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Best Use of Points and Miles to Oslo, Norway

Oslo, Norway at Night

By on July 6, 2022

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Oslo might not be a destination that many talk about. It is the capital of Norway and a gateway to the rest of the country. Most people travel through Oslo on their way to Bergen and the Northern Lights in Tromsø. But don’t skip on Oslo!

There aren’t a ton of direct flights to the Land of the Midnight Sun. Both come from the Scandinavian airline and Star Alliance member SAS. Add in connecting flights in Europe and you’ll be in Oslo before you know it.  

Ways to book:
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air France/KLM Flying Blue
American Airlines AAdvantage
ANA Mileage Club
Avianca LifeMiles
United MileagePlus
How to Earn these Points and Miles

Best Use of Points and Miles to Oslo, Norway

Air Canada Aeroplan

It might seem counterintuitive to fly a Canadian airline to Norway, but Air Canada should be considered for a couple of reasons.

Air Canada has a favorable award chart for many destinations. Being a Star Alliance member, you also have the ability to redeem on other Star Alliance airlines like SAS, SWISS and Lufthansa.

Below are the redemptions you should aim for. Keep in mind, Aeroplan does have a dynamic award chart. What you find may differ from what you find.

DistanceEconomyPremium EconomyBusinessFirst
0-4,00035,000 – 60,00050,000-80,00060,000 – 160,00090,000 – 180,000
4,001 to 6,00040,000 – 70,00060,000 – 90,00070,000 – 180,000100,000 – 200,000
One-Way Redemptions using Air Canada Aeroplan

SWISS and Lufthansa are notorious for high fuel surcharges. Luckily for you, Air Canada does not assess fuel surcharges on award flights! Other redemptions on this list like United pass on carrier surcharges. By not assessing fuel surcharges, this can easily save you $$$$$ on your trip.

Air Canada flies to a ton of US airports to places like Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.

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You’ll ultimately need to take a Star Alliance partner to get to Oslo.

Air Canada Business Class | Courtesy: Air Canada
Air Canada Business Class | Courtesy: Air Canada

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Getting to Oslo can be an easy one-stop connection though Paris or Amsterdam from the United States.

Air France departs the US from many airports.

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DTWIADIAHLAX
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SEASFO

KLM also flies to a ton of US airports.

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IAHJFKLASLAX
MIAMSPORDSFO
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Like Aeroplan, Flying Blue has dynamic pricing. Here’s what standard award space costs.

EconomyPremium EconomyBusiness
21,50042,50053,000
One-Way Redemptions using Flying Blue

Those award prices aside. Flying Blue also has promo awards. Each month these promo awards can save you 25% to 50% off standard pricing. The cities and amounts change, but if you are flexible or willing to take a positioning flight this can be a great use your points and miles.

American Airlines AAdvantage

It’s no secret that AA is one of my favorite award programs. They have favorable award pricing to destinations around the world. Of course, Europe is one of these sweet spots.

Economy Off PeakEconomy PeakBusinessFirst
45,00060,000115,000170,000
Round-Trip Redemptions using American Airlines AAdvantage

AA also has web specials similar to the Flying Blue Promo Rewards. But watch carefully! I’ve seen these web specials for less than standard pricing. But I’ve also seen them for more than standard pricing. These web specials come with different policies like they can’t be changed. You’ll need to cancel if you want to make any modifications to your ticket.

doesn’t fly to Oslo. You’ll have the pleasure of flying one of AA’s partners. Depending on your routing, you can fly British Airways, Iberia or Finnair.

British Airways flies from these airports.

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DENDFWEWRIADIAH
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Iberia flights to a handful of airports.

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LAXMIAORDSFO

You can hop Finnair flights here.

DFWJFKLAXMIA
ORDSEASFO

When booking award flights through American, watch out for high taxes and fees. Flights through the United Kingdom and on British Airways will have the most fees. These fees vary based on class of service. The higher the class of service. The higher your taxes and fees will be.

