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

[skink]

Just received an email from LifeMiles for a 150% bonus on purchasing miles until June 26th. I've purchased their miles before (with a smaller bonus) and used them to fly Asiana and ANA. I think I'll be passing this time though.

[Luv2Phuket]

5 hours ago, skink said:

Just received an email from LifeMiles for a 150% bonus on purchasing miles until June 26th. I've purchased their miles before (with a smaller bonus) and used them to fly Asiana and ANA. I think I'll be passing this time though.

Yeah - Avianca's pending bankruptcy makes it a little riskier proposition

[Luv2Phuket]

Incredible deal alert....

I was starting to look into the hotel(s) for my February 2021 trip (fingers crossed we're clear by then). My plan was (and is) to stay primarily at the Hilton, but I was also considering starting for 4 nights at the Holiday Inn on IHG points (since I get the 4th night free, given my Chase IHG cc).

When I went to IHG's website and entered Pattaya, the Holiday Inn came up at 20,000 points per night, which i think is a reduction - I could be wrong, but I thought it was 25,000/night.

BUT....the InterContinental came up as only 15,000 IHG points per night for the same dates. This equals a "Points Break" promotion they ran a while back, and it is a HUGE reduction from their normal 35,000 points/night rate. Again, factoring in the free 4th night, I spent 45,000 IHG points for 4 nights there, or only 11,250 points per night. Using the .55 cents/point value most bloggers ascribe to IHG points, that is an ABSURD $61.875/night.

Because I have Ambassador status which nets me a guaranteed upgrade on paid stays, I booked the first night that I arrive on a paid rate, and I will email the hotel to see if they will allow me to stay in the same upgraded room for the next 4 nights. They usually allow this, but hit me with a nightly service fee to account fore the upgrade.

I'm now wondering if I should just stay there my entire trip and save my Hilton points (and a free night certificate) for a later trip.

 

 

[bgtp]

16 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Incredible deal alert....

I was starting to look into the hotel(s) for my February 2021 trip (fingers crossed we're clear by then). My plan was (and is) to stay primarily at the Hilton, but I was also considering starting for 4 nights at the Holiday Inn on IHG points (since I get the 4th night free, given my Chase IHG cc).

When I went to IHG's website and entered Pattaya, the Holiday Inn came up at 20,000 points per night, which i think is a reduction - I could be wrong, but I thought it was 25,000/night.

BUT....the InterContinental came up as only 15,000 IHG points per night for the same dates. This equals a "Points Break" promotion they ran a while back, and it is a HUGE reduction from their normal 35,000 points/night rate. Again, factoring in the free 4th night, I spent 45,000 IHG points for 4 nights there, or only 11,250 points per night. Using the .55 cents/point value most bloggers ascribe to IHG points, that is an ABSURD $61.875/night.

Because I have Ambassador status which nets me a guaranteed upgrade on paid stays, I booked the first night that I arrive on a paid rate, and I will email the hotel to see if they will allow me to stay in the same upgraded room for the next 4 nights. They usually allow this, but hit me with a nightly service fee to account fore the upgrade.

I'm now wondering if I should just stay there my entire trip and save my Hilton points (and a free night certificate) for a later trip.

Did you forget to include the 10% points refund from your other IHG cc in your calculation? You’re slipping 555

That is a great deal. I’ve never stayed at that property as its location is a concern. I usually stay at VT6 and find its location perfect for me. But at that points rate and having both IHG cards myself, I’d consider giving it a try.

[Luv2Phuket]

Did you forget to include the 10% points refund from your other IHG cc in your calculation? You’re slipping 555
That is a great deal. I’ve never stayed at that property as its location is a concern. I usually stay at VT6 and find its location perfect for me. But at that points rate and having both IHG cards myself, I’d consider giving it a try.

I DID! You’re right - the pandemic has me slipping! 5555

So the 10% should take it down to 40,500 total points or 10,125 per night (effective rate of $55 USD).

This seems too good to be true. I got an email that they recently re-opened, so maybe they’re just offering some “getting back to work” specials? Maybe the “free shuttle” will fall victim to post-pandemic changes, making it far more difficult to get into Pattaya?


