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

[Little Evil]

On 9/23/2017 at 19:37, bouncewithme said:

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.

I've seen some pretty weird stuff from CX availability via KVS. Things opening and closing and opening again a few months out. AA (as per usual) is difficult to work with when discussing, as their agents are A) unbelievably ignorant about how the systems work, B) probably trying to work against you, and/or C) just not paid enough to give a flying fuck if you get your award or not. Last time I called, I was told an itinerary wasn't available for F that was clearly open in KVS. As it turns out, the agent was looking for both legs in F, even though HKG to BKK doesn't have an F class in every flight on CX. Not only did I have to explain this fact, but I then had to explain how this mixed cabin itinerary can and has been awarded to me on several occasions.  That's more of an AA complaint though.

 

If you have a set time/date, shoot me the details and I can cross check on KVS if you want. 

[Short]

On 9/14/2017 at 09:25, 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)

 

Late response to this.   I was doing Thai premium economy out of LAX on the A340 rt trip no problem .  When Thai dropped the A340s I switched to Eva 777s out of LAX but it required a stop in Taiwan.  It was tolerable but not as good the A340s and the food is shit.  When I figured out how to play the miles game on AA/CA in business for the same price then no more Eva.

 

Now once I retire and am making more trips I will probably use Business over and then premium economy back.  The trip back is much shorter.

[HimBadMan]

On 9/23/2017 at 16:37, bouncewithme said:

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.

AA Saver Space is Magical for Biz or 1st..   You may see 2-3 a month pop up every now and then, but they are obviously on shitty days....  CX is a bit better- But lately Award Space on the Long Haul from  Cali to HK or NRT has been empty..

[bouncewithme]

18 hours ago, get0ffdanutzz said:

AA Saver Space is Magical for Biz or 1st..   You may see 2-3 a month pop up every now and then, but they are obviously on shitty days....  CX is a bit better- But lately Award Space on the Long Haul from  Cali to HK or NRT has been empty..

Thanks. Is that normal for CX to have empty space for this long? Never flown them. Really hoping to find either an AA or a CX red eye for 10/31 or 10/30 but it's not looking good lately!

[HimBadMan]

3 hours ago, bouncewithme said:

Thanks. Is that normal for CX to have empty space for this long? Never flown them. Really hoping to find either an AA or a CX red eye for 10/31 or 10/30 but it's not looking good lately!

Yes.   The airlines obviously want a revenue passanger vs. An award ticket.   So airlines are hoping to have seats avail in hopes of revenue purchase.    As time gets closer,  the revenue teams for each airline may open up award space because their data shows x amount of seats wont sell..  so the closer to departure the more award seats will open up.

I make a decision using expert flyer...  if i see 20 open J seats for my flight.  Im pretty posititve that award space will open..    if i only see 5 open i know my chances are slim.

 

If u dont have an EP account..  let me know the flight  info u are eyeing and i can tell u what their J class looks like

[Luv2Phuket]

My experience with Cathay -- and it's a little old, as I haven't checked it for a while -- is that, if their space is going to open, it will be much closer to the date of the flight, as in 10 days or less.

 

 

[Luv2Phuket]

On 9/19/2017 at 23:03, Luv2Phuket said:

Quick credit card/frequent flyer update - 

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.

My Qatar flight posted almost immediately.  Also, I got more EQMs (over 25,000) and EQDs than I expected, so, in effect, the EQMs and EQDs that I got from the Barclay card were not necessary for me to retain Platinum status through 2019.

When I saw that I had already topped 9,000 EQDs, I considered shooting for Platinum Pro status, but it would require me to rack up another 16,000+ EQMs in the next 2 1/2 months.  A ton of spend on my Barclay's card could net me 5,000 EQMs, but I don't see myself getting the other 11,000, as I currently have no flights planned on AA.  I have possible flights in November and December, but they are far from certain and I don't think they would net me over 11,000 miles total.

