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

[basket case]

Perhaps you can go into the "Manage my Reservation/Trip" tab (or whatever it is called) on the Cathay website and add it there?

You'll need to call AA first to get the CX record locator. It will not be the same as the AA record locator.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

[Luv2Phuket]

56 minutes ago, basket case said:

You'll need to call AA first to get the CX record locator. It will not be the same as the AA record locator.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
 

Great point -- that's the first thing I do after being ticketed so I can choose seats, meals, etc.

Just picked the meal for the long leg of my mid-November flight on EVA (lobster in ginger sauce with egg fried rice - found a trip review with photos and it looked pretty damn good!)

[HimBadMan]

On 10/25/2017 at 13:14, Luv2Phuket said:

Some potential good news - 5 more International airline added to PreCheck program, including Cathay, ANA and Korean:

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/10/tsa-adds-five-airlines-to-precheck/?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Editorial&utm_campaign=TWITTER-100000090957289

I LOVE PreCheck (and Global Entry), but I say "potential good news" because I have never seen a TSA PreCheck lane at the Bradley Terminal at LAX, which is where all of my International flights depart.  Hopefully they will be adding a lane soon!

 

TBIT will not have  a TSA Line--   Im pretty sure if you have the boarding pass, you can use terminal 4-  If you are flying a OW Airline you can uses AA Flagship checkin..    But I think I saw you post that you are flying EVA THis trip..   Man I miss EVA.  They serve Don P in biz- Gotta love that....

[Little Evil]

15 hours ago, sharka said:

No, I think he meant tossed bag is exactly that. The handlers are throwing the bags around. Ive seen this done even with the "fragile" tags/stickers on boxes or bags. Some handlers simply dont care.

I get what he was saying, but he was commenting on what I was originally saying, and my original point was "tossed, as in tossing a jail cell". The thread goes one comment further back than what you saw. 

 

[Little Evil]

15 hours ago, basket case said:

You'll need to call AA first to get the CX record locator. It will not be the same as the AA record locator.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
 

Whenever I book CX with AA, I always ask for the CX record locator at the time of the award booking. I don't know why they don't bother giving it to you in any of the digital records. 

I actually checked this out last night when logging into "Manage Booking" on the CX website. After logging in with CX record locator, there is a tab for Frequent Flyer. AA is a drop down option. What I don't know is if you can put a known traveler number down for Precheck. There is a separate tab for "Travel Document", but it is locked away and requires the ticket number (which I don't have). Worth noting that if your reservation has your middle name, CX often groups that in with your first name on the login page. For instance, John Lee Smith would be, First Name: Johnlee / Last Name: Smith. If you can't login with just your first/last name, give that a try. 

 

[bouncewithme]

18 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Perhaps you can go into the "Manage my Reservation/Trip" tab (or whatever it is called) on the Cathay website and add it there?

Just checked the Cathay site under manage reservation....no option for it. Reading the comments on the OP article, it appears the Cathay system doesnt have an input for it yet.

[Little Evil]

You guys all are like-minded people, so this question is worth asking specifically on this page vs the entire forum (I know it has been asked several times elsewhere): What's the shortest time period you would go if you had a J or better ticket coming from USA? I'm seriously considering a trip that would put me on the ground for only 4 days. Waste of points? 

The extended family is all doing different things this turkey day--a first in at least a decade. I now find myself free of obligation for 5 days. What would you do? I also priced out some of my closer haunts. SJO is oddly expensive and most of the Caribbean is beat to hell right now, and this route is oddly available.  WWYD?

[Luv2Phuket]

1 hour ago, Little Evil said:

You guys all are like-minded people, so this question is worth asking specifically on this page vs the entire forum (I know it has been asked several times elsewhere): What's the shortest time period you would go if you had a J or better ticket coming from USA? I'm seriously considering a trip that would put me on the ground for only 4 days. Waste of points? 

The extended family is all doing different things this turkey day--a first in at least a decade. I now find myself free of obligation for 5 days. What would you do? I also priced out some of my closer haunts. SJO is oddly expensive and most of the Caribbean is beat to hell right now, and this route is oddly available.  WWYD?

Tough to find availability then -- I am traveling over that period and found some -- but not great -- availability.  Surprisingly, even Korean seemed to have little to no availability on my preferred travel dates.

Any way to squeeze 2 more days out?  Maybe Saturday to Sunday?  Or even Saturday to Saturday?  Sunday to Sunday?

I would have to think long and hard about less than 5 days on the ground.  It's a big chunk of miles and a lot of travel for such a short pay-off.  Then again, it's a HELLUVA way to spend those 4 days!

