EVA Air’s mileage program is known as Infinity MileageLands. These miles aren’t known to be of particularly high value, but they can present decent redemption avenues for niche travelers. While EVA Air isn’t always one of the recommended ways to use your points and miles, it’s still possible to get some good value from these miles.
The Taiwanese intercontinental airline is known for offering amazing business class flights, EVA Air actually holds the second-best business class product in the world, according to the ranking of the best international business class airlines and cabins.
Its headquarters in Taipei — specifically Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) — makes EVA Air a springboard of activity to Asia, Europe, the U.S., and even the South Pacific. The airline’s wholly-owned subsidiary, UNI Air, operates regional flights as well.
EVA Air is a Star Alliance member, which is the largest alliance globally. Though EVA Air’s redemption rates are quite expensive, they are useful if you have a large balance of miles you need to burn.
Here are EVA Air’s best mileage redemptions to gain maximum value.
Table of contents
- The Pros and Cons of EVA Air Miles (Quick Overview)
- Using Your EVA Air Infinity MileageLand Miles
- How to Boost Your EVA Air Miles
- The 28 Best Ways to Use Your EVA Air Miles
- Leverage Generous Routing Rules on Round-Trip Itineraries
- Round-the-World Awards
- Fly Turkish Airlines Business Class From the U.S. to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly LOT Polish Business Class From the U.S. to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly United Airlines Transcontinental Polaris Class Within the U.S (29,000 Miles)
- Fly United Airlines Polaris Class to the Middle East (67,500 Miles)
- Fly SWISS Air Business Class From the U.S. to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly United Airlines Polaris Class to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly Brussels Airlines Business Class to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly Air New Zealand Business Class to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly to the South Pacific in Economy (60,000 Miles)
- Fly SAS Business Class to Scandinavia (65,000 Miles)
- Fly EgyptAir Business Class to North Africa (80,000 Miles)
- Fly Ethiopian Airlines Business Class to Ethiopia (92,500 Miles)
- Fly South African Airways Business Class to Ghana (92,500 Miles)
- Fly to Deep South America in Economy (30,000 Miles)
- Fly to Central and South Asia in Economy (60,000 Miles)
- Fly ANA Business Class From Tokyo to Australia (77,500 Miles)
- Fly THAI Airways Business Class From Southeast Asia to North Asia (40,000 Miles)
- Fly THAI Airways First Class From Southeast Asia to North Asia (62,500 Miles)
- Fly Asiana Airlines Business Class Wholly Within North Asia (27,500 Miles)
- Fly EVA Air Business Class Wholly Within Asia, Excluding Hong Kong and Macau Routes (25,000 Miles)
- Fly on ANA Business Class Between Hong Kong and Tokyo (30,000 Miles)
- Fly on TAP Portugal Business Class to Portugal (65,000 Miles)
- Fly on THAI Airways Business Class to Auckland (77,500 Miles)
- Fly on THAI Airways First Class to Sydney (85,000 Miles)
- Fly on Air New Zealand Business Class From Auckland to Tokyo (77,500 Miles)
- Fly Lufthansa First Class to Europe (85,000 Miles)
- Final Thoughts
Table of Contents
- The Pros and Cons of EVA Air Miles (Quick Overview)
- Using Your EVA Air Infinity MileageLand Miles
- How to Boost Your EVA Air Miles
- The 28 Best Ways to Use Your EVA Air Miles
- Leverage Generous Routing Rules on Round-Trip Itineraries
- Round-the-World Awards
- Fly Turkish Airlines Business Class From the U.S. to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly LOT Polish Business Class From the U.S. to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly United Airlines Transcontinental Polaris Class Within the U.S (29,000 Miles)
- Fly United Airlines Polaris Class to the Middle East (67,500 Miles)
- Fly SWISS Air Business Class From the U.S. to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly United Airlines Polaris Class to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly Brussels Airlines Business Class to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly Air New Zealand Business Class to Europe (65,000 Miles)
- Fly to the South Pacific in Economy (60,000 Miles)
- Fly SAS Business Class to Scandinavia (65,000 Miles)
- Fly EgyptAir Business Class to North Africa (80,000 Miles)
- Fly Ethiopian Airlines Business Class to Ethiopia (92,500 Miles)
- Fly South African Airways Business Class to Ghana (92,500 Miles)
- Fly to Deep South America in Economy (30,000 Miles)
- Fly to Central and South Asia in Economy (60,000 Miles)
- Fly ANA Business Class From Tokyo to Australia (77,500 Miles)
- Fly THAI Airways Business Class From Southeast Asia to North Asia (40,000 Miles)
- Fly THAI Airways First Class From Southeast Asia to North Asia (62,500 Miles)
- Fly Asiana Airlines Business Class Wholly Within North Asia (27,500 Miles)
- Fly EVA Air Business Class Wholly Within Asia, Excluding Hong Kong and Macau Routes (25,000 Miles)
- Fly on ANA Business Class Between Hong Kong and Tokyo (30,000 Miles)
- Fly on TAP Portugal Business Class to Portugal (65,000 Miles)
- Fly on THAI Airways Business Class to Auckland (77,500 Miles)
- Fly on THAI Airways First Class to Sydney (85,000 Miles)
- Fly on Air New Zealand Business Class From Auckland to Tokyo (77,500 Miles)
- Fly Lufthansa First Class to Europe (85,000 Miles)
- Final Thoughts
The Pros and Cons of EVA Air Miles (Quick Overview)
To start with the pros and cons of EVA Air miles, as mentioned above, there aren’t a lot of situations in which EVA Air is a superior transfer partner. In fact, having a balance of American Express Membership Rewards points or Citi ThankYou points is a much better situation than having EVA Air miles.
