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The Best Ways to Fly to Sweden With Points and Miles

BY 

Michael McHugh

- UPDATED: October 25, 2021

1. Travel

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Along with the Scandinavian countries of Denmark and Norway, Sweden is a country with many islands, lakes, forests, and mountains. The northern lights, fishing, hiking, and skiing are what Sweden is known for in addition to its capital city Stockholm.

The major airport in Sweden is Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN). This airport offers nonstop flights between the U.S. and Sweden as well as connecting flights from the U.S. through other European countries.

Best Programs to Use to Book Flights

The major airline alliances in Oneworld, SkyTeam, and the Star Alliance will come in handy when booking the various ways for you to fly to Sweden from the U.S.

As you’re reading through this list, it’s important to note that the award prices shown are round-trip prices. Except for ANA partner airline flights, you can book one-way flights with any of the programs on the list. Now that we have that covered, let’s jump in to how best to book flights to Sweden!

American Airlines AAdvantage

One of the things to consider when earning American Airlines AAdvantage miles is that the award program doesn’t have a ton of sweet spots. Compared to other Oneworld airline award programs, you’ll pay a premium on many routes when redeeming AAdvantage miles.

Hot Tip: Booking off-peak award flights is the way to go with the American Airlines AAdvantage program. Off-peak dates on American Airlines and partner airline flights to Europe are from January 10-March 14 and November 1-December 14.  

With the required number of AAdvantage miles in your account, you can book flights like these to Sweden:

• New York (JFK) – Helsinki (HEL) – Stockholm (ARN) for 45,000 American Airlines miles in Finnair economy
• Philadelphia (PHL) – Madrid (MAD) – Stockholm (ARN) for 115,000 American Airlines miles in Iberia business class

The American Airlines award booking process is as follows:

1. Search for flights on American Airlines.
2. Book the flight online.
3. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

Earning AAdvantage miles should not take much effort. American Airlines has both a transferable point program partner in Marriott Bonvoy and offers several co-branded credit cards.

The transfer time from Marriott is 2 days at a ratio of 3:1. You’ll also receive a 5,000-mile bonus with every 60,000 points that you transfer. Below are the Marriott credit cards we recommend:

Recommended Marriott Cards 

ANA Mileage Club

Japan-based ANA’s Mileage Club is a program you should check out when booking flights to Sweden. One of the most well known sweet spots with the Mileage Club program is booking Star Alliance business class flights to Europe.

The lack of flexibility when booking partner airline award flights and fuel surcharges are by far the biggest downsides to keep in mind when using ANA miles. ANA requires you to book round-trip partner flights, which limits the flexibility of your flights.

With respect to fuel surcharges, ANA passes them on to you. This means that if you book airlines like Austrian Airlines or Lufthansa with ANA miles, you’ll pay a ton in taxes and fees.

Hot Tip: A way to get around high fuel surcharges on Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa is to use Avianca or United. Both of these programs don’t impose fuel surcharges so you’ll save a lot of money in the process.  

Flights to Sweden that you can book with ANA Mileage Club miles include:

• Newark (EWR) – Warsaw (WAW) – Stockholm (ARN) for 88,000 ANA miles in LOT Polish business class
• Washington (IAD) – Copenhagen (CPH) – Stockholm (ARN) for 55,000 ANA miles in SAS economy

You’ll want to use the steps below to book your next award flight with ANA:

1. Search for flights on United.
2. Confirm the same availability on ANA.
3. Book the flight online.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning ANA Mileage Club Miles

ANA has partnerships with both American Express and Marriott Bonvoy, making it super easy to earn ANA Mileage Club miles. Points earned in both programs can be transferred directly to ANA. ANA offers a co-branded credit card but unfortunately, it’s not available to the U.S. market.

If you have the choice, you’ll want to earn American Express points first. The reason being that American Express point transfers take 2-3 days at a 1:1 ratio. In the case of Marriott, point transfers take 7 days at a 3:1 ratio. With Marriott transfers, you’ll want to transfer 60,000 points at a time to earn the 5,000-mile bonus. In short, these are the American Express credit cards to keep your eye on:

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

Recommended Amex Cards (Business)

Bottom Line: ANA offers the second cheapest business class award option to Sweden right behind Asiana Airlines. 

Asiana Airlines Asiana Club

Asiana Airlines’ Asiana Club is another Star Alliance program to keep in mind when booking flights to Sweden. Asiana Airlines receives the most coverage for the ability to book business and first class Star Alliance flights to Europe at low rates.