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[Little Evil]

Looks like Alaska extended their miles sale to 6/30. Sucks, as I told myself not to buy, let it lapse, and now they're temping me again. lol. 

[Luv2Phuket]

Heads up on a couple of deals from AMEX:

- free premium subscription to Calm app

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/18/cnn-underscored/american-express-calm-app-premium-membership/index.html

This one has been around for a while, but still worked for me when I signed up today. I don't know how much/little I will use it, but free is free!  5555
 

 - $50 credit for purchases at small businesses - $5 credit/rebate for each purchase of $10 or more (up to 10 rebates)

https://thepointsguy.com/news/amex-small-business-50/

Check the small business map in the blog to find small businesses near you. There are TONS of restaurants around me that qualify, including my favorite little ice cream joint.

Now.....here's where I try to outsmart AMEX.... (5555)
 - my AMEX Aspire is currently applying restaurant purchases towards my annual $250 resort credit (so my recent Chick fil A purchase was returned via a rebate)
 - I STILL get the full 7X Hilton points, even though the amount is being rebated (actually, MUCH better for me to use at the Hilton in Pattaya, where I get 14X and the full $250 usually comes back!)
 - with the small business credit, if I buy a $10 gift card at my local ice cream shop, I would qualify for the $5 small business rebate

So the net result should be that I get: (1) $10 worth of ice cream for free, (2) 70 Hilton Honors points (7X the $10 spend); AND (3) an additional $5 comes off of my AMEX bill!

Possible hiccups:
 - AMEX may not allow me to stack the Aspire resort/restaurant credit with the small business rebate;
 - my local ice cream shop may not qualify as a "restaurant" (a gelato place up the hill DID qualify, but a bakery purchase did not); and/or
 - the gift card may not qualify as a purchase (I think this is the LEAST likely problem).

I'm settled in for the night, but rest assured I'm walking down to the ice cream shop to buy a $10 gift card tomorrow.....and, if it works, they should expect me to be back every day this week for another one!  5555

[Little Evil]

Sorry for the thread spam with a slightly off topic question, but this is probably the best place to ask.  I finally made my peace with Aug/Sept most likely not happening for a trip to BKK. I have outbound on AA award and return on Alaska award, both on CX planes. Both itineraries show up in my "manage bookings" on CX's website. Neither will allow me to make chances online. Neither were "eligible for online changes". I was kind of expecting that given these aren't MPC or Asia Miles awards. Anyone have any experience with this? Am I going to have to call AA and then AS separately? Or can I just call CX? Any info to reduce my phone experience would be greatly appreciated. 

On one very minor up shot, looks like CX's website finally recognizes AA/AS' booking reference numbers. I still wish they would just consolidate to using just one number, but I guess that would be too easy. 

[Luv2Phuket]

1 hour ago, Little Evil said:

Sorry for the thread spam with a slightly off topic question, but this is probably the best place to ask.  I finally made my peace with Aug/Sept most likely not happening for a trip to BKK. I have outbound on AA award and return on Alaska award, both on CX planes. Both itineraries show up in my "manage bookings" on CX's website. Neither will allow me to make chances online. Neither were "eligible for online changes". I was kind of expecting that given these aren't MPC or Asia Miles awards. Anyone have any experience with this? Am I going to have to call AA and then AS separately? Or can I just call CX? Any info to reduce my phone experience would be greatly appreciated. 

On one very minor up shot, looks like CX's website finally recognizes AA/AS' booking reference numbers. I still wish they would just consolidate to using just one number, but I guess that would be too easy. 

I have always called the airline with whom I booked the award travel, either Alaska or AA, for any changes to my itinerary. I just did it for my February trip - no charge for changes at this time.

The only thing that I have done on Cathay's site is seat selection (I don't think that they have had a Book the Cook type feature in the past).

