How Many Points Do You Need to Fly to Paris?

Los Angeles to Paris

70,000 points through Alaska Atmos, transferred from Bilt, for a nonstop departing 1 November. Taxes on this one were negligible.

New York to Paris

60,000 points through Flying Blue, transferred from Amex, for the same date, also nonstop.

The New York fare required fewer points, which is consistent with the shorter route in this comparison. Its three-figure surcharge, however, was much higher than the very small surcharge on the Los Angeles fare.

What Paris has cost since September

In recorded finds from September to November 2026, Paris drew 539 finds from US departures, almost all into Charles de Gaulle. A recorded find is the cheapest award fare one PointsGPT search returned in the cabin asked for, for one traveler, one way.

• Economy (123 finds): half were at or below 24,200 points, and the middle half ran from 18,750 to 28,800. The most common price was 25,000 points (20 finds).
• Premium economy (47 finds): half were at or below 61,600 points. The most common price was 40,000 (9 finds).
• Business (337 finds): half were at or below 90,000 points, and a quarter at or below 70,000. The two most common prices were 75,000 (35 finds) and 60,000 (32). Only 74 of the 337 were nonstop.

Where you leave from changes the number. The middle business find from New York was 75,000 points (93 finds), and from Los Angeles 114,700 (54 finds). In economy, the New York middle value was 19,100 points (30 finds).

The 45,000-point Alaska Atmos business fare from New York carried a four-figure cash part. The 57,500-point AAdvantage fare from Los Angeles was nonstop and carried a single-figure one.

Which programs priced Paris

In business, the cheapest fare most often came through Air Canada Aeroplan (59 of 337 finds), then United MileagePlus (54), Flying Blue (50), American Airlines AAdvantage (33), and Alaska Atmos (28). In economy, Virgin Atlantic (28 of 123), JetBlue TrueBlue (26), and Flying Blue (24) led.

These are the card points that reach each one, from the transfer grid PointsGPT uses, all at 1:1:

• Flying Blue: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, and Citi.
• Aeroplan: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, and Chase.
• Virgin Atlantic: Amex, Bilt, Chase, and Citi.
• United MileagePlus: Bilt and Chase.
• AAdvantage: Citi.
• Alaska Atmos: Bilt.

Check your card's current partner list before you move points. A transfer cannot be undone.

Include surcharges in the comparison

Airline programs handle carrier-imposed surcharges differently. A lower points price can still produce a higher total cost when the fare includes a substantial cash charge.

The Paris finds show how much this depends on the program. In business, 54 of 54 United finds carried a single- or two-figure cash part, and 20 of 21 Delta SkyMiles finds a single-figure one. Flying Blue finds carried three figures (49 of 50). Alaska Atmos (22 of 28) and Qantas (22 of 25) finds mostly carried four. Aeroplan sat in between: 38 two-figure and 19 three-figure. The surcharge trap explains why.

Review both amounts before deciding which fare fits your trip. The guide to comparing points with cash offers a framework for that decision.

Use a range instead of one target number

These fares reached the same destination on the same date through different airline programs, yet they had different points prices and surcharges. Your own result will depend on the route, date, and programs available to you.

Start with the airline programs your points can reach. Our guide to the best credit cards for award flights explains how transferable points affect those choices.

Both fares above were available on 18 September 2026 and may not be now. Award availability changes frequently, so start a search with your own dates for current prices. The airline programs PointsGPT searches are listed in Help.