Match Points: Get to Wimbledon & British Open in 2021 Cheap & Easy With Miles & Points

October 2020
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Eventful times: Use miles and points now for bucket list events later

A Booking.com study showed that booking and planning travel makes us happier than having a baby, landing a dream job, or, gulp, even getting married. I’ll let you decide how true that is, and share that information at your discretion. But there’s no doubt that travel – even just looking forward to future travel – lights up our brain’s happy zones like the 4th of July.

I could have told you that decades ago but hey, it’s nice to see the science catching up.

Want a Slam…?

So you’ve been to the US Open for tennis and golf how many times now? PGA: tick. Augusta: tick. Or maybe you’ve ventured farther afield as I have from time to time, to somewhere like the Australian Open. Or what about the big UK events like Wimbledon or the British Open Golf tournament? Are any of those rising on your bucket list?

With both being canceled this year,  we sports lovers will be thankful enough to settle for the US Open golf and tennis and the French Open on TV.

Then Slam This Opportunity

So here’s our return volley for you: Use those miles and points you’ve been accumulating to smash juicy opportunities to the UK for dates that coincide with these big world events. London is an awesome city to visit. Being there AND seeing tennis at Wimbledon is like a match made in heaven.

Bear in mind that if you’re trying to find mileage award space on American or United, you can pretty much forget about it. However, the news is much brighter if you’re looking to use miles or points to upgrade, as our research shows. We also found awards available on Delta Business Class (using Virgin Atlantic miles, an Amex partner), and Virgin Atlantic Business Class.

2021 Mindset: Start Now

If we’ve only learned one thing from 2020, it’s that we shouldn’t procrastinate on the things we want to do. This cheat sheet is for anyone who thought about going to the big sports events, but couldn’t make it this year, or anyone who doesn’t want to put it off any longer.

The tables below show all the details. And if you’re wondering about how difficult or easy it is to get tickets, know that StubHub is the safe (and relatively cheap) option. Click here to check availability. Wimbledon tickets will be much cheaper next year on Stubhub, and readily available as always.

Wimbledon June 28-July 11, 2021 - For travel June 15-July 21, 2021 - Availability

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Wimbledon June 28-July 11, 2021 - For travel June 15-July 21, 2021 - Cost

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Wimbledon June 28-July 11, 2021 - For travel June 15-July 21, 2021 - Availability

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Wimbledon June 28-July 11, 2021 - For travel June 15-July 21, 2021 - Cost

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British Open July 16-19, 2021 - For travel July 5 - July 31, 2021 - Availability

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British Open July 16-19, 2021 - For travel July 5 - July 31, 2021 - Cost

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Wimbledon June 28-July 11, 2021 - For travel June 15-July 21, 2021

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British Open July 16-19, 2021 - For travel July 5 - July 31, 2021

[table_opt id="6127" style="gray-header" header_rows="2" width="wide" alignment="thcenter" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter" responsive="no" /]

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For seasonal information using Virgin Atlantic miles flying on Virgin go here and Delta go here.

Tell us: What event-focused travel opportunity are you interested in, whether sports or cultural? Stay tuned for more here at FCF soon.

