AA Business Class To London, Up To 9 Seats

American has business class award space for up to nine people on a bunch of routes right now. However, the dates don’t line up across departure options. Some routes are great for a trip this spring or summer while others have space in January 2026.

I’ll flag New York (JFK) as a particularly good option for the flight to London.

Now, let’s get into it!

Straight To The Points

Routes to London (LHR):

• Boston (BOS), Charlotte (CLT), Dallas (DFW), New York (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), Chicago (ORD), Philadelphia (PHL), Raleigh (RDU)

Operating airline: American Airlines

Class of service: Business class

Dates: February - April / July - August 2025, January 2026

Seats available: 2 (up to 9)

Cabin layout: 1-2-1

Book with (per person, one-way):

• *Alaska Mileage Plan:

  • BOS, CLT, JFK, PHL, RDU: 45,000 miles

  • DFW, MIA, ORD: 55,000 miles

  • LAX: 70,000 miles

• *American AAdvantage:

  • BOS, CLT, DFW, MIA, PHL, RDU:

    • One-Way: 62,000 miles

    • Roundtrip: 124,000 miles

  • JFK:

    • One-Way: 57,500 miles

    • Roundtrip: 107,000 miles

  • LAX, ORD:

    • One-Way: 57,500 miles

    • Roundtrip: 115,000 miles

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles:

  • BOS, CLT, DFW, JFK, MIA, ORD, PHL, RDU: 63,000 miles

  • LAX: 89,000 miles

• Etihad Guest:

  • BOS, CLT, JFK, ORD, PHL, RDU: 80,000 miles

  • DFW, MIA: 100,000 miles

  • LAX: 120,000 miles

• Finnair Plus (Avios):

  • BOS, CLT, DFW, JFK, MIA, ORD, PHL, RDU: 65,000 Avios

  • LAX: 90,000 Avios

• Qantas Frequent Flyer:

  • BOS, JFK, PHL: 57,000 points

  • CLT, DFW, MIA, ORD, RDU: 68,400 points

  • LAX: 82,000 points

*No Surcharges

Taxes/fees (per person, one-way):

• From US: $5.60

  • Surcharges: ~$1,025

• From LHR: ~$328

  • Surcharges: ~$600

Cathay, Finnair, and Qantas don’t pass on all of the surcharges.

The Air Passenger Duty (APD) Fee is ~$245 on long-haul premium cabin flights from the UK, thus the steep taxes/fees. You won’t pay this if you connect from a European city outside the UK.

Bank transfer partners:

• Alaska: Bilt, Marriott

• American: Marriott

• Cathay Pacific: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott

• Etihad Guest: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott

• Finnair: Capital One

  • via British Airways: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott

  • via Qatar Airways: Amex, Citi, Marriott

    • 20% Citi transfer bonus

• Qantas: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott

Current Airline Transfer Bonuses

Best Card Offers

Let me know if you book!

Available Dates

Book Your Hotel With VIP Perks

I can book you with VIP perks at a ton of London hotels and at a variety of price points. If you need help picking a hotel, email me your dates, number of adults/kids, and preferred budget. I’m happy to help!

See other London hotels

Flight Experience

American operates a Boeing 777 and 787 to Europe. Business class is arranged in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone cabin layout on the 777. On the 787, the cabin layout is 1-2-1 and some seats are rear facing. Many consider the 777 to be a nicer experience.

Regardless of aircraft, each seat will be lie-flat and have direct aisle access.

You may prefer to eat at the Greenwich Lounge (JFK) or a Flagship Lounge. Inflight service can be a mixed bag, but American has a solid selection of entertainment options to keep you occupied and the bed is comfortable.

Best Ways To Book

Alaska: Best Amex Option, No Surcharges

From the east coast, Alaska is tough to beat at 45,000 miles one-way and no surcharges. The ability to transfers Hawaiianmiles (an Amex partner) and Bilt points to Alaska make it an even better option.

From Dallas, Miami, and Chicago, it’s still the best option at 55,000 miles and the same goes for LAX at 70,000 miles.

Avios: Best Chase & Citi Option, Limited Surcharges

While you can book American with any Avios program, Finnair Plus is your best bet as they only require 65,000 Avios and don’t tack on carrier-imposed surcharges.

The key is the ability to combine Avios between Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, and Qatar Airways.

Click here to combine Avios

With the Citi’s 20% transfer bonus to Qatar Airways, you can transfer fewer points then move them to your Finnair account. With Citi points, you’d need to transfer the following:

• BOS, CLT, DFW, JFK, MIA, ORD, PHL, RDU: 55,000 Citi points

• LAX: 75,000 Citi points

With Chase points, you can transfer to British Airways then move them to Finnair.

Finnair doesn’t pass on all of the surcharges so taxes/fees will be ~$253 from the U.S.

Qantas: Best Capital One Option From Northeast

With Capital One Miles, your best bet is Qantas at 57,000 miles one-way. Although Qantas does pass on some of the taxes and fees, they’re manageable.

Cathay: Best Capital One Option From Central U.S. & Miami

If you’re flying out of CLT, DFW, MIA, ORD, or RDU and have Capital One Miles, Cathay is your best bet at 63,000 miles one-way.

American: Great Rate, No Surcharges, Tough To Earn

If you have American miles, 57,500 miles one-way from Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago is a great option. The tough part is you can only earn AA miles via co-branded cards, flights, the shopping portal, etc.

How To Book

Here's how to run the search with Alaska:

1. If you want to book a one-way, check "One-way"

2. Check "Use miles"

3. Enter your origin & destination

4. Select your dates

5. Select number of passengers

6. Run the search

7. Complete the booking

Before you transfer points, search with the airline program you’ll use to book.

You’ll need to call to book AA with the following airlines:

• Etihad Guest: 877-690-0767

• Finnair Plus: 929-474-6049 (search with BA then call)

Happy booking!