That’s because there simply isn’t much flexibility with EVA Air miles, and you’ll be stuck paying high prices for awards you could get cheaper with, say, Air Canada Aeroplan points. But if you are already accruing EVA Air miles, it’ll be worth it to find a great mileage redemption opportunity.
When talking about the pros and cons, the main pro of EVA Air miles is their generous routing rules for round-trip travel. You are allowed open jaws and 2 free stopovers on round-trip award bookings. If you can’t commit to a round-trip award itinerary, EVA Air offers one-way awards, though you won’t enjoy the stopover and open jaw allowance to the same extent.
Additionally, there are no fees for flight date changes, which can be extraordinarily useful in many cases.
There are other aspects travelers may find favorable, but here are some of the main selling points of EVA Air miles:
- Great redemption value for flights solely within North Asia
- Both one-way and round-trip awards are bookable
- Low- to no-change fees on awards
- Transfer partner of Citi ThankYou
And here are the reasons why you wouldn’t want to use EVA Air miles:
- Expensive mileage awards for most routes
- Fuel surcharges are passed on (similar to Aeroplan)
- Stopovers are not allowed on one-way awards
Using Your EVA Air Infinity MileageLand Miles
Though it’s not the most straightforward frequent flyer program to understand, EVA Air’s program is among many that can be used to book Star Alliance flights.
Hot Tip: EVA Air is a member of the Star Alliance, and flights on EVA Air can be booked completely online. However, if you want to book partner flights (which will be the case for most travelers), you’ll need to call to book. Here’s a great guide on how to best search for award available on Star Alliance.
Star Alliance EVA Air Airline Partners
Here are the Star Alliance partners that EVA Air is affiliated with:
| Adria Airways | Aegean Airlines | Air Canada | Air China |
| Air India | Air New Zealand | ANA | Asiana Airlines |
| Austrian | Avianca | Brussels Airlines | Copa Airlines |
| Croatia Airlines | Egypt Air | Ethiopian Airlines | Lufthansa |
| Polish Airlines | Scandinavian Airlines | Shenzhen Airlines | Singapore Airlines |
| South African Airways | Swiss Air Lines | TAP Portugal | Thai Airways |
| Turkish Airlines | United Airlines | | |
Generally speaking, you can book awards on all these airlines, though award availability is subject to the inventory provided to EVA Air.
EVA Air/UNI Air and Star Alliance Award Charts
EVA Air charges awards by the origin and destination regions. There are no Africa and Middle East prices because EVA Air does not operate its own product to these regions.
EVA Air Round-Trip Award chart. Image Credit: evaair.comEVA Air One-Way Award chart. Image Credit: evaair.comThe airline uses a more granular region definition for Star Alliance partner awards than flights operated by EVA Air, which makes sense given EVA Air’s smaller route network. Here’s the chart of how countries are sorted into regions:
EVA Air Region and Zones definitions. Image Credit: evaair.comAnd here is the partner award chart, which is denoted in round-trip pricing. (One-way tickets are simply half price.)
EVA Air Partner Award chart. Image Credit: evaair.comEVA Air Partner Award chart, continued. Image Credit: evaair.comAwards Bookable Online versus Phone
The only awards that are bookable online are EVA Air or UNI Air flights. Otherwise, you’ll need to call EVA Air to book partner travel at their Los Angeles office at 310-362-6600. If you want to reach their Taiwanese headquarters, you can do so at +886-2-25017899.
Hot Tip: If you need to search for Star Alliance availability, we have you covered with our in-depth guide.
