Best airline programs for Europe

How each program publishes earning

The British Airways Club. Avios is the spendable currency; tier points are earned to progress towards Bronze, Silver or Gold and are kept separate from Avios. [1] For bookings flown from 1 April 2025 that were booked from 30 December 2024, tier points are awarded against eligible spend in sterling — base fare and carrier-imposed charges — on eligible flights marketed by British Airways, American Airlines or Iberia, while government and airport taxes and fees, credit card surcharges, service fees and change fees do not count. [1] Eligible spend in another currency is converted to sterling at the IATA five-day rate on the date the ticket or eligible ancillary was issued. [1] For bookings flown from 1 April 2026, British Airways adds extra tier points per sector based on marketing carrier, haul, cabin and fare type: 75 extra for Euro Traveller Economy Plus, 175 for Club Europe Business, 500 for Club World Business and 650 for First on British Airways-marketed flights, and 75 for short-haul economy up to 650 for long-haul First on American- or Iberia-marketed flights. [1]

Flying Blue. The Air France earning page prices Air France-marketed flights according to spend rather than per mile: the number of Miles awarded varies by membership level, from Explorer through Silver, Gold, Platinum and Ultimate. [6] Miles and XP are earned on Air France-marketed flights whatever the operating carrier, including train, bus and limousine services carrying an Air France flight number, although train travel earns Miles only when the train is taken before or after an international flight departing from or arriving at Paris CDG or Paris ORY. [6] Award tickets booked with Miles do not themselves earn Miles. [6]

SAS EuroBonus. On Aerolíneas Argentinas-marketed flights, a SkyTeam partner, EuroBonus members earn Bonus points and Level points from a published formula: Bonus points equal distance in miles multiplied by the distance multiplier plus the booking-class multiplier, with a bonus booster applied to the distance multiplier, while Level points use the same multipliers without the booster. [5] The table gives business booking classes J and C a 150% distance multiplier and a 50% booking-class multiplier, premium economy D, I, W and S 125% and 25%, economy Y and B 100% and 0%, and deeper economy groups 50% or 25% distance multipliers. [5] Members at Silver, Gold and Diamond level earn 25%, 50% or 75% more Bonus points respectively. [5]

Elite status and how it is renewed

British Airways runs its elite year on a tier point collection year that starts on 1 April and ends on 31 March, reviews card entitlement at the end of each collection year, and resets the member's tier point or eligible flight level to zero at that point, with members progressing from Blue to Bronze to Silver to Gold. [1] Gold can also be reached through lifetime tier points, the cumulative total earned since joining, and Gold for life is awarded to members who reach the required lifetime total — a figure the terms leave to ba.com. [1] Lounge access is limited to Silver and Gold members and their guests. [1]

Miles & More publishes an annual target for HON Circle: to achieve or renew the status, a member needs at least 6,000 HON Circle Points in a calendar year. [7] HON Circle membership includes Star Alliance Gold status, four upgrade eVouchers when the status is earned or renewed, First Class lounge access and First Class or Premium check-in when flying Lufthansa Group airlines, co-issuing Miles & More airline partners and Star Alliance airlines. [7]

Flying Blue's level names appear in its earning table — Explorer, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Ultimate — and each level earns a higher Miles-per-euro rate. [6] EuroBonus names Silver, Gold and Diamond as levels that earn extra Bonus points. [5]

Spending points and finding seats

British Airways states that reward bookings are subject to availability and to capacity controls set at its discretion, so reward seats may not be available on every flight and the number varies from route to route and week to week, with availability on a partner airline decided by that airline. [1] Reward bookings must be made at least 24 hours before departure, and one-way rewards are issued at 50% of the Avios required for the return. [1] Stopovers are free where the stopover connects a domestic flight onto a long-haul destination, but a charge applies where it connects onto a short-haul destination. [1]

EuroBonus points can be used to pay for award flights except on charter flights. [5] Flying Blue Miles can be used for flights, Promo award tickets, upgrades and other paid options. [6] HON Circle members get increased award availability up to 14 days before departure for themselves and up to three companions on Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Lufthansa City and SWISS, provided the required seats are for sale in the chosen cabin, and they also receive 50% off a companion award flight and may overdraw their account by up to 100,000 miles. [7]

Exceptions, limits and what is not published

• British Airways extra tier points cannot be earned on Economy Basic fares, Reward Flights, upgrades paid with Avios, promotional upgrades bought at the airport, or flights operated by a partner airline; where the fare type cannot be identified, the lowest fare type for that cabin applies. [1]
• On British Airways-marketed short-haul flights, economy and premium economy cabins are treated as Euro Traveller and business and first as Club Europe when extra tier points are calculated. [1]
• Avios can be credited only once per flight per member, and tier points or Avios are not credited where the member is earning in another loyalty program for the same services, except under special promotions. [1]
• All Avios expire if a member has not collected, spent, purchased or transferred Avios for 36 consecutive months, and British Airways Club membership terminates automatically at that point. [1] Miles & More, by contrast, says a HON Circle member's miles do not expire for as long as the member remains a status member. [7]
• EuroBonus earns nothing where the booking class is not listed in the table, and no EuroBonus points are earned on SkyTeam-marketed flights operated by airlines outside the SkyTeam alliance. [5]
• Flying Blue's distance-based tables apply to Air France-marketed flights sold at tour-operator fares and to Air France-operated flights marketed by Flying Blue partners, and for those calculations Air France applies a minimum of 500 miles on domestic flights and 750 miles on international flights. [6]
• The Miles & More award-availability benefit does not apply to Fly Smart award flights booked within 14 days of departure. [7] Free rebooking onto an earlier same-day flight within Europe is limited to Austrian Airlines, ITA Airways, Lufthansa and SWISS, subject to a seat being available in the booked class on the same route. [7]

Related pages

Background on the currencies and alliances behind these programs: Avios programs compared, oneworld guide, SkyTeam guide, Star Alliance guide. Terms: elite qualification thresholds and the full glossary. To weigh these four against your own travel, start with choose your main program.

Sources

Sources checked on 18 October 2026. The comparison is limited to the four programs below and to the pages cited: Iberia Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub, ITA Airways Volare, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and the hotel programs that partner with airlines are not covered here, and no live award availability was checked for any program.

1. The British Airways Club terms and conditions, checked 18 October 2026
2. SAS EuroBonus earning on Aerolíneas Argentinas-marketed flights, checked 18 October 2026
3. Flying Blue earning conditions on Air France-marketed flights, checked 18 October 2026
4. Miles & More HON Circle status benefits, checked 18 October 2026