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

[Luv2Phuket]

Having a shitty night...

 

Saw on BA's website that ONE award seat was left on Cathay in first class for when I usually travel to BKK - figured "might as well book one last hurrah before they bump it up to a wholly unreasonable amount amount of miles for Cathay first"....unfortunately, AA rep says "we won't have that travel date open until December 22."....shit....what are the fucking odds that the ONE seat left will still be available on December 22?!?

 

Now my focus is shifting to my February trip, which is booked in biz class, not first (like I thought it was - HUGE bummer there!).  Think I'll scour BA's website in the weeks leading up to my departure dsate to see if anything opens up.  My flight times SUCK, so I may even be willing to pay a change fee just to get better times!

 

Thinking I may subscribe to the KVS tool soon....

[bgtp]

Having a shitty night...

 

Saw on BA's website that ONE award seat was left on Cathay in first class for when I usually travel to BKK - figured "might as well book one last hurrah before they bump it up to a wholly unreasonable amount amount of miles for Cathay first"....unfortunately, AA rep says "we won't have that travel date open until December 22."....shit....what are the fucking odds that the ONE seat left will still be available on December 22?!?

 

Now my focus is shifting to my February trip, which is booked in biz class, not first (like I thought it was - HUGE bummer there!).  Think I'll scour BA's website in the weeks leading up to my departure dsate to see if anything opens up.  My flight times SUCK, so I may even be willing to pay a change fee just to get better times!

 

Thinking I may subscribe to the KVS tool soon....

 

Ah, the old 355 days prior for CX or BA, but have to wait til 331 days prior for AA nuisance. Hope it still works out for you. I've got a J award on CX booked for next summer, but if I want to upgrade at the lower rate, I have to hope something opens up in F before March 22. After that it would become 55K each way to upgrade! That's because my current award would only be worth what I originally paid for it (55K each way) towards the new award level of 110K each way ...ouch.

 

The latest changes by AA kind of narrows the playing field between the 'big three' domestic programs. It'll be 70K each way for J with Delta and American and 80K with United. As an east-coaster, one of the things I like about United is that you can go via the Atlantic or Pacific which opens up more options. Just got a new Chase Sapphire Preferred this week with a 50K sign-up bonus and I'm getting ready for my annual 50K from Fidelity which I can apply to any one of the big three. Have to give some thought as the best use of these two bonuses.

[freedom42]

Any of you that use Star Alliance, there is a way to get email alerts when awards open up.

 

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/12/07/now-get-email-alerts-when-star-alliance-award-space-opens-up/

[Little Evil]

Interesting spin in miles sales from AA.  That is, interesting if you have deep pockets this time of year.

 

AA extended their current promotion to Jan 4th, and also raised their total allowable miles purchase per year.  If you haven't purchased any other AA miles this year, you could actually buy all 150k allowable purchase miles and get a 115k bonus. The kicker is that is a whopping $4,786.88 after taxes and fees.  If you also use a Barclays Aviator Silver to maximize the purchase, you'll also net an additional $14,361 miles for the 3X AA purchase. That brings the total miles to 279,360. The math on that equals a 0.0171/mile.  That is kind of unheard of these days when miles around 0.0200 or higher are the norm for sales. 

 

Is it worth it?  Not if you don't have solid plans for the miles or are planning on shorter trips.  If you are in this forum through, chances are you're eyeballing a US-ASIA trip of some sort.  That's just a few miles shy of two RT J class US-ASIA tickets under the newer system.  I personally think RT J class to Asia is worth the $2,393, but I don't like to speculatively dump that much cash into a program either.  Still beats the pants off of full retail, so for those who might have pulled the trigger on full fare, this is definitely worth it.  

[wash747]

I'm like you guys, been trying to burn AA miles before nasty devaluation this March.  It's not 100% confirmed but bloggers indicate that we could just snatch some F seats and change dates without paying higher miles as long you keep your originating city and destination intact.  I recently booked 2 CX F/regional J (HKG-BKK) next Oct and Nov (i'm not too sure when i'll go but I'm hoping i'll can move up either one to March 2017.  

 

Once i drain out most of my remaining miles with AA. I'm likely to purchase miles with United, since it's so easy to book flights online.  Wish Air Thai is smart enough with their revenues so they could buy A350 to fly direct again to US.  

