Lisbon, Portugal, has become one of the more popular European destinations over the past year, and its food, history and culture have attracted many visitors from across the U.S.
A new deal on sub-$400 flights from both Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) should make this destination even more attractive.
A combination of airlines, including United Airlines and TAP Air Portugal, offer these inexpensive rates beginning in October 2022 and running through April 2023.
Google Flights declares the San Francisco flight prices to be “$405 cheaper than usual” for selected dates. So, if you want to save more than half on typical flights to Lisbon, check out the booking details below.
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Deal basics
Lisbon, Portugal. SYLVAIN SONNET/GETTY IMAGES.
Airlines: United and TAP Air Portugal.
Routes: San Francisco and Newark to Lisbon.
How to book: Google Flights or directly with United and TAP Air Portugal.
Travel dates: Select dates from October through April 2023.
Book by: While discounted tickets are available.
Related: Traveling to Portugal: 7 things to know before you go
Sample flights
Below are some sample itineraries from Google Flights for tickets to Lisbon from San Francisco and Newark. Both airports show a variety of dates from October through April where you can find sub-$400 fares to Lisbon. The pricing and routing can sometimes change by the minute, so if you see dates and fares that work for you, you should snatch the tickets.
The United-based routings from San Francisco can vary between partner airlines (Air Canada and Lufthansa), layover cities and layover timing, so look carefully at the details of the itineraries.
There are plenty of discounted nonstop flights between Newark and Lisbon, so you shouldn’t settle for one with a stopover somewhere else in Europe.
San Francisco to Lisbon
GOOGLE FLIGHTS
Flights between San Francisco and Lisbon begin at $368. United — via United Star Alliance partners including Air Canada and Lufthansa — will be operating the flights.
This sample December itinerary has stopovers in Toronto on the outbound leg and Munich on the return trip. Many different combinations of airlines and layover options are available, so if your travel dates are flexible, explore a few different options within Google Flights to find what works for you in terms of pricing, timing and airline preference.
The shortest cumulative travel times for the discounted San Francisco itineraries run about 13 hours, so the sample above isn’t the most optimal in terms of wait time. However, it does fit with a popular December travel period.
The $368 flight options (and many others in the $380 to $390 range) are available between October and May, though most available dates fall between December (non-holidays) and April.
Newark to Lisbon
GOOGLE FLIGHTS
TAP Air Portugal has run many discount fares over the past year, and this offer from Newark is the latest. Priced at $367 for nonstop, round-trip flights between Newark and Lisbon, this deal saves you more than $300 on average.
To find the best fare, be sure to click through the monthly fare matrix on Google Flights. Sometimes the end fare will vary from what is quoted on the monthly chart. Usually, it will be a little more. However, in the case above, the matrix showed a $378 dollar fare, but the actual booking turned out to be $11 cheaper.
GOOGLE FLIGHTS
As seen above, December holiday fares from Newark can cost more than $1,000 for a flight, so date flexibility is key to getting the best fare on this route.
Many of the TAP Air Portugal flights to Lisbon are nonstop for these prices, so there’s no need to settle for a connecting flight unless your travel dates are very specific.
Related: 8 reasons Portugal is the perfect place to visit
Maximize your purchase
Don’t forget to use a card that earns bonus points on airfare purchases. Airline cards can always be a good call for earning status and rewards specific to those airlines, like the United Explorer Card for the United-based flights on this deal.
For more flexibility on how you can use the points, The Platinum Card® from American Express earns 5 points per dollar spent for airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 of these purchases per calendar year. The Citi Premier® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve earn 3 points per dollar spent on airfare, while the American Express® Gold Card earns 3 points per dollar spent on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel. The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card earns 2 points per dollar spent on travel. Read this TPG post for more on maximizing your airfare purchases.
Bottom line
TAP Air Portugal and other airlines have been running many promotions for flights to Lisbon over the past year, and this deal is on par with the best of them.
Nonstop flights between Newark and Lisbon start as low as $367, should you find available dates that match your travel plans.
San Francisco flights to Lisbon on United (and United partner airlines) begin at $368; these are more than $400 cheaper than average prices on this route, so if you have any thoughts about traveling to Portugal from the West Coast, now would be a good time to lock in some great prices. Just be sure to look at your itinerary closely to track the layover times, and consider any partner airlines you want to fly on to leverage status or points.
The sub-$400 tickets to Lisbon are currently available from late fall to April 2023, which allows for some flexibility. This way, you can find the most convenient time to jump on the Portugal travel bandwagon.
Featured photo Matteo Colombo/Getty Images.
