer bonus to Aeroplan before it ends on January 15.
Don’t forget, it may be possible to connect to other European destinations!
Now, let’s get into it! |
|  | Straight To The Points
Routes to Amsterdam (AMS): Operating airline: United
Class of service: Business class (Polaris)
Dates: January - March 2025 (some dates in the fall as well)
Seats available: 2 (up to 9)
Cabin layout: 1-2-1 (777-300 and 787-10); 1-1-1 (767)
Book with (per person, one-way): *Air Canada Aeroplan: EWR, IAD: 60,000 points IAH, ORD: 70,000 points
*ANA Mileage Club: 100,000 miles (round-trip only) *Asiana Club: 40,000 miles *avianca lifemiles: 69,000 miles *EVA Infinity MileageLands: 65,000 miles *Lufthansa Miles & More: 56,000 miles *Singapore KrisFlyer: 81,000 miles *Turkish Miles&Smiles: 90,000 miles *United MileagePlus: 80,000 miles
*No Surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person): From IAD: ~$5.60 From AMS: ~$91
Aeroplan and lifemiles have partner booking fees.
Bank transfer partners: Air Canada: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott Asiana Club: Marriott lifemiles: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott EVA: Capital One, Citi Singapore: Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott Turkish: Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott United: Bilt, Chase, Marriott
Current Airline Transfer Bonuses
Best Card Offers
Let me know if you book! |
|  | | EWR-AMS January: 15, 20-22, 24, 25, 27, 29 February: 3, 4, 6, 10, 17, 18 AMS-EWR January: 15-18, 22, 23, 26-30 February: 1-5, 9-13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 25-27 March: 3-5, 11, 12, 19, 20, 25 April: 1, 2, 8, 9, 29 May: 1 August: 21, 26 November: 4, 6, 12, 19, 25-28
IAD-AMS January: 14, 22, 23, 25, 27, 28 February: 1, 3, 9, 17-19 March: 3 AMS-IAD January: 14, 19, 21, 22, 26-30 February: 3-6, 9, 11-13, 16-20, 23-26 March: 2, 4, 5, 10-13, 18 April: 14 November: 24-27 |
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| IAH-AMS January: 13, 20, 27, 29 February: 5, 20 AMS-IAH January: 14, 15, 29, 30 February: 3, 4, 10-13, 18, 19, 25
ORD-AMS January: 14, 21, 28 February: 4, 10, 17-21, 23-25 March: 4, 10, 11 October: 27, 28 November: 18, 24-26 December: 2, 3 AMS-ORD January: 14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 February: 3, 5, 10, 12, 15-21, 24-27 March: 3-6, 10-12, 19, 26 April: 2 November: 19, 22, 24, 26, 27 December: 3, 4 |
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| Book Your Stay With VIP Perks |
| | |  | Flight Experience
A quick look at the flight schedule shows that United is operating their Boeing 767, 777, 787-10 on these routes. On the 777 and 787-10, you’ll find a 1-2-1 cabin layout while the 767 has a 1-1-1 layout. The seats are the same regardless.
When departing from the US, I generally suggest eating at the Polaris Lounge and skipping meal service on the flight. Polaris Lounges typically have much better food and a solid selection of drinks.
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| Best Ways To Book
ANA: Best Round-Trip Option, Slow Amex Transfers
At 100,000 miles round-trip, ANA Mileage Club is your best round-trip option. Just know that Amex is your only transfer option and transfers can take a couple of days. Connections won't increase the award rate but could increase the taxes/fees if you connect in Europe on a Star Alliance partner that has surcharges.
Aeroplan: Great East Coast Option + Chase Transfer Bonus
From IAD, EWR, or ORD, Aeroplan is a great option at 60,000 points one-way for the non-stop. If you connect or depart from other airports, the extra flight distance will almost always bump the rate to 70,000 points - lifemiles is slightly better in that case unless you want a stopover.
With the Chase transfer bonus, you’ll need to transfer the following: |
| Chase 20% Transfer Bonus EWR, IAD: 50,000 points IAH, ORD: 59,000 points
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| Chase 30% Transfer Bonus EWR, IAD: 47,000 points IAH, ORD: 54,000 points
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| If you have the Chase Aeroplan Card, you can get a 10% transfer bonus when you transfer 50,000+ Ultimate Rewards points.
Chase Aeroplan Card + Chase Transfer Bonus
You could transfer 54,000 or 50,000 Chase points with the 20% or 30% bonus, respectively, to get 70,000 Aeroplan points.
If you connect from the west coast and within Europe, the total flight distance could bump the award rate up to 90,000 Aeroplan points.
You can also include a stopover for 5,000 additional miles. Use GCmap to calculate your total flight distance and double-check Aeroplan's award chart.
EVA: Best Central U.S. Option With Citi Points
If you need a one-way ticket from IAH or ORD, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands is actually a better option than Aeroplan or lifemiles at 65,000 miles. This only works if you have Citi points as the transfer ratio from Capital One to EVA is 1:0.75.
Please note that EVA isn’t the easiest program to use. You’re often better off booking multiple tickets separately from each person’s EVA account. It might even be easier to call or visit one of their ticket offices. Ben from One Mile At A Time shared his experience booking with EVA miles.
Lifemiles: Great Rate From Many Departure Cities & With Connections
With Amex, Bilt, or Capital One points, Lifemiles is often a better option than Aeroplan at 69,000 miles since a few routes (and many with connections) require 70,000 points.
If you redeem a ton of lifemiles each year, it might be worth getting a lifemiles+ subscription to get a 10% rebate on Star Alliance redemptions.
United: Solid West Coast Option With Bilt Points
If you have Bilt points and are connecting from the west coast, the Aeroplan rate could jump to 90,000 points. That would make 80,000 United miles a better option. Connecting in Europe might increase the rate, but still keep you under 90,000 points.
If you book a round-trip award, you can use United’s Excursionist Perk which is basically United’s version of a free stopover. |
|  | How To Search
Use United: Select Advanced search Choose to show price in miles Select Roundtrip or One-way Enter the origin & destination Select Nonstop only (if you don't need a connection) Select the number of passengers Select your dates or choose Flexible dates and choose a month Select Business Run the search
If booking with another airline, make sure you run the search and find award space with that program before transferring points.
Happy booking! |
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