Best Ways to Use American Express Membership Rewards for Business and First Class Flights

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American Express is a major player in the world of flexible currency rewards. Their Membership Rewards points can be earned and redeemed through multiple channels and are among the most valuable types of points to use for business- and first-class flights.

The primary ways to redeem American Express Membership Rewards points are:

• Redeem for statement credits, online shopping, gift card purchases and merchandise purchases: Most of these options provide poor redemption value of under 1 cent per point and aren’t recommended.
• Redeem through Amex Travel: This option can be useful in some circumstances. You generally get 1 cent for each point when booking flights and hotels through Amex Travel. So, if you find a great premium cabin fare, it may be worth redeeming points through Amex Travel. Redemption value is enhanced for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees) cardholders who book eligible flights through Amex Travel and pay with the card. In this scenario, 35% of the points used are rebated.
• Transfer to partners and use partner loyalty program points or miles to book flights or hotels: Transferring Membership Rewards points usually represents the highest value usage, and this is especially true for booking business- and first-class flights. Transferring points to airline loyalty programs is the preferred redemption method for many points and miles enthusiasts.

There are almost limitless options for redeeming Membership Rewards for business- and first-class travel. Before diving into good uses, let’s discuss the concept of “best” redemptions. Individual circumstances and preferences have a significant influence on which loyalty programs and specific awards are most useful to each person. There are a few factors that you should consider when reviewing your options:

• Travel location: If you’re looking to travel to a specific destination, the situation is different than someone who is willing to consider a wide variety of destinations. Similarly, if you’re traveling from the United States on an airline that isn’t U.S.-based, you may not be able to book end-to-end flights from your closest airport on non-U.S airlines and may need separate tickets to travel from your home city to the airport where the international carrier operates.
• Personal perspective: Beyond the question of where to go, some people view business- or first-class travel as a more comfortable way, compared to economy flights, to get from point A to point B, while others view the flights as being a key part of their travel experience. People in the latter group may be willing to spend significantly more points for a first-class flight and/or take a less direct route.
• Award availability and booking preferences: The reality is that it can be very difficult to find award availability for awards that are frequently mentioned as the best redemptions or “sweet spots” in the points and miles community. If you’re able to book flights a year in advance of your planned travel dates, you may find it easier to secure high-demand award tickets. Similarly, you may have a better chance of securing popular awards if you utilize an app or service that sends you alerts when they become available. At the other end of the spectrum, if you’re planning a trip for multiple people at a popular time of year, and you are only planning a few weeks or months ahead of time, it’s much harder to secure those most coveted awards.

How to Earn American Express Membership Rewards Points

Although it’s possible to earn Membership Rewards points in other ways, such as bonuses for using other American Express products or purchases through the Rakuten shopping portal, the primary way to earn Membership Rewards points is through credit card welcome offers and spending.

Consumer cards that earn Membership Rewards points include:

• American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees)
• American Express Green Card
• Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card
• The Amex EveryDay® Card
• The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)

Business cards that earn Membership Rewards points include:

• American Express® Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees)
• Business Green Rewards Card
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees)

Transfer Partners

American Express Membership Rewards has 18 airline loyalty programs that are transfer partners.

Participating loyalty programs include airlines in each of the major alliances (Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance) as well as airlines that aren’t in an alliance. It’s useful to understand this, since you often can get better value using an airline program’s points or miles to book travel on one of its partners.

Many airline loyalty programs that are Membership Rewards transfer partners also partner with one or more other flexible currency programs. People who have currency in multiple flexible currency programs can transfer points from multiple programs into a single airline program, making it easier to accumulate enough airline program points or miles for an award.

The table below shows which Membership Rewards partners allow transfers from major bank transferable currency programs: Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points. Other programs, such as Bilt Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, also are transfer options for some airline loyalty programs.

For additional ideas, you can read about using Capital One Miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for business- and first-class redemptions with airline loyalty programs that are partners with Membership Rewards and these other programs.

It’s worth knowing that American Express charges a tax offset fee of $0.0006 per point—with a maximum fee of $99 per transfer—for transferring points to U.S. airline loyalty programs.

Transfer Ratios and Transfer Bonuses

Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to all programs except Aeroméxico Rewards and JetBlue TrueBlue. That means for most programs, transferring 1,000 Membership Rewards points results in 1,000 airline program miles. Transfer ratios for Aeroméxico and JetBlue are:

• Aeroméxico: 1:1.6, meaning every 1,000 Membership Rewards points convert to 1,600 Aeroméxico points.
• JetBlue: 1.25:1, meaning every 250 Membership Rewards points convert to 200 TrueBlue points.

