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

[Luv2Phuket]

LOVE the "plane porn".....but THANKS for adding the booty shot!!!!  555

[HimBadMan]

3 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

LOVE the "plane porn".....but THANKS for adding the booty shot!!!!  555

Yes, sometimes I have to remind myself this is a Pattaya Addicts website-  

Edited June 13, 2017 by get0ffdanutzz

[Luv2Phuket]

Here's a way to pick up some cheap Alaska miles - http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/06/19/alaska-miles-magazine-offer/

I got three REALLY cheap subscriptions($5 each for 1 year), so I only spent $15, but should get 750 Alaska miles for it (+ the $15 AA miles from the card I used to charge them).

I got a subscription for my brother (Golf), one for my Mom (Real Simple) and one myself (a magazine for which I HOPE a current subscription is about to expire, because I'll be getting 2 of it until the other subscription runs out!  555)

Here's the thing -- and I made this mistake before! -- ALL of their subscriptions are under an "auto-renew" option, so they ding you the following year when the price goes up.  BUT you can turn off auto-renew once the subscription is activated, so you have to remember to go back in and do that.  I did NOT turn it off and had a couple that I had no interest in renew. Luckily, I caught it quick, contacted them and was able to have those charges reversed and the subscriptions cancelled.

[Little Evil]

On 6/12/2017 at 9:25 PM, get0ffdanutzz said:

Few pics from my travels last week.

Meal at LAX Qantas 1st Class lounge-  My fav Salt and Pepper Squid

Leg Room on AA 77W

Pic of AA 77W Biz Normal and Bed Mode

Moet Rose at CX F Pier Lounge at HKG

A nice Booty

A la Carte Meal at BKK TG 1st Class Lounge

Qatar A380 Bar, 1st Class Seat, Meals

City of Qatar

Leg Room on Qatar 777LR

QR Business Class Lounge

Qatar Airport

 

 

 

 

Damn....I don't recall that section of the CX lounge!

 

Great pictures.

 

[Little Evil]

On 6/12/2017 at 8:59 PM, bgtp said:

By 'mailers' do you mean snail mail or email? I work away from home and only get to my snail mail once every couple of months. I'm looking for a new card at the moment and although 40K Skypass is lower than I'd like for the credit pull, I can't find anything better at the moment for which I'm eligible. In the fall, I'll be eligible for another AA card's sign-up bonus, either Citi or Barclay. I'll go with the better offer at that time and do the other one next winter. Meanwhile, I booked my trip for next February, KAL F heading over and ANA J coming back. Needed a small positioning flight for the last leg and did that for 7500 Avios.

 

Sorry--missed this post. They were both snail mail. Got both offers on the same day. If I could pull the business card, I'd try both at once, but I think I'm going to pass on just the personal card for 40k KAL points. I'm actually fairly happy with my current card roster, and probably won't pull a new card unless there's  really compelling argument. Here's what I have now:

• Amex Plat (Personal)
• Amex Gold (Business issued, but I keep the points.)
• CSR (Recently merged CSP credit and closed that account)
• Citi AA Platinum
• Barclays Aviator Silver (May close. Seems redundant now.)

[navidnavid]

That's a nice booty! And nice pics of your travels!

[bgtp]

I'd have thought somebody would have posted about the latest United devaluation by now. For those in the USA, partner travel each way in J goes from 80K to 90K and in F from 130K to 140K. Maybe no one else here uses them anymore since the last devaluation. I've always liked the fact the UA allows you to travel to BKK via Europe or Asia, since I need all the options I can get at my current location. Also, it's easy to book partner award travel online with them. So, I put up with the difference between 80K on UA versus say 70K on AA. But now, they're starting to get up there. Especially when 95K gets you F on KAL.

[Little Evil]

On 6/30/2017 at 3:39 PM, bgtp said:

I'd have thought somebody would have posted about the latest United devaluation by now. For those in the USA, partner travel each way in J goes from 80K to 90K and in F from 130K to 140K. Maybe no one else here uses them anymore since the last devaluation. I've always liked the fact the UA allows you to travel to BKK via Europe or Asia, since I need all the options I can get at my current location. Also, it's easy to book partner award travel online with them. So, I put up with the difference between 80K on UA versus say 70K on AA. But now, they're starting to get up there. Especially when 95K gets you F on KAL.

