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With a sprawling coastline along the Adriatic Sea, Croatia is a country located in eastern Europe. Bordered by Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, Croatia has a mix of influences that can be seen through its medieval cities, food, and beaches.
There is 1 major and 2 large regional airports in Croatia. Zagreb (ZAG) offers the most options for those flying in from the U.S., however, you’ll also want to look into seasonal flights that fly into Split (SPU) and Dubrovnik (DBV).
There are currently no nonstop flights offered from the U.S. to Croatia, so you’ll likely want to connect in Europe. This actually isn’t that bad as the Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance partner airlines offer a number of flight options between the U.S. and Croatia.
As we work our way through this list, it’s important to note that the award prices shown are for round-trip flights. Outside of ANA partner airline flights and American Airlines flights using Iberia Avios (miles), you can book one-way flights to Croatia for half of the miles shown in the respective award charts. With that behind us, let’s dive into how to book your next flight to Croatia!
| Cabin Class | Star Alliance Miles Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy | 80,000 | $39+ |
| Business | 140,000 | $39+ |
Aeroplan offers solid redemption pricing on both Economy and Business class flights to Europe. Better yet, you can add stopovers in other European cities for no extra mileage cost.
The steps below will help you during your booking process with Aeroplan:
It’s easy to earn Aeroplan points because the program is an American Express transfer partner, Chase transfer partner, Capital One transfer partner, and Marriott Bonvoy transfer partner. In addition, Aeroplan has a co-branded credit card that earns Aeroplan points directly with your spend.
You’ll want to keep the transfer ratios and transfer times in mind before transferring any points. American Express, Capital One, and Chase points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio and Marriott point transfers take 5 days at a 3:1 ratio. With that said, here are the American Express cards we recommend:
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThis card is undoubtedly the #1 card for luxury travel benefits. From the best lounge access (of any card) to statement credits, to complimentary elite status, you can’t go wrong.
When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than The Platinum Card® from American Express.
Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThis is the go-to card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants and those who want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!
The American Express® Gold Card is definitely a game-changer.
With this card, you can earn 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants and you’ll also earn 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1x.
There isn’t another card on the market that offers a 1-2 punch like this. Of course, there are a number of other benefits of the Gold Card as well, including extra monthly dining rewards and more.
Business owner? See our list of the best Amex business credit cards.
You can also opt to acquire the co-branded Chase Aeroplan® Credit Card, which earns 3x points per dollar spent on dining, groceries, and Air Canada, as well as 1x point per $1 spent everywhere else.
Bottom Line: Aeroplan is one of the easiest and best Star Alliance programs to use to book business class flights to Europe.
| Cabin Class | Star Alliance Miles Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy | 55,000 | $108+ |
| Business | 88,000 | $108+ |
The second Star Alliance program to make the list is ANA Mileage Club. ANA is primarily known for its hard product (the actual seat you fly in) and its competitive award chart when flying on its own and partner award flights.
One of the main downsides when using ANA miles is that you must book round-trip partner airline flights. Programs like Aeroplan give you more flexibility by allowing you to book one-way partner airline flights — not the case with ANA. Unless you’re flying on an ANA award flight, you must book a round-trip flight.
Hot Tip: Business class award flights are where ANA really shines — 88,000 miles is one of the lowest award prices in this list for flights from the U.S. to Croatia.
Here are a couple of example flights to Croatia that you can book when you have enough ANA miles in your account:
When booking flights to Croatia using ANA miles, the steps below will be helpful in the booking process:
It’s easy to earn ANA Mileage Club miles because ANA has partnerships with American Express and Marriott Bonvoy. The points that you earn in this program can be transferred directly to ANA. There is an ANA co-branded card, however, it’s not available for the U.S. market. With that said, point transfers from American Express and Marriott will be the main way to earn ANA miles.
If you have American Express points, you’ll want to transfer those points to ANA first because point transfers take 2-3 days at a 1:1 ratio. Those of you with Marriott points will need to wait 7 days for the transfer at a 3:1 ratio.