There are sometimes opportunities to get better transfer rates by transferring flexible currency during temporary transfer bonus periods. Transfer bonuses apply to transfers from a given flexible currency program to a specific airline loyalty program.

For example, American Express may offer a bonus of a specific percentage (typically 20% to 40%) for transferring Membership Rewards points to the British Airways Executive Club. With a 30% bonus, 1,000 Membership Rewards points become 1,300 Avios.

While we don’t recommend transferring points during a bonus if you don’t at least have tentative plans for using the points or miles, transfer bonuses are a great way to get better value in situations where you plan to transfer points anyway. In addition, transfer bonuses sometimes make a difference when deciding which type of flexible points to transfer to an airline program.

Highlighted Award Options

Keeping in mind that there is no universal definition of “best” redemption and there are so many options, we’re focusing on business- and first-class travel awards that meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Touch the United States
• Represent a good use of points, considering the range of prices for similar awards
• Are for travel in a premium cabin that is considered to offer an above-average travel experience
• Have reasonably good award availability compared to similar options

We’re focusing on a subset of American Express’ transfer partners and providing a brief overview of how these programs work on the redemption side and some examples of good premium cabin redemptions. Many of the examples are international business-class awards, since few airlines have international first-class cabins, and many loyalty programs have restrictions on redeeming points for first-class flights.

Transfer partners not discussed still may be useful in some situations. For example, Delta SkyMiles has fully dynamic pricing, and award rates generally are high for premium cabin and international awards. There are sometimes sales on SkyMiles awards within North America that represent good value.

Hawaiian Airlines awards also may be useful for travel within Hawaii or between Hawaii and the mainland U.S., South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. The challenge with HawaiianMiles is that the award chart has a wide range of award rates for each class of service and region, with the lower end being reasonable and the higher end overpriced.

Air Canada Aeroplan Awards

Aeroplan offers many award options with generally reasonable and predictable award prices for most partner airlines. Aeroplan has more airline partners than any other program, since Air Canada is a member of Star Alliance, and Aeroplan also has many non-alliance partners.

Aeroplan uses zone- and distance-based award charts, with multiple charts showing award rates within and between the four regions.

Award pricing for travel on all partner airlines except Emirates is fixed, but award pricing varies when traveling on Air Canada- or Emirates-operated flights. Downloadable awards charts and price predictor tools are provided on Aeroplan’s website.

Aeroplan doesn’t charge fuel surcharges on partner airlines, so award fees are lower than many programs. However, the program charges a partner booking fee and has change and cancellation fees.

Aeroplan awards can be valuable for travelers who want to maximize time in flight or spend time in multiple places. Aeroplan allows up to six segments on a one-way itinerary, with the possibility of up to 24-hour layovers at each connection point. You also can add one stopover longer than 24 hours for 5,000 miles.

Generally, booking partner awards, excluding Emirates, provides the best value with Aeroplan. Some examples of good premium cabin awards are:

• 40,000 to 60,000 points for one-way business-class flights between North America and South America: Price varies by flight distance. For example, United flights between Houston and Buenos Aires, Argentina or Santiago, Chile would be 60,000 points each way.
• 55,000 points for one-way business-class flights up to 5,000 miles long between North America and Pacific Zones: This includes nonstop flights on Star Alliance airlines, such as All Nippon Airways (ANA), between western U.S. airports and Tokyo.
• 60,000 points for one-way business-class flights up to 4,000 miles long between North America and Atlantic Zones: This includes nonstop flights on multiple Star Alliance airlines from eastern U.S. airports to many European cities.
• 75,000 points for one-way business-class flights from 5,001 to 7,500 miles long between North America and Pacific Zones: This includes nonstop flights on Star Alliance airlines, such as United Airlines and Air New Zealand, between western U.S. airports and Australia or New Zealand.
• 90,000 points for one-way business-class flights from 6,001 to 8,000 miles long between North America and Atlantic Zones: This includes nonstop flights on Star Alliance airlines between eastern U.S. airports and Africa, India and the Middle East. A couple of examples are: United Polaris flights from Newark (EWR) to Johannesburg (JNB) and Etihad flights from New York (JFK) to Abu Dhabi (AUH).

Air France-KLM Flying Blue Awards

Flying Blue points are easy to obtain, and the program offers many award options on Air France, KLM, SkyTeam alliance airlines and other partner airlines. Overall, Flying Blue has more than 30 total airline partners.