I used to use UA for 50% of my bookings, but between their aggressive devaluation and lack of 2 leg itineraries from my hub, I let them go in favor of AA. This devaluation seems like a kick in the nuts to their frequent flyers. However, I suppose it isn't exactly fair to just look at the base figures (80k vs 70k on AA) and take the face values. I think the only fair way to compare would be to take the latest and best buy miles promotions and compare their per-mile price for a J or F itinerary to give you an idea of value. Still, just eyeballing it, I think AA comes out ahead after this devaluation of UA.  

 

Just got back from BKK. Equipment change from HKG let me try CX's newer A350-900 for a first time. Didn't take any pictures becuase it more or less looks like a slightly stylized version of the existing seats, but here are some interesting pluses and minuses for this new hardware.

 

On the plus side: It is indeed a lot quieter. You still easily hear the engine, but it isn't a strain to hear someone talk in a regular speaking voice. I also noticed that the plane itself had very few fuselage squeaks and noises during take off/landing and flight. Also (and this might have been my imagination), but I did feel like something about the cabin pressurization or humidity was conducive to a more comfortable flight. New HD monitors and IFE controller like the one that JAL uses. Has a phone-sized HD screen on the remote, and the remote itself can be used more like a separate app. Scrolling through titles on that screen while having a movie playing was nice. Also, the HD cameras on the exterior of the plane are phenomenally sharp, and can be played on the remote while watching a movie. J bathroom has a window. 

 

On the minus side: All the reports of CX's new seat manufacturer dropping the ball on these new planes is true. While the seats look new, a closer inspection will reveal panels that don't quite line up, finishes peeling off, and things that just don't work like my retractable arm rest that refused to move up. It was funny actually, as the FA came over to suggest that I use it. I told her it didn't work and she was like "no, you just don't know about pressing the button". I said "have at it" with an amused look on my face and watcher her struggle not to eat her words. Never did work. I also call BS with the windows being bigger than a 777. 

[bouncewithme]

I just received an email offer from AA for the Citi/AA Executive World Elite Mastercard - offering 75K miles with $7500 in spend within 3 months. I'm on the fence about this as that is a higher spend than most require but 75k miles seems pretty good considering I see most offers these days are like 30-50K for most cards. The benefits of the card are really weak / don't add much value (for me), so that is holding me back a bit, especially coupled with the high spend requirement and not earning 2/3 points for other spend categories outside of AA purchases. But those 75k miles paired with a decent bonus offer to buy miles in the future could equal a really cheap biz or first class ticket to LOS so that is appealing. Any thoughts from the group, is 75K miles from AA something to jump on or not?

 

 

Edited July 5, 2017 by bouncewithme

[Luv2Phuket]

16 minutes ago, bouncewithme said:

I just received an email offer from AA for the Citi/AA Executive World Elite Mastercard - offering 75K miles with $7500 in spend within 3 months. I'm on the fence about this as that is a higher spend than most require but 75k miles seems pretty good considering I see most offers these days are like 30-50K for most cards. The benefits of the card are really weak / don't add much value (for me), so that is holding me back a bit, especially coupled with the high spend requirement and not earning 2/3 points for other spend categories outside of AA purchases. But those 75k miles paired with a decent bonus offer to buy miles in the future could equal a really cheap biz or first class ticket to LOS so that is appealing. Any thoughts from the group, is 75K miles from AA something to jump on or not?

 

Pretty sure I had it a while back, but dropped it because of the high annual fee.

It provides Admiral's Club access, which many like, but I have not been very impressed with them and would not go out of my way top gain access.

I think the decision comes down to how hard the minimum spend would be to hit, what you AA balance currently looks like and how it might impact you for other cards (Chase's 5/24, for example).

To put the 75,000 miles into perspective, AA is running a promotion now where you can buy miles at 1.72 cents each, but it requires a HUGE purchase (over $4,300 USD for a net of 250,000 AA miles) - http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/07/05/buy-american-miles-july-2017/

AA remains my primary airline of choice, but they seem to be actively trying to change that, and I doubt that I will hit Platinum again this year.