As for my Qatar flights, the LAX-Doha flights are on a 777-200.  2-2-2 seating in business class, but a ton of legroom and the seats are lie flat.  I was very comfortable and had no major complaints.  Food was pretty good, but nothing jumped out as "amazing."  Good crew service.

My only complaint was the fucked up boarding process in Doha.  I understand and have no issues with a security check of electronics at the gate.  My issue was that the desk to check it is in the middle of the economy boarding line, so premium customers can't get to the desk.  The line in front of me included dozens of economy passengers who were not having electronics checked, but were just waiting to clear security to get into the boarding area.  Very inefficient, poor design/planning.  Another woman who was in business class and behind me in line was equally (if not more) pissed off.

 

[Luv2Phuket]

Saw this today -- REALLY cheap RT fares on ANA from Denver or LAX to Bangkok in January and February - 

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2017/10/08/fare-alert-bangkok-285-roundtrip-peak-season/

I've seen some sub-$500 fares, but this is the first sub-$400 fare I can recall (and on a very solid airline, ANA)

[bgtp]

7 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Saw this today -- REALLY cheap RT fares on ANA from Denver or LAX to Bangkok in January and February - 

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2017/10/08/fare-alert-bangkok-285-roundtrip-peak-season/

I've seen some sub-$500 fares, but this is the first sub-$400 fare I can recall (and on a very solid airline, ANA)

Well, that is cheap. But honestly, I wouldn't do the trip in coach even if the tickets were free.

[Short]

 

I have complained about Cathay Pacific being late into BKK.    Check this out.

BKK to HK
 

HK to BKK
http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightRating/flightRatingByFlight.do?airline=CX&flightNumber=709
 

 

Edited October 9, 2017 by Short

[Luv2Phuket]

On 10/4/2017 at 13:01, bouncewithme said:

Thanks. Is that normal for CX to have empty space for this long? Never flown them. Really hoping to find either an AA or a CX red eye for 10/31 or 10/30 but it's not looking good lately!

A bit of backstory -- thought I had a business trip to Tokyo at the end of next week, and thought it would be a GREAT chance to make a quick Pattaya run. Long story short, I got fucked on the Japan trip and someone else is going.

Because it got my "Pattaya juices" flowing, I decided to check Cathay availability on BA's website.  Less than 2 weeks out, biz class is full on LAX-BKK legs, but first is VERY open, even on the flights that I LOVE (the late night departure; late morning arrival).  Cathay from BKK-LAX has a few openings right around the same time period, but not yet when I would want to come back (a week later). 

In case I want to go, I found a way back on Asiana that is at shitty times ( 2 a.m. departure) and has a long layover in Seoul (5 1/2 hours), but it's not as bad as many flights and biz is open as of today.

Thinking I will probably pass (my schedule is open, but I should use the time to build some income on other matters), but it has me very intrigued.

In any event, think I am going to top my United account to above 80,000 miles so I can book the Asiana flight should I decide to go.

 

On 10/4/2017 at 17:00, get0ffdanutzz said:

Yes.   The airlines obviously want a revenue passanger vs. An award ticket.   So airlines are hoping to have seats avail in hopes of revenue purchase.    As time gets closer,  the revenue teams for each airline may open up award space because their data shows x amount of seats wont sell..  so the closer to departure the more award seats will open up.

I make a decision using expert flyer...  if i see 20 open J seats for my flight.  Im pretty posititve that award space will open..    if i only see 5 open i know my chances are slim.

 

If u dont have an EP account..  let me know the flight  info u are eyeing and i can tell u what their J class looks like

I'm going to need an EP tutorial!  I can't even see Cathay on their pulldown options.

Any suggested reading to help me figure out how to best utilize it?

[bgtp]

8 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

...

In any event, think I am going to top my United account to above 80,000 miles so I can book the Asiana flight should I decide to go.

...

As long as you pull the trigger this month, you're OK. But if you pass, keep in mind business class to BKK on a Star Alliance partner goes to 90K in November. Naturally, you could always add another 10K at a later date.

