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

[Little Evil]

No expenses ? Do you live in a cave, forage for wild berries, & trap small mammals ? Check out 'manufactured spending' on FlyerTalk. Buying the US miles would get you over the hump almost by itself (whoops too late). I just bought 30K (60). I had 100  that were about to expire, so this should insulate me against the devaluation. Going to go for the Alaska deal right now. I never went for the US Mint deal (pain in the ass), but I used to do $3k/month in Traveler Checks. That still works w/some cards like PenFed & USAA I'm told.

Work covers health, car, gas, insurance, phone, partial housing and incidentals. Im not bragging though, as the base pay is relatively low. That's the trade off I guess. So yes, very few expenses. My loft is somewhat cave-like though, so you're spot on there. I've maxed out once with US Air this year already during the Nov campaign, and I also did the share promotion too. While the horder in me is still salivating over the renewed match promotion, I can't justify spending any more on miles this quarter, spend or no spend. Like I said, just not ready to churn.

[wackyjacky]

The halcyon days of churning are bygone I'm afraid (unless Wall St fucks up the world economy again). Only OK deals out there now. Looks like you're doing a good job maxing out w/out churning.

[wackyjacky]

There's a couple hotels sites that give airline miles for hotel booking. A good idea if you need to top up. I find some hotels are priced competitively and some are not. I mentioned Rocketmiles previously and their big bonus just expired (there will be others). Points Hound does the same thing and you'll get a 50% miles bonus + 1000 extra miles if you use this travel blogger's link: http://boardingarea.com/viewfromthewing/2013/12/18/50-bonus-pointshound-hotel-bookings-made-end-year-plus-1000-miles/

Edited December 19, 2013 by wackyjacky

[Munkyboogar]

When I went to Thailand for the New Year I used 60,000 miles and paid $230 for a roundtrip Bz class from Japan to BKK.

[Little Evil]

When I went to Thailand for the New Year I used 60,000 miles and paid $230 for a roundtrip Bz class from Japan to BKK.

 

Good work on the miles use, but $230. for taxes and fuel surcharges RT Japan to BKK seems like robbery.  Was that because of routing from Tokyo or because of a Japanese airline (or both)?  Taxes and surcharges using the soon to be defunct US Airways award system never broke $150., and that's coming from anywhere in America to BKK and back.

[Little Evil]

American/US Airways just sent me an email saying "Enjoy 50% bonus Dividend Miles for every flight you take with American through March 2, 2014."  I'm not entirely sure if that means you earn American miles as you typically would, and then 50% Dividend miles on top, or if you can earn 1.5x US Airways miles on American travel.  Either way, not too shabby if you're already planning travel between now and the end of Feb. Requires registration.  

[Luv2Phuket]

American/US Airways just sent me an email saying "Enjoy 50% bonus Dividend Miles for every flight you take with American through March 2, 2014."  I'm not entirely sure if that means you earn American miles as you typically would, and then 50% Dividend miles on top, or if you can earn 1.5x US Airways miles on American travel.  Either way, not too shabby if you're already planning travel between now and the end of Feb. Requires registration.  

 

My understanding is that it is for those who sign up to get AA credit for flights on US Air (as opposed to their DM account), and vice versa.

 

Definitely a nice perk if you're flying AA or US Air, as you will likely be able to transfer miles between those accounts in a few more months.

[Munkyboogar]

Good work on the miles use, but $230. for taxes and fuel surcharges RT Japan to BKK seems like robbery.  Was that because of routing from Tokyo or because of a Japanese airline (or both)?  Taxes and surcharges using the soon to be defunct US Airways award system never broke $150., and that's coming from anywhere in America to BKK and back.

 

Probably because I used ANA. I actually paid less when I flew first class to the US from Japan using miles on a United flight that was operated by ANA..

[wackyjacky]

Surcharges depend on the airline. Some like BA charge a shitload & others like UA charge virtually nothing. Twice I paid BA $450 or so for a transpac First Class ticket on Cathay. I'm not complaining. I don't think I'd have done that Ana deal. Not because of the money either. Because Regional Biz is usually pretty underwhelming. I'd rather use the 60K for a one-way transpac in Biz.

