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

[Luv2Phuket]

Youse guyz are probably right. I should take (another) look at those cards.
Only reason I haven't is the (previously ?) piss poor descriptions of how many "points" (NOT miles) were needed to get how many "miles" and which airlines they could be converted to.
Then again, it seems like all of these "bonus miles/points" cards have a $3K minimum spending within 3 months to get the bonus points/miles and I actually would have a hard time meeting that as in retirement I don't spend that much,,,,,,,,
I guess I SHOULD revisit the card though and really dive into the conversion process though. 
Thanks
 
Sent from my iMac using my keyboard

Chase UR almost always convert at 1:1 (unless they are offering a bonus).

Check the blog I posted before about paying rent/mortgage/car/etc. with credit card through payment processors. While the cost means it’s usually not a good deal, it can be to meet a minimum spend.



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[Luv2Phuket]

Award was 75K United miles. I’d have no problem using United Polaris again in the future. 

That’s 15k less than using a partner airline via Star Alliance - nice deal!


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[sulu]

8 hours ago, bgtp said:

I flew over on United Polaris earlier this week and thought it was good enough for business class. It wasn’t  my first choice, but at the time I booked, back in November, they had space on my dates. Here’s a few quick thoughts.

i started in BOS. Domestic United club there was nothing notable in either a good or bad way, but food selection was limited. Fortunately, the restaurant next door took Priority Pass and I had a nice crab cake eggs benedict for breakfast. The Polaris Club in EWR was pretty good. Access is limited to business long haul passengers only and there were hardly any passengers there at the time. There’s a sit down restaurant with a small menu to order from as well as a buffet if you prefer to serve yourself. One of the nicest business lounges I’ve been in here stateside while waiting to head overseas.

I'm not sure how far along United is retrofitting older planes with the new seats, but my flight from EWR to HKG was on a B777-300ER with the new seats. Seat was fine and I slept well. As good as CX, but not as good as JAL Sky Suite. I’m tall and lanky and fit ok. Soft product was great with pajamas and mattress pad available on request. Only odd thing I noticed was that neither the clubs nor long haul flight had any newspapers available. Maybe they figure everybody’s gone digital and nobody reads them anymore.

HKG-BKK was in Thai business on a A350-900. I lied down for a little bit before the meal and the flatbed was comfortable. Overall, a good trip. I got here well rested, in one piece and on my preferred travel date. Award was 75K United miles. I’d have no problem using United Polaris again in the future. 

BOS-BKK for 75K miles ?

Was that one way ? And another 75K for the return ? 

[Luv2Phuket]

HAD to be OW - the best deal going that I have seen for biz class is 50k Alaska miles on Cathay each way.

Booking Star Alliance via United typically is 90,000 miles each way

[Little Evil]

On 23/07/2019 at 21:45, HimBadMan said:

@skink  @Little Evil @Luv2Phuket.    Just FYI i was able to secure JAL Award ticket from BKK to San Diego via NRT the other day via Aadvantage miles on AA website for my flight home on 9/8

The BKK to NRT on 788-  neo shell seats.   For the 6 hour flight.  Bummer. But the 788 from NRT to San Diego is in Apex suites that hit that route effective 4/1/19.  Super excited to try the apex suites.  I picked a window suite and thr privacy looks awesome.   Only bummer it's only a 10 hour flight .   70K AA milew

My flight to BKK on 28th of Aug is on Singapre A350URL.   17 hours of business class, which I'm extremely excited for.   I chose a 10 hour layover to explore singapre and Chani airport as I want to see the Jewel..     also booked their new 787 biz seat from SIN to BKK.  Booked this via Kris Flyer. By transferring 95K UR points.

Was just approved for Barclays AA Aviator BIZ card that had a nice sign up bonus of 75K miles after only 1K spend.    Hoping next trip is LAX to QATAR QSuites for 15 hours for 80K AA miles 

The DOH louge for Qatar is ridiculously large. I've never seen anything that size before, where the reflection pool alone is about the size of most lounges. I think you'll get a kick out of it if you have a DOH layover. The only downside is that if you get a seat in the middle of the lounge, it seems like it takes a 5 minute walk to find a place to get a drink to bring back to your seat. 