 

Not hurt to check out deals from Toronto or Vancouver... sometime i see $2,000-2,500 deals to swampy.

[Little Evil]

I'm like you guys, been trying to burn AA miles before nasty devaluation this March.  It's not 100% confirmed but bloggers indicate that we could just snatch some F seats and change dates without paying higher miles as long you keep your originating city and destination intact.  I recently booked 2 CX F/regional J (HKG-BKK) next Oct and Nov (i'm not too sure when i'll go but I'm hoping i'll can move up either one to March 2017.  

 

Once i drain out most of my remaining miles with AA. I'm likely to purchase miles with United, since it's so easy to book flights online.  Wish Air Thai is smart enough with their revenues so they could buy A350 to fly direct again to US.  

 

Not hurt to check out deals from Toronto or Vancouver... sometime i see $2,000-2,500 deals to swampy.

 

I actually may stick it out with AA, mainly because I'm leaving from the BOS region now and CX has direct to HKG. Shaves off at least 3 hours in regional travel and layovers I used to have when routing through JFK/EWR/IAD first before the longhaul to get to that part of the world.  Although, I may also begin to diversity my miles holdings with other programs. Alaskan seems like a logical choice.  Thai is still downgraded, no?  I think even if they do get an A350, it will be a while before they get back to US routes. 

 

That is great news about potential date changes on existing awards without miles increase.  I went ahead and books two F RT awards without really knowing my plans.  I was just going to make them work, but that sounds very promising.

 

Lastly, I think Hainan has some sub-$1500 J class itineraries from the west coast to China. Doesn't do me any good, but may be worth checking out for you LAX/SFO people. I don't really know anything about Hainan either, but a lie-flat bed is a lie-flat bed.  

[Jack Frost]

Netflights.com today have lots of cheap business class fares.

 

I looked for February 2016.

[wash747]

I actually may stick it out with AA, mainly because I'm leaving from the BOS region now and CX has direct to HKG. Shaves off at least 3 hours in regional travel and layovers I used to have when routing through JFK/EWR/IAD first before the longhaul to get to that part of the world.  Although, I may also begin to diversity my miles holdings with other programs. Alaskan seems like a logical choice.  Thai is still downgraded, no?  I think even if they do get an A350, it will be a while before they get back to US routes. 

 

yeah, Alaska is awesome, because they usually rotate between 35% or 40% bonus on miles purchase and they doesn't impose limitation on mile purchases so you basically can buy 56,000 (40k miles max + 40% bonus) few times to score Emirates First Class to BKK.  I did EK F last March, and omg, i love it so much that i book another one this May.  

 

Yeah, it's frustrating to see lack of efforts by US3 to establish direct route to BKK but i cannot blame them since Thai economy is a mess, and it's leisure-heavy destination... 

 

That is great news about potential date changes on existing awards without miles increase.  I went ahead and books two F RT awards without really knowing my plans.  I was just going to make them work, but that sounds very promising.

 

I certainly hope AA will allow that, and i'm keeping eye on few bloggers. I'm pretty sure that they will post stuffs about this topic between now and mid-March

 

Lastly, I think Hainan has some sub-$1500 J class itineraries from the west coast to China. Doesn't do me any good, but may be worth checking out for you LAX/SFO people. I don't really know anything about Hainan either, but a lie-flat bed is a lie-flat bed.  

 

Yeah, thanks to Chinese airlines...  Now we are able to see $2500 fares with Delta to China...  and i feel good about our chances to see cheap J fares to SE Asia next few years. 787, 777X, and A350 truly bring alot of positive changes, along with cheap oil 555.

[Luv2Phuket]

Just booked my annual November trip on Cathay using AA miles -- 110,000 miles for RT business class.  I was hoping to snag a first class seat, but nothing available by the time AA got access.  Hell, on my return flight, I had to settle for a 3 hour layover in HKG because no biz class seats on the leg that only had a 1 1/2 hour layover.

 

I'm still hoping to upgrade my Feb. trip to first class, and keep checking back to see if anything opens up.  Still too far out. 

 

Sadly, it is unlikely that I will be able to make the November trip due to work, but, to me, it's worth the slight monetary risk -- the booking fee + $150-200 fee (not sure what it is now) to have miles re-deposited -- to have it in place just in case.