[Munkyboogar]

I have many miles stored so I saw no problem with burning 60k. I got a comfortable seat, good booze (Yamazaki) and a good arrival time so I was satisfied.

[Little Evil]

There is a targeted Points.com/Dividend Mile email going around for anyone who bought or gifted miles in 2013. 100% bonus when buying or gifting before the end of the month.

[Luv2Phuket]

There is a targeted Points.com/Dividend Mile email going around for anyone who bought or gifted miles in 2013. 100% bonus when buying or gifting before the end of the month.

 

Be careful that you don't miss it -- it comes from "Points.com," not US Air.  I was worried that they left me off!

 

My US Air account is sitting at around 375k miles after the deals from last year, but I'm still thinking about this offer.  I'm worried about a devaluation from AA once they allow you to merge accounts, and want to have a big war chest when that happens.

 

One quick note - their last offer was "tiered" -- you didn't get 100% bonus unless you bought more than 30,000 miles.  This one is not - buy 1,000 miles; get an extra 1,000 miles (up to buy 50,000 miles; get an extra 50,000 miles.

[wackyjacky]

Being a miles-whore, I've only flown up front for 6 or 7 years. I can't imagine flying back to the States in Econ or even Econ + for that matter. I'm about to book travel far into the future to beat the new award charts.These devaluations have me worried as they coincide with hotel points devaluations. The CC sign up bonuses have been lowered as well. The game is a lot tougher now, but it's the only one we've got..

[Luv2Phuket]

Being a miles-whore, I've only flown up front for 6 or 7 years. I can't imagine flying back to the States in Econ or even Econ + for that matter. I'm about to book travel far into the future to beat the new award charts.These devaluations have me worried as they coincide with hotel points devaluations. The CC sign up bonuses have been lowered as well. The game is a lot tougher now, but it's the only one we've got..

 

I agree with EVERYTHING you just said!

[Little Evil]

Being a miles-whore, I've only flown up front for 6 or 7 years. I can't imagine flying back to the States in Econ or even Econ + for that matter. I'm about to book travel far into the future to beat the new award charts.These devaluations have me worried as they coincide with hotel points devaluations. The CC sign up bonuses have been lowered as well. The game is a lot tougher now, but it's the only one we've got..

 

I've only been in the game since the end of the last Grand Slam, but that's all it has taken to become completely spoiled over award air travel. I also can't fathom a longhaul leg in economy/economy+ after experiencing a top notch business class product and complimentary airport services.  My last booking on the old US Airways system was this past November for May 2014 travel. I'm not looking forward to having to deal with potential devaluations and lighter earning potential in the months to come. Although,and I'll probably get flamed for saying this, the game has almost been almost too easy in the past few years. I knew it wasn't going to last at those rates. Credit card churning aside, one could flat out buy a RT business class trip to Asia for just a pinch over economy via miles purchase during bonus match periods. That couldn't last forever. I also suspect that there are a lot more players in the "game" now, as awareness has been elevated via all the award travel blogs and websites.  

 

Oh well. Just means that veteran mile hustlers will have to stay sharp and take advantage of all the tricks of the trade. Should be interesting in the next few months to see how things fully flesh out. I'm kind of in a bad spot already again, as I'm down to 50k Dividend Miles and will have to figure out if buying or churning is my course of action for 2014. 

[Luv2Phuket]

I've only been in the game since the end of the last Grand Slam, but that's all it has taken to become completely spoiled over award air travel. I also can't fathom a longhaul leg in economy/economy+ after experiencing a top notch business class product and complimentary airport services.  My last booking on the old US Airways system was this past November for May 2014 travel. I'm not looking forward to having to deal with potential devaluations and lighter earning potential in the months to come. Although,and I'll probably get flamed for saying this, the game has almost been almost too easy in the past few years. I knew it wasn't going to last at those rates. Credit card churning aside, one could flat out buy a RT business class trip to Asia for just a pinch over economy via miles purchase during bonus match periods. That couldn't last forever. I also suspect that there are a lot more players in the "game" now, as awareness has been elevated via all the award travel blogs and websites.  

 

Oh well. Just means that veteran mile hustlers will have to stay sharp and take advantage of all the tricks of the trade. Should be interesting in the next few months to see how things fully flesh out. I'm kind of in a bad spot already again, as I'm down to 50k Dividend Miles and will have to figure out if buying or churning is my course of action for 2014. 