As for the change to my February trip, a friend said he and bunch of other guys would be in Bangkok for a convention right around when I was scheduled to arrive. I went in and moved my arrival up a day, only to have him tell me about a week later that they will be there in March, NOT February....sigh...then again -- assuming I can get into the country -- it means an extra day in paradise for me!  5555

[bgtp]

While we're on the subject of trip cancellations and changes, here's my most recent experience. I was supposed to be flying out next week for six weeks in LOS. I was booked CX F with an AA award. Called AA to cancel a while back. There was no fee to cancel and redeposit the miles. Funny thing is, that award ticket had $105 in taxes and I had a $100 airline credit from my Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card that was applied to it. AA refunded the taxes in full, but the travel credit wasn't clawed back. So, I came out $100 ahead in that one. Obviously, I'd much rather be going on my trip than have the $100.

After six weeks in Thailand, I was flying back to my sister's city for a one week family visit and from there I was flying home on a paid Delta ticket. I had the option to cancel for an e-credit valid for more than two years, but I was holding out to see if the flight would be canceled. It did get canceled a couple of weeks ago. So, I was able to get a cash refund instead.

Regarding hotels, besides points which don't expire, I have one IHG reward night available from a credit card which I would have used on this trip. Under normal circumstances, it would expire next March, probably unused. However, IHG has added six months to all credit card award certificates, so I should be able to use it if I can travel next summer. All in all, no harm, no foul regarding money and points. It still sucks not being able to go, but what are you going to do.

Regarding LE's comment on multiple booking reference numbers when getting an award on a partner airline, I did have one instance where there was a single number. It was using BA Avios on JAL. Maybe the reservation system used by the respective airlines; one using Sabre, another Amadeus, for example, plays a part in that.

I think Americans like myself are fucked for the year with respect to getting to Thailand. As far as next year goes, I won't even venture to guess. I'll just say I hope we can all get there at some point in 2021.

[Little Evil]

2 hours ago, bgtp said:

think Americans like myself are fucked for the year with respect to getting to Thailand. As far as next year goes, I won't even venture to guess. I'll just say I hope we can all get there at some point in 2021.

I'm going to be some crazy 2 week billionaire if I get there in 2021 seeing as though I'll have missed at least 3 trips  (1 to BKK and 2 to SJO) this year that were all well budgeted and funded for already. I guess I should be happy that I got out there in Feb before things exploded, but that consolation isn't really helping my current situation. I'm jonesing like a junky for some legit travel. 

WTF am I going to do with my time off at the end of Aug now? Not doing anything domestically out of fear of the COV. Not willing to jump through medical testing hoops to go to the Caribbean. This all sucks on a level that I didn't know was possible. 

[Luv2Phuket]

3 hours ago, bgtp said:

Funny thing is, that award ticket had $105 in taxes and I had a $100 airline credit from my Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card that was applied to it. AA refunded the taxes in full, but the travel credit wasn't clawed back. So, I came out $100 ahead in that one. Obviously, I'd much rather be going on my trip than have the $100.
 

I had a similar experience! Nothing like "free money"!

Speaking of, following up on my post above, the AMEX small business credit worked great!

I bought two $15 gift certificates at my local ice cream shop and had a third purchase for $15 (2 shakes - $13.98, rounded up to $15 with tip). On my upcoming statement, the $45 was credited vs my $250 annual resort credit, I got $15 in small business credits that will apply to other charges, AND I got 315 Honors points ($45 X 7).

Can't complain about that!

[Little Evil]

So, I was going to wait until this weekend to take this advice about calling in to cash out my miles or try to swap flights, but I just got an email this morning that CX took the liberty of cancelling my flights anyway.  Not sure what this means yet in terms of "where are my miles?"  Here's the email. 

 

"Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and subsequent changes to our network, your flight will be cancelled.

We are currently making alternative arrangements for you. If you have not yet received your new flight details from us, they will be with you shortly. While we will do our best to rebook you to another Cathay Pacific/Cathay Dragon flight via an alternative city, we also may need to rebook you to one of our partner airlines. Thank you for your patience and understanding while we make these arrangements.

We’re sorry for this unexpected change. We also offer many ways to alter your booking.

Our rebooking and rerouting fees are waived for eligible itineraries. If you booked through Cathay Pacific (on our website, mobile app or through our call centre), you can make changes to your itinerary through Manage Booking. If you purchased your ticket through a travel agent or third-party website, please contact them directly.

