Long Haul Business Class for under $2K (Long Post)

[Luv2Phuket]

UA has a 150k annual purchase limit I think, so one couldn't actually buy the 160k for a round trip J award.

 

Here is one data point. I just got an UA email for up to a 75% bonus. Checking their site it would cost $2975 for 150k. I don't think the bonus get much better than 75-80%, however what really counts is the base cost, which I think varies from customer to customer and of course changes depending on when buy.

 

From a blog on the UA 75% bonus today:  

The full cost of the largest purchase (85,000 miles) is $3198.13 including taxes and fees. That nets you 148,750 miles at a cost of $0.0215 per mile.

 

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/09/14/united-75-bonus-on-purchased-miles-now-open-to-everyone/

[Little Evil]

From a blog on the UA 75% bonus today:  

The full cost of the largest purchase (85,000 miles) is $3198.13 including taxes and fees. That nets you 148,750 miles at a cost of $0.0215 per mile.

 

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/09/14/united-75-bonus-on-purchased-miles-now-open-to-everyone/

 

The upshot is that you only have to buy as low as 40k miles for $1,505. in order to get the highest bonus percentage (and hence, the lowest per point rate of $0.0215), so this is ok if you only need to top off. This also means you can potentially buy 80,500 for a one-way business class award flight for $1,610. if you don't have the means to throw in for the full $3,198. max out. Not spectacular, but still beats full fare by a good margin. Still, while the per mile purchase rate isn't terrible at $0.0215 cents a pop, the spend value isn't great considering the high award costs. AA still beats the pants off of UA right now. 

[Luv2Phuket]

LE - 

 

Did you see the recent blogging about biz class availability on JAL out of Houston (using AA miles)?  Apparently, it's wide open.

 

I'm in LA, so it's not very helpful to me, but it may be routing for you to consider.

[mochatsubo]

The upshot is that you only have to buy as low as 40k miles for $1,505. in order to get the highest bonus percentage (and hence, the lowest per point rate of $0.0215), so this is ok if you only need to top off. This also means you can potentially buy 80,500 for a one-way business class award flight for $1,610. if you don't have the means to throw in for the full $3,198. max out. Not spectacular, but still beats full fare by a good margin. Still, while the per mile purchase rate isn't terrible at $0.0215 cents a pop, the spend value isn't great considering the high award costs. AA still beats the pants off of UA right now. 

 

I roughly price out UA miles to be about 1.5 cpm, so I'm not sure I would consider buying 150k miles for a J ticket here. I agree, if you need to top off close to the 40k mark then this is an "OK" deal. 

 

Note that if you just bought a J ticket you will be getting some status qualifying miles and a good chunk of redeemable miles, so that offsets the cost a bit.

[navidnavid]

Sine UA's devaluation I have refused to use them as IMO, other programs offer much better value.

[Little Evil]

I roughly price out UA miles to be about 1.5 cpm, so I'm not sure I would consider buying 150k miles for a J ticket here. I agree, if you need to top off close to the 40k mark then this is an "OK" deal. 

 

Note that if you just bought a J ticket you will be getting some status qualifying miles and a good chunk of redeemable miles, so that offsets the cost a bit.

 

I use that spend valuation system too, but with a grain of salt since there really isn't any underlying calculation for the figure. It is more of just an industry expert opinion. It doesn't factor the intangibles like routing availability.  It is just more an example what you can get in a perfect award scenario.

 

That being said, it does come in very handy when comparing program promotions to get a baseline sense of each offer in comparison with the competition. In this instance, UA's buying expense is $0.0215/mile (after taxes/fees). If the spend value is $0.015, then the spend return on expense is 69.77%. AA's most recent promotion that ended at the beginning of the month was closer to $0.020/mile (after taxes/fees). With an Aug valuation of $0.017/mile spend, that yields a 85% spend return on expense. I generally consider anything below 75% a little iffy and anything above 85% time to pull the trigger, but again, gain of salt.  

 

FPJM: JAL in J was great. I thought CX J with the reverse herringbone style layout was unbeatable, but I have to give it to JAL's Sky Suite for privacy. Not sure about the very middle seat (looks a bit too boxed-in), but window seats are fantastic. I'll check out the Houston availability, although according to KVS tool, I might not even have to.  Seats at my local hubs appear to be open as well. 