Award Redemption Rules
EVA Air has a bunch of rules indicated for award redemption; here are the main ones to keep track of:
- If you have an award ticket that has been partially used already, the return flight date or flight number can be changed up to 3 days before departure. You can’t change the carrier or route.
- If you double book, you risk cancellation of the award reservation.
- A round-trip ticket allows 2 stopovers, one in the outbound segment and one in the inbound segment. The turnaround point and stopovers can’t be the same as the origin or destination’s nation. A maximum of 6 sectors are allowed for each round-trip award ticket.
- Stopovers aren’t allowed on one-way tickets. You can have a maximum of 3 sectors on a one-way award ticket.
- Only 1 open-jaw is allowed for the entire itinerary. The open-jaw must be in the same area as your turnaround point. (Ex: TPE-SFO and then SFO-LAX).
- You can change flight dates and numbers for free. For any other changes (including route or carrier), there’s a change fee of $50. This fee is waived for Infinity MileageLands members who are Silver, Gold, or Diamond.
- Your award ticket is valid for a year after issuance with no extensions permitted.
- The redemption cost for a child’s ticket is the same as an adult’s. Infants are 10% of an adult fare.
There are a few other conditions, which you can find out about on the EVA Air website.
In addition, there are guidelines for Around the World Travel on Star Alliance. These are:
- You’re allowed a maximum of 10 flight sectors for the whole ticket.
- Tickets are valid 1 year after issuance with no permitted extensions.
- You must travel in 1 direction and cross both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans back to the original location.
- For example: Taipei (TPE) – Tokyo (TYO) – Los Angeles (LAX) – New York (NYC) – London (LON) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Singapore (SIN) – Bangkok (BKK) – Taipei (TPE)
- You can backtrack only within the same category area; you cannot backtrack otherwise. In addition, you can only backtrack within these regions:
- U.S.
- Europe/Africa
- Asia/Oceania
- The period of travel must be longer than 10 days
- You’re allowed a maximum of 7 stopovers
- Each city is allowed for only 1 departure. Also, only 1 departure and 1 arrival of international flights are allowed for each country.
How to Boost Your EVA Air Miles
EVA Air’s sole transfer partner is Citi ThankYou Rewards. Although they aren’t as easy to earn when compared to other airline miles such as United MileagePlus, there’s still an opportunity to build up a healthy transferable balance from Citi ThankYou Rewards.
Check out our guides on how to earn lots of Citi ThankYou Rewards points and how to earn lots of EVA Air Miles.
The 28 Best Ways to Use Your EVA Air Miles
There are lots of different ways to use EVA Air miles, especially within the North Asia region, utilizing routing rules and round-the-world trips. Unfortunately, you’ll have to call to book if your itinerary involves travel on partners.
However, if only booking EVA Air travel, you can do this easily and 100% online. Let’s talk about some of the best ways to redeem your EVA Air miles.
Leverage Generous Routing Rules on Round-Trip Itineraries
Our first and foremost method of redeeming EVA Air miles is with round-trip itineraries. This is because of the routing rules described above, which are advantageous for intra-region travel. For the purposes of clarity, here are the rules that matter most for this method:
- Round-trip ticket allows 2 stopovers: 1 in the outbound segment and 1 in the inbound segment.
- The turnaround point and stopovers can’t be in the origin or destination country.
- A maximum of 6 sectors are allowed for each round-trip award ticket.
- One open jaw is allowed for the entire itinerary, and the open-jaw must be in the same area as your turnaround point. (Ex: TPE-SFO and then SFO-LAX).
The main constraint of a round-trip award ticket is that the stopovers can’t be in the same countries as the origin or destination. To find loads of hidden value, you’ll want to look at region definitions carefully and see how you can bounce around the region while still changing countries.
In other words, the more countries there are in a region (especially if they’re geographically far apart), the more value you can get. Here are some of the regions worth dabbling with:
- North Asia
- South West Pacific
- Hawaii, Central America
Let’s take the example of North Asia. If we’re booking round-trip economy tickets, we’re allowed up to 2 stopovers and 1 open-jaw at the turnaround point. Here’s a great example route you can take:
- Chuuk (TKK) – Guam (GUM) – Tokyo-Narita (NRT), Seoul-Incheon (ICN) – Palau (ROR) – Chuuk (TKK) via Guam (GUM) [30,000 miles in economy]
You can get tons of added value by adding stopovers and open-jaws to your EVA Air award booking. Image Credit: gcmap.comNow let’s look at a possible South West Pacific redemption:
- Apia (APW) – Auckland (AKL) – Melbourne (MEL), Sydney (SYD) – Nadi (NAN) – Apia (APW)
You can access 14 hours of travel in the South West Pacific and visit 4 cities for cheap with EVA Air miles! Image Credit: gcmap.comThis entire itinerary would cost 35,000 miles in economy or 55,000 miles in business, which can be a steal.