 

 

[Little Evil]

1 hour ago, bouncewithme said:

I just received an email offer from AA for the Citi/AA Executive World Elite Mastercard - offering 75K miles with $7500 in spend within 3 months. I'm on the fence about this as that is a higher spend than most require but 75k miles seems pretty good considering I see most offers these days are like 30-50K for most cards. The benefits of the card are really weak / don't add much value (for me), so that is holding me back a bit, especially coupled with the high spend requirement and not earning 2/3 points for other spend categories outside of AA purchases. But those 75k miles paired with a decent bonus offer to buy miles in the future could equal a really cheap biz or first class ticket to LOS so that is appealing. Any thoughts from the group, is 75K miles from AA something to jump on or not?

 

 

That's a tough one.  On one side, 75k is a fairly decent offer. However, keep in mind that the regular Citi Platinum is at 60k with a $5k spend at the moment. The $7.5k spend is a potential deal breaker though. Outside of tax season, it would be hard for me to justify that level of spend on one card.

In diverting regular spend from my CSR and other cards to hit that Citi spend level, I'd be essentially losing out on 2-3x categories for that spend. You'll pull in an additional 15k over the Citi Platinum, but at the lost of the bonus spend if it were spent on another card. You'd have to get down to the real nitty-gritty on your particular spend and if the math makes sense. For example, if you were to spend $400/month for 3 months on this Citi Executive in the restaurant category, you'd lose 2.4k bonus points that you would normally get with CSR's 3x at restaurants.

The Citi Executive has hit 100k bonus before, but that is about as common as the Amex Plat 100k. This very well could be as good as it gets in terms of maximum earnings for a while (watch it jump up next month just because I posted this statement). If you are looking for a crazy way to justify, here's one strategy:

Sign up for the card and a separate, 0% APR/no annual fee card for the first year. Buy about $2500 worth AA miles under current bonus promotion through 7/31 and also get bonus AA spend. Transfer the $2.5k of miles purchase to the 0 APR card and pay off slowly for the rest of promotional period. Then business as semi-usual with the 5k spend. This doesn't make the additional spend go away, but allows you some breathing room without having an APR hit.

On a side note, I was hit up with a 75k Asia Miles/Amex promotion mid-flight on CX last week. That's another higher mile rarity, particularly for an Asian branded card. It raised my eyebrow, but I know the Asia Miles award chart is atrocious, with figures multiples higher than most other carriers. I didn't pull the trigger.   

[briguy]

So I've just recently started playing the frequent flyer game after I got the United Mileage Plus Explorer offer of 70,000 bonus miles after $ 3000 spend for 3 months. I already had 30,000 miles in my account before that. That's enough for one way biz from LAX to BKK, but what about on the way back? Seems one way economy tickets cost as much as an economy round trip. I guess I could spend $ 600 for a one way ticket back on a bad airline or get another new card and take a few months to win some more bonus miles to fly biz back. Any other ideas?

[Little Evil]

8 minutes ago, briguy said:

So I've just recently started playing the frequent flyer game after I got the United Mileage Plus Explorer offer of 70,000 bonus miles after $ 3000 spend for 3 months. I already had 30,000 miles in my account before that. That's enough for one way biz from LAX to BKK, but what about on the way back? Seems one way economy tickets cost as much as an economy round trip. I guess I could spend $ 600 for a one way ticket back on a bad airline or get another new card and take a few months to win some more bonus miles to fly biz back. Any other ideas?

Been a while for me with UA, but isn't a one way economy award saver only 35k? You are close to a RT award, albeit on way in coach. I'd personally take J on the way back, but that's just me. 

Edited July 5, 2017 by Little Evil

[briguy]

4 minutes ago, Little Evil said:

Been a while for me with UA, but isn't a one way economy award saver only 35k? You are close to a RT award, albeit on way in coach. I'd personally take J on the way back, but that's just me. 

Ha! I've been so focused on the business part of the trip, it never occurred to me I could use the extra miles for a free ticket back.

My thought was I'm better off flying J on the way there, letting me be fresher and more awake when I arrive in LOS. Don't care so much if I arrive half dead back in the U.S.!

[Luv2Phuket]

There are a lot of factors in play -- how soon you are looking to go or what your "credit card situation" is (i.e., how are you on the Chase 5/24; have you already hit minimum spend on Chase UA card; etc.) OR what your balance is with other carriers who service this route (AA for oneworld or Alaska)

Since it sounds like you will have some United miles after booking the one-way biz class, a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Ink card may be a possibility.  They all net you Chase Ultimate Reward points, which transfer to United 1:1 to help build your return.

