|  | United Business Class To Germany, Up To 9 Seats |
| United has a nice chunk of business class award space to three German cities. Berlin and Munich are both great cities while Frankfurt is a short drive from Heidelberg, Baden Baden, and more. Munich and Frankfurt are also great jumping off points to other cities throughout Europe.
I’ll note that availability is better on the return than the outbound.
120,000-point Ink Preferred bonus ends at 7am ET on Sept 5
Now, let’s get into it! |
|  | Straight To The Points
Routes: EWR - BER EWR, DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD, SFO - FRA IAD, ORD - MUC
Operating airline: United
Class of service: Business class (Polaris)
Dates: November 2024 - April 2025
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 - FRA, BER: 60,000 points DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD, SFO - FRA: 70,000 points DEN, EWR, IAD, ORD, SFO - MUC: 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: ~$153
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-FRA December: 29, 31 January: 1, 2, 6, 8 February: 8 FRA-EWR November: 25, 26, 29 December: 10, 12, 16, 18, 19, 24, 27 January: 21, 22, 28, 29 February: 10-12, 19, 24, 25 March: 4, 12, 18, 19, 25 April: 1
DEN-FRA November: 28 December: 29-31 January: 2, 7 FRA-DEN December: 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 26 January: 28, 29 February: 5, 12, 19 March: 5
IAD-FRA October: 21, 28 November: 25 December: 28, 30 January: 1-3, 6-9, 13, 15, 18-22, 26-29 February: 3, 4, 9, 11, 17-19, 25 March: 3, 17, 18, 24 April: 14 FRA-IAD October; 29 November: 19, 23, 25-29 December: 3, 4, 11, 12, 16-21, 23-25, 27, 29, 31 January: 8-11, 13, 15, 16, 21-23, 25-31 February: 1, 4-6, 8-10, 13, 18-22, 26 March: 1, 5, 8, 10-13, 15, 17, 27 April: 3, 15, 17
IAH-FRA December: 28 January: 1, 7, 8, 20, 28 February: 4, 18 FRA-IAH December: 25, 26 January: 28 February: 4-6, 11-13 March: 4, 11 |
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| ORD-FRA December: 28-31 January: 1-3, 6, 8-10, 13, 16, 17, 20-22, 27 February: 3, 4, 17, 18, 19, 24 FRA-ORD November: 6, 25-29 December: 3-5, 10-12, 16-20, 22-28 January: 9, 10, 14-16, 21-23, 27-30 February: 4, 10-13, 18, 19, 25, 26 March: 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26 April: 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 23, 24, 30
SFO-FRA December: 29-31 January: 1-3, 23, 27 FRA-SFO November: 28 December: 19, 20, 23-26 January: 23, 28, 30 February: 6, 13, 18, 25, 26 March: 4
IAD-MUC December: 29-31 January: 1 MUC-IAD December: 20, 24-26 January: 8-10, 14, 15, 21-24, 28, 29 February: 4, 5, 12, 25 March: 4, 11, 12, 18, 25
ORD-MUC December: 28-31 January: 1 MUC-ORD November: 28, 29 December: 19, 24-26 January; 22-24, 27, 29-31 February: 10-13, 20 March: 6 April: 3
BER-EWR December: 31 BER-EWR November: 27-29 December: 24 January: 9, 14, 21, 28-30 February: 4-6, 11, 12, 18, 25, 26 March: 5, 6, 11, 13 April: 24 |
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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
Aeroplan: Best East Coast Option, Solid Overall
Aeroplan is your best bet between Newark (EWR) and Berlin (BER) or Frankfurt (FRA) at only 60,000 points one-way. Other routes are 70,000 points which is only 1,000 more points than required by lifemiles. However, Aeroplan is easier to work with if there are any issues.
If you have the Chase Aeroplan Card, you can also get a 10% transfer bonus when you transfer 50,000+ Chase Ultimate Rewards points. With the bonus, you’ll only need to transfer 55,000 or 64,000 points depending on the route.
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.
ANA: Great Round-trip Option, Slow Amex Transfers
At 100,000 miles round-trip, ANA Mileage Club is your best round-trip option. However, Amex is your only transfer option and transfers can take a few 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.
Lifemiles: Solid Award Rate
Lifemiles’s rate of 69,000 miles one-way is slightly better than Aeroplan’s, but cancellation fees are steep and their call center can be difficult. If you have Citi points, it’ll be your best option though.
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. |
|  | How To SearchFrom United's homepage, 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 Star Alliance partner, confirm space by searching with that program Transfer points (if necessary) Log into your account Run the search again Complete the booking
Search with the program you want to use to book before you transfer points.
Happy booking! |
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