If you pull the trigger, let me know -- would love to meet up with some Yanks (or other BMs) for a nice turkey day meal

(full disclosure: I typically have some accident or illness that knocks me out of action that day -- oddly consistent that it happens on Thanksgiving year after year! 555)

[bgtp]

1 hour ago, Little Evil said:

You guys all are like-minded people, so this question is worth asking specifically on this page vs the entire forum (I know it has been asked several times elsewhere): What's the shortest time period you would go if you had a J or better ticket coming from USA? I'm seriously considering a trip that would put me on the ground for only 4 days. Waste of points? 

The extended family is all doing different things this turkey day--a first in at least a decade. I now find myself free of obligation for 5 days. What would you do? I also priced out some of my closer haunts. SJO is oddly expensive and most of the Caribbean is beat to hell right now, and this route is oddly available.  WWYD?

Well, since you asked. Two weeks on the ground is the shortest trip I have ever done and I definitely wouldn't go for less then that. Of course, that's just me and everybody's different.

[basket case]

1 hour ago, Little Evil said:

You guys all are like-minded people, so this question is worth asking specifically on this page vs the entire forum (I know it has been asked several times elsewhere): What's the shortest time period you would go if you had a J or better ticket coming from USA? I'm seriously considering a trip that would put me on the ground for only 4 days. Waste of points? 

The extended family is all doing different things this turkey day--a first in at least a decade. I now find myself free of obligation for 5 days. What would you do? I also priced out some of my closer haunts. SJO is oddly expensive and most of the Caribbean is beat to hell right now, and this route is oddly available.  WWYD?

Is it your last 160K miles, or are you sitting on an additional 500k?

Do you get a lot of vacation time?

Could you realistically wait 6 months and go for a longer holiday?

All these would need to be factored into the equation.  For me, 4 days on the would wipe me out with jetlag, and I'd be toast for the following 2 weeks.  So I personally wouldnt do a trip that short.  But if I had tons of miles, and this was the only opening to get away that you had for a while, then why not go for it?

[HimBadMan]

2 hours ago, Little Evil said:

You guys all are like-minded people, so this question is worth asking specifically on this page vs the entire forum (I know it has been asked several times elsewhere): What's the shortest time period you would go if you had a J or better ticket coming from USA? I'm seriously considering a trip that would put me on the ground for only 4 days. Waste of points? 

The extended family is all doing different things this turkey day--a first in at least a decade. I now find myself free of obligation for 5 days. What would you do? I also priced out some of my closer haunts. SJO is oddly expensive and most of the Caribbean is beat to hell right now, and this route is oddly available.  WWYD?

Yes, the question would be are you sitting on a shit load of miles?  If i was, I would take it in a heartbeat, but like LUV2PHUKET said, J avail will be tough- so if you found it, book it..  Can always cancel later if you get cold feet..   I will also be there for Thanksgiving.. Usually go to Coops..  He always has a great feast.

[HimBadMan]

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Tough to find availability then -- I am traveling over that period and found some -- but not great -- availability.  Surprisingly, even Korean seemed to have little to no availability on my preferred travel dates.

Any way to squeeze 2 more days out?  Maybe Saturday to Sunday?  Or even Saturday to Saturday?  Sunday to Sunday?

I would have to think long and hard about less than 5 days on the ground.  It's a big chunk of miles and a lot of travel for such a short pay-off.  Then again, it's a HELLUVA way to spend those 4 days!

If you pull the trigger, let me know -- would love to meet up with some Yanks (or other BMs) for a nice turkey day meal

(full disclosure: I typically have some accident or illness that knocks me out of action that day -- oddly consistent that it happens on Thanksgiving year after year! 555)

Thought I read you are flying through ICN?   On my way to Patts I will be on KE F,  LAX-ICN and have a 4 hour layover.  Any idea on the lounge situation there?  Read KE F is garbage, but think priority pass gets into Asiana and heard that was good..  Any Intel?

I guess I treated myself this trip-   Doing F with KE way there (reviews are not that great) and CX F on way home..  I also have a side trip from HKG to HKT on Cathay Drag Biz-- 

[Luv2Phuket]

4 hours ago, HimBadMan said:

Thought I read you are flying through ICN?   On my way to Patts I will be on KE F,  LAX-ICN and have a 4 hour layover.  Any idea on the lounge situation there?  Read KE F is garbage, but think priority pass gets into Asiana and heard that was good..  Any Intel?

I guess I treated myself this trip-   Doing F with KE way there (reviews are not that great) and CX F on way home..  I also have a side trip from HKG to HKT on Cathay Drag Biz-- 

I am flying through ICN on my way back, but it's Thai biz going there, then Asiana biz heading home

I have virtually no recollection of the Korean Air F lounge.  I don't recall it standing out, nor do I recall it sucking.  Because of that, I would guess it is decidedly mediocre.

I was pretty damn happy with KE first.  Found it very comfortable, and it was wide open when I flew it. 