Good job on the JAL booking. I personally like the JAL Skysuite for privacy. I also dig the remotes where you can order stuff direct from the software. The seat storage though (or lack thereof for window seats) is tricky to work around. Almost lost my phone inside the chair at one point. I might bring a smaller pouch/bag that I can clip to the magazine holder by the foot well next trip.

General PSA: Targeted Amex promotion for Amazon. Additional 2 points per dollar through Sept. Must add to card to activate. 

[Luv2Phuket]

34 minutes ago, Little Evil said:

The DOH louge for Qatar is ridiculously large. I've never seen anything that size before, where the reflection pool alone is about the size of most lounges. I think you'll get a kick out of it if you have a DOH layover. The only downside is that if you get a seat in the middle of the lounge, it seems like it takes a 5 minute walk to find a place to get a drink to bring back to your seat. 

Agree 110% - that lounge is MASSIVE!  The related downside is that, after the 5 minute walk, I stand a pretty slim chance of finding my damn seat/table again!  5555

The security gate check on flights from Doha to LAX can be VERY time consuming and is a disorganized mess.  Give yourself plenty of time.  By the time I got through it, business class already was boarding.

[Luv2Phuket]

48 minutes ago, Little Evil said:

General PSA: Targeted Amex promotion for Amazon. Additional 2 points per dollar through Sept. Must add to card to activate. 
 

SWEET!  I got this offer!

I'm surprised that none of the travel blogs that I read have mentioned it yet.

Terms say:  "Excludes corporate gift card and custom-designed gift card purchases."

Am I being overly optimistic in reading that as awarding 2 points per USD on Amazon Gift Card reloads? 

Since it's valid through 9/30, I may wait for more info on reloads before I try that (and wait to push charges to my next billing cycle since I just bought a $1,200 airline ticket)

I was just about to place an order, so this will give me some extra AMEX MR for it

[bgtp]

3 hours ago, sulu said:

BOS-BKK for 75K miles ?

Was that one way ? And another 75K for the return ? 

Yes, the 75K was one way for business class. This trip I did the round trip for 150K and took advantage of the Excursionist Perk. So, I have a free flight from BKK-MNL next month on Thai business. Flying home from HKG on United Polaris. Needed to get my own flight from CRK-HKG, but that was cheap enough.

[Little Evil]

58 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Agree 110% - that lounge is MASSIVE!  The related downside is that, after the 5 minute walk, I stand a pretty slim chance of finding my damn seat/table again!  5555

The security gate check on flights from Doha to LAX can be VERY time consuming and is a disorganized mess.  Give yourself plenty of time.  By the time I got through it, business class already was boarding.

Forgot about the gate security. Very good point, as they appear to be very poorly operated and do eat up some time. Kind of a free-for-all, where the J/F line just merged into Y and people were cutting like crazy. Of course I get selected for bomb testing, 'cause that's just my luck. 

 

[sulu]

3 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

HAD to be OW - the best deal going that I have seen for biz class is 50k Alaska miles on Cathay each way.

Booking Star Alliance via United typically is 90,000 miles each way

I figured as much but you never know.

To anyone that thinks air travel is very expensive nowadays, consider this.

Some 35 years ago I flew United from JFK-LAX on a super special for $198 RT. Regular, IIRC was around $300.

And they were running a promotion. Get this. Fly any 6 flights and a total of 8K miles and you'd get a free FIRST CLASS RT ticket ANYWHERE the airline flies.

So for the cost of 3 RT coach tickets to LA, total of $600, I also got a 1st class ticket from JFK to Sydney Australia.

Wait, there's more.

The 1st class ticket ALSO included a stop over in BOTH directions (stopped in HAWAII on the way over for a week & San Diego for a week coming back),

Nope, not done yet !!!

