You could be a points and miles millionaire and it wouldn’t make a lick of difference if you can’t find award availability – seats you can actually book with your miles. And that keeps getting harder and harder to do if you want a lie-flat business class seat.
As travelers have racked up points in record numbers fueled by influencers and sites like ours, airlines have gotten stingier with releasing that precious business class award space over the years. Many old evergreen options like Air France business class and surefire redemptions like booking ANA business class a few weeks before departure have disappeared.
But don’t give up yet. We find and send our Thrifty Traveler Premium members business class award alerts on the daily, and a handful of airlines stand out for making it easier than others to book that lie-flat seat with your points.
You’ll still need to be flexible. And as you’ll see, the best bet with many of these airlines is booking far in advance – like 10-plus months ahead of time.
These business class seats are your best bet for securing a lie-flat ride this year or next.
Iberia Business Class
Iberia business class can be incredibly easy to book with points … and for incredibly cheap! The key? Booking in far, far in advance…as in, 11 months out.
You can book Iberia business class to Spain from just 34,000 Avios each way – or 68,000 roundtrip: It’s the cheapest way to fly lie-flat across the pond – and you can generally find availability so long as you book well in advance. No matter what credit card points you earn, you have a path to getting the Avios you need to book these flights.
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But again, you need to book far in advance. If you’re not looking at least eight to 10 (or even 11) full months in advance, odds are you won’t find any Iberia business class seats bookable, period.
Read next: Our Full Guide to Booking Cheap Iberia Business Class Awards
TAP Air Portugal Business Class
TAP Air Portugal’s Lisbon (LIS) hub is a perfect place to aim if you want to fly business class to Portugal or beyond to Europe. Not only is it close to the U.S. mainland, making for quick flights, but TAP flies almost everywhere else in Europe, too.
Best of all: You can book TAP Air Portugal business class from many cities for just 60,000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles each way.
Sadly, the days of booking a flight from New York City (JFK) to Lisbon (LIS) for just 35,000 miles one way via Avianca LifeMiles are over after LifeMiles’ devaluation last year – plus, other routes ticked up in price, too. But booking these seats through Air Canada, United, and even ANA Mileage Club (for just 100,000 miles roundtrip) remains an option.
TAP may not be the most luxurious airline, but you’ll have an easier time finding business class availability to Europe or Northern Africa with TAP than you will with most carriers.
Again, the earliest birds often get the worm when it comes to finding availability. But you don’t have to necessarily snag seats 11 months out to book TAP. If you want to fly peak season (like June or July), I’d still recommend looking as far out as possible, but TAP business class availability typically pops up throughout the year.
Qatar Airways Qsuites
You might think the best business class in the world would be impossible to book. But it doesn’t have to be … so long as you plan far, far ahead.
To fly Qatar Qsuites from 70,000 miles using Qatar Avios (or Avios from British Airways), you have to be on the ball as soon as availability opens up … nearly a full year in advance. And once that award space gets gobbled up, it’s typically gone for good.
Oh, and don’t count on redeeming American AAdvantage miles for these seats whatsoever.
Read more: The Best Ways to Book Qatar Qsuites
Qatar’s vast network from its Doha (DOH) hub is a huge advantage for the airline, too. Qatar itself doesn’t have to be your destination, as all of Qatar’s planes are equipped with business class – and most of them are Qsuites. Whether you want to fly to Zanzibar (ZNZ), the Maldives (MLE), Thailand, or all the way down to South Africa, Qatar can get you there in style from its many U.S. gateways.
Qatar (and British Airways) recently increased taxes and fees on these tickets. What was once a 70,000-mile and $100 or so total for a nonstop to or from Doha has increased to 70,000 miles and $235 or so. A one-stop ticket will cost you more miles and more than $300.
Still, that’s a price worth paying for the world’s best business class. And while it’s definitely gotten harder to book over the years, it can still be done … so long as you book nearly a year in advance.
Turkish Business Class
Turkish business class is often overlooked for travelers hoping to visit Turkey or beyond, but it shouldn’t be.
