Vienna is a city that does its best to get under your skin. It's a city of grand imperial buildings, coffee-house culture, museums, music and more a place that rewards a slow visit, not a fast weekend. So, getting there in lie-flat business class today is easier than it should be.

The availability for the award on Austrian Airlines services from the United States to Vienna is open right now until March 2027, and the cost to book a business class award with Austrian starting at 70,000 Aeroplan points and $58 per person. An above-average redemption rate for a transatlantic lie-flat seat, and fees are so low that they don't really count.

The Award Details at a Glance

The availability extends to nonstop transatlantic flights from five cities in the United States to Vienna via Austrian Airlines: Boston, Chicago O'Hare, Newark, New York JFK and Washington Dulles. Bookable dates will be from now through March 2027, allowing you to have almost a full year to plan your travel.

Air Canada Aeroplan is the booker program and the costing is simple:

• Business class: 70,000 Aeroplan + $58 per person, one-way.
• Economy class: 40,000 Aeroplan points + $58 per person, one-way.

There is a 30,000-point difference between economy and business class, so let's pause on that. The bottom line is that you'll be better rested and ready to go upon arrival in Vienna with a fully lie-flat business class seat than you will be with a standard economy seat, and you'll also be able to spend your first full day exploring without any need to recover. The experience boost is worth 30,000 more points, which is quite a significant difference.

What Austrian Airlines Business Class REALLY looks like

Austrian Airlines' basic lie-flat business class seats are required for this type of redemption to be viable on an overnight flight. Product is solid, though it's important to note that the seat configuration differs depending on which aircraft you get.

Other long-haul planes, especially the Austrian variety, offer a 1-2-1 seating configuration, which means that each passenger can move from his or her seat directly to the aisle, without having to go through the next seat. Others opt for a staggered 1-2-1, with 2-2-2, configuration, which is a variant of the 1-2-1, where not all the seats in business class are alligned in the same way. When looking for your preferred dates, if you care about direct aisle access (and on a long overnight flight, you do) then you should take the type of plane into account when you choose the seats you'd like to sit in.

Viewing the available dates is easy

Searching by departing from one of Aeroplan's five cities is fine but travelling within five cities and a year of dates is clunky. When you use a tool that is built for the purpose, such as Seats.aero, you can search across multiple routes, date ranges, and get a list of available award seats in one go, and not have to scroll through each one individually.

The process is easy: Start by finding out when and where business class is available on Seats.aero, then log on to Aeroplan.com to book a seat. This 2-step process will save you a lot of time and you will never miss out on dates that a one-step search might have missed.

With such availability in multiple cities and a long travel window, you have actual flexibility to work out dates that work for you. But availability does not equate with permanent availability; Business class award seats on well-traveled transatlantic routes are available on a first come first served basis, meaning that as travel dates get closer, the more cash passengers on a flight, the fewer award seats will be available.

Learn how to earn the Aeroplan points necessary for your travels

This is what makes this award truly accessible to an even broader audience of travelers since Aeroplan points are one of the most easy-to-gain loyalty currencies from U.S.-based credit cards.

The quickest routes to achieve the 70,000 point Aeroplan redemption:

• The Chase Ultimate Rewards also go to Aeroplan in a 1-to-1 conversion that is, points earned with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Ink Business Preferred card count as points in your Aeroplan account.
• Membership Rewards also transfer 1:1 on all Platinum, Gold and other Membership Rewards-earning cards at American Express.
• Capital One miles transfer at a rate of 1-to-1 and can be used on the Capital One Venture X and Venture cards.
• Bilt Rewards transfers at 1:1, making this a great choice for anyone who is earning Bilt points on housing payments.
• The ratio at which Marriott Bonvoy transfers to Aeroplan is 3:1 which isn't as effective, but is handy if you're a cardholder with a big Bonvoy balance who wants to get upgraded into a premium cabin.

If you have any combination of the cards Chase, Amex, Capital One or Bilt you can realistically get within striking distance of 70,000 Aeroplan points within a couple of years, instead of a few years. It is easy to transfer from 2 or 3 programs to balance and Aeroplan also accepts transfers from all of these programs.

Vienna's worth is to be planned around, why?

Austria's capital is among the most comfortable and pedestrian-friendly cities in Europe, boasting a concentration of world-class museums, concert halls and historic buildings comparable to anywhere in Europe. The coffee house culture, where a single Melange can keep you company for hours without you ever having to worry about time, is a true and indispensable part of Viennese living and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna State Opera, Schönbrunn Palace and Naschmarkt are all within easy reach of the city center.

Vienna is also an ideal gateway to Central Europe in general. The city of Prague, Budapest, Salzburg and the Austrian Alps are all bikeable in a few hours and are the perfect jumping-off point for a longer tour of an area that hasn't been explored by many people in the United States.

The Bottom Line

Offered from five U.S. cities, a lie-flat business class seat to one of Europe's most beautiful capitals to one of Europe's most beautiful capitals is coming up on the radar today for 70,000 points and $58 in fees; not next month. It's simple to earn points for Aeroplan using several of the big transfer partners, it's not an exorbitant fee, and the destination is worth all that trouble.

Book availability, check the dates that fit your schedule, and adjust the points during the booking time. In Vienna, they are waiting for you but in award space, they are not.