Originally Posted by
Craig6z
The easy answer is United. Depending on your European destination, you will earn somewhere in the range of a domestic continental US "saver" roundtrip coach trip . PHX-YYZ-CDG for example generates about 22,500 miles, while a trip through YYZ to Rome would be over the 25,000 mile threshold for a freebie.
United miles are typically valued at between 1.6 and 1.8 cents, so a domestic award at the 25,000 level is a nice rebate on the modest sum AC charged. Add a United credit card's first year bonus (often in the 50,000 mile range, no fee in year one), and you could have a nice United balance worth the equivalent of three domestic coach roundtrips.
Thank you for the information, UA was what we were considering. We have never had the UA credit card but that could certainly work into our strategy along with the possible transfer from our Chase points. We have been with AA so long but after 2019, we have decided to go completely free agent with airline loyalty and this is AC fare is a great start.