Fly Swiss Business Class to Europe from 60K Miles

Fly SWISS Business Class to Europe from 60K miles each way (it can be as low as 48K miles each way using the 15% AMEX transfer bonus to Avianca, which charges 55K-75K miles depending on origin city, but we do *not* recommend using Avianca LifeMiles).

It's only possible to fly in the new A350 SWISS Business Class pictured below from Boston BOS to Zurich ZRH on a handful of January-March 2026 dates (best to use Aeroplan, which shows equipment as the new A350-900).

There are plenty of other dates, however, available on the 777 from LAX and SFO as well as many dates from MIA. Most other routes are on the older A330, which while dated, is still nice if you nab a throne seat in the mini cabin closest to First Class; it's worth paying extra for this seat assignment.

Boston BOS A330 BOS-ZRH: August, some Oct. dates, Jan-March 2026. For ZRH-BOS: some Aug.-Dec. dates; good Jan.-May 2026 availability
Chicago ORD A330 ORD-ZRH: some Aug., Oct.-Dec. and Jan.-April 2026 dates. For ZRH-ORD: Nov. 2025-May 2026 availability
Los Angeles LAX 777 LAX-ZRH: some Jan.-Feb. dates. For ZRH-LAX: some Nov. 2025-Feb. 2026 dates
Miami MIA MIA-ZRH: some Feb.-March 2026 dates. For ZRH-MIA: some Aug., Nov. 2025 dates and Jan.-Apr. 2026 dates
Montreal YUL YUL-ZRH: Some Aug., Oct.-Dec. 2025 dates but best availability Jan.-May 2026. For ZRH-YUL: Some Oct. and Dec. 2025 dates, best availability Jan.-May 2026
New York JFK-GVA: Some Aug. and Oct. 2025 dates, best availability Nov. 2025-April 2026. For GVA-JFK: some Aug.-Oct. 2025 dates, best availability Nov. 2025-April 2026.
New York JFK-ZRH: a few Oct. and Nov. 2025 dates, best availability Jan.-March 2026. For ZRH-JFK: a few Sep.-Dec. 2025 dates, best availability Jan.-April 2026
San Francisco SFO-ZRH: several Jan.-Feb. 2026 dates. For ZRH-SFO: a few Nov. 2025 and Jan.-March 2026 dates

SWISS Business Class Award Booking

Air Canada Aeroplan charges 60,000 Aeroplan points each way for flights between Switzerland and Montreal, New York JFK, or Boston, and 70,000 points each way for flights between Switzerland and Washington Dulles. United MileagePlus is more expensive, at 88,000 miles each way.

Avianca LifeMiles is the least expensive option, particularly with the current 15% transfer bonus from AMEX Membership Rewards, but LifeMiles has simply terrible customer service. Recently someone who booked a roundtrip award suffered an Avianca cancellation on his return, but even though the rebooked flight didn't work for him, Avianca refused to refund the prorated mileage amount and taxes. And when he filed a chargeback for the taxes, Avianca threatened to terminate his account . . . so caveat emptor, where Avianca is concerned.

Where to Ski in Switzerland and Europe

For a winter skiing vacation, we recommend Cheval Blanc Courchevel, L'Apogee Courchevel (Oetker Collection), COMO Alpina Dolomites, Badrutt's Palace St. Moritz, and the W Verbier.