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Paris. One of the most romantic cities in the world. The city of love is known for its walkability, cultural sites and beauty. If you are a first time visitor, you’ll probably see the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and the Palace of Versailles among plenty of other places in between.
Flights between the US vary between eight hours and eleven hours. There are plenty of airlines to choose from for your flight to Paris. There are two major airports in Paris, Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly (ORY). Most long haul flights will land at CDG. If you are connecting from another European city, you might be landing at ORY.
For economy flyers or business and first-class flyers will find plenty of best uses of points and miles to Paris on this list.
Ways to book:
Air Canada Aeroplan
American Airlines AAdvantage
ANA Mileage Club
Avianca Lifemiles
Etihad Guest
Air France/KLM Flying Blue
United MileagePlus
How to Earn these Points and Miles
Best Use of Points and Miles to Paris
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air Canada uses a zone based and distance-based award chart. Within the different award zones, you’ll need different amounts of miles based on the distance between cities. Air Canada also uses a bit of dynamic pricing within these bands. Sometimes you might find prices lower than then those listed below.
Air Canada themselves fly between North America and Paris via Canada. You can also use Aeroplan miles for other Star Alliance partners such as United, Tap Air Portugal, SAS, Singapore, and Lufthansa.
| Air Canada Redemptions | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
|---|
| 0 – 4,000 | 35,000 to 60,000 | 50,000 to 80,000 | 60,000 to 160,000 | 90,000 to 180,000 |
| 4,001 – 6,000 | 40,000 to 70,000 | 60,000 to 90,000 | 70,000 to 180,000 | 100,000 to 200,000 |
One-Way Redemption to Paris with Aeroplan AND flying Aeroplan| Partner Redemptions | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
|---|
| 0 – 4,000 | 35,000 | N/A | 60,000 | 90,000 |
| 4,001 – 6,000 | 40,000 | N/A | 70,000 | 100,000 |
One-Way Redemption to Paris with Aeroplan AND flying partner airlinesThese amounts are for one-way flights. For Aeroplan redemptions, focus on the lower amounts in the Air Canada bands. If flying partners, Singapore, Lufthansa, and Swiss are all amazing carriers to fly especially in business or first.
American Airlines AAdvantage
American Airlines uses a zone-based award chart like Air Canada. There is also dynamic pricing with AA. There are two different award charts. One for American Airlines and another for partners. Using AA miles, you can fly partners such as British Airlines and Iberia.
| Airline | Main Cabin Off-Peak | Main Cabin Peak | Premium Economy | Business | First |
|---|
| AA | 22,500 | 30,000 | 40,000 | 57,500 | 85,000 |
| Partners | 22,500 | 30,000 | 40,000 | 57,500 | 85,000 |
One-Way Redemption to Paris using AA milesWith AA redemptions, they pass on any carrier-imposed surcharges from British Airways. UK taxes are also high so avoid that to keep prices down on your return flights if possible.
Fly this lie-flat seat in business class on American Airlines
ANA Mileage Club
While ANA doesn’t fly to Paris from North America, their other Star Alliance partners do. One downside is that you must book roundtrip with ANA. However, you don’t have to depart from the same city nor return to the same city. As an examples, you could depart SFO and fly to Paris then return from Marseille to LA.
| Class of Service | Miles Needed |
|---|
| Economy | 55,000 |
| Business | 88,000 |
Roundtrip Redemption to Paris with ANAAvianca Lifemiles
Another Star Alliance member is Avianca. While you won’t be flying the Columbian carrier instead, you’ll be flying airlines such as Lufthansa, United and Swiss. There are regularly promos on award tickets so you might be using less miles than typically.
| Class of Service | Miles Needed |
|---|
| Economy | 30,000 |
| Business | 63,000 |
| First | 87,000 |
One-Way Redemption to Paris using LifemilesOne of the best parts of these redemptions is Avianca doesn’t pass on any carrier surcharges. Taxes and fees will only be around $30 to $50.
Related: Best Points Hotels in London
Etihad Guest
Etihad is another airline that doesn’t fly to Paris from the United States. But they do have award space on their partner American Airlines. One downside is how to book these awards. You can only do this over the phone with an agent. Before calling, search on aa.com for saaver space.
| Class of Service | Off Peak | Peak |
|---|
| Economy | 20,000 | 30,000 |
| Business | 50,000 | 62,500 |
One-Way Redemption to Paris through EtihadAir France/KLM Flying Blue
One of the lowest amounts on this list comes from Air France/KLM Flying Blue. These SkyTeam alliance members both fly to several cities in the United States. Their partner Delta also flights to Paris from several cities in the United States. One downside of this program is prices are dynamically priced. It’s possible prices will be higher than that what’s listed. You might also find award tickets for especially if traveling during off peak times.
| Class of Service | Miles Needed |
|---|
| Economy | 29,000 |
| Premium Economy | 57,700 |
| Business | 66,500 |
One-Way Redemption to Paris using Flying BlueUnited MileagePlus
Like American Airlines, United uses dynamic pricing for flight awards. When searching for award flights, you’re looking for saver space. The everyday awards will generally be almost twice as much as the saver ones. Don’t waste your miles.
| Class of Service | Miles Needed |
|---|
| Economy | 30,000 |
| Business | 60,000 |
One-Way Redemption to Paris through UnitedPartner flights on other Star Alliance partners such as Turkish, Swiss, or Lufthansa will cost a tad bit more.
How to Earn These Points and Miles
Aside from American Airlines, all the airlines in this list are part of a flexible points program.
Air Canada is a Chase travel partner. Not only can you transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to use on Aeroplan redemptions. This means all Ultimate Rewards earning cards such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Unlimited can all earn points towards Air Canada redemptions. Business cards like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Chase is soon to be launching a cobranded credit card. You can also transfer points from American Express. Cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Gold Card, and The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express are great cards to build up your stash of Membership Rewards points. Air Canada is also partners with Capital One. Cards like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Cards is an easy way to earn additional points.
American Airlines miles are more difficult to earn than others, but are still valuable. AA partners with both Citi and Barclays for their cobranded credit cards. Citi cards like the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® and Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® are excellent places to earn AA miles.
ANA does market a cobranded card for US travelers. The welcome offer isn’t great. ANA does partner with one flexible points currency, American Express. In addition to the personal American Express cards, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and American Express® Business Gold Card can help you earn points for ANA redemptions.
Avianca is transfer partner of Citi. Cards like the Citi Premier and Citi Custom Cash℠ Card will get to your redemption goal. Avianca also partners with Capital One and American Express.
Etihad partners with Citi, Capital One and American Express. You can transfer those flexible points once you verify award space and are on the phone with a Etihad representative.
Flying Blue is a partner of all four transfer programs, Chase, American Express, Capital One and Citi. If you have exhausted all flexible points earning cards, Bank of America issues a cobranded credit card.
United only partners with one card issuer: Chase. Like Air Canada this means all Ultimate Rewards earning cards can earn United miles. Cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a good for frequent travelers. There are also cobranded cards like United Club℠ Infinite Card and UnitedSM Business Card.
Best Use of Points and Miles to Paris Bottom Line
There are tons of ways to get to Paris using points and miles. When you start you award search, start with these options. Don’t forget to check all partners you have access to. This includes airlines not making this list like Delta and Virgin Atlantic. Economy flyers should also should also check travel portals from Chase and American Express.
Before you get ready to book these, make sure you confirm availability by running award searches online. Just because there are seats available doesn’t mean you’ll be able to use your points and miles to book the seat.
Have questions using your points and miles to Paris? Let me know in the comments!
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.