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The Best Ways to Fly to the Czech Republic With Points and Miles

BY 

Michael McHugh

- UPDATED: September 17, 2021

1. Travel

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Castles, pilsner beer, and hearty cuisine are likely what comes to mind when you think of the Czech Republic. The capital of this central European city is located in Prague with most places that you’ll want to see within a 2-3 hour car or train ride away.

The Czech Republic has 1 major airport in Prague, Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG). This airport offers several nonstop flights from the U.S. You can also connect in Europe en route to Prague or through one of the many regional airports throughout the country.

Best Programs to Use to Book Flights

Using the Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance alliances, you have several flight options between the U.S. and the Czech Republic.

It’s important to note that all of the prices in the award chart in this article are round-trip. Simply halve the prices shown for one-way award flights. ANA and American Airlines flights booked with Iberia Avios (miles) require you to book round-trip.

With that said, let’s highlight the best ways for you to book your next flight to the Czech Republic.

Air Canada Aeroplan

You can redeem Aeroplan points to book flights on economy and business class flights to Europe for reasonable rates with no additional charges for stopovers.

Hot Tip: Aeroplan has one of the most generous infant award ticket policies for travelers age 2 or younger. Economy award flights require $50 or 5,000 Aeroplan points and business class flights require $100 or 10,000 Aeroplan points for the infant ticket.

With several European-based Star Alliance airline partners, you’ll have no issues booking flights to the Czech Republic like these:

• Newark (EWR) – Prague (PRG) for 140,000 Aeroplan points in United business class.
• Washington (IAD) – Brussels (BRU) – Prague (PRG) for 140,000 Aeroplan points in Brussels Airlines business class.

It’s easy to book award flight award flights with Aeroplan points by using these steps:

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

Earning Aeroplan Points

American Express, Capital One, and Marriott Bonvoy all partner with Aeroplan. This means that you’ll have no issues earning Aeroplan points. Aeroplan also has a co-branded credit card and the money that you spend on it will earn Aeroplan points that you can use to book an award flight.

Transfer ratios and transfer times are always important, especially when redeeming Aeroplan points. American Express points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio, Capital One Miles transfer instantly at a 2:1.5 ratio, and Marriott point transfers take 5 days at a 3:1 ratio. We recommend to start by earning American Express points by applying for these credit cards:

Recommended American Express Cards (Personal)

Recommended American Express Cards (Business)

Bottom Line: It’s hard to beat the award prices and flexibility of Aeroplan. Not only can you book one-way award flights, but you can book competitive business class flights at 55,000 Aeroplan points each way. 

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

One of 2 airlines on this list not in a major airline alliance is Alaska Airlines. What many travelers appreciate about the Mileage Plan program is the ability to book stopovers on one-way flights.

Alaska Airlines has several airline partnerships and some of the rules when flying can create confusion. Learning all of the rules with these partners is one of the drawbacks to consider when redeeming Alaska Airlines miles.

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

Hot Tip: The Alaska Airlines award chart shows several airlines that fly between the U.S. and Europe. When you dig into the options, American Airlines is likely going to be your best bet. 

To book this flight to the Czech Republic, you’ll need to fly American Airlines, an Alaska Airline’s partner, the entire route:

• Philadelphia (PHL) – Prague (PRG) for 45,000 Alaska Airlines miles in American Airlines economy.
• Chicago (ORD) – Prague (PRG) for 115,000 Alaska Airlines miles in American Airlines business class.

You’ll want to reference the steps below that will help with booking your next flight to the Czech Republic:

1. Search for flights on Alaska Airlines.
2. Book the flight online.
3. Pay the taxes and fees, including the $12.50 partner award flight booking fee.

Earning Alaska Airlines Miles

Alaska Airlines only partners with Marriott Bonvoy. This means that it may take a little more effort to earn Alaska Airlines miles. Alaska Airlines has 2 co-branded credit cards and the spend on these cards will earn Alaska Airlines miles that can be redeemed for an award flight.

If the Marriott points are already in your account, the transfer to Alaska Airlines takes 2-4 days at a 3:1 ratio. For those looking to boost their Marriott account balance, below are the Marriott credit cards we recommend:

Recommended Marriott Cards 

Bottom Line: For flights to the Czech Republic, the best way to use your Alaska Airlines miles is to book American Airlines off-peak economy flights. 

American Airlines AAdvantage

The American Airlines AAdvantage program is the first Oneworld program to make the list. Flying economy award flights during off-peak dates and partner flights to the Middle East are what the AAdvantage program is most known for.