Also (within that 1st class ticket) got 2 free one way tickets within Australia. I flew from Melbourne to Cairns (Great Barrier Reef) for a week, drove down to Brisbane for a week and then flew back to to SYD for another week before heading home.

 

Now THAT was a trip !!! 

 

[Little Evil]

51 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

SWEET!  I got this offer!

I'm surprised that none of the travel blogs that I read have mentioned it yet.

Terms say:  "Excludes corporate gift card and custom-designed gift card purchases."

Am I being overly optimistic in reading that as awarding 2 points per USD on Amazon Gift Card reloads? 

Since it's valid through 9/30, I may wait for more info on reloads before I try that (and wait to push charges to my next billing cycle since I just bought a $1,200 airline ticket)

I was just about to place an order, so this will give me some extra AMEX MR for it

That's the very first thing I noticed too about the gift cards, as I started getting ideas for some double dipping action.  Technically, this is 2 bonus points on top of the standard point, so the net should be 3 points per. That's assuming I read that correctly, but my other bonus point vendors specifically state 1 bonus point. 

Any time Amazon pops up, it is like an early Xmas for me, so I'm wondering as well while it wasn't posted in the points blogs as well considering this is 2 points bonus. 

[sulu]

1 hour ago, Little Evil said:

The DOH louge for Qatar is ridiculously large. I've never seen anything that size before, where the reflection pool alone is about the size of most lounges. I think you'll get a kick out of it if you have a DOH layover. The only downside is that if you get a seat in the middle of the lounge, it seems like it takes a 5 minute walk to find a place to get a drink to bring back to your seat. 

Good job on the JAL booking. I personally like the JAL Skysuite for privacy. I also dig the remotes where you can order stuff direct from the software. The seat storage though (or lack thereof for window seats) is tricky to work around. Almost lost my phone inside the chair at one point. I might bring a smaller pouch/bag that I can clip to the magazine holder by the foot well next trip.

General PSA: Targeted Amex promotion for Amazon. Additional 2 points per dollar through Sept. Must add to card to activate. 

 

My first trip on QATAR, the DOH lounge was still being built. It was late being finished. For stopovers of 8 hours or more one could use the lounge, even if it was an economy ticket. I was SO looking forward to that as my layover was just over 8 hours.

 

Since the lounge wasn't ready yet they drove us about 15 minutes into town and put us up at an extremely modern hotel so we could get some sleep and drove us back about 6 hours later to catch our flight.

 

Sometimes perks you never think you'd need come at the best times. On a return from BKK I had a 6 hour stopover in Hong Kong. Now WTF does one do in an airport for 6 hours ? On hard seats/benches ?

But with my United Explorer credit card I get 2 passes per year to United Clubs and Hong Kong HAD one. So much more comfortable,,,,,,,,,,, with free food, a shower, comfortable chairs/couches, etc. Can't even imagine spending 6 hours in the main part of the airport.

That's been tightened up a bit though. At that time I wasn't flying United but there were no restrictions. Now it seems you have to have a United (Star Alliance ?) boarding pass along with your United passes to get into United clubs.

Most excellent.

[Luv2Phuket]

3 hours ago, Little Evil said:

That's the very first thing I noticed too about the gift cards, as I started getting ideas for some double dipping action.  Technically, this is 2 bonus points on top of the standard point, so the net should be 3 points per. That's assuming I read that correctly, but my other bonus point vendors specifically state 1 bonus point. 

Any time Amazon pops up, it is like an early Xmas for me, so I'm wondering as well while it wasn't posted in the points blogs as well considering this is 2 points bonus. 

I just used it and now I am a little concerned....

As I read the terms and conditions, it was for ALL Amazon purchases through September 30 -- it specifically says "purchases," plural.

I'm gonna be pissed as Hell if all I get the extra MRs on are my $22 purchase today!  555

Regardless, it's capped at 1500 bonus MRs, so $750 in purchases.

BTW, if you have the AMEX Platinum personal card, don't forget your $50 Saks credit ($50 from Jan thru June; $50 from July thru Dec).  I combined that with another $10 AMEX offer and a 10% cash back from Rakuten to get a damn nice shirt for about 35% of normal price.

