The best ways to travel to London with points and miles

Not only is London a popular destination, but it’s also a great connecting point for other places in Europe and beyond. So, whether you want to visit London or use it as a connecting point, you may be curious how you can travel to London with points and miles.

London has five airports, but the only ones with service to and from the U.S. are Heathrow Airport (LHR) and London Gatwick Airport (LGW).

Now, let’s dive into how you can fly nonstop between the U.S. and London using your points and miles on a variety of airlines. Near the end of this guide, I’ll also discuss hotels in London you can book with points and some of the best travel rewards cards to have in your wallet while you’re in London.

Book American Airlines award flights to London

American Airlines flies to LHR from the following cities:

• Boston
• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Dallas
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• New York — John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• Philadelphia
• Phoenix
• Raleigh, North Carolina

You can book American Airlines flights through the American AAdvantage program, but you’ll find dynamic award rates. This can sometimes result in good rates, but will often result in extremely high award rates (especially if you want to fly in a premium cabin). However, you can find award flights that follow the AAdvantage partner award chart if your itinerary includes one or more segments operated by a partner, such as Alaska Airlines or British Airways.

American Airlines doesn’t share all of its award availability with its partners. But it’s worth checking to see if you can snag better award pricing by booking American-operated flights through a partner program. Alaska Mileage Plan can be a good option, especially if you want to book premium economy or business-class flights between the U.S. and London. You can earn Alaska miles by transferring Bilt Rewards Points and Marriott Bonvoy points to Mileage Plan.

Etihad Guest may also be worth considering if you want to fly in business class on American Airlines. A one-way business-class flight on American Airlines from New York to London costs 80,000 miles plus $33 when booked via Etihad. You can earn Etihad Guest miles by transferring American Express Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards points and Marriott Bonvoy points.

Related: How to earn miles in the American Airlines AAdvantage program

Book British Airways award flights to London

British Airways flies to LGW from Las Vegas, New York (JFK), Orlando and Tampa. The airline also flies to LHR from the following cities:

• Atlanta
• Austin
• Boston
• Chicago
• Cincinnati
• Dallas
• Denver
• Houston
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• Nashville
• New Orleans
• New York — JFK and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• Philadelphia
• Pittsburgh
• Phoenix
• Portland, Oregon
• San Diego
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Washington, D.C. — Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Dulles International Airport (IAD)

The bad news about British Airways flights is that the taxes and fees will often be extremely high, and there’s no way to avoid these taxes and fees if you want to fly on a British Airways-operated flight. But, if you want to redeem points or miles for a British Airways flight between the U.S. and London — and are willing to pay hundreds each way in taxes and fees — consider booking with British Airways Club Avios, American AAdvantage miles or Alaska Mileage Plan miles.

Alaska Mileage Plan offers compelling rates, especially in premium economy and business class. But remember the high taxes and fees, which are much higher on flights British Airways operates than on flights American Airlines operates. You can earn Alaska miles by transferring Bilt Rewards points or Marriott Bonvoy points to Mileage Plan.

If you want to pay lower taxes and fees, booking through British Airways Club may be your best option (especially if you can find availability at off-peak rates). You can choose from a selection of different Avios-and-cash combinations, which can let you pay significantly less cash if you want to fly on a flight operated by British Airways. Here’s how you can earn Avios.

Finally, you could redeem American miles for a British Airways flight to Europe. However, I rarely find that doing so provides good value since the taxes and fees are still usually too high for these award rates to be worthwhile compared to booking a paid fare, using a different loyalty program or flying on flights operated by a different airline.

Related: Great award availability but beware the taxes: British Airways business class review

Book Delta award flights to London

Delta Air Lines flies to LGW from New York (JFK) and to LHR from the following cities:

• Atlanta
• Boston
• Detroit
• Las Vegas
• Minneapolis
• New York — JFK
• Salt Lake City
• Seattle

You can, of course, book Delta-operated flights to London with SkyMiles. Doing so will give you the most choices, but you’ll often see high rates since Delta uses dynamic award pricing for its own flights. On the positive side, you can use Delta’s price calendar to find the best award rate if you have flexible travel dates. There are plenty of ways to earn Delta miles, including transferring American Express Membership Rewards points or Marriott Bonvoy points to SkyMiles.

Delta usually shares some, but not all, award space with its partners. So, it’s also worth checking Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, which prices Delta-operated nonstop flights from London to the U.S. using region-based charts with peak and off-peak rates. However, Delta-operated flights from the U.S. to London don’t seem to follow a published award chart, and the taxes and fees may not make booking economy awards through Virgin Atlantic worthwhile.

