The Best SAS Eurobonus Redemptions
For information on how to earn SAS points in Sweden, click here.
Things to know about SAS Eurobonus:
One-way redemptions are allowed for 60% of the roundtrip cost
There are mild surcharges (less than €100) on most awards
Star Alliance awards can be booked online (temporarily unavailable) or over phone, search space first on aircanada.com because they have the easiest Star Alliance award search tool. You can use SAS’ tool here, but it doesn’t show all available seats so I recommend Air Canada’s searches instead: https://www.sas.se/eurobonus/star-alliance-award-trips/
You can contact SAS Eurobonus US for free via Skype for the best service on +1 800 437 5807
They offer changes and cancelations on Star Alliance award tickets tickets up to 48 hours before departure for €45. SAS tickets can be cancelled for free.
Routing Rules:
Transit is allowed in a third region, but points price will rise to match whichever region is highest (see known exceptions below)
Routing must be logical – you cannot fly Europe to USA via Asia
Stopovers not allowed
Full list is available here
You can get 50% off all these prices if you earn a SAS “2-for-1” voucher, also known as a “half points price” voucher. Read more about how to earn it here.
10 000 miles or less
Economy: 10 000 miles roundtrip (6 000 miles one-way) domestically in Scandinavia
2:00 am in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.
Routes for maximum points value:
Oslo / Tromsö – Longyearbyen
Southern Sweden – Kiruna / Umeå / Luleå
All SAS awards can be booked online, search using SAS’ low fare calendar
20 000 - 29 999 miles
Economy: 25,000 miles roundtrip within North America
Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica.
Example: All of Central America is considered part of North America on the SAS chart which makes this a potentially excellent deal. You can fly roundtrip from Vancouver to Panama, or New York to Costa Rica, or Chicago to Guatemala for just 25,000 miles, which is an incredible value even in economy.
Want help finding award space and booking your award flights? Check out Chatflights!
Use code nonstopdan for 5% off your booking fees.
30 000 - 39 999 miles
Business: 30 000 miles one-way within the Middle East and Northern/Central Africa
Fly from Central Africa to Europe for 30,000 miles one-way in Business. Map from gcmap.com
Example: I just recently booked this one myself and was shocked since the pricing contradicts SAS’ routing rules, which state transit in a more expensive region will raise the price to that of flying to the further region. Still, I managed to book a ticket from Muscat to Cairo on Swiss via Zurich in their long-haul A330 lie-flat product for 30 000 miles one-way. The flight from MCT to ZRH stops in DXB, making the flight time over 8 hours, and then I get another 4 hours down to CAI. Talk about an incredible redemption for such a long flight in business class!
Tips: If you want to fly home from the Middle East or Central Africa (i.e. Tanzania) to Europe, you can try to book a connection that leaves 20-23 hours after your arrival in Europe. If you happen to “miss” the last segment, you’ve saved lots of miles on getting to Europe. Keep in mind that airlines won’t always allow you to collect your checked bags without completing the entire itinerary so this is safest if you’re traveling with hand luggage only. For example, you can book a ticket landing in Frankfurt from Kenya at 05:40 am, and book a connecting flight to Tunis at 10:05 pm. If you “miss” the flight to Tunis and go elsewhere in Europe, no one needs to know.
Business: 30 000 - 36 000 miles one-way from Scandinavia to SAS long-haul destinations
A real sweet spot! This price is only possible with a Swedish American Express 2-for-1 voucher or the FlyPremium benefit. Applies from all Scandinavian cities to all SAS long-haul destinations in Business.
Best credit card for earning Eurobonus points:
50 000 - 99 999 miles
Business: 63 000 miles Europe to North Africa + Middle East (105 000 miles roundtrip)
This is a great value considering you can go all the way to Tanzania or Oman at this price. The best part is that these routes have a larger selection of high-quality airlines, specifically Turkish Airlines and Aegean.
Business: 54,000 miles one-way North America to South America (90,000 miles roundtrip)
If you ask me, this redemption is a hidden gem. Flights from North America to Argentina, Brazil or Chile can often surpass 11 hours, making this one of the best redemptions on the SAS chart, especially considering how expensive revenue tickets are on these flights.