[bouncewithme]

9 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

A bit of backstory -- thought I had a business trip to Tokyo at the end of next week, and thought it would be a GREAT chance to make a quick Pattaya run. Long story short, I got fucked on the Japan trip and someone else is going.

Because it got my "Pattaya juices" flowing, I decided to check Cathay availability on BA's website.  Less than 2 weeks out, biz class is full on LAX-BKK legs, but first is VERY open, even on the flights that I LOVE (the late night departure; late morning arrival).  Cathay from BKK-LAX has a few openings right around the same time period, but not yet when I would want to come back (a week later). 

In case I want to go, I found a way back on Asiana that is at shitty times ( 2 a.m. departure) and has a long layover in Seoul (5 1/2 hours), but it's not as bad as many flights and biz is open as of today.

Thinking I will probably pass (my schedule is open, but I should use the time to build some income on other matters), but it has me very intrigued.

In any event, think I am going to top my United account to above 80,000 miles so I can book the Asiana flight should I decide to go.

 

Thats interesting, I am checking First (and business) on BA website for Cathay and don't see any availability in the next month - not one opening on any day. I currently have a LAX-BKK Business boooked and would be willing to upgrade to first if it meant I could get the red eye departure vs. my scheduled day time departure now. Am I doing something wrong in the way I look up flights on BA? I am searching for flights with Avios as method.

[Luv2Phuket]

57 minutes ago, bouncewithme said:

Thats interesting, I am checking First (and business) on BA website for Cathay and don't see any availability in the next month - not one opening on any day. I currently have a LAX-BKK Business boooked and would be willing to upgrade to first if it meant I could get the red eye departure vs. my scheduled day time departure now. Am I doing something wrong in the way I look up flights on BA? I am searching for flights with Avios as method.

I think you are looking too far out -- the ones I saw open were in the next 10-14 days

[Luv2Phuket]

2 hours ago, bgtp said:

As long as you pull the trigger this month, you're OK. But if you pass, keep in mind business class to BKK on a Star Alliance partner goes to 90K in November. Naturally, you could always add another 10K at a later date.

Good catch!  I had missed that.

Given how "cheap" Cathay is using Alaska miles, I have pretty much stuck to them and ignored Star Alliance.

Hmmm....my Hilton free night certificate is expiring AND required miles are going up by 10k.....maybe the frequent flier gods are trying to tell me to go?  555

 

EDIT - to be safe, I bumped my account up to 90,000 miles.  Forgot how quickly Chase UR transfer - virtually instantaneous!

[AsiaSmiles]

What is an EP Account?

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

[bouncewithme]

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I think you are looking too far out -- the ones I saw open were in the next 10-14 days

I've been checking current day - 30 days out on BA website for the every day for the past month and have seen virtually nothing in that time frame. Do you see openings right now in First in the next 0-14 days? thx

[Luv2Phuket]

1 hour ago, bouncewithme said:

I've been checking current day - 30 days out on BA website for the every day for the past month and have seen virtually nothing in that time frame. Do you see openings right now in First in the next 0-14 days? thx

It was showing a ton of availability yesterday, but now it's all gone.  Don;t know if it was false info the first time or a current glitch.

So much for my thoughts of a last minute trip....

[HimBadMan]

19 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

 

I'm going to need an EP tutorial!  I can't even see Cathay on their pulldown options.

Any suggested reading to help me figure out how to best utilize it?

You are right- EP will not let you check award Avail for CX, but they do show seat avail via "Seat Map" so thats how I make my educated guess.

I am also still looking for a return flight from BKK to LAX for Dec 3rd.  I already have a CX Biz class booked for the 2nd, but I want an extra day, so hoping AA opens up because love their flight 192 flight times..

Premium Cabin Award Space has been a ghost this past month.I also check every day  (KVS, BA and QF) websites.  Nada..   But as I previously stated they usually open up closer to departure after they realize they have a small % of selling.

