United Business Class to Belgium, Up To 8 Seats
Back in the US, recovering from jetlag, and searching for award space for you!
It's not every day that we see up to 8 seats in business class to Europe. If you need flights to or from Europe in July or August, book this ASAP. Otherwise, you can also find space in early 2024.
Now, let's get into the details.
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: IAD/ORD/EWR-BRU
Operating airline: United
Class of service: Business class (Polaris)
Dates: July - August 2023, January - April 2024
Seats available: 2 (up to 8)
Cabin layout: 1-2-1 (777-300 and 787-10)
Book with (per person, one-way):
- *Air Canada Aeroplan:
- EWR/IAD: 60,000 points
- ORD: 70,000 points
- *ANA Mileage Club: 88,000 miles (round-trip only)
- *Asiana Club: 40,000 miles
- *Avianca LifeMiles: 63,000 miles
- *EVA Infinity MileageLands: 65,000 miles
- *Miles & More: 56,000 miles
- *Singapore KrisFlyer: 81,000 miles
- *Turkish Miles&Smiles: 45,000 miles
- *United MileagePlus: 80,000 miles
*No Surcharges
Check out all current transfer bonuses.
Taxes/fees (per person):
- From IAD: ~$5.60
- From BRU: ~$60
Aeroplan and LifeMiles have partner booking fees.
Bank transfer partners:
- Air Canada: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- Asiana Club: Marriott
- LifeMiles: Amex, 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
Let me know if you book!
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Flight Experience
A quick look at the flight schedule shows that United is operating their Boeing 787-10 and Boeing 777 on these routes. The business class (Polaris) cabin is arranged in a 1-2-1 layout. Each seat is lie-flat and has direct aisle access.
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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Available Dates
IAD-BRU
July: 3, 5, 8, 11, 16-18, 22
August: 18, 22,
September: 12
January: 19, 23, 27, 30
February: 2, 6, 9, 10, 19, 20
March: 29
BRU-IAD
August: 18, 22-25, 29-31
September: 1, 2, 6, 7, 21
November: 16, 21-23, 28, 30
December: 5, 7, 12, 26
January: 9, 16, 18, 20, 22-25, 27, 29-31
February: 1, 3, 5-8, 10, 12-18, 20, 22, 27-29
March: 5-7, 12-14, 19, 21, 26-28
April: 2-4, 9-11, 18, 25
May: 2, 9
ORD-BRU
July: 3, 6, 9, 16, 17, 21, 30
August: 6, 8, 13, 18
December: 30, 31
January: 9, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30
February: 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 18, 23, 25, 27
March: 5
April: 2
BRU-ORD
August: 25, 29
September: 8
November: 20-22, 28
December: 24, 25
January: 10, 11, 16, 18, 19, 21-25, 29-31
February: 1, 2, 4-6, 8, 9, 11-14, 16, 18, 20-23, 26-29
March: 4-8, 11-14, 19, 21, 25-28
April: 3, 4, 16
EWR-BRU
July: 4, 7, 8, 17, 22-24, 28
August: 4, 9
BRU-EWR
January: 24, 31
February: 6, 13, 14, 20, 21
March: 6, 13, 27
April: 3, 10
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Best Ways To Book
You can include connections on United from other US cities to Washington Dulles and to other destinations in Europe. In many cases, you won't need additional points/miles. If you can't find award space on the connection, it might be worth booking a separate positioning flight.
Turkish: Best One-Way Option
If you have Bilt, Capital One, or Citi points, Turkish is a great way to book at 45,000 miles one-way. While Turkish typically passes on surcharges, there aren't surcharges on this one. Generally, it's best to call Turkish to put the award space on hold while you transfer points.
Connections within the US and/or Europe will not increase the award rate.
ANA: Great Round-trip Option, Slow Amex Transfers
At 88,000 miles round-trip, ANA has a slight advantage over Turkish but your only transfer option is Amex and transfers can take a few days. It's a great way to book but keep in mind that space could disappear while you wait for the transfer.
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: Best Chase Option
From IAD or EWR, Aeroplan is a great option with Chase points, especially when you factor in the 20% transfer bonus. For the nonstop, you'd only need 50,000 Chase points to get the necessary 60,000 Aeroplan points.
From Chicago, you'd only need to transfer 59,000 Chase points to get 70,000 Aeroplan points.
If you need to connect, that could bump up the award rate.
You can use GCmap to calculate your total flight distance and double-check Aeroplan's zone-based chart. You can also include a stopover for 5,000 additional miles.
LifeMiles: Solid Option With Connecting Flights
With Amex points, LifeMiles is often a better option than Aeroplan at 63,000 miles one-way if you need a connecting flight and/or aren't taking a nonstop from IAD or EWR.
While LifeMiles is running a 25% bonus if you transfer Citi points, Turkish miles are still a better option.
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How To Book
If you don't know the exact dates you want to fly, keep things simple and use United's calendar search option.
- From 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
Once you know the exact dates you want, you can run the search with the program you'll be using to book. As always, I recommend confirming the program you're using sees the award space before you transfer points.
If you're booking with Turkish, I would call (800-874-8875) to put the award on hold before transferring points.
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Final Thoughts
Belgium alone is worth a trip to Europe but there are plenty of other fun destinations from which to choose. It's just a matter of deciding where to visit and which points/miles to use to get there!
Happy booking!
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