The catch with Asiana Airlines is that you’re on the hook for the fuel surcharges. Fuel surcharges and the online booking process are what frustrate many travelers about the Asiana Club program.

Hot Tip: If you’re looking to keep your taxes and fees low, use Avianca LifeMiles or United MileagePlus. Neither one of these airlines passes on fuel surcharges. 

Example flights to Sweden that can be booked by redeeming Asiana Airlines miles include:

• Chicago (ORD) – Stockholm (ARN) for 50,000 Asiana miles in SAS economy
• Washington (IAD) – Istanbul (LIS) – Stockholm (ARN) for 80,000 Asiana miles in Turkish Airlines business class

Redeeming Asiana Airlines miles takes a bit of effort but is made easier if you use the process below:

1. Search for Star Alliance partner flights on United.
2. Call Asiana Airlines at 800-227-4262 between 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. PST on Monday-Friday.
3. Book the flight over the phone.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Asiana Airlines Miles

Marriott Bonvoy is the only partner of the Asiana Club program, making it difficult to earn Asiana Airlines miles. Asiana Airlines does offer co-branded Bank of America credit cards that earn miles directly with your spend.

The same 5,000-mile bonus can be earned when transferring 60,000 Marriotts points at a time. Before transferring any points, keep in mind Marriott point transfers take 4 days at a 3:1 ratio.

Bottom Line: Flying business class on airlines with low taxes and fees is the way to receive the most value with Asiana Airlines miles. 

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

*First class is only offered on the New York (JFK) – London (LHR) route

Joining American Airlines is our second Oneworld member in Cathay Pacific. One of the best ways to redeem Cathay Pacific Asia Miles is on British Airways business and first class flights between the U.S. and Europe. The reason is that you’ll pay lower taxes and fees.

The Asia Miles program is not known for having a competitive award chart and many of its partner airlines can’t be booked online.

Hot Tip: Cathay Pacific doesn’t have an award chart when you’re flying 1 Oneworld airline partner. Simply add 5,000 miles to the pricing shown in the Asia Miles Standard Award chart. 

For those of you with Asia Miles, consider booking flights like these to Sweden:

• Miami (MIA) – Madrid (MAD) – Stockholm (ARN) for 70,000 Cathay Pacific miles in Iberia economy
• Boston (BOS) – London (LHR) – Stockholm (ARN) for 100,000 Cathay Pacific miles in British Airways business class

You can book British Airways, Iberia, Finnair flights to Sweden using these steps:

1. Search for partner airline flights on asiamiles.com.
2. Book the flight online.
3. Pay the taxes and fees.

For other airline partners that fly to Sweden (i.e. American Airlines), the process is a little different:

1. Search for American Airlines award availability on British Airways.
2. Call Cathay Pacific at 866-892-2598 to confirm award availability.
3. Book the flight over the phone.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Cathay Pacific has partnerships with American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Marriott Bonvoy, meaning it’ll be extremely easy to earn Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Cathay Pacific also offers co-branded Synchrony Bank credit cards and your spend directly earns Asia Miles.

If you find yourself with American Express, Capital One, Citi, and/or Marriott points, keep the transfer ratios and times in mind as they are different. American Express points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio, Capital One Miles transfers take 5 days at a 2:1.5 ratio, Citi point transfers take 24 hours at a 1:1 ratio, and Marriott point transfers take 5 days at a 3:1 ratio. If you’re looking to earn Capital One Miles, we recommend checking out the cards below:

Recommended Capital One Cards (Personal)

Bottom Line: The Asia Miles program works best if you are flying more than 7,501 miles. This is where the award chart ends, so any distance beyond this will not require additional miles. 

Iberia Plus

Iberia is the third Oneworld airline partner to make this list. For U.S. travelers, there are 2 things that you may be familiar with about the Iberia Plus program — the ability to book domestic American Airlines flights and the ability to redeem Iberia Avios (miles) for Iberia flights during off-peak dates between the U.S. and Europe.

Before you start earning Iberia Avios or transferring points to Iberia, you’ll want to keep in mind that some partners, like American Airlines, require you to book round-trip flights. Many travelers see this as a drawback when using the Iberia Plus program.

Hot Tip: If you’re looking for an even cheaper flight option to Europe, consider redeeming Aer Lingus Avios. You’ll need to book an additional flight to Sweden, but you can fly to Europe in economy at extremely low prices using Aer Lingus Avios. 

