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

[Little Evil]

15 minutes ago, bouncewithme said:

So I missed out on the recent Alaska 40% bonus. American has their bonus going till 4/28. I have about 16K miles with American now, so I need 124K more and to purchase 84K I would get a 40K bonus for about $2700 including taxes/fees.

I see some Cathay business class seats available during the dates in November I am looking to get to BKK. Question for you guys is, would you pull the trigger? Should I hold out and look for another / better / cheaper option of getting Cathay business class? Any issues booking Cathay via AA? thanks

 

The biggest variable is when you want to travel. If you're trying to go inside of, say 3-4 months or so, then maybe flat out buying the rest of the way there in points isn't a terrible option.  If you're 6 months or more away, you might want to consider the benefits of signing up for a 50k AA card to minimize the amount you have to top off. I'm still trying to stay within the $2k mark on any expenditure to get me to BKK, but if you think about it, $2.7k is still a hell of a discount on a biz seat.

 

I book CX via AA twice a year. Availability can be tough, so you have to be flexible with your itinerary.  I typically pick a month and can usually hit at least one award within that month, but timing is key (how far out the trip is).  I usually book 6 months in advance, so I'm maybe not the best person to ask for bookings closer to departure date. 

[bgtp]

FWIW, I tried booking CX biz using AA miles on short notice once. I wanted to travel that month for a quick two to three week trip. I was searching for the award one Sunday afternoon and with a little flexibility on dates, found flights for that coming Thursday along with a return two and half weeks later. I even got the first class flights on AA from my dinky originating airport to EWR with no problem. The only strange part was that as I was looking at dates, BA's website kept giving me phantom availability on CX. So, I switched to looking on JAL's site and the CX award availability shown there matched AA's. I agree that timing is key. Far enough out, as well as last minute, might be the best time. It's the period in-between that gets tricky. Still, I'd have no problem paying $2700 for round trip CX J to BKK.

[bouncewithme]

If I use my Amex Platinum to buy the AA miles, will I get 5x points on that purchase since it's with AA directly and doesnt go through a third party like points.com? I also have Chase Sapphire Reserve and Citi Prestige, I see a year old article indicating Chase and Citi seem to give the 3x multiplier for AA mile purchases since it goes through AA directly and coded like travel. Wondering if Amex does the same?

Edited April 19, 2017 by bouncewithme

[Little Evil]

1 hour ago, bouncewithme said:

If I use my Amex Platinum to buy the AA miles, will I get 5x points on that purchase since it's with AA directly and doesnt go through a third party like points.com? I also have Chase Sapphire Reserve and Citi Prestige, I see a year old article indicating Chase and Citi seem to give the 3x multiplier for AA mile purchases since it goes through AA directly and coded like travel. Wondering if Amex does the same?

Amex Plat 5X offer on airfare is only good for airfare purchased directly through the Amex travel portal. I wish it worked like CSR!

 

 

[bouncewithme]

Just now, Little Evil said:

Amex Plat 5X offer on airfare is only good for airfare purchased directly through the Amex travel portal. I wish it worked like CSR!

 

 

Amex recently changed it, it is now valid through their portal and also directly with airlines.

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/10/amex-platinum-5x-airfare/

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/platinum/

 

[Little Evil]

10 minutes ago, bouncewithme said:

Amex recently changed it, it is now valid through their portal and also directly with airlines.

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/10/amex-platinum-5x-airfare/

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/platinum/

 

Damn...how did I miss that?!? Best feature yet!  

[bouncewithme]

Just now, Little Evil said:

Damn...how did I miss that?!? Best feature yet!  

The 5x feature being available directly with airlines is making me think twice in cancelling the Platinum card next month. In addition to this, they have the $15/month ($200 annual with a $20 credit in December) Uber Credit which also works for Uber Eats (food delivery). That plus the $200 in Airline credits makes it compelling, although using that airline credit gets harder every year. Last year I was able to use the MXP app for gift card purchases, now that is not working anymore, so this year I used gift registry at United, I am sure that will be axed soon after they find the loophole.

[Luv2Phuket]

1 hour ago, bouncewithme said:

The 5x feature being available directly with airlines is making me think twice in cancelling the Platinum card next month. In addition to this, they have the $15/month ($200 annual with a $20 credit in December) Uber Credit which also works for Uber Eats (food delivery). That plus the $200 in Airline credits makes it compelling, although using that airline credit gets harder every year. Last year I was able to use the MXP app for gift card purchases, now that is not working anymore, so this year I used gift registry at United, I am sure that will be axed soon after they find the loophole.