There are plenty of other example routes we could create, but we just wanted to touch on these to give you some inspiration. Remember, the amount of success you have with this method is dependent only on the region definitions and your own creativity.
Round-the-World Awards
Round-the-world awards can be had on any Star Alliance airline when booking with EVA Air. There’s a lot to digest in the rules (see above), but if you’re willing to carefully read through and plan an itinerary, you can unlock lots of value.
Here’s what the round-the-world (RTW) award chart looks like when using EVA Air miles:
EVA Air RTW award chart. Image Credit: evaair.comFor most of us, business class will be the most applicable. In fact, according to EVA Air, “More than half of Round the World travelers fly in Business Class, more than a third opt for Economy Class and around eight percent for First Class.”
Hot Tip: There’s a degree of difficulty associated with booking a first class RTW trip since first class is less prevalent than business class internationally. Stick with business to help ensure availability.
Here is an example of an epic business class RTW trip you can take inspiration from:
- New York City (JFK) – Tokyo (TYO) on ANA
- Tokyo (TYO) – Taipei (TPE) EVA Air
- Taipei (TPE) – Bangkok (BKK) on THAI Air
- Istanbul (IST) – Johannesburg (JNB) on Turkish Airlines
- Johannesburg (JNB) – Munich (MUC) on South African Airways
- Munich (MUC) – Zurich (ZRH) on Lufthansa intra-Europe
- Zurich (ZRH) – New York City (JFK) on SWISS International Air Lines
This entire itinerary would cost 325,000 miles plus any applicable surcharges. That’s is a pretty incredible usage of EVA Air miles, and it’s worth doing some research and finding award availability to get some phenomenal value.
If you pair this with the ability to change flight dates for free and pay $50 for any other changes, you could plan something initially and pay $50 to change each segment, truly optimizing any potential value you get.
A Note on First Class RTW Bookings
The main airlines that have first class offerings on long-haul international airlines are Air China, ANA, Lufthansa, THAI Airways, Singapore Airlines, and SWISS International Air Lines. Unfortunately, booking SWISS first class is not doable unless you’ve got top-tier elite status.
You also can’t book Singapore Airlines premium cabin flights unless you use KrisFlyer miles, leaving just 4 options. We’d recommend focusing your efforts on Air China, ANA, Lufthansa, and THAI Airways if you’re looking for a first class RTW trip.
Fly Turkish Airlines Business Class From the U.S. to Europe (65,000 Miles)
Turkish Airlines 777-300ER business class. Image Credit: Turkish AirlinesSince EVA Air passes on all fuel surcharges on their partners and has high redemption costs on most flights, the general advice is to limit your expenditures as much as possible, whether it’s in the form of points or cash.
For this reason, Turkish Airlines comes to mind, since they limit fuel surcharges levied in Europe. The fuel surcharge on Turkish Airlines routes from the U.S. to Europe is $220 in business class, which is modest compared to virtually every other carrier.
Here are the cities you can fly from in North America to Istanbul (IST):
| Turkish Airlines Routes to/From North America |
| New York City (JFK) | Toronto (YYZ) |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | Houston (IAH) |
| Chicago (ORD) | Miami (MIA) |
| Washington D.C. (IAD) | Boston (BOS) |
| Havana (HAV) | |
Considering one-way tickets cost around $3,300+, you’ll receive a value of nearly 5 cents per mile, which is a solid redemption.
Turkish Airlines’ hard product is not industry-leading. But their seats are actually extremely comfortable and easy to sleep on, unlike many reverse herringbone seats. In addition, their catering is top-notch, and service tends to be excellent.
Fly LOT Polish Business Class From the U.S. to Europe (65,000 Miles)
Another airline that remains relatively unknown is LOT Polish. The Warsaw-headquartered airline doesn’t pass on crazy fuel surcharges either. Specifically, the surcharge is around ~$250, which is only slightly more expensive than Turkish Airlines’.
Their base is in Warsaw (WAW), and all U.S.-bound flights leave from there. Here are the cities offering nonstop LOT Polish flights to/from Warsaw (WAW):
| LOT Polish Routes to/From North America |
| New York City (JFK) | Los Angeles (LAX) |
| Chicago (ORD) | Toronto (YYZ) |
You can see their route network is somewhat smaller, but LOT Polish has a reputation for its decent food and beverage program, good service, and low fuel surcharges.
While the hard product is not the best (a 2-2-2 configuration with a lack of privacy), nonstop flights to Warsaw are a niche redemption that can be worth utilizing to save time.