Bottom Line: If you do not need flexibility, booking round-trip business class partner airlines to Croatia using ANA miles is a great deal.
| Cabin Class | Star Alliance Miles Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy | 50,000 | $108+ |
| Business | 80,000 | $108+ |
| First | 100,000 | $108+ |
For flights to Croatia, it’s hard to beat the award pricing offered by Star Alliance partner Asiana Airlines Asiana Club. This program is primarily known for its extremely competitive partner award chart.
One of the reasons you likely don’t hear much about Asiana Airlines is because its partner award flight booking process is cumbersome. You have to call Asiana Airlines to book partner flights as they cannot be booked online.
Hot Tip: Asiana Airlines has the lowest first class award pricing to Europe. However, you won’t be able to fly first class all the way from the U.S. to Croatia. If you’re eyeing first class, flying Lufthansa to Frankfurt or Munich will be your bet, although fuel surcharges will be high.
The Star Alliance has a ton of its members based in Europe, so you’ll have a number of award flights options from the U.S. including:
Booking Star Alliance award flights to Croatia using Asiana Airlines miles requires a few additional steps in the process as follows:
You’ll likely have a tough time earning Asiana Airlines miles because they only partner with Marriott Bonvoy. However, Asiana Airlines offers co-branded credit cards that earn miles directly with your spend. The best strategy is to put your spend on a combination of Asiana Airlines and Marriott credit cards.
For those of you already with Marriott points, the point transfer to Asiana Airlines takes 4 days at a 3:1 ratio. Separately, with every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus.
Bottom Line: Asiana Airlines is a great option if you’re looking to fly in a premium cabin and are able to earn Asiana Airlines miles.
| Cabin Class | Oneworld Airlines Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy | 54,000+ | $88+ |
| Business | 100,000+ | $88+ |
| First | 150,000+ | $330+ |
Another Oneworld alliance program to consider using to fly to Croatia is Cathay Pacific. One of the best ways to use Cathay Pacific Asia Miles is to book British Airways award flights due to the taxes and fees. When you book British Airways flights with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, you’ll pay ~$600 roundtrip instead of $1,000 round-trip for flights to Europe.
The primary downside when using Asia Miles to book partner award flights is that the pricing isn’t that competitive. As you’ll see in this list, there are cheaper ways to use points and miles to fly transatlantic in economy, business, and first class.
Hot Tip: Reference the Asia Miles Standard Award if you’re flying 1 Oneworld airline partner. From there, add 5,000 miles to the cost of the award flight that’s based on the distance of your itinerary.
Examples of award flights that you can book with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles include:
The process to book award flights using Asia Miles is dependent on the airline. For flights to Croatia, you can book Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, and Iberia online. All other airline partners that fly between the U.S. and Croatia (i.e. American Airlines) require a phone call to book the flight:
Cathay Pacific has partnerships with American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Marriott Bonvoy — in other words, it’s easy to earn Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Separately, Cathay Pacific offers a co-branded credit card for the U.S. market, meaning that the spend you put on this card earns Cathay Pacific Asia miles.
If you have a stash of American Express, Capital One, Citi, and/or Marriott points, you’ll want to keep tabs on the transfer ratios and transfer times. American Express points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio, Capital One Miles transfers take up to 3 days at a 1:1 ratio, Citi point transfers take 24 hours at a 1:1 ratio, and Marriott point transfers take 5 days at a 3:1 ratio.
Bottom Line: The way to receive the most value with this Cathay Pacific redemption is to fly British Airways. The fuel surcharges will still be there, however, they will be much lower than what you’d otherwise pay.
| Cabin Class | Oneworld Miles Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy | 40,000+ | $+ |
| Business | 80,000+ | $+ |
| First | 100,000+ | $+ |
The last program to make our list is Japan Airlines Mileage Bank. Japan Airlines routinely offers some of the lowest award rates on its own and partner airline flights. For award flights to Croatia, Japan Airlines has one of the lowest economy, business, and first class prices to Croatia.
Japan Airlines is a program you should use, but miles are hard to earn in the Mileage Bank program. If you can generate Japan Airlines miles, you’ll open yourself up to a number of high-value award flight options.
Hot Tip: Japan Airlines has a partnership with SkyTeam member Air France. This means that you can use Japan Airlines miles to book an Air France award flight.
