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Whether you’re craving gelato and espresso or hoping to catch a glimpse of the Pope, Italy is a great destination to visit with your points and miles. Here are our favorite mileage programs to use for a trip to Italy.
View of Positano - famous old Italian resort, Italy
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
How to Book with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles
One-way Star Alliance flights to Europe booked with Singapore Airlines miles cost:
- 30,500 miles in economy
- 81,000 in business class
- 121,000 in first class
Singapore’s partner United Airlines operates nonstop flights from Newark, New Jersey (EWR), to Milan (MXP), Rome (FCO) and Venice (VCE). The airline also flies to Rome from Chicago (ORD) and Washington, D.C. (IAD).
You also can use Singapore miles to book flights with connections on other Star Alliance airlines, such as Air Canada, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines and TAP Air Portugal. However, you may have to pay fuel surcharges when booking flights on other partner airlines.
To book a flight using Singapore Airlines miles, go to Singapore Airline’s website and check the “Redeem Flights” button, then enter your cities, travel dates, class of service and number of passengers.
If flights are available for the date you selected, you’ll see a table with flight details and mileage costs. If you don’t see any results, make sure to select the “Star Alliance” tab.
Clicking on the button under the number of miles required will show you the total cost in miles and cash for that flight.
How to Earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles
One of the great things about the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program is that you can transfer points from all four major transferable points programs: American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points and Capital One.
However, be careful. Singapore miles expire 36 months after they post to your account, regardless of what account activity you’ve had since they were earned. So make sure you’re ready to spend those miles before you transfer them.
Cards to Help You Earn More KrisFlyer Miles
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of our favorite cards for earning Singapore Airlines miles. It comes with a great welcome bonus, and you’ll earn a number of points on its various travel and dining related spending categories. Ultimate Rewards can be transferred to Singapore KrisFlyer instantly at a 1:1 ratio.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
60,000
bonus points
after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel℠ purchases within your first year.
Annual Fee: $95
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
How to Book With Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles
Using Alaska Airlines miles to book your flights to Italy gives you quite a few options. You can book nonstop flights from the U.S. to Italy with American Airlines or connecting flights with a host of others.
Currently, the mileage cost of a ticket with Alaska Airlines depends on which airline you fly. Although Alaska updated its award chart recently to not reflect this, in practice this is still holding true.
Each airline partner has its own award rates, as follows (all prices for one-way flights):
| Airline | Economy | Premium Economy | Business Class | First Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | Starting at 30,000 miles | N/A | Starting at 60,000 miles | N/A |
| American Airlines | Starting at 22,500 miles | N/A | 57,500 miles | 85,000 miles |
| British Airways | 32,500 miles | 42,500 miles | 60,000 miles | 70,000 miles |
| Condor | Starting at 25,000 miles | N/A | 45,000 miles | 55,000 miles |
| Finnair | 30,000 miles | N/A | 70,000 miles | N/A |
| Iberia | 35,000 miles | Coming soon | 75,000 miles | N/A |
| Icelandair | 30,000 to 35,000 miles | N/A | 50,000 to 55,000 miles | N/A |
These redemption rates also include a domestic Alaska Airlines flight to get from your home to the international departure city. If you’re using American Airlines to get across the ocean, you also can include domestic American flights as part of your itinerary.
British Airways and Icelandair both add fuel surcharges to their flights, starting at $150 and going much higher (especially on British Airways). Flights on American Airlines should have about $19 in taxes and fees each way. However, you can also add a stopover in your connecting city (London with British Airways and Reykjavik, Iceland, with Icelandair) for no additional charge.
To book a ticket with Alaska Airlines miles, go to the Alaska Airlines’ website, check the “Use Miles” box and enter your cities and dates.
You’ll get an easy-to-navigate grid that shows you flights and pricing for different levels of service, as well as a preview of pricing for nearby dates.
Watch out for mixed cabin itineraries, denoted with a light blue person sitting in a dark blue seat. These itineraries include flights in a lower class of service even though you’re paying the full price for a higher class.
Related: Travel Traps: Economy Flights at Business Class Award Rates
How to Earn Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles
If you’re looking to earn Alaska Airlines miles, you have two options. First, you can transfer points from Marriott Bonvoy at a 3:1 ratio. Second, you can earn miles directly with a co-branded Alaska Airlines credit card from Bank of America.
Cards to Help You Earn More Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles
Your best bet is probably the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card from Bank of America, which earns 2X miles per dollar on Alaska Airlines purchases and 1X miles everywhere else.