Fly United Airlines Transcontinental Polaris Class Within the U.S (29,000 Miles)
United Airlines’ brand-new Polaris class is available on transcontinental routes between Los Angeles (LAX)/San Francisco (SFO) and Newark (EWR). Flights offering the improved Polaris class transcontinentally are operated with the 787-10 aircraft.
We won’t go into massive detail here about the Polaris experience, because we have a comprehensive post on United Polaris if you’re interested. We also have a Polaris review from a short-haul domestic route that featured their brand-new hard product.
You can book United Polaris on transcontinental routes for 29,000 miles each way, plus minuscule taxes and fees. Some things you can expect are Saks Fifth Avenue bedding, a technologically advanced hard product, good food, and a somewhat tight seat.
Fly United Airlines Polaris Class to the Middle East (67,500 Miles)
United Polaris 787-10. Image credit: Stephen AuIf flying transcontinental on Polaris doesn’t tickle your fancy, you’ll be happy to know that flights to Israel are possible in United’s flagship product. Remember that United Airlines calls all of their long-haul routes Polaris class, so you need to confirm that you’re indeed flying on the newest variation of this product.
You can fly on these routes in the new Polaris class:
- Newark (EWR) – Tel Aviv (TLV) only on flights UA 90/91
- San Francisco (SFO) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
These flights are operated using the 777-300ER. It’ll cost you 67,500 miles each way to fly nonstop on either of these routes in Polaris class. All in all, it’s not a bad deal for up to 14 hours in lie-flat business class.
Fly SWISS Air Business Class From the U.S. to Europe (65,000 Miles)
Image Credit: Swiss AirAnother European option is to fly in SWISS International Air Lines business class. There’s a dichotomy of business class seats on their aircraft, which can be summed up as “throne” or “non-throne” seats.
Hot Tip: We go into detail about the best seats to pick, cabin configurations, and nonstop routes in our definitive guide to SWISS Air Lines U.S. routes.
Generally speaking, SWISS offers a variable business class product, which fluctuates depending on the type of seat you get. If you can secure a throne seat, it’s reputed to be one of the best ways to fly to Europe in business class. Otherwise, it can be an average experience.
Here are some example routes you can take:
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Zurich (ZRH)
- Chicago (ORD) – Zurich (ZRH)
- Miami (MIA) – Zurich (ZRH)
These flights will cost you 65,000 EVA Air miles plus around $600 in fuel surcharges one-way. The fuel surcharges are high, but for a potentially awesome business class experience flying to Switzerland, it may be worth it.
Fly United Airlines Polaris Class to Europe (65,000 Miles)
Flying on United Polaris is a great way to try a new product en route to Europe. Image Credit: Stephen AuLet’s say you want to fly on United Airlines Polaris class, but not on a transcontinental or Middle Eastern route. United’s new Polaris class is also offered on European routes, which cost 65,000 miles one-way.
As you likely expected, the regular frequencies are from the San Francisco (SFO) hub airports. Here are the main routes:
- San Francisco (SFO) – London-Heathrow (LHR) on UA 900/901
- San Francisco (SFO) – Frankfurt (FRA) on UA 58/59
The biggest challenge lies in finding award availability — but if you’re flexible, you can find yourself on a Polaris flight bound for Europe in no time.
Fly Brussels Airlines Business Class to Europe (65,000 Miles)
Brussels Airlines business class offers nonstop routes to Belgium in comfort. Image Credit: brusselsairlines.comThe flag carrier of Belgium, Brussels Airlines is yet another airline that offers potentially great value for niche redemptions. Most believe that Brussels Airlines offers an inconsistent business class product, but one can never underestimate nonstop route offerings as a selling point.
Here are the routes offering nonstop business class service to/from Belgium:
| Brussels Airlines Routes to/From North America |
| New York City (JFK) | Toronto (YYZ) |
| Washington, D.C. (IAD) | |
Fuel surcharges will be just as heavy as on SWISS International Air Lines, so prepare yourself for that. And Brussels Airlines also offers a throne seat configuration, so be sure to select those for maximum enjoyment.
Bottom Line: If you’re originating from one of the 3 airports above and want to head to Belgium, using EVA Air miles to book Brussels Airlines business class is a solid redemption strategy.
Fly Air New Zealand Business Class to Europe (65,000 Miles)
You’ll be ready to hit the ground running when you fly Air New Zealand’s business class on the fifth freedom flight from Los Angeles to London. Image Credit: airnewzealand.comPerhaps there is no premium transatlantic route like Los Angeles (LAX) to London-Heathrow (LHR). This is one of the most impressive routes in the world, both in cost and competition. Air New Zealand operates a unique fifth freedom flight from LAX to LHR, which is a great way to fly to London.