The Mileage Bank program offers a number of interesting options to book flights between the U.S. and Croatia including:
Booking Japan Airlines partner award flights is easy. Just follow these steps:
There are not a ton of ways to earn Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles because the airline only partners with Marriott. Japan Airlines has a co-branded credit card, however, the card has a low welcome offer and earn rates.
For those of you already holding Marriott points, the point transfers to Japan Airlines take 2 days at a 3:1 ratio. You’ll also receive a 5,000-mile bonus with every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer.
Bottom Line: Japan Airlines offers one of the cheapest ways to fly transatlantic first class. Air France first class can’t be booked with Japan Airlines miles, but you can book American Airlines and British Airways first class.
| Cabin Class | Iberia Avios Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy Off-Peak | 34,000+ | $88+ |
| Business Off-Peak | 68,000+ | $88+ |
| Cabin Class | American Airlines Miles Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy | 42,000+ | $88+ |
| Business | 100,000+ | $88+ |
| Cabin Class | Royal Air Maroc Miles Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy | 42,000+ | $472+ |
| Business | 100,000+ | $472+ |
Yet another Oneworld airline partner to check out is Iberia. The Iberia Avios (miles) program is likely familiar to some U.S. travelers because you can cheaply book domestic American Airlines flights using Avios.
What many people are not fans of with Iberia is that American Airlines flights must be booked round-trip. If your goal is flexibility and you want to fly American Airlines, other Oneworld programs offer greater flexibility.
Hot Tip: The longer the distance of your flight, the more miles you’ll need. Both Iberia’s own and partner airline flights are distance-based.
Examples of flights to Croatia that you can book with Iberia Avios include:
The Iberia award flight booking process will be different depending on which airline you fly:
For the Milan flight, you’ll need to book a cheap points or cash flight to continue on to Croatia. Croatia Airlines operates the MXP-ZAG route seasonally for 12,500 Avianca LifeMiles in economy class. You can transfer points from Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, and ThankYou to LifeMiles.
Alternatively, easyJet operates the MXP-SPU route seasonally. This flight can be had for as little at $33 one-way, and you can use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to cover the flight when booked through the Chase Travel Portal. If you don’t mind flying an ultra-low-cost carrier, this is likely your best bet.
Earning Iberia Avios is extremely easy because Iberia has partnerships with American Express, Chase, and Marriott. In addition, Iberia has a co-branded credit card for the U.S. market. The spend that you put on this card earns Iberia Avios.
If you’re looking to earn American Express, Chase, and/or Marriott points, American Express and Chase points transfer to Iberia at a 1:1 ratio within 24 hours. Marriott transfers also happen within 24 hours, however, the ratio is 3:1. With Marriott, you’ll want to transfer 60,000 points at a time so you’ll receive the 5,000-mile bonus.
Bottom Line: The cheapest way to fly transatlantic business class in this list is with Iberia. During the off-peak season, you’ll only need 68,000 Iberia Avios for a round-trip flight.
While not all programs book to a final destination of Croatia, there are still great options that you can get you to an airport within an easy connection to Croatia simply by purchasing an additional short flight. These flights may be great if you have miles or points to utilize with a specific program.
| Cabin Class | American Airlines Miles Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy | 45,000 | $71+ |
| Business | 115,000 | $71+ |
| First | 170,000 | $330+ |
Our first U.S. airline program is Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. Long-known for the ability to book a stopover on a one-way flight, another thing you may not have considered is using Alaska miles to fly American Airlines to Europe. Alaska Airlines has other airline partners, however, you’ll likely receive the most value booking American Airlines award flights.
Without a doubt, the primary drawback with Alaska Airlines is that it can be tough to earn Alaska Airlines miles. Another downside is the partner award booking fee, similar to Avianca, however, the cost is nominal.
Hot Tip: American Airlines doesn’t fly all the way to Croatia. Instead, you’ll need to book an additional flight after landing at your European destination.
For those of you with Alaska Airlines miles, check out the examples below for the types of flights that you can book:
To help you with your flight booking process, reference the steps below when using Alaska miles to book an award flight:
Since American Airlines doesn’t fly all the way to Croatia, you’ll need to book an additional jumper flight from Frankfurt or London to Croatia. You can book LHR-ZAG for just 7,500 British Airways Avios in economy class — British Airways is an American Express transfer partner, Chase transfer partner, and a Marriott transfer partner. Alternatively, you can fly LHR-ZAG and LHR-SPU (seasonally) on Croatia Airlines for 12,500 Avianca LifeMiles.
