Pay $23,000+? Not on Your Nelly.
Plus, additional 40% savings through September 17.
Airlines don’t make it easy to fly First Class between Europe and the West Coast.
But we do.
FCF proudly presents the London Bridge—four best ways to link London (and the rest of Europe) with Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose, and do it in long-haul comfort.
We’ve gone “Scotland Yard” on this case and uncovered:
- When and where is the “availability,” the specific months of the year and with what airlines.
- What “partnership opportunities” exist to get the ticket for far less than retail.
- How to buy miles or points if you don’t have any, or buy enough to save a small fortune.
London Bridge Fares Are Falling Down, Way, Way Down
[aside headline="Not flying to London? No problem." alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]If booking via BA miles—because its awards are “based on distance flown”—pay as little as 15,500 more miles to places like Paris in Business Class (11,250 Amex Rewards points with current deal), or 34,000 more miles (24,500 Amex Rewards points) to places as far east as Istanbul; with Japan Airlines, which also has a distance-based program, you’re looking at 35,000 to 42,000 more miles (30,000 to 35,000 Starpoints). [/aside]
Without further ado: Here is the airline and its partners with the best deals, and the months to find them now—meaning up to four seats in First Class. (With that kind of luck you should buy a lottery ticket as well.)
British Airways First Class
Published Fares: To London from Los Angeles round-trip starts at $6,440 (150-day advance purchase) and ends at $23,634 (no advance). From San Diego the range is $5,353 to $14,124; from San Francisco $5,825 to $23,634; and from San Jose $5,236 to $13,980.
Mileage Cost: 170,000 miles off-peak (200,000 peak-season) to London. See mileage award availability in chart below.
No British Airways Miles? No Problem: Transfer 140,000 to 160,000 Starwood points, or 170,000 to 200,000 Amex Rewards or Chase points.
American Express Transfer Deal: From now to Sept. 17 get a 40% transfer bonus via American Express to British Airways, meaning you only need to transfer 121,500 to 143,000 points.
Or, best Mileage Partner Deal: Transfer miles to Japan Airlines from Starwood, and then redeem them for travel on British Airways, which costs 115,000 miles round-trip from California hubs. But with the Starwood transfer bonus, it takes only 95,000 Starpoints, a savings of up to 40%.
Have American Miles? You can book with AAdvantage miles for 170,000.
Best “Buy Miles to Fly in Style” Deal: Purchase Mileage Plan miles from Alaska, a British Airways partner. Based on a recent Mileage Plan deal (ended July 1, yet comes around every few months or so), which offered a bonus of up to 50%, you could have had Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose for about $4,230 round-trip on a walk-up fare (140,000 miles including award taxes of $1,290), up to 82% off on fares that can be as high as $23,634. Alaska availability is a bit less than with BA, but worth a look, for sure.
Buying miles usually makes sense for Business and short-notice leisure travelers or when fares are high.
Or, purchase 121,500 to 143,000 Amex Rewards points, and transfer them to British Airways flights. This strategy can net up to 82% off, bringing San Francisco-London First Class down to about $4,317 round-trip ($3,050 plus about $1,267 award taxes).
[aside headline=" " alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]American’s non-stop from Los Angeles to London had no free mileage award space—only two days for departure in March 2018, out of 11 months checked—which is why it is not part of this special report from California.[/aside]
Keep in mind the taxes: With BA’s First Class, plan on spending about $1,267 round-trip if booking through BA miles; about $1,139 if booking via American miles; about $1,290 via Alaska, and about $812 via Japan Airlines.
If you’re using Alaska or American miles, which use a regional chart (mileage cost is the same within a given region), you can get free tickets to California, say from Portland or Las Vegas, or beyond London, as far east as Istanbul.
Sweet Redeem Survey: First Class On British Airways
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