The Flying Blue program has dynamic award pricing. You can start with the website’s estimate tool, which provides low-level award prices for a route, and then look at the calendar view to see award rates for more specific dates.

There is significant variation in award pricing, especially for flights operated by Air France and KLM. In late Oct. 2023, Flying Blue reduced the lowest price business class awards on some routes, with one-way pricing between the U.S. and Europe beginning at 50,000 miles.

For example, one-way business-class flights from New York to Barcelona, Spain range from 50,000 miles to 700,000 miles depending on travel dates. At the time of writing, many dates in February show awards available for 50,000 miles, but for July, award rates most days are at least 130,500 miles with rates up to 700,000 miles.

For business-class awards between the U.S. and Europe, Flying Blue is competitive with other programs with awards available for approximately 50,000 to 70,000 miles each way.

Furthermore, Flying Blue awards between the U.S. and Northern Africa are priced like U.S. to Europe awards. This results in good value compared to other programs, since most programs require more miles for travel between the U.S. and Africa. For example, Flying Blue business-class awards from New York to Casablanca, Morocco are available starting at 50,000 miles.

Other opportunities to get good value using Flying Blue miles for business class awards include:

• Promo Rewards: Destinations eligible for promotional rates are released on the first business day of each month and allow travel over a six-month period. The lowest award rates are discounted by either 25% or 50%. Business class sometimes is offered for Promo Rewards.
• Discounted awards for children ages 2 to 11: Discounts apply only to flights operated by Air France and KLM. Discounts are based on the adult rate and are 25% for long-haul flights and 33% for short-haul flights.
• One-way flights with a stopover greater than 24 hours: Flying Blue allows a stopover at no additional cost. So, you could fly Air France from New York to Paris, stay several days in Paris and continue to Rome for the same number of miles as a simple connection in Paris.
• Partner awards: For flights operated by partner airlines, award rates often show less variability. For example, business class awards between western North America cities and Taipei, Taiwan on China Airlines, when available, require between 80,000 to 95,000 miles each way.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club Awards

Membership Rewards is the only major flexible currency that can be transferred to ANA Mileage Club. ANA is a member of Star Alliance, and the program offers great award sweet spots on ANA flights and partner airlines.

ANA has fixed award rates, which are published in award charts and based on zones. There are different charts for travel on ANA international flights and partner airline flights. Seasonal variations apply for ANA awards but not for partner awards. Award pricing is for round-trip or open-jaw travel. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to book a one-way flight for half the cost of a round-trip award.

Let’s look at the award chart for round-trip travel on ANA flights between Japan and North America. The class of services are economy (Y), premium economy (PY), business (C) and first (F). Seasonality is designated as low (L), medium (M) and high (H). At 75,000 to 90,000 miles for round-trip travel in ANA business class, this is considered one of the overall best award sweet spots. Despite a devaluation in early 2023 that significantly increased first-class award rates, ANA is still among the best options for first-class travel at 150,000 to 165,000 miles round-trip.

The award chart for partner airlines also has very attractive award rates. For example, round-trip travel between Zone 6—North America (excluding Hawaii) and Zone 7—Europe on Star Alliance partners requires 88,000 miles for business class or 165,000 miles for first class. Similarly, ANA Mileage Plan has great award prices between Zone 6—North America and Zone 10—Oceania/Micronesia (includes Australia and New Zealand) at 120,000 miles round-trip for business class.

ANA also has a distance-based Star Alliance Round the World award chart and separate rules for booking these awards, which also are considered among the top uses of points and miles.

As an example, the following itinerary is possible for 115,000 miles in business class, since the total distance is just under 20,000 miles.

There are some downsides with ANA awards including:

• Award availability is difficult to secure: This is due to a combination of low award prices compared to other airline loyalty programs and other factors. The inability to book one-way awards further increases the difficulty of finding award space. Partner awards are limited to space that the operating carrier makes available to other airlines.
• Fees and surcharges can be high: ANA passes on other airlines’ fuel surcharges, so depending on the operating carrier, fees can offset some of the savings realized by lower mileage requirements. To minimize fees, look for awards on airlines that don’t impose fuel surcharges at all, such as Air Canada, Air New Zealand and United, or who have lower fuel surcharges.
• There are some program policies and complexities to consider: For example, miles expire after 36 months regardless of account activity, and there are limitations on booking awards from your account for other people. Some complex awards, including round-the-world awards, must be booked by phone.

