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

[freedom42]

Promotion for lifemiles again, (can book with them for Star Alliance, THAI being one of them)

 

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/09/05/lifemiles-promotion-september-2017/?utm_sourcemedium=BoardingArea+Twitter

[Luv2Phuket]

2 hours ago, Little Evil said:

FYI - Targeted offer from Barclays/Aviator Silver. Some new program called Flight Cents. 

The way it works is that it rounds up purchases to the nearest dollar, but gives you a multiplier for the round up. The example was a cup of coffee for $3.10 gets rounded to $4. even (as in, you spend $4 on that purchase). The $.90 difference gets multiplied by a fixed 50% for miles, yielding 45 additional miles plus the $3. spend miles.

Basically, this is a passive 2 cent/mile purchase plan. Does it make sense (no pun)? Not entirely, as you're just flat out buying extra miles peacemeal as oppose to buying in bulk during promotions. Also, the 2 cent/mile isn't exactly earth shattering of a price. However, for those who can't or won't pony up $1-2k during those promotions for bulk miles purchase, this could be a better cash flow option to earn AA miles. I personally don't find it compelling, but an interesting approach. I still have my Aviator Silver kicking around, but I think I may cut it from the line up soon.

I've actually gone "all in" on my Aviator Silver, and recently dropped my Citi co-branded card (no use having 2 that offer many of the same perks).

I got a promotion last November for 30,000 bonus miles if I spent $2,500 per month on the card.  Not a great deal, but I had no minimum spends, so figured "WTF?"  That pushed it to the top of my card pile each month, and I have continued to use it after that promo expired in April.  

The $3,000 EQD ($25,000 annual spend) and 5,000 EQMs ($20,000 annual spend) that come with Aviator Silver are crucial to my possibly getting AA Platinum status extended for another year (since I don;t fly AA all that much).   Given the earlier promotion, I think I already have the $20,000 annual spend and am on the verge of the $25,000.  Waiting to see when I will get my 5,000 EQM and 3,000 EQD posted.  I'd have a much higher YTD spend if I had used it for a $6,200 airline ticket (luckily, reimbursed!), but I used my AMEX Platinum for the 5X MR points.

I wavered on whether Platinum status was worth a shit, but, on a recent trip from LAX to Omaha, it scored me a great Main Cabin Extra seat for free going into Omaha, and a free upgrade to First coming back.  I nearly always pay for Main Cabin Extra, so that's a big perk for me whenever I fly them.

[Little Evil]

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I've actually gone "all in" on my Aviator Silver, and recently dropped my Citi co-branded card (no use having 2 that offer many of the same perks).

I got a promotion last November for 30,000 bonus miles if I spent $2,500 per month on the card.  Not a great deal, but I had no minimum spends, so figured "WTF?"  That pushed it to the top of my card pile each month, and I have continued to use it after that promo expired in April.  

The $3,000 EQD ($25,000 annual spend) and 5,000 EQMs ($20,000 annual spend) that come with Aviator Silver are crucial to my possibly getting AA Platinum status extended for another year (since I don;t fly AA all that much).   Given the earlier promotion, I think I already have the $20,000 annual spend and am on the verge of the $25,000.  Waiting to see when I will get my 5,000 EQM and 3,000 EQD posted.  I'd have a much higher YTD spend if I had used it for a $6,200 airline ticket (luckily, reimbursed!), but I used my AMEX Platinum for the 5X MR points.

I wavered on whether Platinum status was worth a shit, but, on a recent trip from LAX to Omaha, it scored me a great Main Cabin Extra seat for free going into Omaha, and a free upgrade to First coming back.  I nearly always pay for Main Cabin Extra, so that's a big perk for me whenever I fly them.

I do think the Aviator Silver slightly edges out the Citi AA Platinum in terms of perks. They are very close, but I recall there being some caveat supporting the Barclay's card over the Citi one. I'm personally nowhere near status with any airline, so that's less of a factor for me. I think I took two revenue flights last year. One was just JFK to BOS, so I'm not exactly killing it with status. 

