A deep dive into the lucrative nuances Asiana offers, along with two caveats. But you still get First Class for less than Business and up to 120% off.
I have always said that upgrading starts with having options, that the more options you have, the more opportunities you have, and that the opportunities often start with Multi-Airline-Currency Cards (MACs).
MACs are what FCF has been recommending long before they became popular because they offer points that can be turned into miles on more than one airline.
For years Starwood has been my favorite MAC, as it partners with 40+ major airline mileage programs.
In this special report I will show why this is so important for travel to Europe on Star Alliance airlines. Next month we’ll spotlight a different alliance and route.
Why Starwood Is King
Most Star Alliance airlines charge 160,000 to 170,000 miles for a First Class round-trip ticket from the U.S. to Europe on their own flights and 105,000 to 115,000 in Business Class. But here’s the deal: Combine underutilized loyalty programs with our favorite credit card, Starwood Preferred Amex, and you can get First Class for just 80,000 Starpoints. United charges 115,000 miles for Business—so this strategy costs 35,000 miles less than First Class (think free upgrade). In other words, if you have a Starwood card and book via Asiana, as opposed to earning miles via a United credit card, you’re getting a free upgrade.
Mileage Cost Discrepancies
Flying to/from Europe allows you to take advantage of award chart discrepancies between airline partners. Having the right credit cards, meaning Starwood, enables savvy travelers to leverage these discrepancies.
[aside headline="Fly With These Asiana Partners to Europe:" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]
First Class: Lufthansa, Singapore, SWISS, and United.
Business Class: Air Canada, Air New Zealand (LAX-London), Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lot Polish, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore (NYC-Frankfurt), SWISS, Tap Portugal, Turkish Airlines, and United.[/aside]
The Asiana + Starwood Opportunity
Asiana, based in Seoul and the world’s 16th largest airline, only charges 100,000 miles—up to 70,000 fewer—for First Class between Europe and North America. And only 80,000 miles for Business Class for partner flights—up to 35,000 fewer than other major airlines to Europe.
These are the lowest Star Alliance First and Business Class awards to Europe. It costs even less if you have a Starwood account: only 80,000 Starpoints for First Class—35,000 fewer miles than United charges for Business (think free upgrade)—and 65,000 Starpoints for Business Class, only 5,000 more miles than United charges for coach—a really, really cheap upgrade. In other words, if you earn points via a Starwood card and book via Asiana’s mileage program, as opposed to earning miles via a United MileagePlus credit card, you’re living in Upgrade Land. Go here for a list of European countries that can be booked with Asiana miles, and ranging as far as Algeria and Morocco in the same ‘region’.
Wait! How to Save Even More
The savings are even higher if you compare partner mileage rates between Asiana and United. For example, Asiana only charges 100,000 miles (80,000 Starpoints) for First Class to Europe. That’s 120,000 miles less than United charges (think two-for-one) and 40,000 fewer miles than United charges for a Business Class partner mileage award (think less than free upgrade). See chart below for sample savings with Asiana.
Cheap Business & First Class Star Alliance Awards
to Europe from the U.S. and Canada
[table_opt id="5529" style="gray-header" alignment="thcenter" rows="tdcenter"]
What you should know about Asiana when booking partner awards to Europe:
Getting Miles: Asiana does not sell miles and has only one transfer partner, Starwood. The transfer time takes about five days.
[aside headline="North Africa, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Western Sahara, and more—The Aegean + Starwood Opportunity" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]
Aegean airlines only charges 90,000 miles for Business Class between Europe and North Africa because it considers North Africa as Europe when it comes to using miles. Same goes for North America (U.S.—excluding Hawaii—and Canada).
This is the lowest Business Class award available if you are traveling to Tel Aviv, for example. It costs even less if you have a Starwood account: only 75,000 Starpoints for Business Class—10,000 fewer miles than United charges for coach (think free upgrade). In other words, if you have a Starwood card and book via Aegean, as opposed to earning miles though a United MileagePlus credit card, you’re getting a free upgrade. Go here for a list of Aegean routes to North African countries.[/aside]
Award Taxes for Partner Tickets: Taxes for travel on Air Canada and United are generally low, ranging from $90 to $150 (varies by route and airline). For United flights Asiana charges about the same as United does; for Air Canada, the taxes are lower than Air Canada charges by about $850, so you’re even more golden. Lufthansa and SWISS taxes are high, which is not surprising since both airlines charge $1,000+ for taxes on award tickets anyway.
Change and Cancellation for Award Tickets: The date of flight can be changed once, as long as you rebook the same carrier, class of service, and flight number. Cancellation within one year from ticket issue date costs 3,000 miles or $30; after that, it costs 10,000 miles or $100.
Stopover Rules for Partner Award Tickets: Up to seven stopovers are allowed if there are eight segments in total on point-to-point tickets, meaning you can pretty much stop in any city en-route. For example, traveling from Miami to Milan on United might require a connection in Chicago, New York, or Washington, DC (these could be a stopover), and it might require a connection in Brussels, Frankfurt, or Zurich (again, possible stopovers).
One-Way Partner Award Tickets: Asiana charges 50% of the round-trip rate: 40,000 for Business Class and 50,000 for First Class.