[duke main]

Apologies if someone already posted this offer. You might be able to get 50,000 points for $1,000 spent in 3 months. The guy on the site I got it from (mrmoneymustache.com) said he had to click on it several times before the 50k offer came up. And he suggested doing it incognito/private browser mode, which is what I did (Safari).

 

 https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/premier-rewards-gold/

 

AMEX also has a disclaimer that if they identify you as a current or previous cardholder you may not be eligible. I'm a current cardholder and my app went right through no problem.

 

It seems like a nice way to get 50k easy points.

[Little Evil]

Apologies if someone already posted this offer. You might be able to get 50,000 points for $1,000 spent in 3 months. The guy on the site I got it from (mrmoneymustache.com) said he had to click on it several times before the 50k offer came up. And he suggested doing it incognito/private browser mode, which is what I did (Safari).

 

 https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/premier-rewards-gold/

 

AMEX also has a disclaimer that if they identify you as a current or previous cardholder you may not be eligible. I'm a current cardholder and my app went right through no problem.

 

It seems like a nice way to get 50k easy points.

 

Great promotion with a relatively low initial spend to reward ratio. Works exactly as you said: went to the site and was offered 25k. Went back with an incognito mode browser and was immediately offered 50k. Good catch! Too bad I have a personal plat and business gold already. I'd most likely get flagged and I don't want to risk a hard pull over it.

 

On a completely unrelated point--does anyone here know how much AA miles cost for businesses that offer miles rewards. For instance, business owner X can sign up with AA to offer points for their clients and/or employees. I can't imagine that any business would buy them full retail and offer them as incentive to clients. The website is really tight on those details. You have to submit an application for review just to find out more. Would be an interesting exploit if the miles turn out to be cheaper than retail. 

[Luv2Phuket]

 

AMEX also has a disclaimer that if they identify you as a current or previous cardholder you may not be eligible. I'm a current cardholder and my app went right through no problem.

 

It seems like a nice way to get 50k easy points.

 

Be careful -- I have had this happen before (with AMEX and with Citibank).  Approval of your application has nothing to do with eligibility for the mile/point bonus.  

 

Since the minimum spend is only $1,000, it's not that big of a risk, but you may find that all you end up with are 1,000 MR points.

[Luv2Phuket]

AMEX also has a disclaimer that if they identify you as a current or previous cardholder you may not be eligible. I'm a current cardholder and my app went right through no problem.

 

 

Too bad I have a personal plat and business gold already. I'd most likely get flagged and I don't want to risk a hard pull over it.

 

 

I'm sure I can find this on FF blogs, but thought you guys may know - what is the deal with this new AMEX restriction?  

 

I have a business SWP AMEX, a business Gold (I think), and a Costco business AMEX.  I used to have a personal AMEX Gold, but dropped it a while back.

 

Am I essentially barred from any/all AMEX bonuses while I hold the SWP or JUST the SWP bonus?  For example, I have never held an AMEX Platinum.  Could I apply for it and still get the bonus or do my SWP/business Gold wipe me out?

[duke main]

I'm sure I can find this on FF blogs, but thought you guys may know - what is the deal with this new AMEX restriction?  

 

I have a business SWP AMEX, a business Gold (I think), and a Costco business AMEX.  I used to have a personal AMEX Gold, but dropped it a while back.

 

Am I essentially barred from any/all AMEX bonuses while I hold the SWP or JUST the SWP bonus?  For example, I have never held an AMEX Platinum.  Could I apply for it and still get the bonus or do my SWP/business Gold wipe me out?

 

I have no idea.

 

I have a Costco biz amex also. Someone on another forum speculated that AMEX is pushing this offer to get ahead of the wave of Costco customers who will bail out when Costco dumps AMEX next year.

[Luv2Phuket]

I have no idea.

 

I have a Costco biz amex also. Someone on another forum speculated that AMEX is pushing this offer to get ahead of the wave of Costco customers who will bail out when Costco dumps AMEX next year.