Award flights to Sweden that can be booked using Iberia Avios include:

• Boston (ORD) – Madrid (MAD) – Stockholm (ARN) for 85,000 Iberia Avios in Iberia business class off-peak
• New York (JFK) – Madrid (MAD) – Stockholm (ARN) for 42,500 Iberia Avios in Iberia economy off-peak

Booking award flights to Sweden redeeming Iberia Avios is pretty simple. Use the process below to book:

1. Search for Iberia flights on Iberia.
2. Book Iberia flights online.
3. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Iberia Avios

Earning Iberia Avios won’t be too much of a challenge. Iberia has partnerships with American Express, Chase, and Marriott Bonvoy. Iberia also offers a co-branded Chase credit card that earns Iberia Avios.

The transfer times and ratios are different among the transferable point programs. American Express, Chase and Marriott points transfer within 24 hours to Iberia. American Express and Chase have 1:1 transfer ratios while Marriott has a 3:1 transfer ratio. With Marriott transfers, try to transfer 60,000 Marriott points at a time to earn the 5,000-mile bonus. We love earning Chase points and recommend checking out these cards to earn your fair share:

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

Recommended Chase Cards (Business)

Bottom Line: The off-peak award calendar is the way to go with Iberia. You can save yourself a ton of Avios by simply traveling during these off-peak dates. 

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank

*American Airlines first class is only offered on the New York (JFK) – London (LHR) route

Japan Airlines has an interesting program that doesn’t get much media coverage and is known for is offering low rates on Oneworld partner airline flights.

While Japan Airlines has competitive award prices, its miles can be tough to earn — one of the drawbacks of this program that you should keep in mind.

Hot Tip: Japan Airlines has a partnership with SkyTeam’s Air France outside of its partnership with the Oneworld alliance. This works in your favor as you can use Japan Airlines miles to book an Air France award flight.

If you have Japan Airlines miles, here are a couple of flights to Sweden that you can book:

• New York (JFK) – Helsinki (HEL) – Stockholm (ARN) for 85,000 Japan Airlines miles in Finnair business class
• Boston (BOS) – Paris (CDG) – Stockholm (ARN) for 85,000 Japan Airlines miles in Air France business class

Using the steps below will help you book a flight to Sweden with Japan Airlines miles:

1. Search for Oneworld flights on British Airways.
2. Search for saver level Air France flights on Delta.
3. Confirm the same availability on Japan Airlines.
4. Book the flight online.
5. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Japan Airlines Miles

Japan Airlines only partners with Marriott Bonvoy so it may be challenging to earn Japan Airlines miles. In addition to earning points via Marriott, Japan Airlines offers a co-branded First National Bank of Omaha credit card. Due to the low welcome offer and earn rates, we’d recommend passing on it for now.

For those of you looking to transfer Marriott points, the transfer time takes 2 days at a 3:1 ratio. Keep in mind that you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus with every 60,000 miles that you transfer to Japan Airlines.

Bottom Line: For flights to Sweden, flights that travel the shortest distance require the fewest number of Japan Airlines miles. 

Korean Air SKYPASS

South Korea-based Korean Air is the lone Skyteam partner to make this list. For U.S. travelers, the SKYPASS program is known for competitive business class award flights to Europe and competitive award flights on Air France between Los Angeles and Tahiti.

Fuel surcharges and its online booking process are 2 downsides that you should be aware of when redeeming Korean Air miles. Particularly on this route, expect to pay several hundred dollars in fees.

Hot Tip: If you’re looking to fly Skyteam airline partners to Stockholm, we also recommend checking the award prices on Air France, Delta, and KLM. 

You can redeem Korean Air miles on flights like these to Sweden:

• Atlanta (ATL) – Paris (CDG) – Stockholm (ARN) for 80,000 Korean Air miles in Delta, Air France business class
• New York (JFK) – Amsterdam (AMS) – Stockholm (ARN) for 50,000 Korean Air miles in Delta, KLM economy

Award flights to Stockholm can be booked much easier by following these steps:

1. Search for SkyTeam flights on Air France, Delta, or KLM.
2. Confirm the same availability on Korean Air or call Korean Air at 800-438-5000.
3. Book the flight online or over the phone.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Korean Air SKYPASS Miles

Marriott Bonvoy is the only transferable point program that partners with Korean Air and for this reason, you may have a tough time earning Korean Air SKYPASS miles. Another way that you can earn Korean Air miles is by putting your spend on its co-branded U.S. Bank-issued credit card.

For those of you holding Marriott points, the transfer time to Marriott takes 48 hours at a 3:1 ratio. If you have at least 60,000 Marriott points, remember that you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus with every 60,000 points that you transfer.