On a separate note: I'm lined up for my next outbound to swampy, but will be eventually using United miles for the return. Have about 106k, which should get me back in J. Any recommendations for Star Alliance partners for the return from BKK to the east coast? My exact return point is flexible, as I don't mind a quick regional shuttle if necessary.  ANA? 

 

[bgtp]

5 hours ago, Little Evil said:

I do think the Aviator Silver slightly edges out the Citi AA Platinum in terms of perks. They are very close, but I recall there being some caveat supporting the Barclay's card over the Citi one. I'm personally nowhere near status with any airline, so that's less of a factor for me. I think I took two revenue flights last year. One was just JFK to BOS, so I'm not exactly killing it with status. 

On a separate note: I'm lined up for my next outbound to swampy, but will be eventually using United miles for the return. Have about 106k, which should get me back in J. Any recommendations for Star Alliance partners for the return from BKK to the east coast? My exact return point is flexible, as I don't mind a quick regional shuttle if necessary.  ANA? 

 

Got my next trip booked (February) and I used United miles for ANA J on the return. Never flown them before, so I can't comment. Barring any equipment changes, I'm on a B787-9 and B777-300ER with their staggered seating, flat bed product. I needed a short flight on AA for the final leg, BA Avios worked great for that.

[Luv2Phuket]

6 hours ago, Little Evil said:

On a separate note: I'm lined up for my next outbound to swampy, but will be eventually using United miles for the return. Have about 106k, which should get me back in J. Any recommendations for Star Alliance partners for the return from BKK to the east coast? My exact return point is flexible, as I don't mind a quick regional shuttle if necessary.  ANA? 

 

For Star Alliance, I'm a BIG fan of EVA.  

Actually most Star Alliance carriers are good - I would just avoid Air China like the plague.  I have flown Asiana and had no complaint.  My ANA flight sucked ass because it was partial recline, not 180 lie flat, but that was years ago -- I would hope that they have fixed that issue by now.

Thai reportedly getting better - I think you can fly them to Taiwan and connect to EVA or Japan to connect to ANA, perhaps.  The Thai first class lounge at Swampy is legendary, btu I think the business class lounge is pretty good too.  The Cathay lounge at Swampy is pretty weak.

[Luv2Phuket]

2 minutes ago, bgtp said:

Got my next trip booked (February) and I used United miles for ANA J on the return. Never flown them before, so I can't comment. Barring any equipment changes, I'm on a B787-9 and B777-300ER with their staggered seating, flat bed product. I needed a short flight on AA for the final leg, BA Avios worked great for that.

I have over 63,000 Avios miles for just such an opportunity!  LOL

[Luv2Phuket]

A bit far off topic, but for those of you who have Priority Pass (got mine via Citi Prestige AND Platinum AMEX), this was big news for anyone who may travel through Denver:

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/09/05/denver-airport-priority-pass/

$28 credit per person at a steakhouse is a SWEET deal!

[Little Evil]

On 9/5/2017 at 20:07, bgtp said:

Got my next trip booked (February) and I used United miles for ANA J on the return. Never flown them before, so I can't comment. Barring any equipment changes, I'm on a B787-9 and B777-300ER with their staggered seating, flat bed product. I needed a short flight on AA for the final leg, BA Avios worked great for that.

 

Ended up booking TG J to Narita and ANA F back to the US. I'm excited, as I've only flown the old Silk TG in J (angle flat) and never flown ANA. I've gone EVA before. Good airline and their lounge in PEK feels like vegas, but that wasn't an option.  I'm pumped. I had 128k United miles and was bummed that I needed 2k more for first. I somehow forgot Chase was a transfer partner, so imagine my delight when I realized I could instantly scoot 2k UR's for UA miles. Transfer was immediate and I love how you can book these trips directly on the UA website without having to debate availability with a phone rep. Solid!

