The words “summer trip to Europe” and “cheap” rarely go together – especially if you want to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a business class seat. But this summer could be different … at least if you have points.
Americans tend to flock to Europe each and every summer, driving up flight prices and making it difficult – if not impossible – to book that prized lie-flat seat using points and miles. But looking ahead to summer 2025, it's clear many travelers have gotten that big trip to Europe out of their system. So combined with travel demand slowing down overall, a different trend is emerging.
We've been finding and sending our Thrifty Traveler Premium members more peak summer business class awards to Europe than any year in recent memory – maybe ever. While it's still no sure thing, these unprecedented waves of award availability should make it easier to book your lie-flat seat.
Here's a roundup of some of the best business class award deals to Europe we've been finding for this summer.
United Polaris to London, Brussels & Frankfurt
We might be Delta hub captives here in Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), but we still love United Polaris business class. It's among the best business class options flying across the pond – and thanks to partner Air Canada Aeroplan, it's not terribly hard (or expensive) to book.
Unfortunately, Air Canada recently revamped how it prices United flights, so these transatlantic Polaris awards will now cost you more miles. But we sent Thrifty Traveler Premium members this alert beforehand, helping folks get to London, Frankfurt, Brussels and beyond for as low as just 60,000 points each way.
Best of all, that included availability in August!
While the availability isn't quite as robust as it was back when we first sent this flight deal, it's worth checking those routes to see if you could build a summer trip overseas around these fancy flights.
British Airways or Virgin Atlantic to London
While we're on the topic of London, Heathrow (LHR) has no shortage of airlines flying in and out – including its two primary hometown carriers: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
And in the last few days alone, both airlines released a treasure trove of business class availability flying to and from London, allowing travelers to book with their points.
Even British Airways' newest, swankiest Club Suites could be booked for as few as 63,000 miles and just over $235 each way. You'd get the best deal by booking through Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, which you can transfer from major banks including Amex, Bilt, Capital One, and Citi.
The best part? There were summer dates from many of these cities – plus Thanksgiving and even Christmas dates from all of the cities if you're into that, too! That means your summer trip to London could be done in style.
Virgin Atlantic practically broke the internet when it revamped its Flying Club mileage program last fall, ushering in business class award tickets for nearly half the miles it usually charged … and a quarter of the taxes and fees. In the months since, though, finding those 29,000-point business class redemptions has gotten much harder.
Until recently.
For as low as just 29,000 points each way, you could fly from New York City (JFK) and Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) this summer – or a few thousand points more from even the West Coast. You can transfer all the points you need to Virgin from Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, or Wells Fargo, too!
Aer Lingus Business Class to Dublin
The easiest way to fly to the Emerald Isle is nonstop on Ireland's flag carrier, Aer Lingus. And luckily, Aer Lingus offers a lovely business class experience … at even lovelier rates.
These Aer Lingus business class seats are flying to and from Dublin (DUB) and Shannon (SNN) every day during the summer from the U.S. – just scope out the list below. Best of all, all those cities benefitted from business class availability deep into June, meaning you could book your early summer getaway to Ireland.
You can book with British Airways or Aer Lingus Avios for the rates you see on the right hand side of this screenshot above. Or, better yet, leverage some Alaska miles to secure the same seats for occasionally lower rates – and far cheaper taxes and fees, too!
SWISS Business Class to Geneva & Zurich
One of my favorite flights ever was a SWISS business class flight. I loved SWISS and couldn't understand how we lucked out and found availability to fly it during the peak summer months. Does everyone just forget about this luxurious airline and its flights from Zurich (ZRH) and Geneva (GVA) to the U.S. and back?
Well, if they've forgotten, don't remind them, because SWISS opened up award space this summer once again!
Flying from Boston (BOS), Montreal (YUL), New York City (JFK), and Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD), you could book these seats to Switzerland … or connect onward destinations like Italy and Croatia, too.
Air Canada Aeroplan points (transferable from Amex, Bilt, Capital One, and Chase) or LifeMiles (transferable from Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, or Wells Fargo) are your best bets to make these seats yours.
Condor Business Class to Germany
There's a business class option that seemingly only the points and miles sickos out there know about, but it should be on every travelers' radar before booking a trip to Europe: Condor business class.
The budget airline has a surprisingly nice seat up front – and a state-of-the-art fleet of new Airbus A330-900neos, to boot. With high-end in-seat technology and big, spacious, and stylish lie-flat seats, Condor is the kind of business class that makes the journey to Europe fun. And while the airline culled its network a little bit this coming summer, it will still fly you to Frankfurt (FRA) from all of these cities.
Those rates are in Alaska miles (transferable from Hawaiian, which are transferable from Amex), so you can snag these seats for low, low rates, too!
Finnair Business Class to Northern Europe
Here's another sneaky workaround to fly fancy to Europe this summer: Look at airlines and destinations you might not have thought of. Finnair's direct flights to Helsinki (HEL) fit that bill perfectly.
We loved this Finnair business class seat when we flew it recently – yours truly just booked it for later this year! Better yet, it comes at an insane value: Just 63,000 points each way … or even less if you time it with a transfer bonus!
It gets even better when you consider the availability: July and August, baby!
From all of these U.S. cities with Finnair service, you could book summertime flights to Helsinki (HEL) and beyond. Some of those destinations, while lesser-tread than Italy and Greece, offer some of the best sights in Europe at the perfect time of year.
(Almost) Anywhere You Want to Go … From Canada!
Finally, I have to sprinkle some love on our neighbors to the north. Because when it comes to booking business class flights with points, the Canadians have it good.
From Air Canada to WestJet to some of the major European carriers, there are plenty of nonstop flights between Canada and Europe. But with fewer options to rack up points than those of us here in the states, Canadians don't gobble up award availability to book those flights using points as we do.
That means there are more opportunities to book a lie-flat seat across the Atlantic if you book a positioning flight up to Canada first. Here's a perfect example: An Air France business class award from Ottawa (YOW) to Rome (FCO) for just 45,000 points each way – in peak summer, no less!
No points? No problem! We also regularly see cheaper cash rates flying from Canada to Europe. As an example, we recently sent Thrifty Traveler Premium members this British Airways Club Suites business class deal from Toronto (YYZ) to Florence (FLR) in July for $1,906 – just a few hundred more dollars than the price of economy.
Bottom Line
I'm here to be the bearer of the best news: You can fly lie-flat to Europe this summer as long as you have some points and miles and look in the right places.
From SWISS to British Airways and even to lesser-tread (but still fancy) airlines like Finnair and Condor, there are plenty of ways to make your summer trip bougie this year.