For the last two months, American, about to relaunch its transcon product, wasn’t allowing upgrades to Business Class or even free awards, for most dates in 2014 on the route. (See FCF Oct. and Nov. issues for more details.)
Why is this news?
Now saver awards in Business and First Class and upgrades from economy to Business have finally opened up for 2014. These are good ways to get this route cheap.
How to Save Up to 86% on First and Business Class Using American Miles
Free Award Tickets: One of the best ways to get American’s transcon round-trip in First or Business Class is by using miles for an award ticket. AA charges 65,000 miles, which you can buy for $1,572 now through the “up to 18,000 bonus miles” promotion, which ends Dec. 31. Compare that to the carrier’s lowest First Class Los Angeles-JFK fare of $4,822, a savings of $3,250 (67%). Business Class costs 50,000 miles, which you can buy for $1,247, compared to a fare of $3,572, a savings of $2,325 (65%). Plus AA now has good free award availability (see chart below).
Survey of Award Availability on American for One Traveler
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Mileage Upgrade Awards: Another good way to get this route cheap in Business Class is by using miles for an upgrade. American allows upgrades to Business Class using any economy fare (starting at $358) plus a co-pay of $150 and 30,000 miles round-trip.
Compare that to the lowest Business Class fare of $3,572 LAX-JFK, a savings of $3,064 (86%), plus you earn miles and EQMs.
Getting American Miles Without Buying Them: AA is a transfer partner with Starwood. On my last transfer the miles took five days to post.
Buying American Miles: You can buy up to 60,000 per year from AA at about 2.75¢ per mile (plus taxes and a $35 transaction fee)—stock up before Dec. 31 and you can get up to 18,000 extra miles—or buy miles through AA’s Mileage Multiplier the next time you travel. With a valid itinerary, you can buy miles when checking-in online or at any self-service check-in machine. The cost varies by route and your program status level.
Award-Hold-Friendly Airline (see FCF’s Sept. issue for more): American is also one of the few airlines that often lets you hold mileage award space for up to five days.
Alaska Air Miles: American’s premium transcon inventory also appears on Alaska’s website. The cost is 65,000 miles for Business Class, which right now can be purchased at $1,478 (in increments of 40,000 miles), using the current 35% buying promo. There is no limit to the number of transactions, which is the key here because AA limits purchases to 60,000 miles per year. On Dec. 20, Alaska’s price-per-mile returns back to normal, making this award cost $1,922. It’s still a great value compared to the published fare. Award space can sometimes be the same on AA flights when using Alaska miles.