Croatia runs year-round service between FRA and DBV, SPU, and ZAG airports. Further, Lufthansa flies year-round to ZAG and seasonally to SPU. Both of these airlines are in the Star Alliance, and the route can also be booked using LifeMiles as well. However, this route only costs 8,000 as it’s a shorter flight from FRA than LHR.
Alaska Airlines miles can be challenging to earn as they only partner with Marriott Bonvoy. However, Alaska Airlines offers co-branded credit cards and the spend on these credit cards will directly earn Alaska Airlines miles.
For those of you with Marriott points, the transfer takes 2-4 days at a 3:1 ratio. If you’re looking for additional Alaska Airlines miles earned from Marriott transfers, here are the Marriott credit cards we like:
A great option for Marriott hotel fans who want a no annual fee card and automatic Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
Casual travelers who like to frequent properties that are part of the Marriott Bonvoy collection of brands may want to consider the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card.
The Marriott Bold card rewards cardholders for Marriott stays and gives them a boost towards Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
Marriott loyalists will love this card's annual free night award, automatic elite status, and up to 17x points per $1 on Marriott hotel stays.
If you’re a frequent traveler and a Marriott loyalist, there’s a lot to love about the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. The card comes packed with several great benefits like a free hotel night once a year, automatic Silver Elite status (with a fast-track to Gold Elite status), and multiple options for redeeming points.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThe Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card gives you automatic Marriott elite status and helps you earn more Marriott Bonvoy points on your everyday purchases.
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, the latest mid-tier offering in the Marriott Bonvoy lineup of cards, offers cardholders automatic elite status and ways to earn more Marriott Bonvoy points on each of their stays and daily purchases.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesA premium card for Marriott fans who want perks like an annual statement credit and Free Night Award, plus a fast track to Marriott elite status.
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is a premium card designed with road warriors and Marriott Bonvoy loyalists in mind.
So is the card a worthwhile addition to your wallet?
Bottom Line: The best value for Alaska Airlines redemption is to book economy flights. Business class pricing is middle-of-the-road relative to the other options in this list.
| Cabin Class | Aer Lingus Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy Off-Peak | 26,000+ | $120+ |
| Economy | 40,000+ | $120+ |
| Business | 100,000+ | $120+ |
For U.S. travelers, Oneworld partner British Airways is known for the ability to book cheap, short-haul American Airlines flights within the U.S. British Airways uses a distance-based award chart, so the less distance that you fly, the fewer miles that you’ll need.
Although this doesn’t affect Aer Lingus flights, British Airways recently devalued its partner airline award flight chart. The number of miles required for award flights didn’t increase across the board, however, some airline routes require additional miles.
Hot Tip: Flying Aer Lingus from Boston (BOS) – Dublin (DUB) during off-peak dates is the cheapest way to fly transatlantic. If you book this flight, you’ll only need 13,000 British Airways Avios (miles) each way.
Examples of award flights that you can book with British Airways Avios include:
To book Aer Lingus flights using British Airways Avios, use these steps:
For these flights, you’ll need to purchase a separate, cheap flight from Dublin to Croatia. Aer Lingus flies nonstop from DUB to DBV and SPU seasonally, and you can use just 10,000 Aer Lingus Avios to fly one-way on-peak or 8,500 Avios off-peak. You can transfer to Aer Lingus from Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.
You’ll have no issues earning British Airways Avios because the airline partners with American Express, Capital One, Chase, and Marriott Bonvoy. The points earned in these programs can be transferred directly to British Airways. In addition, British Airways has a co-branded credit card with a sizeable welcome offer available to the U.S. market.
Transfer ratios and transfer times differ across these programs. With that said, American Express, Capital One, and Chase points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio and Marriott point transfers take 24 hours at a 3:1 ratio. If you transfer 60,000 Marriott points, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus. In short, these are the Chase cards that you should consider:
A fantastic travel card with a huge welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.
