US airways gives you 40k points bonus after your first purchase.. Using star alliance, you can probably build an itinerary for 43k -55k points, otherwise I think it's 60k points + some cash via US airways. For a pay flight you might be able to get a decent deal with AA; they seem to run about 700$ for a round trip from RDU to an airport in the Schengen area in coach. Not sure about delta or United though; I am avoiding delta because I think their rewards system is the worst of all carriers. Hope that helps!