You can also swap your ticket for Cathay Credits – which can be used at a later date – for no additional fees. View our Cathay Credits page for more information. If you booked directly with us, please fill in our online form to apply for Cathay Credits. If you purchased your ticket through a travel agent or third-party website, please contact them directly to arrange your Cathay Credits.

You can claim a refund for those parts of your journey that have not yet been taken. If you booked directly with us, you can request the refund through Manage Booking on cathaypacific.com. Otherwise, please contact your travel agent.

If you have any associated expenses resulting from this cancellation and you intend to make a travel insurance claim, please use this email in support of your claim.

On behalf of Cathay Pacific, our heartfelt apologies for this late notice change to your travel plans."

 

[Luv2Phuket]

You should be able to get the miles redeposited without any fees or charges.


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[Luv2Phuket]

Another Alaska miles sale - buy with a 50% bonus now, and, if you buy 30,000+ miles, you will be eligible for a bonus of up to 60% in October.

https://onemileatatime.com/buy-alaska-miles/

In the past, I would have jumped on this and bought at least 30,000 miles for the 50% bump and possible 60% bump in October.....BUT things are a little too uncertain still on travel and, more importantly, Alaska's move to oneworld has been accelerated to this year. I think joining oneworld is going to cause a huge devaluation of their current partners charts/mile rates.

I am sitting on too many miles and a potential credit for a November Qatar flight that is looking less likely by the day. That said, my Alaska account is at 50,000 miles right now, and I am concerned that, by the time I am ready to cash them in for a OW biz class flight to BKK, they may no longer be enough.

If you've got an Alaska account and need to plan travel for next spring, this could be a very good opportunity.

[HimBadMan]

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Another Alaska miles sale - buy with a 50% bonus now, and, if you buy 30,000+ miles, you will be eligible for a bonus of up to 60% in October.

https://onemileatatime.com/buy-alaska-miles/

In the past, I would have jumped on this and bought at least 30,000 miles for the 50% bump and possible 60% bump in October.....BUT things are a little too uncertain still on travel and, more importantly, Alaska's move to oneworld has been accelerated to this year. I think joining oneworld is going to cause a huge devaluation of their current partners charts/mile rates.

I am sitting on too many miles and a potential credit for a November Qatar flight that is looking less likely by the day. That said, my Alaska account is at 50,000 miles right now, and I am concerned that, by the time I am ready to cash them in for a OW biz class flight to BKK, they may no longer be enough.

If you've got an Alaska account and need to plan travel for next spring, this could be a very good opportunity.

Yeah.  I have zero confidence our Nov and Dec trip will happen.   Both my nov and dec trips are on paid qatar biz.

Qatar will issue a credit plus 10% if i just purchase a ticket for sometime in 2021.

I'm hoping by Dec maybe Indonesia will be open.   So I can use at least one of my qatar tickets.

I'm with u on the Alaska deal. I'm sitting at 50K but with so much uncertainty with travel and their move to OW has be hesitant...  

 

[bgtp]

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Another Alaska miles sale - buy with a 50% bonus now, and, if you buy 30,000+ miles, you will be eligible for a bonus of up to 60% in October.

https://onemileatatime.com/buy-alaska-miles/

In the past, I would have jumped on this and bought at least 30,000 miles for the 50% bump and possible 60% bump in October.....BUT things are a little too uncertain still on travel and, more importantly, Alaska's move to oneworld has been accelerated to this year. I think joining oneworld is going to cause a huge devaluation of their current partners charts/mile rates.

I am sitting on too many miles and a potential credit for a November Qatar flight that is looking less likely by the day. That said, my Alaska account is at 50,000 miles right now, and I am concerned that, by the time I am ready to cash them in for a OW biz class flight to BKK, they may no longer be enough.

If you've got an Alaska account and need to plan travel for next spring, this could be a very good opportunity.

Personally, I would equate buying miles now on the same level of foolishness as buying a ticket now. Living in Florida, I can't even plan a trip to visit family in the northeast US at the moment, let alone anything outside the country. I would consider booking an award flight on AA, since they have removed all the cancellation fees, even for folks with no status, as long as it's 60 days out. Most airlines are waiving the fees at the moment due to COVID, but AA is making this part of their policy going forward. I might consider booking an award with UA or BA with their award cancellation fees in normal times at $75 and $55 respectively.