 

To go from 50k to 120k would cost you right around $1250, but you run the risk of a big devaluation (making it so you need more miles for the trip).

 

Have you gotten the US Air card from Barclay's yet?  I read that the bonus was back up to 40k, but the link was inactive by the time I checked it.

 

In my experience, they aren't as easy to churn -- I had the personal and applied for a business card.  They bounced me because I didn't use the personal "enough" -- rep said that if I ran up a couple of thousand a month on it for a few months, then I could get the business card.  I said "no thanks" and immediately canceled the personal card.

 

 

I stumbled upon a decent idea recently -- I maintained a SW card because I wanted to be able to "trade" the credit on it for a new card, when I needed it.  Paid the annual fee last year for that reason, and the fee hit in January -- don't know WHY I didn't think of this before ()seems like common sense!), but I just transferred the credit on it to my Sapphire card (which I don't plan to close anytime soon, although I may switch to a non-fee Freedom card to pair with my Ink cards), and closed the SW card to save the fee, while "preserving" the credit to use on a future app.

 

I think my next "round" is to get another set of Ink cards, claiming that the switch from Mastercard to Visa makes them more desirable to me....

 

As you say, it's gonna take a little more work from here on out to score the sweet freebies!

[Little Evil]

To go from 50k to 120k would cost you right around $1250, but you run the risk of a big devaluation (making it so you need more miles for the trip).

 

Have you gotten the US Air card from Barclay's yet?  I read that the bonus was back up to 40k, but the link was inactive by the time I checked it.

 

In my experience, they aren't as easy to churn -- I had the personal and applied for a business card.  They bounced me because I didn't use the personal "enough" -- rep said that if I ran up a couple of thousand a month on it for a few months, then I could get the business card.  I said "no thanks" and immediately canceled the personal card.

 

 

I stumbled upon a decent idea recently -- I maintained a SW card because I wanted to be able to "trade" the credit on it for a new card, when I needed it.  Paid the annual fee last year for that reason, and the fee hit in January -- don't know WHY I didn't think of this before ()seems like common sense!), but I just transferred the credit on it to my Sapphire card (which I don't plan to close anytime soon, although I may switch to a non-fee Freedom card to pair with my Ink cards), and closed the SW card to save the fee, while "preserving" the credit to use on a future app.

 

I think my next "round" is to get another set of Ink cards, claiming that the switch from Mastercard to Visa makes them more desirable to me....

 

As you say, it's gonna take a little more work from here on out to score the sweet freebies!

 

US Airways does indeed seem back up to 40k for the Barclays card, plus an additional 10k on the anniversary date for card agreements. I'm eyeballing it, as it would be a nice chunk of miles into my preferred program. As you mentioned, I am a little paranoid about how things will flesh out after the dust settles on everything with the merger. I know a lot of info is available already, but there's always the potential for surprises or flat out wrong guesses from industry experts. I'm trigger shy about signing up for anything or buying miles at this stage. Maybe I'll throw down for 25k and net 50k Dividend miles for now, just to get me to 100k. I can earn 20-30k in surveys, dining, and purchases well before my next trip after my May trip, so I'm not worried too much yet. It will be the trip after my second 2014 trip that I'm worried about. I'll be starting from scratch on that trip.  

 

Admittedly, my credit card game is lacking. I've had the same Amex gold and Capital One Venture for a few years now.  I occasionally flip cards at work, but I haven't churned personally in a long time. I wouldn't mind replacing the Capital One, as that card very little towards my earning game. Chase Sapphire or an Amex with a 75k bonus would be ideal. I'm going to have to re-read every churning article I've ever read to sharpen my game on that end. Sounds like you have a strong grasp over that aspects of the game. I might have to hit you up with advise when it gets to that point.  

[Luv2Phuket]

Admittedly, my credit card game is lacking. I've had the same Amex gold and Capital One Venture for a few years now.  I occasionally flip cards at work, but I haven't churned personally in a long time. I wouldn't mind replacing the Capital One, as that card very little towards my earning game. Chase Sapphire or an Amex with a 75k bonus would be ideal. I'm going to have to re-read every churning article I've ever read to sharpen my game on that end. Sounds like you have a strong grasp over that aspects of the game. I might have to hit you up with advise when it gets to that point.  