[socrates]

How far in advance can you book a flight ?

[Little Evil]

18 hours ago, socrates said:

How far in advance can you book a flight ?

This varies per award program, but it is loosely based on when flight tables are released. Some say 330 days is the furthest out you can do because that's the extent of long term planning for most airlines.  I've never tried to push this envelope, so I don't have any proof beyond that.  I book 6 months in advance on a regular basis without issue. Just booked by Feb 2018 trip.  I've also booked 1 week before leaving without issue too. 

[socrates]

I will have to wait I need a ticket for Jan to Dec 2018 London to BKK return

[bgtp]

On 9/7/2017 at 09:32, Little Evil said:

Ended up booking TG J to Narita and ANA F back to the US. I'm excited, as I've only flown the old Silk TG in J (angle flat) and never flown ANA. I've gone EVA before. Good airline and their lounge in PEK feels like vegas, but that wasn't an option.  I'm pumped. I had 128k United miles and was bummed that I needed 2k more for first. I somehow forgot Chase was a transfer partner, so imagine my delight when I realized I could instantly scoot 2k UR's for UA miles. Transfer was immediate and I love how you can book these trips directly on the UA website without having to debate availability with a phone rep. Solid!

That online booking of partner airlines is a big plus especially when I am looking to book while overseas. Living on the east coast, another one is the ability to go via Europe for the same number of miles. So, while United has higher mileage requirements than other programs, they are still part of my reward travel strategy.

[Luv2Phuket]

On 9/7/2017 at 14:18, socrates said:

How far in advance can you book a flight ?

 

14 hours ago, Little Evil said:

This varies per award program, but it is loosely based on when flight tables are released. Some say 330 days is the furthest out you can do because that's the extent of long term planning for most airlines.  I've never tried to push this envelope, so I don't have any proof beyond that.  I book 6 months in advance on a regular basis without issue. Just booked by Feb 2018 trip.  I've also booked 1 week before leaving without issue too. 

I can confirm that booking Cathay with AA is 331 days.  Before the last AA devaluation, I DID push the envelope and try unsuccessfully about 335 days out.  Pre-devaluation, I also have booked one leg and obsessively waited for the return leg to become available 10 days later.

EDIT:

This may help - http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/03/21/when-do-airlines-open-award-seats/

[Little Evil]

On 9/8/2017 at 15:08, bgtp said:

That online booking of partner airlines is a big plus especially when I am looking to book while overseas. Living on the east coast, another one is the ability to go via Europe for the same number of miles. So, while United has higher mileage requirements than other programs, they are still part of my reward travel strategy.

The funny thing is that UA was my first award program and my first longhaul award flight in business class. I have slept on them for quite a few years because AA/CX works out better for a departure, but I think I'm going to get back into UA for return flights.  

 

On a separate note: That Flight Cents I mentioned the other day is actually targeted in value as well.  I read that some people are getting 100% instead of 50% on change. That makes the per-point price 1 cent each, which is phenomenal. The cap is up to $500. a month on this program, meaning you could score 50k AA points for $500. given enough transactions in the month. That's a rock solid deal and I'm pissed I didn't get that targeted offer. Might be worth checking if you own this card. 

[Luv2Phuket]

47 minutes ago, Little Evil said:

On a separate note: That Flight Cents I mentioned the other day is actually targeted in value as well.  I read that some people are getting 100% instead of 50% on change. That makes the per-point price 1 cent each, which is phenomenal. The cap is up to $500. a month on this program, meaning you could score 50k AA points for $500. given enough transactions in the month. That's a rock solid deal and I'm pissed I didn't get that targeted offer. Might be worth checking if you own this card. 

I go the 100% and signed up.

Still not really clear how to maximize it -- maybe try to add something when I buy stuff at the grocery store so it takes the total up to .01?