Honestly, I was very happy to get full cash refunds on both the award and paid flight tickets of my canceled trip. I wouldn't want to be sitting on any credits/vouchers now either when I could have the cash. I'm not even collecting any points at the moment. All my purchases are going on cash back cards earning between 2.625% and 5.25% back. Wrt the points game, I'm more of an 'earn and burn' type. With my recent award redeposit, I now have more than enough points for two trips worth of flights and a week or so of hotel rooms. For me, this is plenty. Fingers crossed for 2021!

[Luv2Phuket]

Yeah.  I have zero confidence our Nov and Dec trip will happen.   Both my nov and dec trips are on paid qatar biz.
Qatar will issue a credit plus 10% if i just purchase a ticket for sometime in 2021.

I’m going to wait until we’re MUCH closer, but hoping I can change it to a flight next summer. I usually don’t go then, but figure I’ll be “due” if I have to cancel November.

That flight was key to my making Platinum status again this year, but, with American extending my status through 2021, pushing it to next year would really help me lock it down next year.


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[HimBadMan]

21 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

 

I’m going to wait until we’re MUCH closer, but hoping I can change it to a flight next summer. I usually don’t go then, but figure I’ll be “due” if I have to cancel November.

That flight was key to my making Platinum status again this year, but, with American extending my status through 2021, pushing it to next year would really help me lock it down next year.


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Right.  Thats an easy 4K EQD.  But it will be interesting to see what alaskas "platinum" will be.    It may be better to post qatar biz to alaska.  Maybe we can earn plat quicker.       Hopefully alaska will soon let us know requirements for OW Sapphire and emerald. 

 

Truth be told.  I only use AA to get status for lounge access.   But I prefer Star Alliance lounge at lax over the OW.  And ANA gives you lounge access for PE.   I had my aug trip to bkk in ANA PE before it was cancelled.  It was only 1050 RT

[Little Evil]

I spoke to AA a couple weeks back when CX cancelled my Aug flight on their end.  I asked them if there's any chance of putting me on a February itinerary.  The customer service woman sounded very unsure, but said she'd pass along the request and if it wasn't possible, I'd just get a refund. 

Fast forward to yesterday. I called because I hadn't seen the miles redeposited on the cancelled trip, and there's no way they got me desired change. When I requested a confirmation on the cancellation, she asked "Yes, I see your February trip itinerary". I was shocked. They actually got my requested change without me having to do anything. I asked why I didn't get a confirmation, and it was because that while they refund and rebook with the fee, the fee went up $3. and they required my permission first. That's kind of shitty that they'd stick me with the new fee, but hey, it's only $3. and I did zero legwork. 

This begs the question: Can you do this with AA all the time? Call in with a few itinerary requests and only hear back when I get ticketed? Have I been taking on needless leg work myself this whole time? I'm typically very flexible with travel, so could I say "get me from A to B in the month of X", and they'll do it for me? 

[Luv2Phuket]

AA's system is completely fucked up right now.

I had a flight scheduled to Austin over the 4th of July - they drastically changed both legs (one from non-stop to a connection; the other to a different day). They gave me ZERO notice. I didn't find out until I was checking my AA account online and saw it.

Given concerns over travel at that time (going to visit my 84 yr old Mom, and she wasn't kosher with a visit then), I pushed it back to September.

I recently went onto my AA account again to see how my September flights were looking, and one leg has been changed (from non-stop to a connection), again without ANY notice to me.

My advice to anyone booked on AA these days is to constantly check the status in your account online.

As for CX, I am sitting on a first class award booking for early February (LAX-HKG-BKK) - fingers crossed that it stays on schedule!

[DaveStarl]

On 27/07/2020 at 23:16, Luv2Phuket said:

AA's system is completely fucked up right now.

 

I recently went onto my AA account again to see how my September flights were looking, and one leg has been changed (from non-stop to a connection), again without ANY notice to me.