 

which is EXACTLY what I am going to do! 555

[Little Evil]

Could eligibility for sign-up bonus have to do with Amex vs co-branded cards? For instance, if you have a standard Amex card, you might get denied for this bonus, but if you have a co-branded card, you are ok? Just a guess. I don't have any co-branded cards, so I may try the next good offer for the SPG Amex on the next good offer. I was originally eyeballing the Citi AAvantage card, as they've been throwing glossy mailers at me promoting 75k AA miles, but a $7k initial spend is too much. Either the Citi card or a downgrade to Amex Everyday. I just don't get the full $450 annual fee value out of the Platinum to justify keeping it, and the Everyday card has spend bonus categories and lower annual fee. 

[Luv2Phuket]

Could eligibility for sign-up bonus have to do with Amex vs co-branded cards? For instance, if you have a standard Amex card, you might get denied for this bonus, but if you have a co-branded card, you are ok? Just a guess. I don't have any co-branded cards, so I may try the next good offer for the SPG Amex on the next good offer. I was originally eyeballing the Citi AAvantage card, as they've been throwing glossy mailers at me promoting 75k AA miles, but a $7k initial spend is too much. Either the Citi card or a downgrade to Amex Everyday. I just don't get the full $450 annual fee value out of the Platinum to justify keeping it, and the Everyday card has spend bonus categories and lower annual fee. 

 

I hope that it is limited to the co-branded cards or the specific AMEX in the offer.  I have a Business Rewards Gold AMEX that I need to close out, just to be safe.

 

I recently got another AMEX SWP after sitting on the sidelines for 12 months so I would be eligible again.  It's touted by some bloggers as the best card for "everyday spend" (i.e., no bonus categories or minimum spend) because it nets you 1.25 miles per dollar.  They just ran a special promotion where it got me 30,000 AA miles for 20,000 SWP, so pretty happy about that.

 

Think I mentioned above that Citi is cracking down and has an 18 month close/open policy (i.e., no bonus miles if you ahve opened or closed a Citi account in the past 18 mos) - they screwed me on that.  I closed all but one account, which I will keep for the free checked bag and lack of annual fee for 1st year.  I don't know how that would effect you on the Citi Elite (or whatever it is called).  I got it when it was a 100k mile bonus and kept it for 11 months.  The 100k miles were worth the annual fee, but the Admiral's Club access blew.  I guess that I'm spoiled by Asian carrier lounges, but Admiral's Club basically just has free soda and pretzels.

[night_rider]

I'm sure I can find this on FF blogs, but thought you guys may know - what is the deal with this new AMEX restriction?  

 

I have a business SWP AMEX, a business Gold (I think), and a Costco business AMEX.  I used to have a personal AMEX Gold, but dropped it a while back.

 

Am I essentially barred from any/all AMEX bonuses while I hold the SWP or JUST the SWP bonus?  For example, I have never held an AMEX Platinum.  Could I apply for it and still get the bonus or do my SWP/business Gold wipe me out?

 

I believe the rule is four Amex credit cards excluding charge cards and business cards. The new change on Amex is one bonus per consumer product for life.

[navidnavid]

I was targeted 6 months a go for a 50k after 1k spend on the AMEX Gold card, was a nice suprise... and totally unexpected. I have already redeemed the miles.

 

And like Footy alluded to, just because a credit card app was approved it does not mean you will be eligible to receive the bonus points, although the terms and conditions ( fine print) will usually explicitly state whether one is eligible or not...

[Little Evil]

Just thought I'd share a bit of award booking experience I just had. Crazy part is that this definitely isn't the first time this exact scenario has happened to me.

 

I did a little research on BA's website for Cathay availability. Found an F class itinerary. Remarkably, there were 4 CX-F seats listed on BA for this return trip from BKK. I called up AA and eventually connected to a rep. Now, I hate to be mean to someone I don't know, but this woman was arguably the dumbest person I've ever had to interface with over the phone. At one point, she asked me what I meant when I said "flight CX700". I paused for a second and literally asked if she was serious. Isn't your job to book flights? I also had to argue with her that the reason there are no first class tickets from BKK to HKG is because it is a two class plane, and that she should look for J for that leg. In any case, she said that there were no seats. Zero availability. I argued that I was staring at the BA website showing at least 4 seats. She said they must only be for BA.