They have a good business class product aboard the 777-300ER in a herringbone 1-2-1 arrangement. The main challenge is finding award availability, as this route has a lot of premium revenue customers.
Hot Tip: Is NZ on your bucket list? See our article on Air New Zealand’s direct U.S. routes, which includes the best seats and cabin configurations!
If you find the availability, you can try out Air New Zealand business class for only 65,000 miles.
Fly to the South Pacific in Economy (60,000 Miles)
Let’s talk about a decent economy redemption. If you wanted to fly to the South Pacific area (see region definitions near the beginning of this guide), you can get there for 60,000 miles.
It’s not the greatest bang for your buck considering you can fly to Europe for 65,000 miles in business class, but it can be a good idea if you’re planning a trip there and have a decent balance of EVA Air miles.
Other booking programs like Avianca LifeMiles and United MileagePlus charge just 40,000 miles each way, so only use EVA Air miles if you already have them.
Here are some example routes you can take:
- San Francisco (SFO) – Melbourne (MEL) on United Airlines
- New York City (JFK) – Los Angeles (LAX) – Auckland (AKL) on Air New Zealand
- Chicago (ORD) – Auckland (AKL) on Air New Zealand
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD) on United Airlines
As you can see, we’re sticking strongly to the theme of EVA Air being good for niche redemptions.
Fly SAS Business Class to Scandinavia (65,000 Miles)
SAS, also known as Scandinavian Airlines, is the flag carrier of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. They have a good business class product with nice Thompson Vantage XL staggered seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. The food tends to be delicious, but the service tends to be a major let-down.
Nonetheless, it’s a great option to fly a full-service airline to Scandinavia. You’ll definitely be hit with taxes and fees, but that’s simply the nature of the beast when it comes to European flights, for the most part.
Here are some example routes you can take:
- Miami (MIA) – Oslo (OSL) and Copenhagen (CPH)
- New York City (JFK) – Oslo (OSL), Copenhagen (CPH), and Stockholm (ARN)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Copenhagen (CPH)
- Toronto (YYZ) – Copenhagen (CPH)
- Chicago (ORD) – Copenhagen (CPH) and Stockholm (ARN)
- Boston (BOS) – Copenhagen (CPH)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Copenhagen (CPH)
- Newark (EWR) – Copenhagen (CPH) and Stockholm (ARN)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Stockholm (ARN)
Overall, a decent number of cities enjoy a variety of nonstop options on SAS, which is helpful. To maximize time spent in business class, you’ll want to depart from Los Angeles or San Francisco. As far as costs go, it’ll run 65,000 miles in business class plus ~$600 in taxes and fees.
Fly EgyptAir Business Class to North Africa (80,000 Miles)
This next redemption is not showcasing a great product. Rather, it’s demonstrating a nonstop option for those who don’t care that much about an industry-leading experience.
EgyptAir offers a pretty lackluster business class product, with angled-flat seats in a 2-3-2 configuration across 7 rows. However, award availability is excellent, and you can fly nonstop to Cairo seamlessly.
Here’s where you can book EgyptAir business class to/from Cairo (CAI):
| EgyptAir Routes to/From North America |
| New York City (JFK) | Washington, D.C. (IAD) |
| Toronto (YYZ) | |
All things considered, you’ll shell out 80,000 miles for this particular redemption.
Fly Ethiopian Airlines Business Class to Ethiopia (92,500 Miles)
It’s going to be easy to wake up from a good night’s sleep after flying Ethiopian’s business class to Africa! Image Credit: ethiopianairlines.com.Ethiopian Airlines offers an opportunity to fly on some interesting routes. For whatever reason, they choose to operate connecting flights on many of their routes, as opposed to nonstop.
These are:
- Chicago (ORD) – Dublin (DUB) – Addis Ababa (ADD)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Dublin (DUB) – Addis Ababa (ADD)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Abidjan (ABJ) – Addis Ababa (ADD)
- Houston (IAH) – Abidjan (ABJ) – Addis Ababa (ADD)
- Houston (IAH) – Lome (LFW) – Addis Ababa (ADD)
The nonstop routes currently being offered from the U.S. are:
- Chicago (ORD) – Addis Ababa (ADD)
- Washington D.C. (IAD) – Addis Ababa (ADD)
If flying to Ethiopia is at the top of your priority list, you can do so for 92,500 miles one-way. Ethiopian Airlines offers an overall upbeat experience for the most part, and it’s a way to avoid some connections if you want.