[wash747]

Read good thread on flyertalk's premium fare forum page on cheap business fares from Canada to Asia (well, mostly China)  However, I saw Qatar's Montreal to BKK for $2200ish if anyone from USA could reposition to Montreal.   I rode Qatar's J seat few months ago, seat wasn't too bad in 777 (2-2-2 config but still able to enjoy good sleep on flatbed) but you can enjoy better ride with A380 from DOH to BKK.  Cheers

[Short]

Is it possible to use VPN on airlines that block Skype on their WIFI to try to force you to use their overpriced phone service?

[Little Evil]

Is it possible to use VPN on airlines that block Skype on their WIFI to try to force you to use their overpriced phone service?

 

That should technically work, but can I ask why? Can't you just let people know you're about to depart on a plane? I personally enjoy the disconnect. Besides, you can still connect via email and IM on flights with wifi, so business can still be done if need be.

 

In any case, FAA deems use of any phone for voice communication on a plane a "no no". The most famous example of this ruling in action being Delta calling the police on the owner of Viber while he was using his own product on a plane. So while the airlines are the ones charging you for use of their phones, the aren't the ones forcing you to use them. It is the FAA.  

[Luv2Phuket]

On a somewhat related note, I have been told that the prohibition of cell phone usage has very little to do with safety, but is more of an "avoidance of people killing the guy who wont shut the f*ck up on his call."

 

I know how irritating it is to be on an elevator with some jackhole who won't get off the call (but has to repeat everything 3 times because reception sucks!).  I can't imagine how bad it would be to be stuck next to him/her on a plane for 15 hours ("see you there....I said see you there...I SAID SEE YOU THERE!  CAN YOU HEAR ME?!?"....ugh...the rest of us can....)

 

BTW, what carriers have wifi over the Pacific?  I've never had it on one of my long haul flights

[Short]

On a somewhat related note, I have been told that the prohibition of cell phone usage has very little to do with safety, but is more of an "avoidance of people killing the guy who wont shut the f*ck up on his call."

 

I know how irritating it is to be on an elevator with some jackhole who won't get off the call (but has to repeat everything 3 times because reception sucks!).  I can't imagine how bad it would be to be stuck next to him/her on a plane for 15 hours ("see you there....I said see you there...I SAID SEE YOU THERE!  CAN YOU HEAR ME?!?"....ugh...the rest of us can....)

 

BTW, what carriers have wifi over the Pacific?  I've never had it on one of my long haul flights

 

 

AA on its DWF - HKG route (777-300) offers it for the entire flight for $22.   If you are in business on that flight no one is going to hear you anyway.

[wash747]

Japan Airlines does. I recall $19 for JFK-NRT and it was pretty good!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Little Evil]

Crazy little tidbit--this thread is creeping up on 3 year now. Looks like we've all collectively figured out how to keep playing the game.  Good job y'all!

 

Just a PSA about AA's new miles promotion. 10% off base sales on 20k and higher purchase, and up to 42.5k bonus. I took the liberty of crunching the numbers already. This promotions sweet spot is 100k base, 42.5k bonus with 10% off base price. $0.0202 dollars a mile if you can stomach a $2,884.13 speculative miles purchase. Gets a little sweeter if you buy with AA plastic. At least down to $0.0198 per if they give you a mile a dollar on the purchase. Even better if they decide to count it as an AA purchase at 2 miles a dollar ($0.0195 per), but I wouldn't bet on it happening twice in a row. 

[Short]

Nothing available.  Good thing I didn't spend the 2884.13.

[Little Evil]

Yes, slimmer than it was 3 years ago for awards. BUT, I have two RT CX F trips lined up through this summer, and I'm taking an F trip this month. That's just CX too. JAL and others are semi open. Just need to put in the work to search.

[navidnavid]

3 CX F RT's lined up?

 

Very nice... Thats what I consider flying in style...

[Little Evil]

Well....those were speculative grabs to firesale my AA miles. Who knows if I can actually use those trips/get the time off. Worst case scenario would be rebooking fee. Although, I pumped a significant amount of money into AA to get the bulk of those miles (churn and Aviator card use for the rest), so if I had to rebook after devaluation kicks in, my investment in AA miles would take a sharp drop. Like playing stocks at times.

