For Travel in Business and First Class to Europe and Hawaii
March was this year’s first big month for mileage transfer and buying promotions. Two of them stand out more than the others; one, because it gives you great low-cost award availability access for travel in Business and First Class to Europe; and the other, because it offers the cheapest way to buy miles currently.
Both promotions were announced in our newsroom alerts: British Airways’ 50% mileage transfer bonus from Amex Rewards (March 17), and US Airways’ 100% buying miles bonus (March 20). Both can yield Business and First Class travel at up to 50% off the lowest published award rate.
“Mapping” these Lucrative Options with Your “Travel Personality”
For the “I Must Book Now!” traveler:
Both promotions are made for you because you can buy miles from US Airways for as little as 1.75¢ (up to 100,000 miles), or receive 50% more miles when transferring Amex Rewards points to British Airways.
Instead of just highlighting the potential savings these mileage promotions can yield, FCF went the extra mile to find routes on which free low-cost award space is available—now—for immediate booking on US Airways and British Airways (see charts on page 10).
For the “I’ll Buy Miles Anytime They’re Cheap” traveler:
If you’re like me, you stock up on miles when they’re cheap, so you have a multitude of options whenever you need to take off. In which case, the US Airways promotion is made for you. At 1.75¢ for up to 100,000 miles, it is the lowest price per mile anywhere—half the price many other airlines charge. (When miles come this cheap, they are much easier to let go of, too; something many people have a hard time doing—myself included—especially when they were much harder to accumulate!)
Business Class for the Price of Coach—Almost
The BA transfer promotion can also be of great value when traveling to Europe in Business Class, since BA only charges 80,000 miles from many of its U.S. gateways including Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New York, and Washington, DC. The transfer promotion reduces the cost to 54,000 points, only 4,000 points more than many other airlines charge for economy class! From its other U.S. gateways, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, BA charges 67,000 miles to London in Busi-ness Class during the promotion—33,000 miles fewer than usual.
Routes With Free Award Space on British Airways to London
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Routes With Free First Class Award Space on US Airways
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First Class for the Price of Business Class
For First Class, BA charges 120,000 to 150,000 miles to London, depending on the departure city, which drops to 80,000 to 100,000 miles with the transfer bonus—which makes First Class the same cost as Business Class.
Other Points to Keep in Mind
- One of the great things about BA is that if you have some flexibility, free award space is pretty easy to come by— year-round from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Newark, New York (JFK), and Washington, DC.
- BA destinations beyond London cost extra, and the miles required can be high. See page 6 for getting a cheaper mile-age rate with Alaska Airlines.
- If you lack Amex Rewards points, you can buy up to 500,000 at 2.5¢ each. With the 50% bonus, that equals 750,000 BA miles.
- Our March 20 US Airways alert said to sign up for a Dividend Miles account and joinpoints.com to qualify for a combined 100% mileage promotion on up to 50,000 miles, since the promotion ends on April 15 and you must have an account with US Airways for at least 12 days to qualify.
More Information: US Airway Link
- BA transfer points promotion ends May 31.
More Information: BA Link