 

Also- Great tip on the Star Alliance-  I was looking to book EVA Biz- As this was one of my favorite products when I was with US Airways...  But 90K for a one way is too much..  I will Stick with OW for 70K   or like you suggest may change strategies and start crediting all flights to AS, but I do enjoy my 6 SWU's a year, so that makes it a hard decision to leave.

Things are tough these days for us Frequent Flier and Miles lovers..   Think best strategy, after I burn through miles will book the best low cost Biz Class Ticket with good flight times..  

[HimBadMan]

6 hours ago, AsiaSmiles said:

What is an EP Account?

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk
 

Expert Flyer.

[HimBadMan]

5 hours ago, bouncewithme said:

I've been checking current day - 30 days out on BA website for the every day for the past month and have seen virtually nothing in that time frame. Do you see openings right now in First in the next 0-14 days? thx

This is OW Avail for the next 14 Days   -    Emirates only Biz..    But obviously cannot book with AA miles.

 

[Luv2Phuket]

Given in the upcoming United devaluation, does anyone have experience booking Star Alliance via alternative programs?

I was checking some random availability via Aeroplan, and it seemed like I would save 2500 miles each way now by booking using them; 12,500 each way after the next devaluation.  The taxes also seemed to be a bit lower (after exchange calculation); however, they were payable in Canadian dollars, so maybe a hiccup on credit card statement?

I also checked EVA directly, and their chart appears to be 75,000 miles each way from LAX to Asia (80,000 from NY, Chicago and some other cities), so, again, 5000 miles less now and 15,000 miles less each way post-devaluation..

I can transfer points (have a ton of UR, over 150k MR and about 80k TY) to miles in either Aeroplan or EVA, so I'm thinking that may save me a few miles after United kicks us in the nuts again. 

My issue today was that I cannot seem to get the required email back to join EVA's program.  I used to have a membership (before they changed the name), but they keep telling me my passport number is invalid when I try to look it up.  Going to try calling their LA office tomorrow.

I have found flights that would get me there and back, but the times absolutely SUCK ass - late night arrival and departure, so effectively 2 wasted nights -- not that big a deal for a long trip, but I would only be there for 9 nights total.

Still kicking it about....maybe I could/should add a 10th night, so I will get 8 quality nights and 2 crappy ones?

Then there also are the events scheduled for later this month (please do not refer to them specifically!). 

Really struggling with this one....

[Little Evil]

12 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Given in the upcoming United devaluation, does anyone have experience booking Star Alliance via alternative programs?

I was checking some random availability via Aeroplan, and it seemed like I would save 2500 miles each way now by booking using them; 12,500 each way after the next devaluation.  The taxes also seemed to be a bit lower (after exchange calculation); however, they were payable in Canadian dollars, so maybe a hiccup on credit card statement?

I also checked EVA directly, and their chart appears to be 75,000 miles each way from LAX to Asia (80,000 from NY, Chicago and some other cities), so, again, 5000 miles less now and 15,000 miles less each way post-devaluation..

I can transfer points (have a ton of UR, over 150k MR and about 80k TY) to miles in either Aeroplan or EVA, so I'm thinking that may save me a few miles after United kicks us in the nuts again. 

My issue today was that I cannot seem to get the required email back to join EVA's program.  I used to have a membership (before they changed the name), but they keep telling me my passport number is invalid when I try to look it up.  Going to try calling their LA office tomorrow.

I have found flights that would get me there and back, but the times absolutely SUCK ass - late night arrival and departure, so effectively 2 wasted nights -- not that big a deal for a long trip, but I would only be there for 9 nights total.

Still kicking it about....maybe I could/should add a 10th night, so I will get 8 quality nights and 2 crappy ones?

Then there also are the events scheduled for later this month (please do not refer to them specifically!). 

Really struggling with this one....

I cashed out my last United miles on an ANA F redemption for February, fearing the devaluation. I may be done with that program, pending how bad it gets. Too bad too, because they are a convenient transfer partner.  I don't have any experience with EVA's program, but saw an interesting post today about a current Amex transfer strategy for ANA:

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/10/maximize-amex-transfer-ana/

That isn't really a Star Alliance approach, just a partner approach though. 