[navidnavid]

25,500 Singapore Krisflyer miles to go from SFO to HKG  when booked online............in economy class 

Edited February 8, 2016 by navidnavid

[Little Evil]

25,500 Singapore Krisflyer miles to go from SFO to HKG  when booked online............in economy class 

 

Good find. Just watch out for the fuel surcharge kick in the balls. In the $500 range RT, from what I understand. 

[Luv2Phuket]

Alaska is offering up to a 40% bonus on purchased miles again - 

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2016/02/16/buy-most-valuable-miles/?utm_source=TW&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_campaign=SNAP%2Bfrom%2BOne+Mile+at+a+Time

 

There are a multitude of possibilities here to consider, and the promotion runs through March 31, so plenty of time to think about it.

 

I believe that their chart remains 50,000 each way in business class on Cathay, with first class for 70,000 each way.  The 50,000 for Cathay biz is a GREAT deal, especially with the AA devaluation kicking in next month.

 

That said, based on my recent searches, availability on Cathay SUCKS right now -- I think a lot of AA members have booked tickets before the devaluation hits, which, in turn, has limited availability of flights (and first class was never "wide open" to begin with).

 

Assuming you already have an Alaska account, 40,000 miles (the minimum for 40% bonus) would cost $1,182.50 under this promotion, and would net you 56,000 miles -- 6,000 more than you need for a one way biz class flight to BKK.  That breaks down to 2.112 cents per miles.

 

As discussed in the blog post, buying the 60,000 max would snag you a total of 84,000 miles for $1,773.75 (same 2.112 cents per mile).  

 

The cost to snag enough miles for a one way first class seat (70,000) would be $1,478.13 (50,000 miles + 20,000 mile bonus).  Assuming you can find availability, that is a pretty damn amazing cost.  I just ran a sample search for November and RT first class on Cathay (LAX-BKK) prices out at $15,696.00.  To put that into perspective, RT biz class on those same Cathay flights are coming back at just under $5,100.

 

Now....here's the pay-off for your reading this far -- how to use this promotion to get RT biz class for UNDER $2k, like the subject of this thread:

Step one - buy 54,000 Alaska miles for $1,596.38, which would net you an additional 21,600 bonus miles (75,600 miles)

Step two - get the Alaska Air credit card, which currently offers a 25,000 mile bonus (with NO minimum spend).

That's a total of 100,600 miles for the low, low price of $1,596.38.  

Step three - find available flights, book through Alaska's pleasant phone reps, tack on some taxes and booking fees, and you're coming in below $1750 for RT biz class on Cathay.

Step four - offer free drinks and/or a barfine to Little Evil (for starting the thread) and me (for walking through this in obsessive compulsive detail! 555)

 

One thing to consider is that you can't just grab Cathay first or business class anytime you want.  I generally book them as soon as they open up (about 11 months in advance).  They have (had?) a reputation for availability getting very good in the days/week leading up to the flights, but I think that has been tightened a little.  I'm sure Chinese New Year had something to do with it (flights to/from BKK route through HKG), but NOTHING opened up on the day of my return from BKK earlier this week (yesterday) or the next day (today).  That said, the day of my flight from LAX-BKK a perfect departure/arrival opened up and I was able to move to it. 

 

Perhaps foolishly, I (speculatively) took advantage of the last Alaska 40% bonus promotion to get my balance above the 70k required for a first class ticket on Cathay.  I'm debating whether to (speculatively) slap another 56,000 on it for $1,182.50 (taking my account to just over 126,000 miles) OR to go all in and buy 57,000 miles for $1,685.06, which -- with the 22,800 bonus -- would put my account to just over 150,000 miles -- enough for either a RT first class trip on Cathay OR three (3) one way biz class flights.

 

Finally, one HUGE word of warning:

Alaska accounts that are inactive for 24 months are deactivated and require a fee to reactivate (but buying miles, obtaining them via online shopping, etc., will keep you "alive" for another 24 months)

[navidnavid]

thanks Footy

[amyreyna]

Thanks for the posting. After paid by the company to travel in B class for working, when traveling for my personal in E class make me feel that it is so tiring.