The difficulty in using the $200 in airline credits on Platinum vs the ease of the Citi Prestige (which just credits you when you buy a ticket) is one of the key reasons I decided to keep Prestige over Platinum.  Frankly, I don't buy enough airline tickets for the 5X bonus to be that big of a deal.

BTW, this blog notes some interesting issues about closing accounts, especially Citi Prestige - apparently, even if you pool the points with another Citi card, the points from the card will still expire within 60 days of closing the account.  That's big news that I did NOT know!  If you plan to close your Prestige, transfer the points/miles first.

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/04/17/canceling-credit-card-advice/

I am assuming/hoping that my AMEX Blue for Business (no annual fee) will keep my 125k+ AMEX MRs alive once I close my Platinum account (although I think my ability to transfer them is greatly limited).  May call AMEX about that before I take any steps.

 

 

[smithzac91]

So I missed out on the recent Alaska 40% bonus. American has their bonus going till 4/28. I have about 16K miles with American now, so I need 124K more and to purchase 84K I would get a 40K bonus for about $2700 including taxes/fees.
I see some Cathay business class seats available during the dates in November I am looking to get to BKK and confirmed with AA they have them. Question for you guys is, would you pull the trigger? Should I hold out and look for another / better / cheaper option of getting Cathay business class? Any issues booking Cathay via AA? thanks

I just did this for my trip this year. I was about 100k points short so it cost me just above $2000 for business class. I think that is reasonable for business from the US to LOS.

I found almost zero availability on AA's website so I called them. The agents are usually quite good about finding seats for you when you can't find anything online. You can call them and ask them to look without having the points available. If you find what you are looking for, they can buy the miles for you over the phone and confirm your trip right then and there.

If they find something you like, you can also ask them to hold the reservation for about 7 days. This
can be valuable if you get bonus miles for buying with your credit card. When you purchase the miles, you will get whatever you pay for immediately plus the bonus but it will take time for any points that you get for spending money on your card to arrive in your account.

I got 70,000 + 30000 bonus miles immediately which allowed me to book my ticket. About a week later, I got an additional 10,000 miles for using my Citi AAdvantage card. If I would have waited a little while, I could have used those miles towards my ticket and possibly purchased less miles in the beginning.

Of course you could lose the hold before the extra miles are deposited but one of the agents told me they could possibly extend the hold if I called back before it expired.

I ended up with the 10,000 in my account which is my starting point for a trip next year when I will likely follow the same process.

I hope this helps a little and makes sense.



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[bouncewithme]

Is an hour and 5 minutes enough time to connect in HKG from a Cathay flight to another Cathay flight to BKK? Assuming there are no delays with the flight out of LAX. Anyone done this?

 

[The Sculptor]

4 hours ago, bouncewithme said:

Is an hour and 5 minutes enough time to connect in HKG from a Cathay flight to another Cathay flight to BKK? Assuming there are no delays with the flight out of LAX. Anyone done this?

It is tight but doable. Hong Kong is a big airport and it can take time to get from one gate to another. The length of the flight can help since a late takeoff can be made up in the air so you'll arrive on time.  I would also tell cabin crew so you can deplaned at the front of the line especially if you're in economy, but they may not be able to accommodate you.  If you were asking me as a friend to join you, I'd not do it.  I would prefer at least ninety minutes between flights.

[Luv2Phuket]

Think Scupltor hit the nail on the head - doable, but very tight.

If I'm in Cathay biz class (or first), I always build at least a 2 hour layover in, which gives me plenty of time to hit the lounge, check emails (no wifi on Cathay), etc.  Ideally, I will be able to grab a shower and refresh before the short (2 1/2 hour) flight from HKG to BKK, but the lines for showers can get pretty long.

[Little Evil]

Keep in mind that there is a security checkpoint between the longhaul deplaning and shorthaul gates. It only has 2 X-ray scanners, so it pays to hustle right out of the plane to queue up right away. I've actually arrived once and it was closed. Had to wait there until it opened at 6am. Not sure what you're expected to do when it is closed. Is there more than one? 

That being said, I did this once when my 3 hour layover arrived 2 hours late. Got on the next plane a bit sweaty from running (literally end to end of their airport), but I made it. 

[Luv2Phuket]

1 hour ago, Little Evil said:

Keep in mind that there is a security checkpoint between the longhaul deplaning and shorthaul gates. It only has 2 X-ray scanners, so it pays to hustle right out of the plane to queue up right away. I've actually arrived once and it was closed. Had to wait there until it opened at 6am. Not sure what you're expected to do when it is closed. Is there more than one? 