 

I wasn't getting anywhere but angry, so I just hung up and waited 10 minutes. Called back and got someone who knew her shit. This second rep immediately found both legs and didn't once question if they were available. She knew right away. I also would have trusted this second rep had she said they were taken. She just sounded a lot more confident and seasoned. From "Hello" to "is there anything else" took less than 7 minutes. Booked and done. Lesson here is to not get discouraged or even argumentative. If you're not getting anywhere with the first rep, hang up and call back. The only question now is if CX will open up so I can get to BKK in the first place. Kind of gambling here jumping on that return flight, but CX-F is starting to become the unicorn of award flights. I'm also a little peeved that all of JAL flights in my region are now shifting to 787's. Sure, a better plane and environment, but crappy angle-flat seats with no privacy or first class (did I just really say that? god, I've become so jaded!).

[wash747]

Just thought I'd share a bit of award booking experience I just had. Crazy part is that this definitely isn't the first time this exact scenario has happened to me. I did a little research on BA's website for Cathay availability. Found an F class itinerary. Remarkably, there were 4 CX-F seats listed on BA for this return trip from BKK. I called up AA and eventually connected to a rep. Now, I hate to be mean to someone I don't know, but this woman was arguably the dumbest person I've ever had to interface with over the phone. At one point, she asked me what I meant when I said "flight CX700". I paused for a second and literally asked if she was serious. Isn't your job to book flights? I also had to argue with her that the reason there are no first class tickets from BKK to HKG is because it is a two class plane, and that she should look for J for that leg. In any case, she said that there were no seats. Zero availability. I argued that I was staring at the BA website showing at least 4 seats. She said they must only be for BA. I wasn't getting anywhere but angry, so I just hung up and waited 10 minutes. Called back and got someone who knew her shit. This second rep immediately found both legs and didn't once question if they were available. She knew right away. I also would have trusted this second rep had she said they were taken. She just sounded a lot more confident and seasoned. From "Hello" to "is there anything else" took less than 7 minutes. Booked and done. Lesson here is to not get discouraged or even argumentative. If you're not getting anywhere with the first rep, hang up and call back. The only question now is if CX will open up so I can get to BKK in the first place. Kind of gambling here jumping on that return flight, but CX-F is starting to become the unicorn of award flights. I'm also a little peeved that all of JAL flights in my region are now shifting to 787's. Sure, a better plane and environment, but crappy angle-flat seats with no privacy or first class (did I just really say that? god, I've become so jaded!).

Yeah HUCA (hang up call again). Happened to me few time, and I rode CX J / F BKK-HKG-JFK two weeks ago. It was an amazing ride and I really want to fuck those sexy CX FAs in F.

 

I'm hoping that CX F will open up from FRA to HKG two weeks later before my first trip to Pattaya !!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Little Evil]

Hey Y'all. AA miles sale and bonus is on again. Not as lucrative as prior events, but not all that terrible either. Up to 35k bonus miles with a 10% sale price if purchased before Nov 13th. 

 

Unlike UA or other miles sales, AA (and US Airways before them) always seem to have a variable chart, where not all miles purchases are equal in terms of the per-mile price. Last UA sale, the per-mile price worked out to be the same regardless of how many or few you purchased. AA, on the other hand, sets tiers for bonus award. Under 20k miles doesn't get any bonus. From there, a purchase of 20-39 has a 7k bonus, 40-59k has a 13k bonus, etc.  I did the math already. The sweet spot is 80k with a 30k bonus for $2,313 after taxes and fees. That's $0.0210 cents/mile.  The wide end of this spectrum (worst deal) is 39k with a 7k bonus for a whopping $0.0249 cents/mile. To put that into perspective, the same 80+30k above would cost $430.08 more at $0.0249 cents/mile. It pays to do the math.  I just might bite on 80+30k, as that's a RT J trip for me for $2,313.30. Not shabby when you consider the MSRP.  