 

EDIT:

After I did the first Amazon purchase, i got an email saying I had redeemed one of my offers, but I didn't get the email after a second Amazon purchase today.

Second email just same through.  Whew!

[HimBadMan]

7 hours ago, Little Evil said:

The DOH louge for Qatar is ridiculously large. I've never seen anything that size before, where the reflection pool alone is about the size of most lounges. I think you'll get a kick out of it if you have a DOH layover. The only downside is that if you get a seat in the middle of the lounge, it seems like it takes a 5 minute walk to find a place to get a drink to bring back to your seat. 

Good job on the JAL booking. I personally like the JAL Skysuite for privacy. I also dig the remotes where you can order stuff direct from the software. The seat storage though (or lack thereof for window seats) is tricky to work around. Almost lost my phone inside the chair at one point. I might bring a smaller pouch/bag that I can clip to the magazine holder by the foot well next trip.

General PSA: Targeted Amex promotion for Amazon. Additional 2 points per dollar through Sept. Must add to card to activate. 

Yes last year I flew lax to bkk via Doha on Qatar biz and 1st class..   those lounges (biz and 1st class) are amazing, and was also able to explore the city for a few hours with my 8 hour layover..

This was before the 777ER had qsuites.  But was extremely happy they upgraded my from biz to 1st on their a380.   This was on their paid flight when they had biz class sale of $1900 TT.  God I miss those Qatar sales!!

Good tip on the Sky suites pouch.   

Anyone fly the Singapore A350 URL yet?  I hear mix reviews on their biz class.  Have to sleep on the angle.    Regardless. I am really excited to try it 

Edited July 26, 2019 by HimBadMan

[Luv2Phuket]

15 minutes ago, HimBadMan said:

Anyone fly the Singapore A350 URL yet?  I hear mix reviews on their biz class.  Have to sleep on the angle.    Regardless. I am really excited to try it 
 

99% sure that I flew it back from SIN to LAX last November.

I don't recall it being a big issue.  That said, I'm a big guy (6'2'"; 250 lbs), so I always have to move around to find a position that works for me.  Plus, I generally sleep like crap on planes.

I'm on it again this November, but the other direction - LAX to SIN.  I leave LAX at 10:30 p.m.; arrive SIN at 8:15 a.m. 2 days later, so hoping to get at least a few hours sleep on the nearly 18-hour flight! 

I'm spending two nights in Singapore, so I'm hoping that I can get an early check-in, followed by a short nap and an early start on sightseeing.

[HimBadMan]

7 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

99% sure that I flew it back from SIN to LAX last November.

I don't recall it being a big issue.  That said, I'm a big guy (6'2'"; 250 lbs), so I always have to move around to find a position that works for me.  Plus, I generally sleep like crap on planes.

I'm on it again this November, but the other direction - LAX to SIN.  I leave LAX at 10:30 p.m.; arrive SIN at 8:15 a.m. 2 days later, so hoping to get at least a few hours sleep on the nearly 18-hour flight! 

I'm spending two nights in Singapore, so I'm hoping that I can get an early check-in, followed by a short nap and an early start on sightseeing.

Ha yeah that's the flight I'm on Aug 27th.   Lax o SIN,   I picked a seat in the smaller biz cabin. Seat 15K.   I requested the window bulk head because more leg room,  it's on request.    I'm really excited for this flight 

[Luv2Phuket]

Don’t forget to log on and “book the cook”!

I did Lobster Thermidor & steak for the 2nd meal.

I’m in 12K


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[Luv2Phuket]

SQ Book the Cook is already partially open for my November flight....tough choices!

NO Lobster Thermidor....most intriguing options:
 - Peppered filet mignon with mustard jus, chanterelle mushrooms, fava beans, and paprika red potatoes
 - Steamed crab ravioli in creamy lobster sauce served with mixed vegetables
 - Stir-fried pork with wood ear and enoki mushrooms, bell peppers and steamed rice

The pork sounds good, but I think it is the first one eliminated....