That being said, I did this once when my 3 hour layover arrived 2 hours late. Got on the next plane a bit sweaty from running (literally end to end of their airport), but I made it. 

As I recall, there are at least two transit security checkpoints at HKG - think they're actually pretty close to each other, but they lead to different gate areas once you clear them (and take escalators up to the departure level).

I've had pretty good luck with the transit security checkpoints (long lines maybe once or twice), but I attribute that to my NOT being in a time crunch.  Inevitably, if I am in a hurry, there will be a huge line!  555

What I hate is the long ass security check before they let you go to the gate for the HKG-LAX return.  That one is always a mess/hassle.  The last time I flew, they did it on the jet bridge instead, and I think it may have been even worse.

 

[bouncewithme]

On 4/19/2017 at 4:58 PM, smithzac91 said:

I just did this for my trip this year. I was about 100k points short so it cost me just above $2000 for business class. I think that is reasonable for business from the US to LOS.

I found almost zero availability on AA's website so I called them. The agents are usually quite good about finding seats for you when you can't find anything online. You can call them and ask them to look without having the points available. If you find what you are looking for, they can buy the miles for you over the phone and confirm your trip right then and there.

If they find something you like, you can also ask them to hold the reservation for about 7 days. This
can be valuable if you get bonus miles for buying with your credit card. When you purchase the miles, you will get whatever you pay for immediately plus the bonus but it will take time for any points that you get for spending money on your card to arrive in your account.

I got 70,000 + 30000 bonus miles immediately which allowed me to book my ticket. About a week later, I got an additional 10,000 miles for using my Citi AAdvantage card. If I would have waited a little while, I could have used those miles towards my ticket and possibly purchased less miles in the beginning.

Of course you could lose the hold before the extra miles are deposited but one of the agents told me they could possibly extend the hold if I called back before it expired.

I ended up with the 10,000 in my account which is my starting point for a trip next year when I will likely follow the same process.

I hope this helps a little and makes sense.



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Did your reservation get processed immediately or did it take up to five days for them to confirm since you used miles? I just booked mine and the rep at AA said it would take up to five days to receive my confirmation. Guess I'm a bit nervous they will come back and say there is no availability or something, even though there was when I put the seats on hold and at time of paying with miles + taxes/fees over the phone.

Edited April 22, 2017 by bouncewithme

[smithzac91]

Once I confirmed and paid for the miles the trip was booked. I believe the status of my trip changed to "ticketed" once I got off the phone with the agent.

Last year they changed my itinerary no less than 6 times without even asking before my trip took place. I was focking angry. They even downgraded my flights from first to business. I finally got through to an agent who worked her ass off to find first class availability for my outbound flight. She couldn't do anything for the inbound flight but I was able to get the difference in miles credited to my account after the trip. It was quite a hassle and annoying as hell.

If I were you I wouldn't worry about the availability once you pull the trigger. I would watch it often after its "ticketed" to see if they make any changes to your schedule.


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[Luv2Phuket]

On 4/22/2017 at 0:06 PM, bouncewithme said:

Did your reservation get processed immediately or did it take up to five days for them to confirm since you used miles? I just booked mine and the rep at AA said it would take up to five days to receive my confirmation. Guess I'm a bit nervous they will come back and say there is no availability or something, even though there was when I put the seats on hold and at time of paying with miles + taxes/fees over the phone.

This is on Cathay, right?

Call AA and get the Cathay record locator.  You should then be able to use it to pull up your reservation on Cathay's system, select seats, etc.

[bouncewithme]

11 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

This is on Cathay, right?

Call AA and get the Cathay record locator.  You should then be able to use it to pull up your reservation on Cathay's system, select seats, etc.

Yep, Cathay. My reservation changed to "ticketed" yesterday. So it took about two days to get that.The AA Agent said it is not immediate when processing an award reservation with AA to fly on one of their partners. So for the first two days the status was "on process on 4/24". AA did not charge my credit card for the taxes/fees immediately either. They charged it yesterday when it changed to Ticketed. I did get the Cathay record locator and went to their site and selected my seats, so I am now good to go! thx

[HimBadMan]

10 hours ago, bouncewithme said:

Yep, Cathay. My reservation changed to "ticketed" yesterday. So it took about two days to get that.The AA Agent said it is not immediate when processing an award reservation with AA to fly on one of their partners. So for the first two days the status was "on process on 4/24". AA did not charge my credit card for the taxes/fees immediately either. They charged it yesterday when it changed to Ticketed. I did get the Cathay record locator and went to their site and selected my seats, so I am now good to go! thx

Good stuff.   Not sure if you flee CX before. But even though they are struggling and both hard and soft product are showing effects its still one of my fav.    Who knows maybe by the time of your flight they will have the in demand dining options avail. 