Fly South African Airways Business Class to Ghana (92,500 Miles)
South African Airways A330-300 business class. Image Credit: South African AirwaysIf you want to fly nonstop to Africa, getting to Ghana can be a great way to start your African vacation. It’ll cost 92,500 miles, and there’s only 1 route:
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Accra (ACC)
You’ll be flying on South African Airways, which generally offers a hip, energetic experience.
Fly to Deep South America in Economy (30,000 Miles)
United Airlines economy. Image Credit: United.comLuckily for travelers, EVA Air groups all of South America into 1 region, which is different from many booking programs. This means you’ll get better value the deeper south you go into South America. Airports that come to mind are Buenos Aires (EZE), Santiago (SCL), Montevideo (MVD), Sao Paulo (GRU), and Asuncion (ASU).
If you’re looking for nonstop routes, your only choices are Sao Paulo (GRU), Santiago (SCL), and Buenos Aires (EZE).
Your best luck will be routing through Houston (IAH), but here are some example routes you can take:
- Newark (EWR) – Buenos Aires (EZE) on United Airlines
- Houston (IAH) – Buenos Aires (EZE) on United Airlines
- Houston (IAH) – Santiago (SCL) on United Airlines
- Newark (EWR) – Sao Paulo (GRU) on United Airlines
- Toronto (YYZ) – Sao Paulo (GRU) on Air Canada
- Chicago (ORD) – Sao Paulo (GRU) on United Airlines
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Sao Paulo (GRU) on United Airlines
- Houston (IAH) – Sao Paulo (GRU) on United Airlines
All of these flights cost only 30,000 miles one-way, which is impressive — especially if you’re taking a connecting flight to a smaller city in South America as your final destination.
Fly to Central and South Asia in Economy (60,000 Miles)
Central and South Asia contain a bunch of countries with tickets that are basically price-gouging consumers at costs of $2,000+. As such, using EVA Air miles might be a great way to minimize your out-of-pocket costs if you want to visit.
Fly ANA Business Class From Tokyo to Australia (77,500 Miles)
ANA Business Class Cabin. Image credit: Stephen AuANA business class gets great marks all around — I flew it myself from Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo-Narita (NRT) aboard the 777-300ER. At the moment, ANA flies this sole nonstop route:
- Tokyo-Haneda (HND) – Sydney (SYD)
You can fly on this route for 77,500 miles one-way, which isn’t a bad deal considering the flight is ~9.5 hours long. If you find yourself in need of a nonstop flight featuring excellent food, comfortable seats, and awesome service, you can count on ANA to deliver that (and much more).
Fly THAI Airways Business Class From Southeast Asia to North Asia (40,000 Miles)
EVA Air’s Southeast Asia region chart contains locations such as Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, and Malaysia, which can be used for considerable value to get to North Asia (places like Seoul or Tokyo).
Each business class flight will cost 40,000 miles, so let’s talk about some example routes:
- Bali-Denpasar (DPS) – Bangkok (BKK) – Tokyo-Narita (NRT)
- Singapore (SIN) – Bangkok (BKK) – Tokyo-Haneda (HND)
- Jakarta (CGK) – Bangkok (BKK) – Sapporo (CTS)
Considering that many of these flights add up to ~10 hours of total flying time, paying 40,000 miles can be a steal!
Fly THAI Airways First Class From Southeast Asia to North Asia (62,500 Miles)
Thai Airways Boeing 747 – First Class. Image Credit: Cherag DubashAt the moment, you can fly on THAI Airways first class from their hub in Bangkok (BKK) to North Asia, which includes cities like Seoul and Tokyo.
It’s difficult to find routes that operate a first class cabin, but if you do it can result in 5-6 hours in first class flying time. These flights will run you 62,500 EVA Air miles per person one-way.
Here are a few example routes:
- Bangkok (BKK) – Seoul-Incheon (ICN)
- Bangkok (BKK) – Tokyo (TYO)
Fly Asiana Airlines Business Class Wholly Within North Asia (27,500 Miles)
Enjoy Asiana Airlines business class like I did with my fiancee! Image Credit: Stephen AuAsiana Airlines operates flights from their Seoul-Incheon (ICN) hub to international destinations all over Asia. However, for this particular redemption, you can spend 27,500 miles to fly business class between destinations in North Asia.
One of the more high-value redemptions is the following route:
- Seoul-Incheon (ICN) – Saipan (SPN)
Paying with miles can be a good deal, since cash tickets can get expensive on this 4.5-hour flight.
Hot Tip: If North Asia is your destination of choice, don’t miss our dedicated article: The Best Ways to Fly to North Asia with Points and Miles [Step-by-Step].