An uncompetitive award chart is the main downside to redeeming American Airlines miles. Oneworld airline partners British Airways, Iberia, and Japan Airlines will likely provide more competitive award prices for most of the Oneworld airline award flights.

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

Hot Tip: The way to receive the most value with the AAdvantage program is to fly off-peak economy flights. Off-peak dates can be found American Airlines Flight award chart page. Off-peak dates on partner airline flights to Europe are from January 10-March 14 and November 1-December 14.  

Flights to the Czech Republic that you can book with American Airlines miles include:

• Miami (MIA) – Madrid (MAD) – Prague (PRG) for 45,000 American Airlines miles in Iberia economy.
• Dallas (DFW) – Philadelphia (PHL) – Prague (PRG) for 115,000 American Airlines miles in AA business class.

The steps below will help during the American Airlines award flight booking process:

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

Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

There are several ways to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Not only does American Airlines have a number of co-branded credit cards, but the airline also has a partnership with Marriott Bonvoy. The points that you earn with Marriott can be transferred directly to American Airlines.

What’s great about the Marriott partnership is that the transfer time only takes 48 hours. The transfer ratio from Marriott to American Airlines is 3:1 and you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus with every 60,000 points that you transfer.

Bottom Line: American Airlines doesn’t have the lowest award costs. However, its miles are easy to earn so you’ll want to consider paying the premium if you’re not able to earn miles in other Oneworld award programs. 

ANA Mileage Club

A Star Alliance program you should consider using is ANA Mileage Club. This program is best known for its competitive award prices when flying ANA between the U.S. and Japan.

There’s no question that the biggest drawback with the Mileage Club program is that partner airline flights must be booked round-trip. If your goal is flexibility, you’ll want to use Aeroplan, Asiana Airlines, Avianca, Singapore Airlines, or United to book one-way flights.

Hot Tip: Booking Star Alliance business class partner airline flights to the Czech Republic will likely yield the most value when redeeming ANA miles. 

When you’re ready to book a flight to the Czech Republic using ANA miles, here are a couple of example flights to check out:

• Chicago (ORD) – Lisbon (LIS) – Prague (PRG) for 88,000 ANA miles in TAP Portugal business class.
• Houston (IAH) – Istanbul (IST) – Prague (PRG) for 88,000 ANA miles in Turkish Airlines business class.

Booking flights to the Czech Republic using ANA miles is made easier following these steps:

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

Earning ANA Mileage Club miles is easy because the airline has partnerships with American Express and Marriott Bonvoy. Points earned in both of these programs can be transferred directly to ANA. There is a co-branded ANA credit card, however, it’s not available to the U.S. market.

American Express point transfers take 2-3 days at a 1:1 ratio while Marriott point transfers take 7 days at a 3:1 ratio. You’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus with every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer. With that said, here are the Marriott cards that are worth considering:

Recommended Marriott Cards

Bottom Line: A combination of competitive award pricing and the ease of earning miles is the reason to put ANA at the top of your list. 

Asiana Airlines Asiana Club

Yet another Star Alliance program on this list is the Asiana Club. Asiana Airlines’ loyalty program is best known for having extremely low award prices on partner airline flights to several destinations around the world.

The process to book award flights is the primary downside to redeeming Asiana Airlines miles. The inability to search for partner award flights on its website and needing to call to book the flight are what many people do not like about the program.

Hot Tip: Asiana Airlines has the lowest Star Alliance award prices for first class flights to Europe. Star Alliance airline partners do not fly all the way from the U.S. to the Czech Republic so you’ll need to book a separate flight or fly business class on the connecting flight to/from Prague. 

Flying to the Czech Republic using Asiana Airlines miles is easy because of the number of Star Alliance airline partners based in Europe offering flights like these:

• Los Angeles (LAX) – Warsaw (WAW) – Prague (PRG) for 80,000 Asiana miles in LOT Polish business class.
• San Francisco (SFO) – Lisbon (LIS) – Prague (PRG) for 50,000 Asiana miles in TAP Portugal economy.

The process to book flights to the Czech Republic using Asiana Airlines miles is as follows:

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

Earning Asiana Airlines miles can be challenging as they only have 1 partnership with Marriott compared to other airlines with multiple transferable point program partnerships. It’s not all bad news as Asiana Airlines offers co-branded credit cards and the spend that you put on these cards directly earns Asiana Airlines miles.

