Turn around and save big
We’ve written recently about our highly lucrative U-Turn strategy in Business Class. That’s where Europe-U.S.-Europe round-trips cost WAY less than U.S.-Europe-U.S. round-trips. The strategy is that if you make a “U-Turn” and start your journey in Europe, you end up saving a lot. Today we’re looking at the U-Turn strategy in First Class.
Of course, you need to get to Europe to start the strategy, and you’ll end up in Europe at the end of the round-trip so you’ll need to book a trip back to the U.S. As we’ll demonstrate, with the “keep it going” strategy, you can launch more “U-Turn” trips from Europe. And, as economists will tell you: the more you make, the more you save.
For example, Oneworld round-trip fares are up to 53% less from Europe versus those from the U.S. Despite the potential negative of starting in Europe, those savings are enough to make you take notice.
Let’s go to the chart for the good stuff. Here are straight-up comparisons of First Class round-trips from Europe and from the U.S. Just look at those price differences — up to 53% for Dallas-Amsterdam! And remember, these are the exact same flights and class of service, just in the opposite direction.
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U Gotta Be Kidding: TWO Ways to Fly First Class to Europe Using the U-Turn Strategy
FCF’s First Class U-Turn Strategy #1: The “Keep It Going” Play
Start with a one-way ticket to Europe (probably with miles) then book your round-trip fares originating in Europe.
If you want to avoid high First Class fares originating in the U.S., book a low-fare round-trip from Europe to the U.S. Remember, since your fare starts in Europe, you’ll have to get yourself there first. You can do this with a one-way flight, and paying in miles is often best for one-ways. Then you can keep your trip going by buying another round-trip ticket from Europe to the U.S. as many times as you like. As mentioned, you’ll multiply your savings as a result.
Here’s what it looks like:
Real-Life Example Ticket #1: A one-way award ticket using 85,000 American miles one-way to begin the trip in First Class from New York to Munich
Ticket #2: $3,726 USD for travel in First Class from Munich to New York round-trip.
Ticket #3: Keep your journey going with a round-trip from Europe to the U.S. and around we go again!
Who is FCF’s First Class U-Turn Strategy #1 for?
This is great if you’re annoyed by high First Class published fares and you're willing to be flexible on the routes and dates that offer deals.
Travelers who know their dates in advance. The outbound EU –> U.S. flights are most important because you can generally change the return flight (U.S. –> EU) on a published fare for little or no cost. Just ensure you check the fare rules. But if, for example, you’re taking your son to college in Europe, spending some time at home in the U.S., and then going back to Europe for vacation, or you know half of your dates in advance, it works well.
FCF’s First Class U-Turn Strategy #2: “Mixed Class and Alliance” Play
Bookends With Business Class Mileage-Award/s + Low Published First Class Fare EU–>U.S.–>EU.
Here we're bookending the First Class round-trip that starts in Europe with two low-cost Business Class one-way awards.
Use different classes and airline alliances because there’s no telling how much inter-alliance airlines communicate, and they might consider this a back-to-back ticketing situation, which is generally not allowed. If you need a primer on why not to go all in with one airline, read this report on Loyalty Free Agency.
Who is U-Turn Strategy #2 for?
The Sometimes-Flexible Travelers: Since there aren’t many First Class flight options that are attainable using miles, Business Class award seats are likely more plentiful and easier to find. And remember, there’s only one way to get a round-trip mileage award ticket to Europe nowadays, and that’s if you’re flexible. In this case, you can use miles to easily get to and from Europe in Business Class.
That said, your flight originating from Europe in the middle is a published First Class fare so you can be more selective with your dates. In other words, you only need to be flexible on the award ticket portion of your trip.
And just to further the value of this strategy, compare a round-trip booking from the U.S. to Europe in Business Class to a round-trip from Europe to the U.S. in First Class. In all of the examples in the chart, the First Class cost is less than Business Class for essentially the same flights. Yes, that’s an upgrade!
