If your business puts $10,000 a month on the right card, that buys about four one way business class seats to Europe a year in the US. That is two round trips. In Canada, the same spend in Canadian dollars buys about two one way seats, or one round trip, because Canadian cards earn fewer points per dollar.
Those numbers come before any welcome bonus and before any bonus categories. With either one, the count goes up.
How do you get from dollars to seats?
You multiply your yearly spend by your earn rate, then divide by the award price of the seat. That is the whole formula.
- Step 1: Monthly spend times 12 gives yearly spend.
- Step 2: Yearly spend times points per dollar gives yearly points.
- Step 3: Yearly points divided by the award price gives seats.
We use Aeroplan for the award price because it is easy to use from both the US and Canada. American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Capital One miles in the US all move to Aeroplan. In Canada, American Express Membership Rewards moves to Aeroplan too. Aeroplan business class to Europe starts at about 60,000 points one way. Longer flights in a higher distance band cost about 75,000 points one way. Check the Aeroplan chart for your exact route before you plan.
How many seats does a US business get?
A US business with a flat 2 points per dollar card gets about four one way seats a year. Several US business cards earn about 2 points or miles per dollar on everything. Earn rates and caps change, so check the issuer's own page for the card you hold.
Here is the math with round numbers:
- $10,000 a month times 12 is $120,000 a year.
- $120,000 times 2 points is 240,000 points.
- 240,000 divided by 60,000 is 4 one way seats.
- At the longer band, 240,000 divided by 75,000 is 3.2, so 3 one way seats.
Four one way seats is two business class round trips to Europe. That could be you and a partner on one trip, or you alone on two.
One catch. Some 2x cards only pay 2x up to a yearly cap, then drop to 1x. If your card has a cap below $120,000, your count drops. Read the terms on the issuer's page.
How many seats does a Canadian business get?
A Canadian business gets about two one way seats a year on the same spend. Canadian business cards tend to earn less per dollar than US ones. A common rate on general spend is around 1 to 1.25 points per dollar. Check the issuer's own page for your card's rate.
Here is the math at 1.25 points per dollar, in Canadian dollars:
- $10,000 a month times 12 is $120,000 a year.
- $120,000 times 1.25 points is 150,000 points.
- 150,000 divided by 60,000 is 2.5, so 2 one way seats with 30,000 points left over.
- 150,000 divided by 75,000 is 2 one way seats exactly.
Two one way seats is one business class round trip to Europe. The 30,000 left over at the lower price carries into next year. Six more months of spend tops it up to another seat.
How can you get more seats from the same spend?
You get more seats by earning more points per dollar, not by spending more. There are three main ways.
Bonus categories. Many business cards pay 3 or 4 points per dollar on things like advertising, shipping, travel or phone bills, up to a yearly cap. Say a US business puts $4,000 a month of ad spend on a 3x card and the other $6,000 on a 2x card:
- $48,000 a year in ads times 3 is 144,000 points.
- $72,000 a year of other spend times 2 is 144,000 points.
- Total is 288,000 points, or 4 one way seats at 60,000 with 48,000 points left over.
That leftover is most of a fifth seat.
Welcome bonuses. A new card often comes with a large welcome bonus once you hit a spending target. On $10,000 a month you hit most targets fast. One bonus can add a seat or two. Bonuses change often, so check the issuer's page for the current offer.
Transfer bonuses. Programs sometimes add extra points when you move them to an airline. A 15% or 20% bonus on 240,000 points adds tens of thousands of points. Move points only when you have a seat in mind.
What do these seats cost in cash?
An award seat is not totally free. You still pay taxes and fees, and some airlines add surcharges on top. On Aeroplan, flights on some partner airlines carry more in surcharges than others. The search results show the cash part before you book, so compare a few airlines on the same route.
You also need space. Award seats are limited, and the best ones go early. Search for the seat first, then move your points. Points moved to an airline usually cannot come back.
Is it better to take cash back instead?
For most business owners who want to fly business class, points win. A 2% cash back card on $120,000 gives you $2,400. That will not buy one business class round trip to Europe in most seasons. The same spend in points can buy two round trips in the US example above.
Cash back is the better pick if you will never use the points, or if you only fly short trips in economy. Be honest about how you travel.
If you run a business, you can see how many business class trips your spending already buys. see what your spending buys