Can't go wrong with steak, but I found a review of the crab ravioli (http://laurencefoo.com/blog?tag=Book the Cook REview) and she said it was fantastic....

Think I'm going crab ravioli.

Once I picked it, I realized that I have the SAME options for "Ala Carte" (I assume the second meal service), so that's gonna be the filet mignon.

Can't pick my "Refreshment" meal (???) or the meal for my SIN-BKK leg until October.

You're almost at 30 days out (lucky bastard!), so all of the options should be open to you soon.  Let me know what you think (and I would appreciate your feedback AFTER you fly in case either of my choices is dog crap or I missed something great!)

 

[HimBadMan]

21 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

SQ Book the Cook is already partially open for my November flight....tough choices!

NO Lobster Thermidor....most intriguing options:
 - Peppered filet mignon with mustard jus, chanterelle mushrooms, fava beans, and paprika red potatoes
 - Steamed crab ravioli in creamy lobster sauce served with mixed vegetables
 - Stir-fried pork with wood ear and enoki mushrooms, bell peppers and steamed rice

The pork sounds good, but I think it is the first one eliminated....

Can't go wrong with steak, but I found a review of the crab ravioli (http://laurencefoo.com/blog?tag=Book the Cook REview) and she said it was fantastic....

Think I'm going crab ravioli.

Once I picked it, I realized that I have the SAME options for "Ala Carte" (I assume the second meal service), so that's gonna be the filet mignon.

Can't pick my "Refreshment" meal (???) or the meal for my SIN-BKK leg until October.

You're almost at 30 days out (lucky bastard!), so all of the options should be open to you soon.  Let me know what you think (and I would appreciate your feedback AFTER you fly in case either of my choices is dog crap or I missed something great!)

 

Yeah I ordered book the cook, but forgot what I ordered.   I'll let u know and take pics.    I plan to eat and drink plenty during that 17 plus hours. So expect a thorough review. Haha..   my diet goes out the window when flying...

[Luv2Phuket]

22 hours ago, HimBadMan said:

Yeah I ordered book the cook, but forgot what I ordered.   I'll let u know and take pics.    I plan to eat and drink plenty during that 17 plus hours. So expect a thorough review. Haha..   my diet goes out the window when flying...

Once I leave the door to my place, my diet is DEAD!  5555

[Luv2Phuket]

Following up on the "cheap" ANA first class awards booked through Virgin Atlantic, I did some research. 

Here's a brief summary of what I found:

 - you cannot book it via Virgin Atlantic's website -- you have to call to do it

 - it is only available on award seats that are open to Star Alliance partners, so the suggestion that I read was to search for ANA first class availability on United's website

 - I called Virgin Atlantic to ask about bookings beyond Tokyo.  The Rep put me on hold and checked.  She said that it IS possible to book onward from Tokyo to Bangkok at the cost of an additional 80,000 miles RT (I didn't ask about taxes).

As I noted above, RT business class on JAL from Tokyo to BKK would be 60,000 AA miles, and that seemed to be about the best I could find.

While the VA Rep said that the Tokyo to BKK leg would be in first class, I don't think ANA does first class on that route.  I ran a search on Kayak, and only Thai came back as having first from Tokyo to BKK.

In any event, I think that doing a single itinerary from LAX to BKK, instead of picking up my bags and re-checking my bags in Tokyo (and worrying about delays, etc.) would be worth the extra 20,000 miles.

I ran a random search for next June and there DEFINITELY were first class award seats available on ANA.  At 190,000 RT to get all the way to BKK, it is a distinct possibility (by comparison, I think using United to do it in business class would be 180,000 RT). 

Of course, my 5,600 Virgin Atlantic miles will need QUITE a boost before then!  55555

[HimBadMan]

@Luv2Phuket nice leg work.   180k RT in 1st is still an amazing deal.  So just transfer the 180k UR miles to Virgin, correct??