You can theoretically book premium-cabin awards on Delta-operated flights to London using Flying Club, but availability is limited. You can earn Virgin points by transferring Amex Membership Rewards points, Bilt points, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Citi ThankYou Rewards points and Marriott Bonvoy points to Flying Club.

Related: Which credit card should you use for Delta Air Lines flights?

Book JetBlue award flights to London

JetBlue flies to LGW from Boston and to LHR from Boston and New York (JFK).

You can redeem JetBlue TrueBlue points for flights to London at dynamic award rates. For example, you could redeem 88,800 points or pay $1,808 for a one-way JetBlue Mint flight from New York to London during the day. But an overnight flight in Mint would cost much more on this specific date.

There are plenty of ways to earn JetBlue points, including transferring American Express Membership Rewards points, Citi ThankYou Rewards points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Capital One miles to TrueBlue. Unfortunately, you can’t book transatlantic JetBlue flights through any other airline loyalty program.

Related: JetBlue Plus Card vs. JetBlue Premier Card: Should you go mid-tier or premium?

Book Norse flights to London

Norse Atlantic Airways flies to LGW from New York (JFK), Orlando, Los Angeles and Miami. Unfortunately, Norse doesn’t have its own loyalty program, and no other airline programs have access to Norse award availability. So if you want to book a Norse flight to London, you must book a paid rate. You could redeem transferable points for paid Norse flights if you book through a credit card travel portal that offers Norse flights.

Related: Crunching the numbers: Is it more expensive to book flights through a credit card travel portal?

Book United Airlines award flights to London

United Airlines flies to LHR from the following cities:

• Chicago
• Denver
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• New York — EWR
• San Francisco
• Washington, D.C. — IAD

As you’d expect, you can redeem United MileagePlus miles for United-operated flights to London. You’ll find plenty of availability, but at dynamic award rates. So, you’ll sometimes find good deals, and sometimes find extraordinarily high award rates. But on the positive side, there are plenty of ways to earn United miles, including transferring Bilt Rewards points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Marriott Bonvoy points to MileagePlus.

Air Canada Aeroplan is another option when redeeming rewards for a United-operated flight to London. Award rates for a one-way United-operated flight between the U.S. and London start at 35,000 points in economy, 50,000 in premium economy and 60,000 in business class. These are starting rates (PDF link), but you’ll find awards between the East Coast and London are often priced at these rates. You can earn Aeroplan points by transferring Amex Membership Rewards points, Bilt Rewards points, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Marriott Bonvoy points, but award availability in anything but economy tends to be limited.

Related: How to get upgraded on United Airlines flights

Book Virgin Atlantic award flights to London

Virgin Atlantic flies to LHR from the following cities:

• Atlanta
• Boston
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• New York — JFK
• Orlando
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Tampa
• Washington, D.C. — IAD

Despite recent increases in taxes and fees, your best option for booking Virgin Atlantic flights to London will usually be the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program. Although the taxes and fees can be eye-wateringly high, award rates start at around 6,000 points in Economy Classic, 10,500 in Premium and 28,500 in Upper Class.

Best of all, you can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points, Bilt Rewards points, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Citi ThankYou Rewards points and Marriott Bonvoy points to Flying Club.

Related: Use Virgin Atlantic’s reward seat checker to find the cheapest Saver seats

Best points hotels in London

London has multiple properties in every major hotel loyalty program. I usually redeem IHG points to get a fourth night free, a perk of my IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (see rates and fees) or redeem Hyatt points to benefit from the World of Hyatt award chart. But, here’s a quick look at some of the best hotels in London, alongside sample award pricing:

• Andaz London Liverpool Street: From 21,000 Hyatt points per night
• Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment: From 17,000 Hyatt points per night
• JW Marriott Grosvenor House London: From 52,000 Marriott points per night
• Kimpton Fitzroy London: From 52,000 IHG points per night
• London Hilton on Park Lane: From 85,000 Hilton points per night
• The London Edition: From 75,200 Marriott points per night
• Park Hyatt London River Thames: From 25,000 Hyatt points per night

Credit cards to bring to London

The official currency of the United Kingdom is the pound sterling. You’ll get the best conversion rate for purchases in the United Kingdom when you use a card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees and opt to pay in pounds sterling. Here’s a look at some of my favorite travel rewards cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees)
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees)

Related: Dynamic currency conversion: What it is and why you should avoid it

Bottom line

Now, you should be better equipped to use points and miles to travel to London. Take stock of your points and miles, including your transferable points and miles. Then, check award availability and pricing through some of the programs mentioned based on the airlines you’d like to fly and the dates you want to travel.

Check hotel rates before you set your dates, as some periods can be very pricey in London. It’s smart to get the all-in cost of your flights and hotels before booking.