If you have some AA miles, a Citi card may be a way to go -- both Little Evil and bouncewithme discuss some options there above.

A little used option is Alaska -- don't know what kind of mile purchase bonus they are offering now, but they usually have some relatively cheap options that can net you a one-way ticket on Cathay, especially if you just need to top off your Alaska account.  Also, they have a credit card with B of A that can generally get you 25,000-30,000 miles relatively easy.

Just like finding girls in Pattaya, there are LOTS of ways to go....

[Little Evil]

14 hours ago, briguy said:

Ha! I've been so focused on the business part of the trip, it never occurred to me I could use the extra miles for a free ticket back.

My thought was I'm better off flying J on the way there, letting me be fresher and more awake when I arrive in LOS. Don't care so much if I arrive half dead back in the U.S.!

Yeah, I think it is currently 70k one way in J and 35k one way in Y. Given that you had 30k already and net 70k plus at least 3k spend, you're only 2k away from a RT itinerary. Hell, you could even buy those points if in a rush. 2k miles would run you about $75.

 

[briguy]

6 hours ago, Little Evil said:

Given that you had 30k already and net 70k plus at least 3k spend, you're only 2k away from a RT itinerary. Hell, you could even buy those points if in a rush. 2k miles would run you about $75.

Not in a rush! I did an itinerary and budget for a September trip for a friend who might want to go along, but then he was scared off by the USA/Korea faceoff. I told him Thailand isn't exactly in the crosshairs. He then showed my research to some friends and they got excited and now there's a group that might go. In that case, I'll just buy an economy RT on United. If it falls through, I'll either go solo then or wait until January or February for the better weather and use the miles at that time.

Thanks for the advice!

[Little Evil]

7 minutes ago, briguy said:

Not in a rush! I did an itinerary and budget for a September trip for a friend who might want to go along, but then he was scared off by the USA/Korea faceoff. I told him Thailand isn't exactly in the crosshairs. He then showed my research to some friends and they got excited and now there's a group that might go. In that case, I'll just buy an economy RT on United. If it falls through, I'll either go solo then or wait until January or February for the better weather and use the miles at that time.

Thanks for the advice!

Well, the answer is simple then. If US and North Korea do get into a scrap, North Korea would aim their ICBM's at Japan, South Korea, and US (assuming they could even reach US). Therefore, the safest place to be would be not the US, South Korea, or Japan. LoS is not in any of those places, so there you go.

My logic is sound ;)

[bgtp]

9 hours ago, Little Evil said:

Yeah, I think it is currently 70k one way in J and 35k one way in Y. Given that you had 30k already and net 70k plus at least 3k spend, you're only 2k away from a RT itinerary. Hell, you could even buy those points if in a rush. 2k miles would run you about $75.

 

70K in J is if you only fly United. Once you utilize a Star Alliance partner, it's goes 80K (increasing to 90K in November). It's 40K in Y.

[freedom42]

American has their points on sale again..... http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2017/07/05/american-selling-miles-1-7-cents-tacit-admission-miles-devalued-far/

 

I have been buying lifemiles from Avianca and have been pleasantly surprised with the ease of booking and finding award seats. I just booked a BKK-FRA in biz on the Thai A380. 78,000 points and 40 dollars taxes. 85,000 THB on the Thai website. 

[bouncewithme]

American has their points on sale again..... http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2017/07/05/american-selling-miles-1-7-cents-tacit-admission-miles-devalued-far/
 
I have been buying lifemiles from Avianca and have been pleasantly surprised with the ease of booking and finding award seats. I just booked a BKK-FRA in biz on the Thai A380. 78,000 points and 40 dollars taxes. 85,000 THB on the Thai website. 

Interesting statement in that article about AA disclosing to the SEC a material hit regarding low cobrand card sign ups. Looking at my recent offer from them, they have some work to do to increase the value proposition by reducing the minimum spend requirement for the bonus and offering some ability to get 2-3 x miles on certain categories.

[HimBadMan]

Just got back last night from my two week stay..  As my usual agenda, I will post pics of my flight..