Marriott point transfers to Asiana Airlines take 4 days at a 3:1 ratio. Also, keep in mind that you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus with every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer to Asiana Airlines.

Bottom Line: Asiana Airlines passes on fuel surcharges. If you don’t mind spending some cash, you can fly at extremely low award rates in business and first class to the Czech Republic. 

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

The second Oneworld airline program to make the list is Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Cathay Pacific’s award program is best known for the ability to book British Airways’ flights with reduced fuel surcharges. What you may not have considered is redeeming Asia Miles to fly American Airlines to the Czech Republic.

One of the downsides to the Asia Miles program is that its award chart isn’t that competitive. Other Oneworld programs are likely to offer lower award prices on partner airline flights around the world.

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

Hot Tip: Cathay Pacific uses several award charts. Add 5,000 miles to the miles shown in the Asia Miles Standard Award if you’re flying 1 Oneworld airline partner. 

Examples of award flights that you can book to the Czech Republic with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles include:

• Chicago (ORD) – Prague (PRG) for 54,000 Cathay Pacific miles in American Airlines economy.
• Philadelphia (PHL) – Prague (PRG) for 100,000 Cathay Pacific miles in American Airlines business class.

British Airways, Finnair, and Iberia to the Czech Republic can be booked online using these steps:

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

All other airline partners that fly between the U.S. and the Czech Republic (i.e. American Airlines) require a phone call to book the flight:

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

You’ll have no problem earning Cathay Pacific Asia Miles because the airline has partnerships with American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Marriott Bonvoy. In addition to these partnerships, Cathay Pacific offers co-branded credit cards to the U.S. market.

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. Point transfers from Citi make a ton of sense especially with these Citi credit cards:

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: The more miles you are flying, the more Cathay Pacific Asia Miles you’ll need to fly to the Czech Republic. 

Etihad Guest

Etihad Airways joins Alaska Airlines as a second airline on this list not in a major airline alliance. The Etihad Guest program is best known for the ability to redeem its miles at competitive rates to fly American Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Royal Air Maroc flights around the world.

The challenge with the Etihad Guest program is that a phone call is required to book partner award flights. Based on our experience, the award booking process should not be difficult. However, the process to book award flights takes more effort than when you can book award flights online.

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

Hot Tip: Always consider using Etihad Guest miles when you want to fly American Airlines premium cabin award flights. The award pricing is much more competitive than what you’ll find with American Airlines’ own program. 

You can redeem Etihad Guest miles to book flights like these to the Czech Republic:

• Charlotte (CLT) – Philadelphia (PHL) – Prague (PRG) for 100,000 Etihad Guest miles in American Airlines business class.
• New York (JFK) – Philadelphia (PHL) – Prague (PRG) for 100,000 Etihad Guest miles in American Airlines business class.

The booking process using Etihad Guest miles is made easier using these steps:

1. Search for American Airlines on British Airways.
2. Call Etihad Airways at 877-690-0767 to confirm award availability.
3. Book the flight over the phone.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Etihad Guest Miles

Etihad Airways doesn’t offer a co-branded credit card for the U.S. market so you’ll want to focus your spend on credit cards with its partners in American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Marriott Bonvoy to earn Etihad Guest miles. The points that you earn in these programs can be transferred directly to Etihad Airways.

Transfers from American Express and Capital One will be the quickest. American Express points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio. Capital One points take 36 hours at a 2:1.5 ratio. The Citi transfer ratio is 1:1 but the transfer time takes 6-7 days. Marriott transfers are quicker at 3-5 days, however, the transfer ratio is 3:1.

Bottom Line: Etihad offers a great option for those wanting to fly American Airlines flights to the Czech Republic. You should also consider its other partners in Brussels Airlines and Royal Air Maroc. 

Iberia Avios

The third Oneworld airline member to make this list is Iberia. The airline is best known for 2 things: flying intra-North America American Airlines flights and flying Iberia between the U.S. and Europe during off-peak travel dates.

It’s relatively easy to book American Airlines flights on Iberia. What you should know is that these flights must be booked round-trip, one of the drawbacks when redeeming Iberia Avios (miles).

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

Hot Tip: Iberia uses a distance-based award chart. This means that you’ll need more miles the longer the distance of your itinerary. 

Iberia Avios can be redeemed to book flights to the Czech Republic like these:

• Boston (ORD) – Madrid (MAD) – Prague (PRG) for 85,000 Iberia Avios in Iberia business class off-peak.
• New York (JFK) – Madrid (MAD) – Prague (PRG) for 85,000 Iberia Avios in Iberia business class off-peak.