In fact, I was (and still am) STRONGLY considering changing my return flight (from my current early a.m. departure with stops in TPE (no change of planes) and ICN before heading back to LAX) to KE F.  The difference in mileage effectively is only 15,000 miles (80,000 United to 95,000 KE), and the flight is a much better time (10:30 a.m. departure and shorter layover at ICN), but it requires me to stay another day (uh....no problem there! LOL).  I'm hesitating because I expect to have a business trip to Seoul in the coming months, and would prefer to save my Korean miles for that trip....but still no conclusive decision!  555

[soi16]

You Americans near to Detroid should look at this.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericrosen/2017/10/30/deltas-first-a350-route-with-all-suites-business-class-launches-today/amp/

Edited October 31, 2017 by soi16

[Little Evil]

11 hours ago, HimBadMan said:

Thought I read you are flying through ICN?   On my way to Patts I will be on KE F,  LAX-ICN and have a 4 hour layover.  Any idea on the lounge situation there?  Read KE F is garbage, but think priority pass gets into Asiana and heard that was good..  Any Intel?

I guess I treated myself this trip-   Doing F with KE way there (reviews are not that great) and CX F on way home..  I also have a side trip from HKG to HKT on Cathay Drag Biz-- 

First off--all good replies, thanks. I think you have collectively talked some sense into me in my time of between-trip blues. I don't get much time off, which is why the thought crossed my mind with this unexpected downtime. That trip though...daunting for only 4 days on the ground. I've done it before for that stretch, but I had obligations and it wasn't a "fun" trip. Truth is, I have just enough miles for the trip and I have my Feb 1st class trip already booked, so this felt like kind of a free situation, but I think I'll save those for my Aug 2018 trip. I only way I'd consider it now is if I got some type of glitch fare J ticket.

As for KE F in ICN - horrible as far as first class lounges go. I think they only have 3 shower rooms which, for my only two times through there, were already booked and you have to wait. I didn't even get to shower one of the times, as I only had 45 minutes in there and the rooms didn't clear in time. No one came by to clean up an empty, but used room. The food spread is similar to a public lounge and it isn't very large. The lounge itself is clean though. If you're a smoker, you'll be delighted to know there is a small smoking room with window to the tarmac inside the lounge. I'd rate is average to slightly below average for a J class lounge, which is nuts considering it is F in KE's home hub. 

[Luv2Phuket]

On 10/13/2017 at 07:46, navidnavid said:

Singapore waitlist usually opens up ~ 72 -96 hours before departure.... I'm 4/4 with SG waitlists... I love SG airlines!

I just made a BONEHEAD rookie mistake!  

I was checking Singapore award availability for my return in November, and biz came up available at 105,800.  Odd number, but I didn't give it much thought -- I immediately went to my Citi TY account and cleared out the 79,000 TY points there, and then dropped another 27,000 from my AMEX MR to get me to 106,000 SQ miles.

Going back to my whining above (and in another thread), I am currently on a 7:30 a.m. departure.  SQ has 2 flights that day leaving BKK at around 8:45 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. that connect in Singapore (less than 3 hour layover) to a flight that stops in ICN (no change of planes) and gets into LAX early Tuesday a.m.  MUCH better timing for me.  Setting aside the not-so-great 6 a.m. arrival time in LA, it's fantastic.

When I went back to see if my 106,000 points had posted (they had not), I checked again on availability and realized that the 105,800 figure was NOT the miles required, but the COST in Thai baht!  DOH!!!!  555

With AMEX and Citi, "a card laid is a card played," so those transfer were final as soon as I clicked "confirm".....sigh.....

On the plus side, SQ appears to be the most likely transfer partner for my Citi TY points (them or EVA), so the transfer may have been inevitable.

Now the question becomes whether I "wait list" the biz class seats I want OR I can go ahead an book them at a fairly absurd 120,000 SQ miles (which would require that I transfer more AMEX MR).

I think I am going to go with the waitlist option and see if they can "save" my last night in Pattaya.  The miles are a wash (80,000 United vs 88,000 SQ), but it would be well worth the additional taxes and change fee to essentially get another day in Pattaya....and I will soon have those freakin' SQ miles in my account anyway!  555

I just can't see dropping the extra 32,000 SQ miles it would take to lock in the flights now just for one more day.  Actually, it's not even one more day -- basically, just a better night's sleep! (although it does greatly open up the options for a LT on my last night and a possible ST or massage on Monday before I leave)

Anyway, let that be a lesson -- be certain that the flight you want is available BEFORE you transfer those points!

Curious to see how long the transfers take, as I can't even waitlist the flights until they do.

 

[Little Evil]

555 Were you pricing that out while in LOS? How did you end up with baht? 

[Luv2Phuket]

3 hours ago, Little Evil said:

555 Were you pricing that out while in LOS? How did you end up with baht? 

Was booking BKK-LAX leg only, so I guess it automatically priced it in baht.