I always make my tip on meals take the total to an even dollar amount -- think I'll be making them go to .01 from now on!  LOL

[Little Evil]

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I go the 100% and signed up.

Still not really clear how to maximize it -- maybe try to add something when I buy stuff at the grocery store so it takes the total up to .01?

I always make my tip on meals take the total to an even dollar amount -- think I'll be making them go to .01 from now on!  LOL

Huh....I didn't really think about the math of it until you mentioned this. Considering one can't earn more than a dollar's worth of miles a transaction, you'd need to clear 17 transactions a day to max out in a 30 day month, and that is assuming closer to 99 cents per towards this program.  If I think about it in more realistic terms (3 transactions a day average for me), that would take over 5.5 months to hit 50k. Then again, I didn't actually get the full promotion, so moot point on my end. In any case, I'm still jealous, as 1 cent points are extremely rare these days. I pay double that during so-called promotions. 

[Little Evil]

Anyone here have experience with EVA Air's premium economy? Found a RT fare from ORD with one stop in PEK for under $1500. I'd just need a short positioning flight and that's really doable. This fare is actually temping me to make a third trip this year instead of my standard two. My only hesitation on pulling the trigger is that it has been so long since I've taken a flight without having a lie-flat seat that I don't know if I can do it without. Would I be totally miserable? (wow--I sound like such an ass even asking that)

[Luv2Phuket]

On 9/14/2017 at 07:25, Little Evil said:

Anyone here have experience with EVA Air's premium economy? Found a RT fare from ORD with one stop in PEK for under $1500. I'd just need a short positioning flight and that's really doable. This fare is actually temping me to make a third trip this year instead of my standard two. My only hesitation on pulling the trigger is that it has been so long since I've taken a flight without having a lie-flat seat that I don't know if I can do it without. Would I be totally miserable? (wow--I sound like such an ass even asking that)

First World problems!  555

I have flown Cathay PE and it was "bearable" -- not comparable to business class, but it was about 1/4 the price.  If I was coming out of pocket, I would consider it.

An alternative on that trip was EVA, but I recall reading that the IFE boxes are a pain in the ass for leg room.

Found this recent review (on a Pattaya-related website! LOL) - http://pattayasanook.com/eva-air-premium-economy-review/

He notes that the AVOD/IFE box issue is on the older planes, so you might want to check that out on SeatGuru.

 

[Little Evil]

8 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

First World problems!  555

I have flown Cathay PE and it was "bearable" -- not comparable to business class, but it was about 1/4 the price.  If I was coming out of pocket, I would consider it.

An alternative on that trip was EVA, but I recall reading that the IFE boxes are a pain in the ass for leg room.

Found this recent review (on a Pattaya-related website! LOL) - http://pattayasanook.com/eva-air-premium-economy-review/

He notes that the AVOD/IFE box issue is on the older planes, so you might want to check that out on SeatGuru.

 

Good tips. Delta seems to be having a fire sale on PE as well. Found a similar itinerary for $1,020. Still, not sure about if I'd make a 12-15hr longhaul in PE. Bad back (first world problems indeed). 

[Luv2Phuket]

Quick credit card/frequent flyer update - 

I upgraded to the Barclay's Aviator Silver recently, as I was closing in on the threshold for 5000 bonus EQMs on AA (if you upgrade from Red to Silver, you get full credit for all $ spent YTD on the Red version).  My last statement was my first under the Silver card, and, within 3 days of the monthly miles posting, my 5000 EQMs and 3000 EQDs posted.  I should be within spitting distance of Platinum status after a RT flight to Azerbaijan on Qatar at the end of the month.  Very happy (and surprised) by how quickly they posted.

That said, the "flight cents" program doesn't appear to be working.  My account says I have 0, even though I have 10 recent charges that were not for even dollar amounts.