Related: Best Uses of Aeroplan Points

ANA Mileage Club

While ANA is known for their incredible first-class product to Japan, the Japanese airline also has great redemptions to Europe.

EconomyBusinessFirst
55,00088,000165,000
Round-Trip Redemptions using ANA

ANA’s website is a bit clunky. I recommend using United’s website for searching. Plus it gives you a calendar view. For this redemption, you are looking for Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, United (must be saver space) or Tap Air Portugal. Once you find what you like, head to ANA to book.

There is one downside. You must book a round trip with ANA. This loyalty program doesn’t allow one-ways. But you can book a different return city. For example, you could fly into Zurich before returning back to the US from Madrid.

Avianca LifeMiles

The Colombian carrier Avianca is a member of the Star Alliance. And this airline has some of the best redemptions on this list.

EconomyBusinessFirst
30,00063,00087,000
One-Way Redemptions using LifeMiles

The points required for first class redemptions are super low. If you are looking for Lufthansa First Class, this is definitely the redemption to do. The business class redemptions isn’t bad either.

Avianca redemptions are straightforward compared to other redemptions. But the airline can be difficult dealing with customer service. Only book through Avianca if you are 100% sure your trip will happen. This is probably an redemption I wouldn’t recommend for beginners.

United MileagePlus

United is a beginner friendly redemption. But the program is dynamically priced. Make sure you aren’t spending all your points on a subpar redemption.

EconomyBusinessFirst
60,000120,000242,000
Round Trip Redemptions using United MileagePlus

United is a member of the Star Alliance. Like the other Star Alliance redemptions on this list, you’ll have access to Austrian, SWISS, Tap Air Portugal, Air Canada, and Lufthansa.

United flies to the following cities in Europe. Then you’ll take a partner to Oslo.

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Not all of those cities are served by an airline that can get you to Oslo though.

United Polaris on a Boeing 777
United Polaris on a Boeing 777

Related: Andaz Amsterdam Prinsegracht 1 King Bed Canal View: Hotel Review

How to Earn These Points and Miles

Aeroplan points are easily to earn. The loyalty program accepts transfers from three of the major flexible points including Chase, American Express and Capital One. Cards like the best beginner points and miles card, The Platinum Card from American Express or Capital One Venture earn points that can be used for Air Canada. Air Canada also partners with Chase for their cobranded card.

Flying Blue partners with several different flexible points currencies. The big four, American Express, Chase, Citi and Capital One, can transfer to Flying Blue. Fan favorite cards like the Chase Freedom Flex, American Express Business Gold, Citi Premier and Capital One Venture X can earn points towards Air France and KLM flights. Flying Blue also partners with Bank of America for their cobranded card in the US.

American Airlines miles are some of the hardest points to earn on this list. They don’t partner with any of the major flexible currencies. There are several personal and business cards from Barclays and Citi.

ANA only partners with one issuer in the United States. That is American Express. The American Express Gold Card is a great card to rack up points towards ANA.

Avianca accepts transfers from three of four flexible points programs. Chase does not partner with Avianca, but Citi, American Express and Capital One do. An underrated card is the Citi Custom Cash card.

United only partners with Chase for flexible points and their cobranded cards. Business and personal cards are available. These would be United Explorer, United Quest and United Business. Each of these are considered separate products so you can get the welcome offer on all.

Best Use of Points and Miles to Oslo, Norway Bottom Line

Norway is a great country. There are a ton of ways to redeem your points and miles to get to Olso. Europe is a served by many Star Alliance members. That’s why you see tons of Star Alliance members on this list.

It’s hard to go wrong with some of their business and first class redemptions.

If I was to recommend an order of checking, I would say Flying Blue (for economy redemptions and promos), United, ANA, Avianca, Air Canada then AA.  

These opinions in this article are the author’s not those of a 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.