Avianca LifeMiles Awards

Avianca Airlines is a Star Alliance member, and LifeMiles can be redeemed on Avianca and partner airlines, including Star Alliance and non-alliance partners.

The LifeMiles program has region-based award pricing. Although you need to access award charts separately for each partner airline, consistent award rates are used for Star Alliance partners. There are separate award charts for each non-alliance partner.

Examples of premium cabin awards that provide good value are:

• One-way business-class awards between most of the U.S. and most of Europe for 63,000 miles: This award is available on multiple Star Alliance partners, so the best options vary depending on your itinerary.
• One-way business-class awards between the U.S. and Africa for 78,000 miles on Star Alliance partners: United Airlines has nonstop service to South Africa, and there are other carriers providing connecting service to other countries in Africa, with direct service or connections in Europe.
• One-way business-class transcontinental awards within the U.S. for 25,000 miles: These flights are on United Airlines, and you sometimes can find flights configured with lie-flat seats rather than standard domestic first-class recliner seats.
• One-way first-class awards between the U.S. and most of Europe for 87,000 miles: While this award rate applies to any Star Alliance carrier, Lufthansa is the primary airline that offers transatlantic first-class service. At the time of writing, first-class award availability outside of Lufthansa’s loyalty program was extremely limited, and partner programs rarely had access to these awards more than 15 days before travel.

In some cases, LifeMiles award rates might be lower than award charts indicate. This applies to:

• Mixed-cabin awards: If you book an award that is in business class for the overseas flight and economy class for a connecting segment in Europe, the cost of the award is prorated to reflect the percentage of the total trip in each class of service.
• Awards between specific city pairs that price below the expected award chart price: One example is flights from New York (JFK) to Lisbon, Portugal (LIS) for 35,000 miles in business class. The example below is for a nonstop flight on TAP Air Portugal, but the same pricing applies to connecting routes with partners, such as Brussels Airlines.

Avianca LifeMiles can be a good choice for booking premium cabin awards on Star Alliance carriers because award pricing is generally reasonable, and the program doesn’t pass along fuel surcharges.

There also are some negatives with the program. LifeMiles charges a $25 per person fee for booking on partner airlines and has higher fees for canceling or changing tickets compared to other programs. Other frustrations with LifeMiles include not showing award availability, booking technology issues and customer service challenges.

British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus Awards

We’re discussing these two programs together, since both programs use Avios currency and are aligned. Other airlines that use Avios include Aer Lingus, Finnair (beginning in 2024), Qatar Airways and Vueling. Avios can be combined between British Airways, Iberia and other loyalty programs that use Avios. There are sometimes differences in award availability, prices and policies, so it’s worth checking multiple Avios programs.

One big difference between booking through British Airways vs. Iberia involves award changes and cancellations. British Airways allows changes or cancellations on its own flights and partner-operated flights for a flat fee of $55, but if award taxes and fees paid are less than $55, you can forfeit them instead of paying the $55 change/cancellation fee. Iberia Plus awards—except on flights operated by Iberia Group airlines or British Airways—are non-refundable, making Iberia Plus riskier for booking flights operated by other partner airlines.

In general, award rates for British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus are based on distance bands with pricing per segment, but it’s not always straightforward to know what an award should cost because:

• British Airways and Iberia designate specific dates as peak vs. off-peak for their own flights and some other airlines’ flights, with different award rates for peak and off-peak dates.
• Award zones—distance ranges and number of Avios required for each class of service—vary by airline and are no longer published in chart form.
• Passengers can choose to use different combinations of Avios and cash.

Let’s look at some opportunities for good business class redemptions.

• Nonstop flights between North America and Europe on Aer Lingus or British Airways: Nonstop business-class flights under 4,000 miles generally cost 50,000 Avios (off-peak dates) or 60,000 Avios (peak dates). This includes Aer Lingus routes between Ireland and eastern North American locations, such as Boston, Chicago, New York, Toronto and Washington.

A few similar-distance British Airways nonstop flights between Europe and North America require the same number of Avios but have higher fees. Many points and miles enthusiasts avoid booking British Airways transatlantic award flights, especially in premium cabins to and from the United Kingdom, due to the high fuel surcharges and the U.K. Air Passenger Duty. Total taxes and fees often are around $1,000 one-way on British Airways flights between the U.S. and the U.K.