Fly EVA Air Business Class Wholly Within Asia, Excluding Hong Kong and Macau Routes (25,000 Miles)
EVA Air 777-300ER Business Class. Image credit: Stephen AuEVA Air’s long-haul business class is simply exceptional. For those who want to try their regional business class, an excellent option is using EVA Air miles for flights wholly within Asia. Note that this excludes Hong Kong and Macau — the Hong Kong/Macau routes are actually shorter and cheaper!
If you want to fly on the A330 in business class, you’ll enjoy a 2-2-2 configuration with the newest cabins featuring fully lie-flat seats.
One great route you can try this on is Taipei (TPE) – Jakarta (CGK). This route is approximately 5 hours in duration and costs anywhere from $500-$1,000 if paid in cash.
If you wanted to connect through Taiwan to another destination, you could pay the same price and fly even longer in business class. Check out a couple value-added routes:
- Bali-Denpasar (DPS) – Sapporo (CTS) via Taipei (TPE)
- Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Tokyo (TYO) via Taipei (TPE)
Both of these routes have long layovers, so you could take the MRT to a night market and grab some amazing Taiwanese street food en route to your final destination.
Fly on ANA Business Class Between Hong Kong and Tokyo (30,000 Miles)
If your flights are picked correctly between Hong Kong and Tokyo, you can try ANA business class on this 4 hour flight for a fraction of the long-haul price! Image Credit: Stephen AuANA’s lie-flat business class is offered on all major long-haul routes, as well as on regional routes to major hubs such as Hong Kong. This 4-hour flight retails for ~$1,000-$1,500 per person, so it’s a huge way to extract lots of value from your miles.
You’ll want to reserve the flight operated by ANA, not Air Japan, on the 777-300ER for the experience closest to long-haul business class.
This will cost you 30,000 miles each way, which is a good deal.
Fly on TAP Portugal Business Class to Portugal (65,000 Miles)
If flying to Portugal is high on your priority list, you’ll find that TAP Portugal flies to many U.S. airports — though not as many as you’d expect. You can book these routes for 65,000 miles each way, though taxes and fees add up to an absurd ~$650 each way.
TAP Portugal recently unveiled their new A330-900neo, which can be found on the below routes. Look out for these specifically, since their business class is significantly better!
- Miami (MIA) – Lisbon (LIS)
- Toronto (YYZ) – Lisbon (LIS)
- New York City (JFK) – Lisbon (LIS)
- Newark (EWR) – Lisbon (LIS)
- Boston (BOS) – Lisbon (LIS) {as of July 7, 2019}
Fly on THAI Airways Business Class to Auckland (77,500 Miles)
Thai Airways’ 787-8 business class features seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. Image Credit: Thai AirwaysFlying on THAI Airways’ new 787-900 features reverse herringbone business class seats, which makes this product THAI Airways’ best business class product.
You can have these seats for 11 hours in business class on the route from Bangkok (BKK) – Auckland (AKL), which you can book for 77,500 miles one-way.
Fly on THAI Airways First Class to Sydney (85,000 Miles)
THAI Airways’ Royal First Class is truly something to look forward to. Image Credit: Thai AirwaysFor a 9-hour flight between Bangkok and Sydney, you can fly on THAI Airways first class for 85,000 miles. Be sure to reserve your massages in the THAI Airways first class lounge!
Fly on Air New Zealand Business Class From Auckland to Tokyo (77,500 Miles)
If you have a chance, you can also try the Air New Zealand 787 Dreamliner business class product. Regardless of what plane you fly, Air New Zealand business class is a great experience. Image Credit: airnewzealand.comAir New Zealand operates their long-haul business class product from their home airport in Auckland (AKL) to Tokyo. This 11-hour flight will cost 77,500 miles each way.
Fly Lufthansa First Class to Europe (85,000 Miles)
Lufthansa’s epic first class seat. Image Credit: Greg StoneWe’d be doing a disservice if we didn’t discuss Lufthansa first class in this guide, though it ranks near the bottom of good options due to the fuel surcharges.
Though the award redemption rate is not horrible, the $1,000+ in taxes and fees really bring this redemption down.
Hot Tip: Lufthansa flies to tons of cities in the U.S. Check out our definitive guide to Lufthansa U.S. routes.
Final Thoughts
Overall, EVA Air isn’t the most stellar award booking program out there. There are a bunch of other options that could work better, including ANA Mileage Club, Avianca LifeMiles, and Air Canada Aeroplan.
Still, if you find yourself with a large balance of EVA Air miles, it’s worth considering these best ways to redeem your miles in order to extract maximum value from them. We hope these ideas inspired you to think about your next redemption.
There aren’t many truly phenomenal uses of these points and miles, but there are plenty of unique ways to use EVA’s round-trip routing rules — or even book a round-the-world award trip!