Also.  The 65 min connection time will be fine and they usually have two transit areas avail.

The transit train is quick.    But shale you won't have time to relax in their amazing lounges.    The pier biz lounge is one of my fav.   Not as nice as pier F.  But just sayijng for biz lounges pier biz worth the walk

[Little Evil]

Cool little Amex Platinum trick I just discovered to help maximize the value of the card. As most of you have seen, the Platinum now credits you $15/month towards Uber rides. Problem is, I hardly ever use Uber, so this is mostly a lost cause for me. Today, I just found out that Uber is offering food delivery. You buy the food and delivery service through their new app, Uber Eats (which also uses your same Uber account credentials and payment options). I just tested it out and noticed that the $15. credit shows up in this app. So basically, you can get a free $15. off a food order every month. Not exactly earth shattering news, but another way to justify the new $550 annual fee. 

[applysmith]

I have a question? I join the China Airline Dynasty Flyer Program. I will be flying with Delta next month. Can the mile be earn toward my China Airline Dynasty Flyer Program? Thank you

[Little Evil]

6 minutes ago, applysmith said:

I have a question? I join the China Airline Dynasty Flyer Program. I will be flying with Delta next month. Can the mile be earn toward my China Airline Dynasty Flyer Program? Thank you

 

It should. They are both Skyteam.  Just make sure you put in your Dynasty FF# into your Delta reservation. 

 

https://www.china-airlines.com/us/en/member/airline-miles/skyteam-partners

 

 

[applysmith]

41 minutes ago, Little Evil said:

 

It should. They are both Skyteam.  Just make sure you put in your Dynasty FF# into your Delta reservation. 

 

https://www.china-airlines.com/us/en/member/airline-miles/skyteam-partners

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for your help.

[freedom42]

On 4/1/2017 at 5:15 AM, bouncewithme said:

Are there any tricks to booking Cathay via Alaska? Does all of their availability show on the Alaska site? I've never used Alaska miles before, and don't see any Cathay options when browsing flight options with miles on their site. I see plenty of 60K KAL though.

Use this to search for awards (use the Oneworld BA search option) https://awardnexus.com/

[Luv2Phuket]

Decent news for U.S.-residents that either have an actual small business OR are "creative" (it is pretty easy to claim business operations sufficient to get a biz card):  Chase has bumped the bonus on its new Ink Business Preferred card to 100,000 UR points (after $5k spend in 3 months) through this Saturday.

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2017/05/04/chase-ink-business-preferred-100000-point-signup-bonus-offer-saturday/

It's an increase from the usual 80,000 points, so effectively a 25% increase.  Factroing in the minimum spend, that's at least 105,000 UR points, which transfer to BA, United, Singapore and Korean, as well as IHG, Hyatt and Marriott.  This card also has 1.25 cents per point for travel spent through their bookign service (not sure how that works, as I almost always transfer to airlines).

I think I'm still barred by the 5/24 rule, but went by my branch to submit it this afternoon.  I actually NEED a new business card, as I am taking over another organization at the end of June, so it will help me organize expenses.  I was going to wait, but the "limited time" of this offer pushed up my application date.

I think this is an in-branch offer only.  The rep in my branch knew exactly what I was talking about (it's a Small Business Week promotion they are running).

Good luck to anyone else who takes a shot at this, and I'll report back on how mine goes.  No instant approval (uh oh!), but she said they're backed up because of the promotion.

 - L2P

EDIT:

The potential 100k UR led me to update the balance on all of my travel accounts (I'm a geek and keep a spreadsheet that I update a couple of times a year).  Since mid-January, I have added over 175,000 total points (bringing my total airline/hotel/UR/MR/TY balances to over 1.75 million).  A big chunk of the increase came from an IHG promotion and putting my taxes on a Hilton card (to hit annual spend for a free night), but I also had nice bumps to my AMEX MR, Chase UR and Citi TY accounts.  I also should have 30,000 bonus AA miles coming from a promotion that ended April 30 soon, but I don't count my chickens until they hatch.

I also moved 1,000 Chase UR to BA.  My last activity was about 2 years ago, and you need activity every 3 years to keep the account alive.  I recommend you check balances every 6 months or so to make sure mile/point expiration won't screw you.

.....sigh....I need to plan a DAMN TRIP!