FWIW, the Citi TY and AMEX MR have not appeared in my KrisFlyer account yet.  I think they advise that it could take a couple of days, but I'm used to Chase UR to United, which post in minutes.

[Luv2Phuket]

You snooze, you lose!  555  I just checked back on that Korean first class award ticket - now booked solid.

I DID find availability on China Southern biz class on the day that I am currently flying. 95k Delta miles - I have 4500 miles, so it would require the transfer of 91,000 AMEX MR.

I have flown China Southern before and it was okay, but I don't know that it is a good use of miles/AMEX MR.  The BIG perk is that the flight leaves BKK at either noon or 3 p.m.-ish, which buys me some hours, but it would really just mean more sleep/a better last night.

Really torn.  Is it worth about $275 in fees (redeposit fee + fees for CZ) + 15k more miles NOT to leave at 3 p.m. instead of 7:30 a.m.?

I'm leaning (slightly) to "no," and thinking that getting a Delta-affiliated AMEX for a nice mile bonus may be a good idea to use for this flight on a future trip (as opposed to moving 90k of my remaining 130k AMEX MR after the ill-fated Singapore transfer)

Any thoughts?

[navidnavid]

13 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Was booking BKK-LAX leg only, so I guess it automatically priced it in baht.

FWIW, the Citi TY and AMEX MR have not appeared in my KrisFlyer account yet.  I think they advise that it could take a couple of days, but I'm used to Chase UR to United, which post in minutes.

With SG they will reserve your ticket until the miles hit your account.... you must provide them with the transfer id # ....

 

15k miles plus ~$300 for a few more hours and one night better sleep? No way man.... the reward is not worth the price IMO ... 

[Luv2Phuket]

14 hours ago, navidnavid said:

With SG they will reserve your ticket until the miles hit your account.... you must provide them with the transfer id # ....

 

15k miles plus ~$300 for a few more hours and one night better sleep? No way man.... the reward is not worth the price IMO ... 

Good to know on SQ for future reference -- the miles posted late last night.

I decided the China Southern/Delta miles move just wasn't worth it.  Instead, I'm gonna waitlist one of the Singapore flights that leave in the 8:45 p.m.-9:15 p.m. range, and see if it comes through for me.  If it does, great; if not, I'll just stick with my early a.m. flight.

EDIT:

I waitlisted both the 8:50 p.m. and 9:10 p.m. departures from BKK on Singapore.  I will update later on how it goes.

I find it very odd that they have 2 flights so damn close together on that route.  Given a choice, I would actually prefer the earlier flight which leads to a longer layover (but still only about 2:45), because it would give me some time to check out Changi airport.

I don't know if they are new, but these SQ flights are pretty convenient for travel to LAX -- evening departure; short layover at Changi; short layover at ICN, but no change of planes.  The only down side is very early arrival at LAX (although even that isn't too bad -- a short nap and I'm ready to get something accomplished that afternoon)

[soi16]

SQ new 380. Poor me.

[Luv2Phuket]

I've read that service is expected to start on Singapore to/from Sydney, with Heathrow expected to follow shortly after that.

If I get the award ticket, my route (SIN-ICN-LAX) is serviced by a 777-300R, with reviews a little spotty on the configuration.

#FirstWorldProblems!  555

[Luv2Phuket]

I wanted to provide an update on my experience with the "Flight Cents" program on my Barclay's Aviator card.

I had some issues early on -- ex: I started reloading my Amazon gift card TOO early, so I did it for about 10 days with NO miles gain.

In any event, I FINALLY finished my first month -- I ended up paying $37.26 for 3726 AA miles.  The 1 cent per mile is a nice price, but I cannot fathom how I could do enough transactions each month to bump it up to a significant level.

I am working on a small minimum spend for bonus miles on my United card right now, so I have subbed out my Aviator as my "primary spending" card, but -- as noted above -- I am putting $150.30 on my AMEX gift card this month ($5.01 auto reload per day x 30 days), having the $5.01 bumped up by .99 cents per day ($29.70) and netting 2,970 AA miles (+ the minimal miles I get for the original spend).  $5 in the minimum auto reload.  

Then again, there's not much effort on my part, and I buy a shitload of stuff on Amazon, so reloading the gift card is not a waste of money, as it will eventually be spent -- kinda like buying gift cards to accelerate card spending.

Is anyone else participating this program?  Have you found a relatively inexpensive way to bump your numbers up?

I considered going to my local grocer and buying a buttload of their gift cards in increments that end in .01, but I think they might get pissed if I ask them to do 30+ different transactions while I am standing there. 555

[bgtp]

A quick question for those of you who have had to cancel and redeposit miles for a Korean Air award. Is it better to do it online, over the phone, or no difference either way? Unfortunately, my February trip is off.