Business: 54,000 miles one-way around East and Central Asia (90,000 roundtrip)
Example: there are plenty of routes with this decent redemption cost, including all route combinations between India, Southeast Asia, and Far East/Central Asia. You can fly from Tokyo to Mumbai, a 9 hour 30-minute flight, for 54,000 miles. This also applies to the Stans like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Check out the possible combinations because there are so many great values to be had.
Business: 50,000 miles roundtrip Caribbean to South America
Spend a few days in the Bahamas before heading to South America for 50 000 roundtrip in business class.
Considering how expensive flights from Europe to South American can be, especially in business class, this is one of my favorite SAS Eurobonus redemptions.
Examples: if you fly into the US, you can select a Caribbean gateway to connect in before heading to South America. Personally, I’d love to explore Puerto Rica; you can book a cheap flight from Miami to San Juan, enjoy a few days there, and then head all the way down to Buenos Aires for just 30,000 miles one-way in business class, or 50 000 miles roundtrip.
Business: 63,000 miles one-way South Africa to Middle East and North/Central Africa (105,000 roundtrip)
Flying Lufthansa First Class for 140 000 miles roundtrip using this technique.
Just as above, this is a great way to drive down the cost of a ticket from South Africa to Europe. Add a connecting flight to Cairo or Tel Aviv and miss it “by mistake”. If traveling with checked bags, make sure your transit is overnight and that you do not check them all the way. Ask the check-in agent to check the bags to your connecting point in Europe, which is usually possible with overnight connections, and you can pick them up there to proceed home. For extra safety, if traveling with family, you can book all passengers except one on this kind of ticket. The remaining passenger’s ticket can go to your real destination and they can take all your bags.
Tip: flights from Scandinavia to Tel Aviv can often be incredibly cheap (€100 one-way). Consider booking a revenue ticket in economy down there, after booking your award ticket from Tel Aviv to South Africa.
100 000+ miles
Business: 100,000 miles roundtrip from Europe to SAS long-haul destinations
This is the standard roundtrip price to the world in SAS business. To the US, especially to California, this is a good deal. If you can find award space, it’s an even bigger bargain to Asia. While a one-way ticket is 60 000, the roundtrip price of 100 000 points is an absolute steal.
Tips: In Asia, Beijing usually has the most award space, while Tokyo is almost impossible for SAS Business redemptions. In the US, Chicago tends to have the most space. You can add a connecting flight from Europe, including as far away as the Canary Islands or Greece, but no connections are allowed in the USA at this ticket price.
First: 175,000 miles roundtrip from Europe to North America on Lufthansa
Now we’re getting into more expensive redemptions, but this is actually one of the cheapest ways to redeem miles for transatlantic flights in Lufthansa First. Fly from anywhere in Europe to Canada, the US, or even Mexico. Many people use this redemption when they’ve earned this 2-for-1 voucher, making it an incredible value.
Tips: Lufthansa only releases award space 14-30 days before departure. Book a backup ticket in business class and simply change the reservation for $25 if First Class space opens up. As always, it’s best to find this space on aircanada.com starting 14-30 days before your flight, or ask for help from Chatflights. Expect additional taxes around $200 one-way on these tickets.
Business: 175,000 miles roundtrip from the Middle East to the Pacific
Fly Singapore Airlines Business Class to Australia or New Zealand.
Scandinavians are obsessed with Australia and New Zealand nowadays, which is frustrating since it’s almost one of the most expensive places to fly from Europe. At 175,000 miles roundtrip, this isn’t a steal, but you save almost 100,000 roundtrip flying from Tel Aviv or Amman instead of Europe. You have a huge number of carriers to choose from on this route, including Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, ANA, Asiana, Air China, and Air India.
Tips: If you’re going to fly all the way to Australia, and use this many miles for business class, you should try to use an American Express 2-for-1 voucher, which will decrease your cost to around 90,000 miles per person – this is the only way I’d consider redeeming so many miles to go down under.