My advice to anyone booked on AA these days is to constantly check the status in your account online.

As for CX, I am sitting on a first class award booking for early February (LAX-HKG-BKK) - fingers crossed that it stays on schedule!

I had my AA account shut down before Xmas.  Found out when I got to the airport for my flight to HKG.  Fun stuff.  Fast-forward, I have a CTG-IND flight in Sept and a potential PHL-HKG flight to use.  As you can only push award flights out a year from booking, the points need to be redeposited or used by September, but I don't have an AA account anymore.  Hoping their system is still fucked and I can push the flights out further, otherwise I lose them.  Damn AA for shutting folks down for getting too many credit cards.  250k points, poof! 

[Luv2Phuket]

Some news from the frequent flier department: Aeroplan has released its new chart for award travel, bringing another Star Alliance option solidly into the mix:

https://onemileatatime.com/aeroplan-award-chart/

Using a distance calculator, I checked the miles to go LAX-HND-BKK and it was around 8,250, so it would fall into the 7,501-11,000 bracket. That means partner awards (ANA, EVA or Asiana) should be going for 85,000 OW in biz class and 130,000 OW in first.

There is an additional $39 CAD booking fee (currently around $29 USD), but they have dropped fuel surcharges.

As a transfer partner for AMEX (and Cap One), it adds another option for award travel (if/when we are able to do it again!).

[jmukh]

Please excuse the extremely novice question: 

If I'm starting the play with points for the first time, is it a good idea to do Chase Sapphire, max out the bonus points plus maybe another ~20k points in expenses charged to the card over the coming covid months, and then attempt round trip travel from the east coast to BKK in economy class on points or points + cash / purchased points when air travel opens up again?

Other options: 

Cash for economy tickets + points for business upgrade round trip. 
Just transfer the points for hotel stays. 

Would it make more sense to get a hotel card and attempt to max out both welcome bonus point offers prior to vacationing? And are you guys mostly hitting these crazy high points totals by rotating signup bonuses every few years through various cards, or a more steady accrual of regular expenses with category bonuses (like Marriott's card giving you a massive bonus on every $ spent at a Marriott, etc)?

[Luv2Phuket]

Everyone has a slightly different plan, but, assuming you have a solid credit rating, I would go with the following:
 - a great "transferable" card like Chase Sapphire, AMEX or Citi Prestige/Premier - figure out which transfers to the airline(s) you prefer and who is offering the top spend bonus
 - alternatively, if you KNOW you will want to go Star Alliance, are planning to transfer to United to use Star Alliance and/or are near a United hub, the Chase United card(s) often offer 100k bonuses, and that may be an option
 - if you plan to have have $20k in expenses coming up, I would open accounts with multiple providers and split those expenses so you can get bonuses on each. The key to credit card points is almost always ion the bonus points/miles., not the everyday spend (although the perks offered by some are very nice).
 - I have a boatload of hotel cards that I keep and pay an annual fee upon because they get me an annual free night, which is almost always worth more than the annual fee. I try to use them in Thailand, but have fucked up on the past and had to use for local stays (but that free night at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills was pretty sweet! 555). Given the uncertainty on when I will be back in Bangkok, I was planning to use a Hyatt award night tonight while work is being done on my apartment, but the work got postponed and I will likely use it next week. 
 - my suggestion on hotel cards is much like my suggestion on picking the right transferable card - figure out what chain works best for you and check out their cards. Hyatt points are great, but there isn't a Hyatt property in Pattaya (some good ones in Bangkok). Marriott also has a surprisingly small footprint in Pattaya.

I'm not a big card "churner." I have a number of cards that carry perks that I really enjoy, so I keep them. AMEX Platinum hit the chopping blocks when travel went out the window and the offered me ZERO points as a perk to renew it. That said, I typically get a new card (or 2) each April when I have a big tax bill coming up. This year it was an Alaska Air card through Bank of America and a Hilton AMEX.

Despite my experience in points, miles, credit cards and award flights, one area in which I am woefully inexperienced is using miles for upgrades. That's an area that I need to focus on and learn moving forward, but, to date, I just book first class or business class using the miles.

Hope that helps!