• Nonstop flights between the U.S. and Europe on Iberia: For itineraries entirely on Iberia flights, one-way nonstop business-class awards between the eastern U.S.—including Boston (BOS), New York (JFK), Washington (IAD) and Chicago (ORD)—and Madrid (MAD) on off-peak dates cost only 34,000 Avios. Peak date business-class awards on the same routes are 50,000 Avios each way. Taxes and fees are also lower compared to British Airways flights, and you can choose to increase the cash amount and reduce the number of Avios needed.

The least expensive redemptions are for Iberia nonstop flights on off-peak dates from eastern U.S. airports to Madrid, or Barcelona, Spain if available. Award rates increase for travel on peak dates, from other U.S. airports Iberia serves and for travel between the U.S. and a different European destination. Some additional details about Iberia awards include:

• One-way Iberia awards for nonstop business-class flights from most southern and western U.S. airports—including Miami (MIA), Dallas (DFW) and Los Angeles (LAX)—require 42,500 Avios for off-peak dates and 60,000 Avios for peak dates. Nonstop flights to or from San Francisco (SFO) are 47,500 Avios for off-peak dates.
• In the past, you had to book these awards through Iberia Plus, but the British Airways’ website recently showed the same pricing (Avios and taxes) for business-class awards.
• Adding an Iberia connection within Europe increases the award price. For example, a one-way business class award between Porto, Portugal and New York costs 43,000 Avios plus taxes and fees. You can choose to select economy for short European flights and save some Avios.
• U.S. connecting flights on Oneworld partner flights to an Iberia gateway can’t be included in this award, so you’ll need a separate positioning flight if traveling to or from a U.S. city without Iberia service.

Nonstop business-class flights between the U.S. and Doha, Qatar, on Qatar Airways for 70,000 Avios: Qatar’s QSuites are one of the best business-class products available, and the points cost is the same for booking with British Airways or Qatar Avios or American Airlines AAdvantage miles if Doha (DOH) is your ultimate destination. Booking through the AAdvantage program costs fewer miles if your final destination is somewhere else in the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East or Africa. Award availability might be better through Qatar Airways Privilege Club program.

Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Awards

Singapore Airlines is in Star Alliance and also has several partners outside the alliance, with Singapore KrisFlyer award prices determined by a series of region-based award charts:

• Singapore Airlines award chart: This chart applies to flights operated by Singapore. There are two types of awards: Saver awards, which are less expensive with limited availability, and Advantage awards, which are more expensive with more availability and other benefits.
• Star Alliance award chart: This chart provides award prices for flights operated by Star Alliance partner airlines.
  Other partner award charts: Singapore has separate award charts for the following partner airlines that are outside Star Alliance: Alaska Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Vistara and Juneyao Air.
• Singapore Airlines also has a miles calculator that provides award prices for specific origins, destinations and classes of service.

Whether Singapore Airlines Krisflyer awards belong on a list of best redemptions depends on personal criteria. If your objective is to redeem the fewest points possible, there are other programs that are better options. If you value Singapore’s premium cabin experience and predictable award prices, Singapore KrisFlyer awards may be a good option.

Singapore Airlines first-class awards

Singapore offers first-class awards, including Suites, on its own flights through KrisFlyer. Given how few airlines offer long-haul first-class awards or severely limit availability, using KrisFlyer miles to book Singapore Airlines first class is one of the better options. Some examples are:

• Routes between New York (JFK) and Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) and Houston (IAH) and Manchester, England (MAN): Singapore Airlines operates these two nonstop routes between the U.S. and Europe. One-way Saver award prices are 97,000 miles for first class.
• Route between Los Angeles and Tokyo: Singapore Airlines operates a flight between Los Angeles and Singapore that stops at Tokyo (NRT). It’s possible to book Los Angeles to Tokyo only. First-class Saver awards between Los Angeles (LAX) and Tokyo (NRT) require 120,500 miles.
• Routes between North America and Southeast Asia: KrisFlyer divides North America and Asia into different zones, so award prices vary based on origin and departure location. Southeast Asia generally falls into zones 1, 2 or 3, and the western U.S. and Canada are in zone 12. One-way Saver awards between these zones cost 146,500 miles for first class.

Singapore Airlines business-class awards

Singapore Krisflyer also offers business-class awards on its own flights and partners. Prices are often higher compared to other programs that offer fixed award prices. Nevertheless, when award availability is tight, using KrisFlyer awards for Singapore Airlines flights might be a reasonable option. Some examples are:

• Routes between New York (JFK) and Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) and Houston (IAH) and Manchester, England (MAN): For these Singapore routes, business-class Saver awards are 81,000 miles each way.
• Routes between North America and Asia: There’s some variation depending on origins and destinations. For example, connecting flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Bangkok (BKK) require 107,000 miles in business class for a Saver award or 128,500 for an Advantage award. With an Advantage award, you can include a free stopover longer than 24 hours on a one-way award. For the second flight option shown, you can choose to stop in Tokyo or Singapore.