[Luv2Phuket]

[mention=32621]Luv2Phuket[/mention] nice leg work.   180k RT in 1st is still an amazing deal.  So just transfer the 180k UR miles to Virgin, correct??

190k - it’s 110k + 80k

Good news is that I think Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner for Chase UR, AMEX MR AND Citi TY




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[Luv2Phuket]

I decided to pull the trigger on the Alaska Business credit card today....but got bounced by B of A!  Given that my credit rating is well over 800, this was a bit of a surprise.  I DO have a B of A personal credit card with a large balance on it (0%, so I am paying it slowly over time), so maybe that factored into it?  My business is a sole proprietorship.

That stung a little, because I was looking forward to the 40,000 Alaska miles!  5555

....luckily I had a Plan B!

I applied for the AA Small Business card through Barclay's and got immediate approval.

I have the AA Aviator Silver, which nets me some EQMs and EQDs each year and helps me hit Platinum status.  That said, I am 95% sure the spending requirement is going to skyrocket to $50k next year.  The Business version gets me $3,000 EQDs with $25k annual spend.  Given my ABSURD health insurance premiums, that should be pretty easy to meet.

I will likely drop the Aviator Silver when it is up for renewal.  The key benefits are:  
 - I get 5,000 EQMs for each $20k in purchases.  I rarely spend $40k on this card, so that's really just 5,000 EQMs for $20k spend.
 - as I mentioned EQD went up to $50k spend for 3,000 EQDs. Small biz card gets me them for $25k spend
 - free checked bag and early boarding, but I get better with Platinum status and I think Small Biz card gets me those, too
 - $25 per day for in-flight F&B credit (but I think that gets reimbursed through my AMEX Platinum or Hilton AA annual credit)
 - credit for Global Entry....I have about 7 card that give me that!  LOL
 - $99 companion certificate - again, I get that thru Small Biz card AND I am almost always a solo traveler - I have never used one of these certificates in all of the years that I have gotten them

Small biz card will get me 65,000 bonus AA miles for $1lk spend (easy) and another 10,000 bonus miles if I add an employee and have them make 1 charge (will use my Mom's name, have it sent to me and use it once then shelve it -- no charge to add)

While it gets 2X spend at office supply stores or phone services, but I get 5X by using my Ink card, so that's not a great deal for me.

The one perk that I DO appreciate is the 5% bonus miles per year based upon annual spend.  Assuming I will hit the $25k necessary to get the bonus EQDs, that's an extra 1,250 miles.  Not a BIG perk, but a perk nonetheless.

My next card move to be made shortly is closing an Ink credit card for a business that I am no longer working with.  I need to cut my # of Chase accounts and the style of card (Ink Business Plus) is duplicative of one of my other Chase biz cards, so that card now serves no purpose. 

My UR total is the lowest it has been in a while -- down to less than 60,000 spread over 3 accounts.  The last thing that I need to do before closing that Ink account is call them about transferring the points to another UR account.  If I can;t do that (couldn't online), I'll need to put about $650 in spend on it to cap off the UR at an even 1,000 increment, then figure out where to transfer them (likely, Singapore, United or Virgin Atlantic)

[Luv2Phuket]

Not to stray too far from the topic at hand, but I'm interested in your thoughts on a hotel-linked card.

The business that I am leaving also has a Marriott Bonvoy AMEX (fees paid until next June) that gets me a free annual night at Marriott hotels up to 35,000 points.  Annual fee is $125/year.

I have a Marriott card through my own business that overlaps many, if not all, of the same perks.

I'm debating keeping the Bonvoy AMEX open just for the free room night.  At $125 for a room at up to 35,000 points should net out with me saving a little money.  Also, given my other Marriott card, I would be looking at 2 free nights each year.

Under Marriott's current pricing, 35,000 points will get you a Category 5 room, so, in Bangkok, that would include the JW Marriott, the St. Regis and the Sheraton Grande Sukhimvit.  I don't know how convenient the location is, but the St Regis goes for $300+ per night.

Would you keep the card and pay $125 for the annual free night?