EDIT:

My bad on "flight cents" - it does not update it on a daily basis.  It is available on the 5th of the month following my charges.  Since this is my first month, I won't see the full impact until October 5.  Looking at the charges since my last statement closed, it looks like it's going to hit me for $3.26 so far.  If I understand it correctly, I should get 326 extra miles.  Don't really see how I'm gonna cash in big with this....maybe I need to go to the post office and buy stamps one at a time or maybe I should charge my grocery items one at a time?  555

EDIT II:

I'm up to my ass in work right now (so of course I'm dicking around with this!), but just came up with an idea while looking at my charges from last month.  I'm thinking I can keep reloading my Amazon gift card a small amount at a time.  If I do .01 500 times, it's going to charge me $500, but I will end up with 49,500 miles (99 miles x 500)...and a $5 credit to my Amazon card, of course....AND a closed Amazon account, I'm sure!  555

[Little Evil]

9 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Quick credit card/frequent flyer update - 

I upgraded to the Barclay's Aviator Silver recently, as I was closing in on the threshold for 5000 bonus EQMs on AA (if you upgrade from Red to Silver, you get full credit for all $ spent YTD on the Red version).  My last statement was my first under the Silver card, and, within 3 days of the monthly miles posting, my 5000 EQMs and 3000 EQDs posted.  I should be within spitting distance of Platinum status after a RT flight to Azerbaijan on Qatar at the end of the month.  Very happy (and surprised) by how quickly they posted.

That said, the "flight cents" program doesn't appear to be working.  My account says I have 0, even though I have 10 recent charges that were not for even dollar amounts.

EDIT:

My bad on "flight cents" - it does not update it on a daily basis.  It is available on the 5th of the month following my charges.  Since this is my first month, I won't see the full impact until October 5.  Looking at the charges since my last statement closed, it looks like it's going to hit me for $3.26 so far.  If I understand it correctly, I should get 326 extra miles.  Don't really see how I'm gonna cash in big with this....maybe I need to go to the post office and buy stamps one at a time or maybe I should charge my grocery items one at a time?  555

EDIT II:

I'm up to my ass in work right now (so of course I'm dicking around with this!), but just came up with an idea while looking at my charges from last month.  I'm thinking I can keep reloading my Amazon gift card a small amount at a time.  If I do .01 500 times, it's going to charge me $500, but I will end up with 49,500 miles (99 miles x 500)...and a $5 credit to my Amazon card, of course....AND a closed Amazon account, I'm sure!  555

That Amazon hack came up in another forum I read, so I'm sure Amazon will be pretty hip to the hack in no time. Might want to tread lightly on that one. But hell, 50k miles for $500 is such a steal. I'd do that every month if allowed, but I didn't get the full offer on flight cents. I actually contacted Barclays to flat out ask them why I only got the half offer. They gave me some non-committal gibberish answer/apology. I think I fit the profile of someone who would highly abuse that system considering I have very low actual revenue miles on AA, yet I bank hundreds of thousands of miles every year with them.

 

Good work on that plat status strategy. I think because I'm not personally chasing status with AA, I might be done with this card. Interestingly enough, I got a 50k Asia Miles, 45k KAL personal and 50k KAL business offers all in the same day. May be exploring those programs, as they all have relatively low annual fees. 

[Luv2Phuket]

5 hours ago, Little Evil said:

That Amazon hack came up in another forum I read, so I'm sure Amazon will be pretty hip to the hack in no time. Might want to tread lightly on that one. But hell, 50k miles for $500 is such a steal. I'd do that every month if allowed, but I didn't get the full offer on flight cents. I actually contacted Barclays to flat out ask them why I only got the half offer. They gave me some non-committal gibberish answer/apology. I think I fit the profile of someone who would highly abuse that system considering I have very low actual revenue miles on AA, yet I bank hundreds of thousands of miles every year with them.

 

Good work on that plat status strategy. I think because I'm not personally chasing status with AA, I might be done with this card. Interestingly enough, I got a 50k Asia Miles, 45k KAL personal and 50k KAL business offers all in the same day. May be exploring those programs, as they all have relatively low annual fees. 