[["American Economy to Business Class Upgrade","Outbound","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","#colspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["Days Available","13+","9-12","4-8","13+","9-12","4-8"],["New York to London","June","July","","July","",""],["Chicago to London","June","","July","July","",""],["Philadelphia to London","June","","July","","",""],["Miami to London","","June","","","July",""],["Los Angeles to London","June","","July","July","",""]]
[["American Economy to Business Class Upgrade","Economy Class Fare","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","Sample Business Class Fare","Savings","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#colspan#"],["Cost","Fare","Co-Pay","Total","Miles","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#colspan#"],["New York to London","$1,173 ","$700","$1,873 ","50,000","$3,671 ","$1,798 ","49%"],["Chicago to London","$1,333 ","$700","$2,033 ","50,000","$3,821 ","$1,788 ","47%"],["Philadelphia to London","$1,133 ","$700","$1,833 ","50,000","$3,821 ","$1,988 ","52%"],["Miami to London","$1,123 ","$700","$1,823 ","50,000","$3,821 ","$1,998 ","52%"],["Los Angeles to London","$1,173 ","$700","$1,873 ","50,000","$4,221 ","$2,348 ","56%"]]
[["United Economy to Business Class Upgrade","Outbound","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","#colspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["Days Available","13+","9-12","4-8","13+","9-12","4-8"],["Newark to London","June","","July","July","",""],["Los Angeles to London","June","","July","","July",""],["Washington, DC to London","June","","July","","July",""],["Houston to London","June","","July","","July",""]]
[["United Economy to Business Class Upgrade","Economy Class Fare","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","Sample Business Class Fare","Savings","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#colspan#"],["Cost","Fare","Co-Pay","Total","Miles","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#colspan#"],["Newark to London","$1,042 ","$1,100 ","$2,142 ","40,000","$3,460 ","$1,318 ","38%"],["Los Angeles to London","$1,142 ","$1,100 ","$2,242 ","40,000","$4,067 ","$1,825 ","45%"],["Washington, DC to London","$1,002 ","$1,100 ","$2,102 ","40,000","$3,467 ","$1,365 ","39%"],["Houston to London","$1,302 ","$1,100 ","$2,402 ","40,000","$3,567 ","$1,165 ","33%"]]
[["United Economy to Business Class Upgrade","Outbound","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","#colspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["Days Available","13+","9-12","4-8","13+","9-12","4-8"],["Newark to London","","July","","","July",""],["Los Angeles to London","","July","","","","July"],["Washington, DC to London","","July","","","July",""]]
[["United Economy to Business Class Upgrade","Economy Class Fare","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","Sample Business Class Fare","Savings","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#colspan#"],["Cost","Fare","Co-Pay","Total","Miles","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#colspan#"],["Newark to London","$927","$1,100 ","$2,027 ","40,000","$3,467 ","$1,440 ","42%"],["Los Angeles to London","$992","$1,100 ","$2,092 ","40,000","$4,067 ","$1,975 ","49%"],["Washington, DC to London","$823","$1,100 ","$1,923 ","40,000","$3,467 ","$1,544 ","45%"]]
[["Virgin Atlantic Award","Business Class Cost Round-Trip","Outbound","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["Days Available","#colspan#","9-12","4-8","13+","9-12","4-8"],["Washington, DC to London","95,000\/115,000","","June","July","",""],["New York to London","95,000\/115,000","June","","","July",""],["Los Angles to London","135,000\/155,000","","June","July","",""],["Miami to London","95,000\/115,000","June","","July","",""],["Seattle to London","135,000\/155,000","","June","","","July"],["San Francisco to London","135,000\/155,000","June","","July","",""]]
[["Delta Airlines Using Virgin Atlantic Award Miles","Business Class Cost Round-Trip","Outbound","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["Days Available","#colspan#","9-12","4-8","13+","9-12","4-8"],["Atlanta to London","95,000\/115,000","","June","July","",""],["Boston to London","90,000\/115,000","","","July","",""],["Detroit to London","95,000\/115,000","","June","","","July"],["Minneapolis to London","95,000\/115,000","","June","","","July"]]
[["Virgin Atlantic Award","Business Class Cost Round-Trip","Outbound","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#"],["Days Available","#colspan#","9-12","4-8","9-12","4-8"],["Washington, DC to London","95,000\/115,000","","July","July",""],["New York to London","95,000\/115,000","","July","July",""],["Los Angles to London","135,000\/155,000","July","","July",""],["Miami to London","95,000\/115,000","July","","","July"],["Seattle to London","135,000\/155,000","July","","","July"],["San Francisco to London","135,000\/155,000","","July","July",""]]
[["Delta Airlines Using Virgin Atlantic Award Miles","Business Class Cost Round-Trip","Outbound","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#","4 Seats","#colspan#"],["Days Available","#colspan#","9-12","4-8","9-12","4-8"],["Atlanta to London","95,000\/115,000","","July","July",""],["Boston to London","95,000\/115,000","","July","July",""],["Detroit to London","95,000\/115,000","","","July",""],["New York to London","90,000\/115,000","","","July",""],["Minneapolis to London","95,000\/115,000","","","July",""]]