Of all the ways to get value from your points and miles, lie-flat business or first class seats are the best. A big plush seat, a glass of champagne, multi-course dining, and a flat bed to sleep on after you've wined and dined is the best way to travel, and for most of us, the only way to afford those luxuries is with our points and miles.
That's because full price can be a lot: An international business class ticket typically starts at $4,000 to $5,000 roundtrip … and sometimes double that or more. If you think that's an absurd amount of money to spend on a flight, you're right! That's where points and miles shine.
For many travelers (myself included), it's the only way to make flying in this kind of style a reality. But even with all the points in the world, actually booking business class seats can be easier said than done. Airlines don't make it so easy to book these top-dollar flights using miles.
That's where our Thrifty Traveler Premium service comes in: Rather than searching for flights and coming up empty-handed, we let you know exactly when (and how) to book…
That's just the start: We've doubled down on finding these excellent business class award space alerts. These are the best Thrifty Traveler Premium deals we've sent this year, helping our members fly like they're millionaires … for just a few thousand points.
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Air France/KLM Biz Class This Summer (Including the Olympics!)
Normally, business class seats flying to Europe in the middle of summer (and during the Paris Olympics, no less) can be impossible to find. If you end up in one, it's normally because you booked 11 months in advance or you just got lucky.
But sometimes, airlines like Air France and KLM make thousands of business class bookable with points and miles all at once for trips during the best times of the year. That's exactly what happened a few weeks ago.
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Travelers based in nearly all of Air France and KLM's U.S. and Canadian gateways had a shot at booking these business class suites for just 50,000 Flying Blue miles each way in July and August!
We even dubbed it a Unicorn Fare because it's so rare to see this much business class availability during peak travel season.
Don't think you have Flying Blue miles? Think again. If you've been earning points on cards from American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, or even Wells Fargo, you can transfer them to Flying Blue to book these flights.
American Biz Class to Europe This Summer
If you'd rather fly a U.S. carrier like American Airlines, it did the same thing as Flying Blue. We're constantly hunting for peak summer business class award availability to Europe on AA and almost all of their routes became available all at once a few months ago, giving Thrifty Traveler Premium members a heads up on a chance to book this deal.
These fares are long gone now – get the next alert with Thrifty Traveler Premium! Use promo code FIFTY to save 50% on your first year!
This availability was fantastic, including almost every American Airlines route flying to Europe this summer.
Some of these rates, especially booking with Alaska Airlines (right column) are unbeatable across the Atlantic for peak summer.
It even includes extremely rare availability to places like Rome (FCO) and Nice (NCE) among others.
Delta One Suites Unicorn Fare to Taipei
When it comes to booking Delta One Suites with Delta SkyMiles, we typically recommend that you don't. Most of the time, it's a terrible value for your hard-earned miles. But Delta likes to surprise and delight every now and again, and we always catch them in the act when they do!
Want to fly Delta business class? Thrifty Traveler Premium members get alerts for premium cabin award alerts from all U.S. cities!
With business class availability to Taipei (TPE) as low as 146,000 SkyMiles roundtrip, this Unicorn Fare we alerted our subscribers to was one of the best long-haul Delta One redemptions we've seen, period. It's perhaps the best value you can get from your SkyMiles if you were prepared to book at the time we sent the deal.
For most travelers in cities all over the U.S., you could snag these for 196,000 roundtrip – or less if you hold one of the co-branded Delta credit cards with the TakeOff 15 benefit.
Read next: The Best Ways to Book Delta One Business Class for Fewer Points
Qatar Airways QSuites from 70K Each Way
Want to fly the best business class in the world? Of course you do! That's a dumb question. The real question is can you afford to fly Qatar Airways QSuites if you're not some sort of royalty or an heir to a fortune.
That answer is also yes! If you let us do the searching for you.
QSuites award availability – flights you can actually book with points and miles – like this doesn't come around all that often, but when it does, we pounce! Qatar is the best way to fly to any one of these destinations all over the world. One stop in Doha (DOH) with it's uber-fancy business class lounges and you're on your way to the Middle East, Africa, India, or even all the way to Southeast Asia.
Qantas Biz Class to Australia & New Zealand
Flying business class to Australia or New Zealand is on the bucket list for many travelers – and for good reason. Those flights are long and those trips are once-in-a-lifetime for many flyers, so a little luxury is welcome.
If you want to fly lie-flat down under, Qantas might be the very best way to do so.
Read our review of Qantas Business Class on the A380!
In the last few months, we've found multiple Qantas business class deals, the best of which was this Unicorn Fare flying from New York (JFK) to Auckland (AKL) nonstop! This award space is exceedingly rare for one of the 10 longest flights in the world. We couldn't believe it.
But for travelers not based in NYC, there was still plenty of Qantas fun to be had.
Nearly all of Qantas's routes to Brisbane (BNE), Melbourne (MEL), and Sydney (SYD) were bookable using Qantas miles for a trip this fall or upcoming winter. You could easily transfer points to Qantas from Amex, Capital One, or Citi to book these flights.
Plus, we even found some first class availability on the MEL and SYD routes from Los Angeles (LAX), too!
Hawaiian First Class Suites to Honolulu
You don't need a lie-flat seat to Hawaii…but you definitely want one, right?
These brand-new Hawaiian Airlines First Class Suites are honeymoon bait if I've ever seen them. We just flew these on a recent trip to Honolulu (HNL) and found them spectacular, especially for the long journey across the Pacific to the Hawaiian Islands.