I got the KAL personal and business cards a few years ago -- those miles can really come in handy.  That said, they (or I) somehow fucked it up and I ended up with 2 accounts that, to date, have been difficult to merge.  I now have about 2,500 orphaned miles (used that account to book ticket) that I need to figure out how to combine into my other KAL account.

On the Flight Cents deal, I am doing a quick and easy "test run" -- you can set up an Auto-Reload to an Amazon gift card to replenish it daily.  Minimum is $5.00, so I set it for a daily reload of $5.01.

This month is abbreviated (already the 20th), but next month, I should get charged $186.00 (5.01 + .the 99 round up x 31 days), and end up with $155.31 extra on my Amazon GC, with the remaining $30.69 netting me 3,069 AA miles.  It ain't 50,000 miles, but it also isn't costing me a shitload of money (Amazon GC credit is almost like cash for me!  555)

[briguy]

Back in July, I posted about my quest for miles for a Thailand trip. I had just gotten a Mileage Plus Explorer Card with a 70,000 mile bonus and would quickly have enough miles for one way in business. I was trying to figure out if I should buy a one way economy ticket to get back when someone on the board kindly pointed out I could fly back in economy for only 40,000 miles. Duh!

Well, I reached my goal and then some. I easily made the $ 3000 in 3 months spend (in fact, I bought a new bed frame and mattress costing around $ 1500 and would have made the total even if I hadn't). To get more miles, I filled out surveys for the Opinion Miles Club, started using the Rocketmiles site for hotels on trips to Tijuana and signed up for Mileage Plus Dining (fortunately a pizza parlor and some Mexican restaurants I frequent were on their list).

I was still a little short of my ultimate goal of 120,000 miles, but I took a cross country RT from California to Pennsylvania and got lucky. Coming back, I was on a short flight from PA to Washington D.C.. Very short as it turned out, because a few minutes after takeoff, we headed back to the airport with a hydraulic pressure problem. Took a later flight and eventually made it back to CA to find an email from United offering me a choice of a $ 150 flight voucher and 7500 miles. Naturally, I took the miles and now I have over 120,000!

One worry: according to the RULES that came with the 7500 mile offer, they can only be used on United flights, not other airlines branded as United. Hopefully I'll be able to use them for my first LOS trip! 

[Luv2Phuket]

I would think that it was the voucher that could only be used on United flights.  Once the miles are commingled in your account, I don't see how they could limit or restrict their usage.

Congrats on reaching your miles goal!

Another underrated way to build your miles war chest are the online shopping portals for United, AA, etc.  I tend to buy as many things as possible online, as opposed to in stores, so I always try to make a point to check the various portals to see who is going to give me most miles for my purchase.  Needed a new laptop sleeve, and AA had a special offer with eBags through their portal the other day, so I ended up getting over 800 AA miles for my $50+ purchase (although I admittedly bought a couple of extra items to hit free shipping 555)

You can even get miles for Amazon purchases through JetBlue.

Typically, what I do is figure out what I want to buy & where, put the item(s) in my cart, then go to the shopping portals to see who will give me the most miles for that purchase, and then re-enter the retailer's website through that portal.  Items are already in my cart, so I just check out/pay and the miles are mine.  

Since you are focused on United, I would just use their portal.  I'm a whore of every program, so I check United, AA, Alaska, & Hawaiian each time (JetBlue has very limited partners besides Amazon, but that's still a nice perk, given my Amazon addiction)

 

[bouncewithme]

How is AA and CX space opening working these days? I’ve been keeping my eye on openings on the BA avios site within a week period and it’s all over the board from some openings to none. I’m banking on being able to change a flight in about a month from a CX afternoon departure (booked through AA) to a CX or AA red eye departure the night before my currently scheduled afternoon departure.