LAX-DOH -  Biz Class Qatar 777-200

DOH- BKK-  1st Class Qatar A380

BKK-HKG-  Biz Class CX  A330

HKG-LAX-  Biz Class AA 77W.

 

I was not expecting an upgrade to F on QR.   When I went to the boarding gate, scanned my Boarding Pass, then heard the lovely Beeping noise.  I knew what this meant, and the Gate Agent, told me I have been upgraded to 1st class.  I was beyond excited because I've always wanted to try Qatar A380 1st class.  Below are a few pics of the A380 1st Class.  I did not post pics of the other legs as they are quite typical.

The service was amazing.  It was only me and one other in 1st class, so I pretty much drank the whole bottle of Krug,  I was exhausted after my LAX-DOH leg, but was up 6 out of the 7 hour flight to soak it all up.

 

I only have to compare this with CX 1st class and thought the service, food, and everything else was much better on my Qatar flight...

 

[Little Evil]

15 hours ago, get0ffdanutzz said:

Just got back last night from my two week stay..  As my usual agenda, I will post pics of my flight..

LAX-DOH -  Biz Class Qatar 777-200

DOH- BKK-  1st Class Qatar A380

BKK-HKG-  Biz Class CX  A330

HKG-LAX-  Biz Class AA 77W.

 

I was not expecting an upgrade to F on QR.   When I went to the boarding gate, scanned my Boarding Pass, then heard the lovely Beeping noise.  I knew what this meant, and the Gate Agent, told me I have been upgraded to 1st class.  I was beyond excited because I've always wanted to try Qatar A380 1st class.  Below are a few pics of the A380 1st Class.  I did not post pics of the other legs as they are quite typical.

The service was amazing.  It was only me and one other in 1st class, so I pretty much drank the whole bottle of Krug,  I was exhausted after my LAX-DOH leg, but was up 6 out of the 7 hour flight to soak it all up.

 

I only have to compare this with CX 1st class and thought the service, food, and everything else was much better on my Qatar flight...

 

Nice upgrade! How did you qualify?  The pictures won't load for me for some reason.  

Forgot to ask: Did you bother checking out the Qatar in-plane bar? Looks really nice. If so, do you just walk back there or do you have to ask an FA first? Korean has a similar layout, but you have to go up a floor, then all the way back. I didn't see it last time I was flying them in F, but I might want to check it out next time. Korean Air's bar is nowhere as nice as Qatar though. 

 

Edited July 17, 2017 by Little Evil
Forgot to ask something

[HimBadMan]

On 7/17/2017 at 6:11 AM, Little Evil said:

Nice upgrade! How did you qualify?  The pictures won't load for me for some reason.  

Forgot to ask: Did you bother checking out the Qatar in-plane bar? Looks really nice. If so, do you just walk back there or do you have to ask an FA first? Korean has a similar layout, but you have to go up a floor, then all the way back. I didn't see it last time I was flying them in F, but I might want to check it out next time. Korean Air's bar is nowhere as nice as Qatar though. 

 

Not sure why I was upgraded, I'm sure it was due to my OneWorld Emerald Status, This was only my 2nd time flying with them as the 1st was my 1st leg 1 month ago, when I was in their J Class on both the A380 and 777LR..

I sure did enjoy my 7 hours on this Jumbo.  I fly a lot, and believe the A380 is my favorite Jet..  I must say I have not flown the new 747-8 yet, but May try it with Korean F in the next few months.   I did book a Korean Air F Seat on their A380 in Nov, so can compare, but this QR flight was better in so many ways than my F Class Flight on CX F on their 77W.   The service, the staff, the flight manager all went above and beyond to make my flight amazing..

The Bartender let me go behind the bar to take pics and let me make my own mix, they bar had really good snacks and pastries as well...  Not sure If I will ever have the Opp to fly this again, but if AA ever opens up QR F Seats on DOHA - BKK  to not hesitate...

 

Hope these pics loaded.. 

 

[Little Evil]

That Qatar looks fantastic! The bar looks like a proper bar, and not just an afterthought to say they have a bar. I also didn't realize the seat has that privacy screen. They looked very open in most pictures, so that is a nice touch. And changing in that bathroom would actually be pleasant. As much as  I like CX's first class, I hate their tiny little bathrooms. Nice pics!