Another option is to spend on the Marriott Bonvoy cards issued by Chase and American Express. Each card is good for different situations, so make sure you consider your options. No matter which card you use, you’ll be able to transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to Alaska Airlines. Keep in mind that the Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio to airlines.
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Card
Buy One Ticket, Get One for just the taxes and fees + 50,000
Bonus Miles
after you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days
Annual Fee: $95
American Airlines AAdvantage
How to Book With American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
Regardless of whether you’re traveling on an American Airlines flight or one of its partner airlines, one-way flights from the contiguous United States to Europe cost:
- 22,500 to 30,000 miles in economy (depending on the season)
- 40,000 miles in premium economy
- 57,500 miles in business class
- 85,000 miles in first class
American operates flights year-round to Milan from New York (JFK) and Miami (MIA) and to Rome from Philadelphia (PHL). The airline also offers seasonal flights to Rome from Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT); Chicago (ORD); Dallas (DFW); and New York (JFK); and to Venice from Chicago and Philadelphia.
If you don’t live in one of those cities, you can include a domestic flight from your home airport to the international departure city for the same number of miles.
To find award tickets on American Airlines, go to American Airlines’ website, enter your cities and dates, and check the “Redeem Miles” box.
Business class on American’s Airbus A330-300.
The search results will come with a calendar view that allows you to select economy, business, premium economy or first class.
The search results will come with a calendar view that allows you to select economy, business, premium economy or first class.
American Airlines used to make it easier to see the lowest pricing by designating itineraries as “MileSAAver” and “AAnytime” awards, with the Mile SAAver being the lower-priced itineraries and AAnytime being higher-priced. Now, the best way to see if you’re getting the best price is to view the calendar and look for the lowest available prices you can find.
You can also use AAdvantage miles for connecting flights on American’s partner airlines British Airways and Iberia, but expect to pay fuel surcharges on those airlines.
How to Earn American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
You can transfer points from the Marriott Bonvoy program to American Airlines at a ratio of 3 Marriott Points to 1 American mile, with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred. You can also earn miles with American Airlines credit cards issued by Citibank and Barclays.
Cards to Help You Earn More AAdvantage Miles
We love the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®. However, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard offers more bang for your buck on everyday spending: 2X miles per dollar spent with American Airlines, at restaurants and gas stations, and 1X mile on other purchases.
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®
60,000
AAdvantage Bonus Miles
after making your first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days.
Annual Fee: $99
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
75,000
American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles
after spending $3,500 within the first 4 months of account opening.
Annual Fee:
$0 for your first year, then $99.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
70,000
AAdvantage® bonus miles
after spending $7,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
Annual Fee: $595
British Airways or Iberia Avios
British Airways and Iberia both use Avios as their rewards currency. You can redeem Avios to book nonstop flights from the U.S. to Italy on American Airlines or connecting flights with other Oneworld partners.
While both programs offer distance-based award charts, the pricing is slightly different for each program. Unfortunately, neither airline publishes an award chat anymore, so you’ll have to go to the respective websites and log in to run a search.
How to Book with British Airways Avios or Iberia Avios
To book a flight with British Airways Avios, go to British Airways’ website and log in to your British Airways Executive Club account, then enter your cities and dates on the “Book with Avios” tab.
This will give you a list of available flights, starting with nonstop options. You can use the date tabs at the top to check other nearby dates if you don’t see the flight you’re looking for.
Clicking on the white box for your desired class of service will show you the pricing for that flight.
How to Earn British Airways Avios or Iberia Avios Miles
You can transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards to British Airways or Iberia 1:1. Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio. Capital One miles transfer 1:1 but only to British Airways.
Chase also offers the British Airways Visa Signature® Card, the Iberia Visa Signature® Card and the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card, all of which earn Avios. British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus have separate mileage programs, but you can transfer points freely among the three once you’ve had each account open for at least 90 days.
Cards to Help You Earn More Avios
As always, we suggest you prioritize transferable points first. If you’re newer to points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points should be your focus. Once you’re set with Ultimate Rewards-earning cards, you also can look into one of Chase’s co-branded cards with British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus.
If you’re over 5/24, Membership Rewards points should be your go-to choice for earning Avios, and Amex offers several cards with great bonus categories and welcome bonuses.
British Airways Visa Signature® Card
85,000
Avios
after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
Annual Fee: $95
85,000
Avios
after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
Annual Fee: $95
Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card
85,000
Avios
after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
Annual Fee: $95
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
How to Book with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
While you won’t be able to fly Cathay Pacific from the U.S. to Europe, you can redeem Asia Miles to fly on Cathay’s Oneworld partners like American Airlines. Cathay has a distance-based award chart, but prices vary slightly depending on if you’re flying one partner or multiple partners.