Additionally, it offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent travel insurance coverage including primary car rental insurance. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is an excellent choice for any traveler.
A top player in the high-end premium travel credit card space that earns 3x points on travel and dining while offering top luxury perks.
If you’re looking for an all-around excellent travel rewards card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the best options out there.
The card combines elite travel benefits and perks like airport lounge access, with excellent point earning and redemption options. Plus it offers top-notch travel insurance protections to keep you covered whether you’re at home or on the road.
Don’t forget the $300 annual travel credit which really helps to reduce the annual fee!
Business owner? See our list of the best Chase business credit cards.
Bottom Line: If economy is your style, you can’t beat using less than 30,000 Avios to fly Aer Lingus economy across the Atlantic.
| Cabin Class | American Airlines Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy Off-Peak | 40,000 | $88+ |
| Economy | 60,000 | $88+ |
| Business | 100,000 | $88+ |
| First | 125,000 | $88+ |
| Cabin Class | Royal Air Maroc Cost | Taxes and Fees |
| Economy | 44,000 | $472+ |
| Economy | 88,000 | $472+ |
The second airline not in a major airline alliance to make the list is Etihad. Its Etihad Guest loyalty program is fantastic, especially for those looking to fly in a premium cabin. American Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Royal Air Maroc are airline partners to keep an eye on.
It’s not all great news with Etihad, as partner award flights need to be booked by phone. The process isn’t as bad as it sounds, however, it’s not as simple as booking the flight online.
Hot Tip: Etihad Guest partners with an array of airline partners. Many of these partners have prices in their award charts that you simply will not find as low anywhere else.
American Airlines and Royal Air Maroc fly a number of routes that will get you close to Croatia. From there, you’ll book a cheap cash or points flight to get the rest of the way.
As mentioned, a phone call is required to book Etihad partner airline flights:
Flying MIA-MXP? See the above “Iberia Avios” section on booking hopper flights from MXP to Croatia — we’ll go in-depth there!
There are no non-stop flights between CMN and Croatia, so you have 2 options: fly to another European city nearby, hang out there for a few days, and then head to Croatia, or fly on a 1-stop itinerary to Croatia. One of the best ways to book a 1-stop itinerary is by using Iberia Avios to fly via Madrid. Flying CMN-MAD-ZAG costs 12,000 Iberia Avios off-peak or 13,250 on-peak in economy class.
You can transfer Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy points to Iberia Avios. Plus, you can transfer British Airways Avios to Iberia Avios so long as both accounts have been open for 90+ days.
Etihad has partnerships with American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Marriott. For this reason, it’s super easy to earn Etihad Guest miles. The points that you earn in these programs can be transferred directly to Etihad.
For those of you looking to transfer points, American Express points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio, Capital One Miles transfers take 36 hours at a 1:1 ratio, Citi transfers take 7 days at a 1:1 ratio, and Marriott point transfers take 3 days at a 1:1 ratio. With Marriott transfers, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus with every 60,000 points that you transfer.
Bottom Line: 88,000 miles for business round-trip on Royal Air Maroc is one of the cheapest transatlantic business class flights that you’ll find.
Although you can’t fly nonstop to Croatia from the U.S., it’s an easy 1-stop flight. The country is incredibly beautiful and should certainly be added to your dream travel list.
To wrap things up, earn transferable points before booking your next trip to Croatia. American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Marriott each have airline partners that will help you to book an incredible trip to this eastern European country.
The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® card, click here.
The lowest number of miles needed for economy, business, and first class flights in this list are 26,000, 68,000, and 100,000 miles respectively.
Banks and hotels have partnerships with airlines. These partnerships allow you to transfer points from a bank and/or hotel. With the transferred points, you can book an award flight or hotel.
American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Marriott earn transferable points. These points can be transferred directly to their airline and hotel partners for award flights and hotel rooms.
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Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Michael took his first international trip in 2013 with friends to the Bahamas. Although he didn’t travel much in his younger years, on that trip, he caught the travel bug and has been hooked ever since.
Michael first caught wind of the points and miles game in 2014 while at a bar in Washington, DC where the conversation amongst friends was quickly derailed because of an alert on a friend’s phone about a mistake fare. That’s where the love affair with points and miles began.
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