Flights from North America to Tel Aviv (TLV) consistently hover around $1,000 round-trip in economy and over $3,000 in business, so award redemptions are the way to go when booking travel to Israel. Luckily, thanks to new diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and recent route additions by the major U.S. airlines, there are now plentiful routing options. Below are your main options:
United Airlines operates nonstop flights to Tel Aviv as well, including from Newark (EWR), Chicago (ORD), San Francisco (SFO) and Washington Dulles (IAD). The MileagePlus program’s redemption rates are dynamic, but economy awards start at 42,500 miles one-way and business at 75,000 miles. A potentially better option for booking United and other Star Alliance member airline awards would be through ANA Mileage Club. Round-trip awards cost just 65,000 miles in economy and 104,000 miles in business. (Caveats: You can only book round-trip awards, and ANA passes on fuel surcharges for partner awards.) Other programs like Avianca LifeMiles or Aeroplan charge fairly reasonable rates and are partners of most transferable points programs.
American Airlines offers flights to Tel Aviv from three U.S. gateways — New York-JFK, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Miami (MIA). You can book these flights through the AAdvantage program from 40,000 American miles in economy, 62,500 in premium economy or 70,000 in business.
Since saver-level business-class award space on the nonstop routes is extremely difficult, consider American’s partners like British Airways through London (LHR), Iberia through Madrid (MAD) and Royal Jordanian through Amman (AMM). The redemption rates are the same, but you’ll typically face higher taxes and carrier surcharges with the partners.
Delta Airlines fly nonstop from New York (JFK) and partners like Air France or KLM connect through a city like Paris (CDG) or Amsterdam (AMS). Since Delta SkyMiles and Air France/KLM Flying Blue don’t have award charts, redemptions can vary greatly depending on your travel dates and class of service. Alternatively, when prices for Delta-operated flights are sky-high, you may be able to get a better deal through Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program,
Israel’s flag carrier, El Al, operates the most nonstop flights from North America to Israel and offers a competitive business-class product on its Dreamliners. Your best option for booking El Al awards would be through Qantas Frequent Flyer. Redemption rates vary by distance; one-way awards from Newark (EWR) to Tel Aviv cost 37,800 Qantas miles in economy or 90,800 in business class, while flights from Chicago cost 45,000 Qantas points in economy or 104,500 in business class.
Happy Travels!
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