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Best of all, you can snag these seats for just 40,000 miles each way booking through Hawaiian or partner airline Virgin Atlantic. But time it right with a transfer bonus to Virgin and you could book these suites for as few as 31,000 Virgin points!
Best of all, you can transfer points to Virgin from nearly all the major banks: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, and Citi. Booking Hawaii flights with Virgin points is an expert-level travel hack, but Thrifty Traveler Premium deals like this always come with easy step-by-step instructions.
Aer Lingus Biz Class to Ireland & England
Aer Lingus Business Class seats have been available to travelers with Alaska miles or Aer Lingus and British Airways Avios a lot lately. If you also have a Thrifty Traveler Premium membership, you're getting first dibs on the best availability as soon as it's available – because the availability gets gobbled up quickly.
These nonstop flights on Aer Lingus to Dublin (DUB), Manchester (MAN), and Shannon (SNN) could be booked as low as 45,000 Alaska miles each way. It's a crazy value that several members of our Minneapolis-based team have booked over the last few weeks.
Don't have Alaska miles? You can also transfer points from Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt,, Chase, or Wells Fargo to British Airways or Aer Lingus to book.
Imagine landing in Dublin (DUB) after a good night's sleep in one of those swanky seats! That's well worth 45,000 points if you ask me.
Emirates Biz Class to Italy & Greece
Emirates is known for its class and luxury flying to and from its hub in Dubai (DXB), but the fancy airline also runs cool, fifth-freedom routes between Newark (EWR) and Athens (ATH), and New York (JFK) and Milan (MXP).
Best of all, you can fly roundtrip on either of those routes in business class for 108,000 Emirates miles.
Read our review of Emirates Business Class on the A380 from JFK to Milan!
You might also have Emirates miles and not know it yet! You can transfer points to Emirates from American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, and Citi.
Singapore Airlines Biz Class
Singapore Airlines business class is close to the fanciest lie-flat in the skies, and thanks to its partnership with Air Canada, North American travelers can book it for cheap!
This flight deal could put you on the longest flights in the world from New York (JFK) and Newark (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) this year for just 88,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points each way. Best of all, you can transfer your Amex, Bilt, Capital One, or Chase points to Aeroplan instantly to snag these, too.
ITA Biz Class to Rome
ITA Airways and its new business class fly to and from the U.S. to Rome (FCO) every day, and that's made award space flying lie-flat to Italy much easier lately.
We just flew this ITA Airways business class seat and loved it! And even better – you can book them for as low as 69,000 Flying Blue miles each way.
Again, if you've been earning points on cards from American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, or even Wells Fargo, you can transfer them to Flying Blue to book these flights.
Cathay Pacific Biz Class to Southeast Asia
If you want to fly business class to Southeast Asia, or even all the way to Australia or New Zealand, your comfiest bet might be through Hong Kong (HKG) on Cathay Pacific.
One of the top airlines in the world, Cathay Pacific runs nonstop flights to various cities in the U.S. and Canada, including the four listed below.
Best of all, the nonstop flight to Hong Kong is the same rate as the connections onward to any of the destinations below, too!
Iberia Business Class to Madrid
Iberia Business Class isn't the fanciest, but it's a lie-flat seat to Europe at a tantalizing price. It's one of the best values in travel, and we find it for our subscribers all the time.
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Iberia's U.S. gateways go from coast to coast, but these lucky six airports benefitted from the latest round of incredibly cheap awards.
For the cost of many economy flights, you can lie-flat to Europe instead this fall, winter, or spring!
JetBlue Mint Suites to Europe
JetBlue Mint Suites might be our new favorite way to fly to Europe thanks to its fun, fresh take on the business class experience. Typically, some relatively low cash rates (think sub-$2,000 roundtrip fares) are the way to go when booking JetBlue Mint, but recently, the airline's partnership with Qatar Avios has shown a better way.
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Qatar Avios (transferable from Amex, Citi, and combinable with British Airways or Iberia Avios), are some of the most valuable points out there thanks to this exact booking. Look at all of these rates and routes you can use your Avios for to snag these seats!
United Polaris Business Class to Europe
United Airlines has its own mega-comfy business class seat flying all over the world every day: United Polaris Business Class.
Every once and a while, United opens up its business class award availability to its partner airlines like Air Canada. When it does so, you can book these sweet seats using Air Canada Aeroplan miles (transferable from Amex, Chase, and Bilt).
When this availability drops, it drops in bunches, making for a perfect kickoff to a European vacation this year or next.
Turkish Business Class to Istanbul
Just a few days ago, Turkish Airlines released award availability for tons of its nonstop routes to Istanbul (IST) in 2025.
These beautiful airplane seats also come with Turkish's famous “soft product”, i.e. the service – and most importantly – food and drink that come with its business class. We love Turkish Business Class.
If you have access to either Avianca LifeMiles (transferable from Amex, Capital One, Citi, Bilt, and Wells Fargo) or Turkish Miles (Capital One, Citi, and Bilt), you could snag these seats from just 63,000 one-way.
Bottom Line
Flying business class is within reach even if you don't have thousands of dollars to throw at tickets. Points and miles can be the great equalizer when it comes to flying in style.
But given the difficulty of tracking down available seats and finding the right miles to use, even points and miles millionaires can struggle. That's what our Thrifty Traveler Premium service is all about: Doing the legwork for you so you can score business class seats around the world without breaking a sweat.