Because it’s often overshadowed by its European peers, you can book Turkish business class for as low as 65,000 miles each way to Istanbul (IST) fairly easily … so long as you book 10 to 11 months in advance or so. Plus, Turkish’s massive (and growing) U.S. network gives you plenty of options.
You’ll almost always get the lowest rates by transferring Capital One or Citi points and booking through Turkish’s own Miles & Smiles program – though, after a devaluation last year, the days of paying just 45,000 miles each way are, sadly, long gone. But because Turkish is part of the Star Alliance, you can also score a decent deal by booking with Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, or even United.
Turkish is a great way to get to eastern Europe, Greece, or beyond into India, Africa, and even Southeast Asia. Its Istanbul (IST) hub airport is brand new, and features a lovely business class lounge with everything you’d expect food and drink-wise from a Turkish lounge.
Just be sure to book a flight on either the airline’s Boeing 787s or Airbus A350-900s for the best inflight experience.
Condor Business Class
Condor has had a major glow-up over the last few years, adding more and more routes between the U.S. and its Frankfurt (FRA) hub while introducing an amazing new business class cabin on all its planes. Best of all, Condor business class is shockingly easy to book.
It’s one of the few airlines on this list where we routinely find wide-open availability throughout the year for our Thrifty Traveler Premium members – including peak summer! That’s a real rarity these days.
Really, there’s just one problem. There’s only one realistic way to book these sats: Alaska Airlines miles, which were previously quite hard to earn … though that’s changed for travelers with American Express points thanks to a workaround involving Hawaiian Airlines. And Alaska charges just 55,000 miles each way for a business class seat over to Europe, whether you fly from Boston (BOS) or start all the way over in Seattle (SEA).
If you’ve got Alaska miles (or Amex points you can transfer), this might just be the single-easiest business class redemption on the whole list.
JetBlue Mint to Europe
With cozy, private suites and some of the best inflight meals in the sky, JetBlue Mint Suites might just be our favorite way to get to Europe. Lucky for us (and for you!), it’s also relatively easy to book.
Here’s the rub: You don’t want to book these seats using JetBlue’s own TrueBlue miles. No, you’re far better off using … Qatar Airways Avios, as the airline charges 78,000 Avios each way on most of JetBlue’s flights to Europe.
More importantly, JetBlue routinely releases gobs of award space to fly routes like Boston (BOS) to Amsterdam (AMS), Dublin (DUB), Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and London-Heathrow (LHR) as well as from New York City (JFK) to several major European hubs. That even includes peak summer travel dates in June, July, and August!
At 78,000 miles each way, it’s certainly not the cheapest option on this list. But wouldn’t you rather fork over 78,000 miles apiece than have your search come up empty? Especially when it means you get this seat across the Atlantic?
LATAM Biz Class to South America
There are a lot of options flying across the Atlantic Ocean on this list, but let’s head south instead. LATAM business class is as close as you’ll get to a surefire bet for a lie-flat seat – particularly on the longest flights to Brazil, Argentina, or Chile.
We routinely find tons of award space in LATAM’s lie-flat seats between the U.S. and South America for our Thrifty Traveler Premium members. This deal – flying to either São Paulo (GRU) or Santiago (SCL) in Chile this winter through the summer, including for Carnival in Brazil – was just one of many recent finds.
Once you’ve found that award space, there are a handful of ways to book, including:
- Just 35,000 to 50,000 miles each way via Alaska
- 39,000 to 62,000 Qatar Avios each way, depending on the route
- Or 50,000 to 95,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points each way
Delta One to Taiwan (or Seoul)
If you’ve got SkyMiles, booking a business class seat is almost never easy … and with award rates regularly north of 400,000 miles, it can be downright painful. But over the last few months, an incredible exception has emerged.
Again and again and again, we’ve seen Delta slash SkyMiles award rates on its new (and clearly struggling) route to Taipei down as low as just 83,000 SkyMiles each way! Occasionally, we even see flights to Seoul (ICN) creep into these excellent SkyMiles flash sales.