 

[Luv2Phuket]

4 hours ago, Little Evil said:

I cashed out my last United miles on an ANA F redemption for February, fearing the devaluation. I may be done with that program, pending how bad it gets. Too bad too, because they are a convenient transfer partner.  I don't have any experience with EVA's program, but saw an interesting post today about a current Amex transfer strategy for ANA:

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/10/maximize-amex-transfer-ana/

That isn't really a Star Alliance approach, just a partner approach though. 

 

Great stuff!

I had a shitload of Virgin Atlantic that I (foolishly!) converted to Hilton Honors points, because I was unaware of this wrinkle.

I note that Virgin Atlantic also is a Chase UR and Citi TY transfer partner at 1:1.  Deal isn't quite as good, but still much better than United.

Going back to my EVA issues, they were cleared up with a quick phone call to the local EVA service center that revealed the problem: when I registered with EVA back in 2013 time frame, I listed one of the nine digits in my passport number incorrectly (put an 8 instead of a 6).  As a result, when I tried to look up my info using my passport number, it came back as invalid.  Phone rep fixed the issue on their end, and I was able to get into my account in minutes.

With the abundance of other direct transfer partners for Citi TY (EVA, Turkish, Etihad, Asia Miles, Singapore, Thai, Qatar, Virgin Atlantic); AMEX MR (Aeroplan, Asia Miles, Etihad, Alitalia) and Chase UR (Singapore, Korean, Virgin Atlantic), I may be booking with the airlines directly themselves from here on, instead of using Star Alliance through United.  As a fallback, as noted above, Aeroplan seems to have much better redemption rates for Star Alliance.

Now I'm kinda bummed that I moved over 40,000 UR pints to United miles!  LOL

[Little Evil]

50 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Great stuff!

I had a shitload of Virgin Atlantic that I (foolishly!) converted to Hilton Honors points, because I was unaware of this wrinkle.

I note that Virgin Atlantic also is a Chase UR and Citi TY transfer partner at 1:1.  Deal isn't quite as good, but still much better than United.

Going back to my EVA issues, they were cleared up with a quick phone call to the local EVA service center that revealed the problem: when I registered with EVA back in 2013 time frame, I listed one of the nine digits in my passport number incorrectly (put an 8 instead of a 6).  As a result, when I tried to look up my info using my passport number, it came back as invalid.  Phone rep fixed the issue on their end, and I was able to get into my account in minutes.

With the abundance of other direct transfer partners for Citi TY (EVA, Turkish, Etihad, Asia Miles, Singapore, Thai, Qatar, Virgin Atlantic); AMEX MR (Aeroplan, Asia Miles, Etihad, Alitalia) and Chase UR (Singapore, Korean, Virgin Atlantic), I may be booking with the airlines directly themselves from here on, instead of using Star Alliance through United.  As a fallback, as noted above, Aeroplan seems to have much better redemption rates for Star Alliance.

Now I'm kinda bummed that I moved over 40,000 UR pints to United miles!  LOL

Asian FF programs are really weirdly strict with name format and getting your passport info. Never have figured out why they need that. I was actually reluctant to give Asia Miles my passport back in the day, but considering it was my only route to J on a trip, I relented. I had a similar issue with one of those programs where they mashed my last and middle name together on one line as my last name. The mistake was clear to anyone looking at it, but that mistake disqualified my attempts at reward redemption for several weeks until I called in to figure out what was happening. 

Is Turkish still an option given the US/Turkey spat? I know you could route around Turkey, but I'd imagine that would eliminate a good chunk of their awards. 

I'm currently considering working an Asia Miles credit card to compliment my transfer options from Amex. Either that or Korean Air. Korean's availability and website booking were fantastic my last trip. 

Lastly, don't forget Singapore is an Amex MR transfer partner too, so that trifecta could be another interesting strategy for consolidation.