There are only two main roads into First Class from Business: pay up or upgrade. The former is steep: First Class fares to Europe start at about $10,000 from the West Coast and $7,000 from the East Coast. (2-for-1’s are a slim option: SWISS offers them to Europe through Amex’s IAP and British Airways through its Visa card, on fares of $10,000 and more.) Your best bet is the latter: Using miles to upgrade from a discounted Business Class ticket.
Among American carriers, only American and United offer First Class to Europe. But there are three European and three Asian mileage programs that can net you an upgrade to First, either on those airlines or alliance partners. Here is a rundown of upgradeable Business to First Class programs to Europe.
Air France / Flying Blue: F-
Flying Blue has everything we don’t like about upgrade programs. At $6,000 and up, the upgradable fares are high. In fact, on the New York-London route, British Airways charges only about $600 more for a paid First Class ticket ($6,961, plus taxes) than Air France’s $6,352 upgradeable Business Class fare. And the mileage charge is sky-high. At 150,000 miles round-trip, it’s more than American and United charge for a free First Class seat.
American Airlines / AAdvantage: C
The main requirements—50,000 miles round-trip, an $1,100 surcharge on upgrades from discounted Business Class fares, and upgradable fares starting at about $3,300—make this an average program. The big plus is a fare-bucket technicality: American puts paid discounted First Class seats and upgrade seats in the same inventory (code A), whereas most carriers segregate seats into “free,” “upgrade,” and “paid,” with the last category having the largest number of seats. This means the odds of getting an upgrade to First on American are better than with most other airlines because as long as a discounted First Class seat is available, an upgrade is available. Credit card points can be transferred from both Starwood and Diners Club, and AA allows you to buy up to 40,000 miles per year.
All Nippon / ANA Mileage Club - Star Alliance Upgrade: D+
All Nippon, like a number of Star Alliance carriers, offers a Star Alliance mileage upgrade, which is valid on certain other alliance partners. ANA’s Mileage Club is a flight-distance program, which means mileage requirements are based on miles—the farther you fly, the more miles it costs. From the East Coast to Europe, the cheapest upgrade costs 90,000 miles round-trip, with upgradeable fares starting at about $4,000. See the chart on page four, for other airlines offering Star Alliance upgrades and the respective mileage requirements.
British Airways / Executive Club: A-
It offers almost everything a top-rated program should: Upgrades from discounted Business Class fares without surcharges, and reasonable mileage requirements (50,000 to 65,000 round-trip) that fall in the middle of the programs reviewed here. British Airways’ program is zone-based, meaning the miles required are the same for every destination in a given zone. BA divides Europe into three zones: Paris is in zone 1 (50,000 miles), Warsaw is in zone 2 (60,000), and Athens is in zone 3 (65,000). Upgradeable fares can be as low as $2,500 from the East Coast and $3,500 from the West Coast. Credit card points can be transferred from Starwood and Diners Club, and BA allows members to buy up to 19,000 miles per year.
Cathay Pacific / Asia Miles: B+
Cathay uses a flight-distance award chart, charging 60,000 to 85,000 miles (see chart on page four), 10,000 to 35,000 more than British Airways. The miles can be used to upgrade on American and British Airways on discounted Business Class fares ($2,500-$3,500). Credit card points can be transferred from Starwood, and members can buy up to 30% of the miles needed for an upgrade.
Lufthansa / Miles & More: D+
The mileage requirement is fairly high (100,000 round-trip) and so are the upgradeable fares ($3,900 and up). A better way to fly Lufthansa in First Class is by upgrading through United’s Mileage Plus Star Alliance program, which charges 20,000 fewer miles. Credit card points can be transferred from Starwood.
SWISS / Miles & More: D-
Same name, same program, with one major difference: Upgradeable fares are even higher ($7,600 and up) than Lufthansa’s. We recommend booking it via Star Alliance partner All Nippon through an ANA Mileage Club Star Alliance upgrade, which may save you 10,000 miles and $1,000 (see chart below).
United Airlines / Mileage Plus - Star Alliance Upgrade: B-
It has the lowest mileage-upgrade requirement, 40,000 miles round-trip, of any carrier or mileage program to Europe. Moreover, you can buy all of the miles, since United allows members to purchase up to 60,000 annually. We like that feature. Other above-average elements: $1,000 upgrade surcharge, and upgradeable fares that start at $3,200 (including the surcharge). Keep in mind that United’s Mileage Plus Star Alliance upgrade is also valid on Singapore Airlines: New York to Frankfurt costs 80,000 miles with no surcharge—a 20,000 mile savings compared to Lufthansa upgrades.
Singapore / KrisFlyer - Star Alliance Upgrade: B+
This program uses a regional redemption chart and requires only 60,000 miles on the one route it flies from the U.S. to Europe: New York-Frankfurt. It also permits upgrades on most Business Class fares, which currently start at $2,600, and doesn’t impose a surcharge. A Star Alliance upgrade costs 10,000 miles less than on Lufthansa, from the same upgradeable fare. But the key advantage is that Singapore is an American Express Rewards member, which gives you access to United and Lufthansa First Class upgrades through a point-transfer via KrisFlyer.
Sample Upgradeable Business Class Fares for Europe Travel
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