If you’re flying just one airline, you’ll add 5,000 miles to the cost on the Asia Miles Standard Award chart.
If you’re flying multiple partners, you’ll use the Asia Miles Multi-Carrier Award chart, which is also distance-based.
The Asia Miles website is pretty robust for booking most award flights. However, if you want to book an American Airlines flight, you’ll need to search for the award space on American Airlines’ website (or another partner’s like British Airways) and then call Cathay Pacific at 1-866-892-2598 to confirm that the space is available and complete the booking.
If you’re booking a British Airways flight, you will be able to book through Cathay’s online search tool—but beware of the high fuel surcharges with British Airways.
How to Earn Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Earning Cathay Pacific Miles is relatively easy as they’re partners with American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy points. You can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio from American Express Membership Rewards and at a 3:1 ratio from Marriott Bonvoy (with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred).
Transfers from American Express should be instant while transfers from Marriott can take up to 24 hours.
Cathay Pacific also offers a credit card issued by Synchrony bank that can help you earn Asia Miles.
Cards to Help You Earn More Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
As always, we suggest you prioritize transferable points first. If you’re newer to points, American Express Membership Rewards points should be your go-to choice for earning Asia Miles as Amex offers several cards with great bonus categories and welcome bonuses. Plus flexible points currencies will give you more options.
If you’ve exhausted your transferable point options, the Asia Miles credit card is worth a look.
Etihad Guest
How to Book with Etihad Guest
Etihad doesn’t fly directly from the U.S. to Italy, but there are a number of options for redeeming Etihad miles for your Italian vacation. You can use Etihad miles to book flights on American Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Royal Air Maroc.
The price you pay will depend on which airline you fly. The rates below are based on round-trip bookings.
| Airline | Economy | Business Class | First Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 40,000 to 60,000 miles | 100,000 miles | 125,000 miles |
| Brussels Airlines | Starting at 64,000 miles | Starting at 106,000 miles | N/A |
| Royal Air Maroc | 44,000 miles | 88,000 miles | N/A |
It’s not possible to book Etihad’s partner flights online, so you’ll have to call 1-877-690-0767 to book your flight.
How to Earn Etihad Guest Miles
Etihad partners with American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Citi ThankYou Points and Marriott Bonvoy points, so it’s relatively easy to get your hands on these miles. Amex, Capital One and Citi all transfer at 1:1 ratios while Marriott points transfer at a 3:1 ratio. Amex transfers are instant while Capital One transfers take around 36 hours; Marriott transfers take around five days; and Citi transfers take around six days.
Cards to Help You Earn More Etihad Guest Miles
American Express and Capital One offer some of the best welcome bonuses that can help you earn Etihad Guest miles. That said, if you’re not over 5/24, it may make sense to consider picking up some Chase cards first.
Emirates Skywards
How to Book with Emirates Skywards
Emirates offers one of the most intriguing nonstop flights from the U.S. from Italy. It’s from New York (JFK) to Milan and is what is called a fifth freedom flight—one that doesn’t touch the airline’s home country of the United Arab Emirates. The best deals on this flight are bookable at the following rates:
- Economy: from 45,000 miles round trip
- Business: from 108,000 miles round trip
It’s possible to book first class awards and one-way awards, but you’ll pay more miles to do so.
To book online, simply type where you’re flying from, to, and your dates of travel. By selecting flexible dates, you’ll be presented with a table that helps you find the lowest redemption rates.
How to Earn Emirates Skywards Miles
Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, Capital One Miles and Marriott Bonvoy points all transfer to Emirates. Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio but all other points transfer at a 1:1 ratio.
Cards to Help You Earn More Emirates Skywards Miles
If you’re under 5/24, your best bet is to focus on Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning cards first. From there, look at other transferable point currencies, depending on which cards are offering the highest bonuses.
Final Thoughts
There are lots of options for redeeming points and miles to fly to Italy, and the best one for you will depend on how flexible your plans are and how many miles you have and are willing to spend. But no matter where you keep your miles, there’s a way to fulfill your Italian travel dreams.
New to the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best card to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel℠ purchases within your first year. , 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
after making your first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days.
after you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days
after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, 25,000 bonus points after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months.
after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
bonus cash back
after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Miles
once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
bonus points
after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel℠ purchases within your first year.
Membership Rewards® Points
after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months. Plus, receive 20% back in statement credits on eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $100 back. Limited time offer. Offer ends 11/6/24.