And these aren’t in some of Delta’s old, outdated business class cabins – they’re all flying Delta One Suites!
These are easily the best Delta business class deals we’ve seen in years. And while it might be too soon to call this one an evergreen business class redemption, we’ve seen low rates on these routes crop up often enough over the last six to nine months that we’re betting it will continue to be relatively easy to book for the foreseeable future.
Tips for Booking Business Class
Searching for business class flights you can actually book with your points and miles can feel like a full-time job … in fact, it actually is for those of us at Thrifty Traveler Premium. While letting us do the work for you is the easiest way, there are some other tried and true methods you can use to secure business class seats on your own time.
Start Earning the Points You Need Early
Booking business class flights is easiest 10 or 11 months before your flight in most cases. That means you’ll want your points and miles in your account and ready to go before then.
For most travelers looking to fly business class with points and miles, I’d recommend a year of forethought to get what you need.
Plus, you should tack on a few months if you are signing up for new credit cards to get bonus points and miles from a welcome offer. Sometimes, it can take a while to hit that minimum spending requirement – plus, your bonus points may not always post immediately. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
Read next: The Best Airline Miles to Earn for Booking Business Class Flights
Look for Award Space 11+ Months Out
The easiest-to-book award space comes online at the very end of the booking calendar. That means you need to look way, way out to find bookable award space.
Most airlines put their flights on sale 11 months in advance, including seats bookable with points and miles. Some go just shy of a full 12 months.
Right now, for instance, it’s late January. That means that flights in December 2025 – and on some carriers, January 2026 – are already sale. And many airlines may only release business class award inventory right when that booking window opens … and never again.
So i you want to fly somewhere next winter in business class, it’s high time you start looking for flights. Once another traveler snaps up that award space, it could be gone for good.
Read next: When Do Airlines Release Award Availability? Booking Early with Your Miles is Key
Or Check for Last-Minute Award Space
I know I told you you should be ready months and months in advance to book business class seats, but the other method airlines use to sell these seats using points and miles is to release them at the last minute.
Whether you’ve already booked your flights and are looking for a comfier seat or you’re willing to take a last-minute trip, it always pays to look for business class availability in the weeks leading up to your trip.
In many cases, airlines will release award availability in the last two or three weeks before travel in an attempt to fill seats that might otherwise go out empty. In other cases, you can get as much as a month ahead of time.
But if you’re not satisfied with the flight you’ve booked, some last-minute space might be for you.
Enlist Some Help from Powerful Tools
Still struggling? It’s OK to ask for help.
Beyond our Thrifty Traveler Premium service – which sends the best flight deals from your home airport straight to your inbox – there are dozens of powerful award search tools that can help you zero in on the business class flights you want to book. Some of our favorites include PointsYeah, Point.Me, and especially Seats.aero.
Prefer to do things the old-fashioned way and search for yourself? Turn to some of our favorite airline sites for finding award availability.
Don’t Be Afraid to Book (And Then Rebook) Your Trip
This is my tried-and-true, number one travel tip I give to fellow points and miles aficionados: Never be finished booking a trip.
If you don’t see business class space right away, use your points to book a one-way economy ticket first, then keep checking for the business class flights you want throughout the year. The great thing about award tickets is they’re typically flexible, meaning you can easily change or cancel your flights and get your points back into your airline account for just a small fee (or free!) and then rebook a flight in business class instead.
Sometimes, that availability pops up at the last minute like I mentioned above. Other times, Thrifty Traveler Premium will hit you with an award alert for the flights you want to make your trip extra special. Either way, by booking one-way economy awards, you stay flexible while ensuring that you’ll be able to go on your trip.
Read more: How I Turned an Economy Award Ticket to Tokyo into a Business Class Suite
Bottom Line
Finding business class award availability is what we do here at Thrifty Traveler Premium, so we know that some airlines are better than others when it comes to consistently available business class seats bookable with points and miles. And that has changed drastically in just the last year or so.