Other opportunities to secure Singapore KrisFlyer awards at lower rates include leveraging transfer bonuses or booking KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes. Spontaneous Escapes are discounted awards that are for specific class of service, route (sometimes specific flights) and time periods. Typically, the awards are for travel during the month after release.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Awards

Virgin Atlantic joined the SkyTeam alliance in March 2023 and has airline partners within and outside the alliance. Award structure and pricing depend on which airline operates the flight and sometimes on travel dates and flight origin and destination regions. To see each partner’s award chart and details, click on the airline’s logo on the linked partner page and review the content under “Spend Virgin Points.”

Taxes and fees are highly variable when booking through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Virgin Atlantic and some partner flights have significant fuel surcharges and fees, while other options have minimal taxes and fees. The question of whether it’s worth redeeming fewer points for flights with much higher cash fees vs. spending more points to book flights with lower fees is a subject of frequent debate in the points and miles community and is ultimately a personal decision.

Here are some examples of premium cabin redemption options:

One-way Virgin Atlantic flights between the eastern United States and the U.K. for 42,500 points in business class: This rate applies to standard dates, and taxes and fees are approximately $1,000, since Virgin Atlantic imposes fuel surcharges on its own flights, and the U.K. Air Passenger Duty applies to departures from the U.K.

ANA business- and first-class flights between North America and Japan: Many people consider booking travel on ANA through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to be one of the best award sweet spots. First-class award prices increased in early 2023, but still represent good value. Business-class awards represent excellent value.

Compared to booking directly through ANA Mileage Club, there are advantages and disadvantages of booking through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Advantages include the ability to book one-way flights and the ability to use points from other flexible currency programs besides Membership Rewards.

Disadvantages are less award availability, higher cost in points and the inability to search or book online with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. We recommend using a Star Alliance partner, such as United MileagePlus or Air Canada Aeroplan, to search for award availability and calling Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to book flights.

The award chart shows round-trip pricing for all classes of service and regions, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club passes on ANA fuel surcharges. There are multiple regions with different award pricing within North and Central America. One-way award rates to or from Japan are:

• Hawaii: 35,000 points for business class or 57,500 points for first class
• Western U.S. and Canada: 45,000 points for business class and 72,500 points for first class
• Central or eastern U.S. or Mexico: 47,500 points for business class or 85,000 points for first class

Air France and KLM business-class flights between Europe and North America: Virgin Atlantic’s Air France and KLM award charts are a combination of distance-based and regional zone-based pricing. Flights over 1,750 miles use zone-based pricing. Peak and off-peak dates impact award price. One-way business-class awards between the U.S. and Europe start at 48,500 points, and fees are usually lower compared to Virgin Atlantic flights. The example below is an off-peak award between Zone 1, which includes central and western Europe, and Zone 6, which includes eastern North America.

Delta business class flights between the U.S. and Europe: One-way nonstop flights between the U.S. and Europe (except the U.K.) cost 50,000 points for Delta One, but it’s difficult to find Delta One award availability. If you can find awards, using Virgin Atlantic to book Delta business-class flights from the U.S. to Europe reduces fees, since Delta doesn’t impose fuel surcharges on flights originating in the U.S.

Final Thoughts

American Express Membership Rewards points can be transferred to multiple airline loyalty programs that collectively offer a wide range of valuable redemption opportunities. We shared some strong options for business- and first-class awards. Some characteristics of highlighted awards include:

• Awards with better availability through the carrier’s own loyalty program: Many airlines release more awards to members of their program compared to awards available through partner airline programs. An example is using Singapore KrisFlyer to book Singapore Airlines first class.
• Awards that offer good to excellent award rates for one-way business class flights between North America and Europe: At the time of writing, this range is about 34,000 to 70,000 points.
• Awards that offer good to excellent award rates for one-way flights between North America and the Middle East or Africa: At the time of writing, this range is about 55,000 to 90,000 points.
• Awards that offer good to excellent award rates for one-way flights between North America and Asia: At the time of writing, this range is about 35,000 to over 100,000 points. Within the wide range, awards to closer destinations, such as Japan, are lower than further destinations in Southeast Asia.

Want to learn more about using Membership Rewards to book flights? Check out our article on the best ways to use Membership Rewards for economy flights.