[freedom42]

I was having a bitch of time finding anything open in all of January from the west coast through AA. I got a great gal who went the extra to try and find me anything from anywhere. She tried ORD, SEA, PDX, YVR, LAS, SFO and couldn't get me on a one way to BKK (this is the retirement trip, so its a one way)

 

I checked cash prices, and everything was in the 5K mark. I wasn't going to shell out for that. So, I remembered that I had 75K of Alaska Airlines points. And I remembered I can book Emirates with them. So, I did several searches for Emirates, and got myself in F on the A380 out of Dallas to Dubai and J from Dubai to BKK for 100K points. I topped up the 25K points for 1.8 cents each (they happened to have buy 40,000 and get 40% bonus). So I booked it and paid 19.80 takes.

 

I took a screenshot of the pricing of the flight on the EK site.

[Little Evil]

I was having a bitch of time finding anything open in all of January from the west coast through AA. I got a great gal who went the extra to try and find me anything from anywhere. She tried ORD, SEA, PDX, YVR, LAS, SFO and couldn't get me on a one way to BKK (this is the retirement trip, so its a one way)

 

I checked cash prices, and everything was in the 5K mark. I wasn't going to shell out for that. So, I remembered that I had 75K of Alaska Airlines points. And I remembered I can book Emirates with them. So, I did several searches for Emirates, and got myself in F on the A380 out of Dallas to Dubai and J from Dubai to BKK for 100K points. I topped up the 25K points for 1.8 cents each (they happened to have buy 40,000 and get 40% bonus). So I booked it and paid 19.80 takes.

 

I took a screenshot of the pricing of the flight on the EK site.

 

Nice score. Still haven't tried Emirates in J or F. Been in their economy for a longhaul once, and I have to say that even that was better than what you typically get. Even in cattle, they keep you fed and entertained. I would love to score their F suites. I imagine that in a year or so they'll be upgrading those to compete with Etihad's new bling. 

 

I had an agent like that before who was jumping through hoops to get me to my destination. She must have checked all partner airlines, 4 departure airports and a month's worth of departure dates. Funny how some of those agents are miserable and completely lacking in the appropriate skills, while others feel more like personal assistants. In any case, I'm wondering why you didn't check out LAX (unless that was an omission). Also, I've found in the past that if getting the full multi-leg itinerary on miles isn't possible, then getting close to the region (HKG is a prime target), and then just paying for the shorter flight is a reasonable option. 

[freedom42]

I tried LAX too. I just forgot to post it. I also have the pro version of KVS Tool, so I can see what inventory each airline has, although it is slow to do each airline by date. I will usually use BA or Qantas to do a search and then use KVS to see how many seats are available.

 

As for the points, I did 3 different sign ups about 18 months apart (kept the card for 6 months and cancelled it) so I got 75K points for free.

 

I did EK in economy to HKG on the A380 from BKK and it was great. I did J back to BKK from there which was only 200 USD upgrade. The lounge experience was worth the upgrade. The food/booze in the lounge at HKG was at least worth $100 and the shower before boarding. And then the service in J with the booze and food easily paid for itself.

[Nando9999]

The US has it pretty good in the FF game, even having purchased Lifemiles during a 100% promotion, a one way J BKK-SYD still cost roughly $800.

Beats the crap out of the $1300 Y return i booked last trip though ;)

 

The plummeting AUD isnt going to help things once the miles i purchased run dry.

[Luv2Phuket]

BTW, I don't think I posted this, but it is a GREAT promotion, IMHO: 50,000 AA miles for: (1) opening a Citigold checking account; (2) making at least $1000 in debit card purchases within 60 days of opening the account; and (3) making at least one bill payment for two consecutive months (also in first 60 days).

 

Unless you park $50k in the account, it incurs a $30 service charge each month, and miles post 90 days after you satisfy requirements, so presumably you're looking at at least 5 months of fees ($150).  But I'll pay $150 (or even $180, if it takes me an extra month) to get 50,000 AA miles each and every chance I get!

 

I just got the promo card in the mail today, and plan to take advantage of it in November.  I just bought $750 in GCs to closeout a Virgin Atlantic bonus, so want to wait until next month before that $1000 obligation.

 

Here are the details:  http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/10/02/50000-american-miles-for-opening-a-checking-account/

[navidnavid]

some very good information shared here the past few days, thanks.