Bottom Line: Using Korean Air miles to fly SkyTeam business class can open up incredible value. The main thing to factor in with these flights is the fuel surcharges.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Booking Singapore Airlines premium cabin flights and booking discounted flights during its Spontaneous Escapes are 2 things the KrisFlyer program is known for. What you may not have considered is using KrisFlyer miles to book Star Alliance flights to Sweden.

Star Alliance business class award pricing is a hard pass for us. With Singapore Airlines’ latest award chart devaluation, many routes became uncompetitive.

Hot Tip: If you don’t mind booking an additional flight to Stockholm, you can fly Singapore Airlines between the U.S. and Europe. The 2 routes are New York (JFK) – Frankfurt (FRA) and Houston (IAH) – Manchester (MAN). 

Star Alliance flights to Sweden that you can book with KrisFlyer miles include:

• Houston (IAH) – Chicago (ORD) – Stockholm (ARN) for 55,000 KrisFlyer miles in United, SAS economy
• San Francisco (SFO) – Istanbul (IST) – Stockholm (ARN) for 55,000 KrisFlyer in Turkish Airlines economy

Singapore Airlines has a straightforward award booking process that looks like this:

1. Search for Star Alliance flights on United.
2. Confirm the same availability on Singapore Airlines.
3. Book the flight online.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles

American Express, Chase, Citi, and Marriott Bonvoy all partner with Singapore Airlines. This means that it’ll be easy to earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. Unfortunately, Singapore Airlines doesn’t offer a co-branded credit card for the U.S. market, so transferable points will be the main way to earn miles without flying.

Transfer times across all of Singapore Airlines partners are within 48 hours. Except for Marriott, all transfer ratios are 1:1. When transferring Marriott points, the transfer ratio is 3:1. Also, keep in mind that you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus when transferring 60,000 Marriott points at a time to Singapore Airlines. If you’re looking to earn Citi ThankYou points, here are the Citi cards we recommend:

Recommended Citi Cards

Best Citi Credit Card for Travel	Benefits	Drawbacks
Citi Premier® Card Learn More (at our partner's secure site)	Earn 3x at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel, and hotels; plus, 1x on all other purchases.	$95 annual fee
Citi Prestige® Card	Earn 5x spent on airlines and dining, 3 points/dollars on hotel and cruise lines, 1 point/dollar on all other purchases, transfer points to airline partners, 4th hotel night free (limited to 2 uses per calendar year), $250 airline credit, Priority Pass Lounge access + 2 guests, and Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit	$495 Annual Fee, must be a frequent traveler to maximize the benefits of the card.

Bottom Line: Booking Star Alliance economy flights to Europe is what we recommend. If business class is your jam, consider using ANA, Asiana, or Aeroplan to unlock more competitive award pricing. 

United Airlines MileagePlus

*First class only offered on select Lufthansa flights into Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC)

The last airline on this list is one that U.S. travelers likely have used in the past. United Airlines is known for its ability to book award flights without fuel surcharges, saving you a ton of cash when you’re flying Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa.

While you will not pay fuel surcharges with United, one of the downsides to redeeming MileagePlus miles to book award flights is that you will pay more in miles.

Hot Tip: Consider using United miles when you want to book partner airline flights that have high fuel surcharges. 

With many Star Alliance airline partners based in Europe, you have tons of award flight options to Sweden like these:

• Chicago (ORD) – Vienna (VIE) – Stockholm (ARN) for 140,000 United miles in Austrian Airlines business class
• Newark (EWR) – Munich (MUC) – Stockholm (ARN) for 140,000 United in Lufthansa business class

United makes it easy to book award flights. You can also follow this process:

1. Search for flights on United.
2. Book the flight on United.
3. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning United Airlines Mileage Club Miles

United Airlines has 2 transferable point program partnerships — Chase Ultimate Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy. United also offers several co-branded credit cards. The spend that you put on these cards directly earns Mileage Club miles.

For those looking to transfer Chase points, the points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio. In the case of Marriott, you have 2 transfer bonuses — Marriott points transfer within 2 days 3:1.1 (10% bonus) ratio and with every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus.

Bottom Line: United doesn’t offer the lowest award prices to Sweden. However, United miles shield you from high fuel surcharges that you’ll typically see when booking Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa. 

Final Thoughts

You have 9 airline programs to choose from when booking your next trip to Sweden. With an array of economy, business, and first class options, the only thing holding you back is deciding what award flight makes the most sense for you.

When booking award flights to Sweden, we recommend earning transferable points. These types of points allow you to book flights in any of the programs on this list. You’ll have the most flexibility when you’re ready to book your next European vacation to this beautiful Scandinavian country.

The information regarding the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Citi Prestige® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. 

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