 

Any time, bro!

[wackyjacky]

i've still got 3 or 400K, but if I needed flights, I'd get on that Barclay's deal, buy, & book ASAP, The devaluation can't be far off. You'll lose the CC bonus in the new charts. Lets say a Biz RT to the US or EU is worth say $5K and you can get the award for 120K miles. That makes the miles worth > 4 cents. You're buying them for < 2 cents. Also, if you've got enough miles for a 1st Class award, get on it now. The miles required will almost double.

[Little Evil]

i've still got 3 or 400K, but if I needed flights, I'd get on that Barclay's deal, buy, & book ASAP, The devaluation can't be far off. You'll lose the CC bonus in the new charts. Lets say a Biz RT to the US or EU is worth say $5K and you can get the award for 120K miles. That makes the miles worth > 4 cents. You're buying them for < 2 cents. Also, if you've got enough miles for a 1st Class award, get on it now. The miles required will almost double.

 

That thought I had a handle on the upcoming devaluation, but after reading what you posted, I'm not sure anymore.  

 

It was my understanding that the biggest impact on my typical itinerary (RT US>BKK in business) would be the jump from the now 120k miles to 125k miles on AA's chart.  Do you guys expect there to be additional complications?  I was also wondering about miles pricing. Right now US Airways is at roughly 3.5 cents/mile and AA is around 2.95 cents/mile.  US often goes down to 1.75 cents/mile with the bonus periods. You mention a doubling. That's scaring the hell out of me, but I'm not sure I fully grasp the issue. Are you saying that because the unified AA will no longer have the bonus matching, or for another reason that I have yet to identify as an issue?

[Luv2Phuket]

That thought I had a handle on the upcoming devaluation, but after reading what you posted, I'm not sure anymore.  

 

It was my understanding that the biggest impact on my typical itinerary (RT US>BKK in business) would be the jump from the now 120k miles to 125k miles on AA's chart.  Do you guys expect there to be additional complications?  I was also wondering about miles pricing. Right now US Airways is at roughly 3.5 cents/mile and AA is around 2.95 cents/mile.  US often goes down to 1.75 cents/mile with the bonus periods. You mention a doubling. That's scaring the hell out of me, but I'm not sure I fully grasp the issue. Are you saying that because the unified AA will no longer have the bonus matching, or for another reason that I have yet to identify as an issue?

 

Actually, I think AA is cheaper for business class to BKK than US Air.  

 

AA is 110,000 in business class from USA-BKK; 135,000 in first class (using the oneworld chart).  US Air's "sweet spot" is the 90k business class to Hong Kong, which is 110k on AA.  

Get the Citi AA card that gives you a 10% rebate (up to 10,000 miles per year) and it's even cheaper -- it drops top 100k for RT business to BKK (on the first flight only, since you would have maxed out the 10k rebate).

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see a business class ticket get bumped to the 150k range for RT on oneworld using AA miles.  United is going from 120k to 160k in 2 weeks.

[wackyjacky]

Yeah, look at the new United chart to see AA's future. J awards will go up by 1/3 & seats in F will be priced out basically..

[duke main]

I just booked a trip to MNL for October. I have no idea where I'll go or what I'll do when I get there, but I wanted to burn my miles before the devaluation. Thanks Footy, for the info about the booking service. I had to pay an additional $50 to expedite but it's worth it.

[Luv2Phuket]

Good reminder Duke Main -- the "devaluation deadline" is right around the corner!

 

I was thinking of booking a summer trip, but had to postpone my February trip and just moved it to summer.  Since I have booked a trip in November and you can only go out a year, I don't know that I can swing another pre-devaluation booking.

 

I'm considering doing a Sept/Oct/Nov booking, then -- when the Feb dates for next year open up -- changing the itinerary.  I think that costs at least $75, but it may be worth it, given the miles I will save....

[Little Evil]

Reminder to all that today is the last day of the US Air/Points.com matching campaign.  I'm personally torn whether or not I should top off or not.  I wish this devaluation wasn't hanging over us and future structure of the FF programs was cemented.