Fly to Europe from 30,000 United miles one-way: Book by Friday

Are you searching for an ideal autumn escape to London, Paris, Amsterdam or Madrid?

United Airlines has just launched an exciting Europe award sale. Over the next three days, you can reserve economy flights across the Atlantic to 12 European destinations, beginning at 30,000 miles one-way (in addition to taxes and fees, starting at $47.15 round-trip).

Deal basics

United Boeing 777-200ER at SFO — KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Airline: United

Routes: From all mainland U.S. airports to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), Brussels Airport (BRU), Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Dublin Airport (DUB), Edinburgh Airport (EDI), Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Geneva Airport (GVA), London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR), Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD), Munich Airport (MUC), Shannon Airport (SNN) and Zurich Airport (ZRH)

How to book: Directly with the airline

Travel dates: Select travel dates through Dec. 14

Book by: Friday by 11:59 p.m. CDT

You are not required to purchase a round-trip ticket to be eligible for the discounted award price.

Sample flights

Following the global United MileagePlus devaluation earlier this year, the airline unexpectedly raised the one-way saver economy-class award rates from 30,000 to 40,000 miles on award tickets from the mainland U.S. to Europe.

However, with this promotion, you can book at the pre-devaluation rate of 30,000 miles for a one-way economy-class award. This saves you 20,000 miles compared to the post-devaluation round-trip awards.

Let’s take a closer look at the available award space. You may have access to expanded award availability if you have a United cobranded credit card or MileagePlus elite status.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to London

Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Amsterdam

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Shannon

Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Geneva

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Munich

If you plan to book a flight and are considering transferring credit card points, check out potentially cheaper award rates on partner program Avianca LifeMiles. The program charges just 23,200 miles from Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Paris.

You can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou Rewards points to your LifeMiles account at a 1:1 ratio.

Maximize your purchase

Use a credit card that earns bonus points on airfare purchases, such as:

The Platinum Card® from American Express: 5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year
Citi Prestige® Card: 5 points per dollar on airfare
Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees): 3 points per dollar on airfare
Chase Sapphire Reserve: 3 points per dollar on airfare
American Express® Gold Card: 3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: 2 points per dollar on travel

See this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.

The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

If you’re prepared to book a trip to Europe before Friday, this award sale presents an excellent opportunity to make the most of your United miles.

Round-trip flights from the West Coast to Europe often cost approximately $1,200 in standard economy class. However, by utilizing 60,000 United miles, you’ll be getting around 2 cents per mile; that’s about 50% more than our valuation of United miles.

If something comes up, you can always cancel your reservation and have your miles redeposited and taxes and fees refunded. Just ensure that your flight arrangements are made before Friday.

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