The bona fide international First Class seat is not quite as rare as a newspaper that makes money, but it’s getting there. Especially after Qantas announced that it’s cutting First Class on three routes for summer and fall travel (Sydney-Buenos Aires, Sydney-San Francisco, and Melbourne-Hong Kong-London). As a rule, international First Class tickets are very expensive—usually well over $10,000 per person. There are fewer ticketing strategies that bring down the price because this is one area in which airlines rarely compromise.
But there is one resource we’ve come to bank on—and so should you: American Express’ International Airline Program (IAP), which can net you 50% savings on a First Class ticket. The program, a benefit to Platinum Card members, offers a free companion ticket with the purchase of a full-fare First Class ticket. Program rules require that both passengers travel together on the same itinerary and only the paying passenger earns miles. Here is a crib sheet showing how to make the program work for you.
Participating Airlines: Asiana Airlines, China Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Swiss International.
Destinations: Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe.
Airlines with New First Class Suites: Emirates on all routes from the U.S. to Dubai (B777-300ER and B777-200LR) and Swiss on New York to Zurich (A330-300). Etihad Airways introduces its First Class suite (A340-600) in Aug.
When It Pays to Use IAP: Almost all the time. As our chart shows Amex IAP savings range on average from 41-50%. (Etihad, new to the program, is the exception.)
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