It’s easy to book flights to the Czech Republic using Iberia Avios by following this process:

1. Search for American Airlines and Iberia flights on British Airways.
2. Confirm the same availability on Iberia.
3. Book American Airlines and Iberia flights online.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Iberia Avios

Iberia has partnerships with American Express, Chase, and Marriott Bonvoy making it easy to earn Iberia Avios. Iberia also offers a co-branded credit card for the U.S. market and the miles that you earn on this co-branded credit card can be redeemed for award flights.

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. Remember that with 60,000 Marriott points transferred to Iberia, you’ll receive the 5,000-mile bonus. If you’re looking to earn Chase points, these are the Chase credit cards that we recommend:

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

Recommended Chase Cards (Business)

Bottom Line: Try to fly Iberia during the off-peak dates in its award chart. That way, you can save a ton of miles, especially when booking flights to the Czech Republic. 

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank

Yet another Oneworld airline program to consider using to book flights to the Czech Republic is Japan Airlines Mileage Bank. Japan Airlines’ loyalty program is best known for its competitive award pricing when flying Oneworld partner airline flights.

The downside with the Mileage Bank program is that it can be challenging to earn Japan Airlines miles. There simply are not as many ways to earn Japan Airlines miles relative to other award programs.

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

Hot Tip: Japan Airlines is a Oneworld partner airline. What you may not know is that Japan Airlines has a partnership with SkyTeam member Air France. This means that Japan Airlines miles can be used to book Air France award flights. 

There are several interesting award flights that you can book to the Czech Republic including:

• Boston (BOS) – Paris (CDG) – Prague (PRG) for 100,000 Japan Airlines miles in Air France business class.
• Philadelphia (PHL) – Prague (PRG) for 50,000 Japan Airlines miles in American Airlines economy.

The booking process with Japan Airlines is straightforward by using the steps below:

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

Earning Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles will take some effort. The reason is that Marriott Bonvoy is the only program that Japan Airlines has a partnership with. The Japan Airlines co-branded credit card has a low welcome offer and earn rates, so, unfortunately, it will not help you to earn tons of Japan Airlines miles.

The good news for those with Marriott points is that the transfer time only takes 2 days at a 3:1 ratio. Consider transferring 60,000 Marriott points at a time to receive the 5,000-mile transfer bonus.

Bottom Line: Japan Airlines offers an inexpensive way to fly to the Czech Republic. To save even more miles, consider booking a flight to another European destination like Madrid, and then booking another cheap miles or points flight to the Czech Republic. 

Korean Air SKYPASS

The lone SkyTeam airline program to make the list is Korean Air. Its SKYPASS program is widely known for offering competitive award rates to book award flights between the U.S. and Europe, and the U.S. and Tahiti (PPT).

There are 2 things that many consider drawbacks to Korean Air: the process to book flights online can be cumbersome and that Korean Air passes on fuel surcharges to its customers.

Hot Tip: We recommend checking the award pricing on Air France, KLM, and Delta and comparing those prices to the ones in the Korean Air award chart. 

The Mileage Bank program offers several interesting options to book flights between the U.S. and the Czech Republic including:

• New York (JFK) – Prague (PRG) for 80,000 Korean Air miles in Delta business class.
• Atlanta (ATL) – Paris (CDG) – Prague (PRG) for 50,000 Korean Air miles in Air France economy.

Follow these guidelines to help you book your next flight to the Czech Republic using Korean Air miles:

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

Earning Korean Air SKYPASS Miles

Earning Korean Air SKYPASS miles will be difficult. The reason is that Korean Air only has 1 partnership in Marriott Bonvoy. However, Korean Air does offer a co-branded credit card for the U.S. market and the miles that you earn from spending on this card can be redeemed for award flights.

If you already have Korean Air miles and want to transfer them, the transfer time takes 48 hours at a 3:1 ratio. With every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus.

Bottom Line: Korean Air offers one of the lowest award prices in this list to fly business class to the Czech Republic.  

Final Thoughts

There are 10 airline programs in this list that will help you to book a flight from the U.S. to the Czech Republic on miles. Each of the 3 major airline programs will give you plenty of options no matter what type of flight you’re looking to book.

In summary, we recommend that you earn transferable points before booking flights to the Czech Republic. As we covered in this article, the more transferable points that you have, the easier it’ll be to book your flight when you’re ready to travel to this beautiful country in central Europe.

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