Business Class for Less Than Coach: To Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico

January 2013
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Plus, Going to Europe in First for Less Than Business Class

Through Jan. 13, British Airways is offering a 25% bonus on points transferred from Starwood on top of the 25% Starwood bonus for every 20,000 miles transferred. That yields a whopping 50% bonus—30,000 BA points on a 20,000-point transfer.

It’s even better if you know your way around BA’s flight-distance award chart. And you can reap the benefits even if you’re not a member of BA’s loyalty program.

How Best to Use the Promotion

For short-haul, non-stop flights, book award travel flights on American by using BA Avios points, to take advantage of the discrepancies between AA’s and BA’s award charts.

American uses a zone chart, which means every destination within a given zone (the U.S., for example) costs the same number of miles. Los Angeles-Boston (2,606 miles one-way) in First Class costs 25,000 miles, as does Dallas-San Antonio (248 miles one-way).

BA uses a flight-distance chart, which means the mileage cost equals the actual distance between the departure and destination cities. Thus LAX-Boston in First costs 37,500 miles one-way (o/w), whereas Dallas-San Antonio is only 13,500 o/w, almost half the cost of AA.

Let’s take American’s Miami-Cancun route as another example: AA charges 60,000 miles round-trip (r/t) for Business Class and 35,000 miles r/t for a coach class award ticket. Use BA Avios points and the trip costs 30,000 miles r/t for a Business Class ticket, but then factor in the 50% transfer bonus, and the real cost comes down to 20,000 miles. You’re getting Business Class for less than coach. In fact, you can get three tickets in Business Class with BA points for the cost of one ticket using American miles. See the chart below for more routes on which you can get similar deals.

Business Class for Less than Coach to the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico

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[aside headline="Second Transfer Option: American Express Membership Rewards Promotion" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]The current Amex Rewards promo (see FCF Alerts Dec. 10 and Dec.13) offers a 30% bonus on miles transferred until Jan. 14. Also keep in mind that Amex Rewards lets you buy up to 500,000 points per year at a cost of 2.5¢. With the 30% transfer bonus, the cost drops to 1.9¢.[/aside]

Business Class for Less Than Coach to Europe

On Chicago-London, most airlines charge 100,000 miles round-trip in Business Class for an award ticket, and 60,000 round-trip in coach. BA, however, only charges 80,000 miles in Business Class, and with the bonus, it takes only 56,000 points to get a Business Class ticket. The math: 56,000 plus 25% bonus points (14,000), plus 5,000 points for every 20,000, equals 80,000 points. That’s less than the mileage cost of a coach class award ticket. The chart below lists other routes on which you can score this deal.

Business Class for Less than Coach to Europe

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To London in First Class for Less than Business

This approach is also valid for upgrading to First Class. On New York-London, most airlines charge 125,000 miles round-trip in First and 100,000 round-trip in Business Class. Using the promotion brings the total down to 80,000 points, in effect giving you First for less than Business Class. See the chart below for more routes and the chart at the top right for routes which FCF discovered good First Class mileage availability.

To London in First Class for Less than Business

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First Class Routes Offering Good Mileage Availability on British Airways to London

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Save 36% on First Class with British Airways

Business Class for only 8,000 Miles More than Coach: To Japan, Europe, and South America

On many other routes, this deal can net Business Class for only 8,000 more miles than coach. On Los Angeles-Tokyo, most airlines charge 100,000 miles or more round-trip in Business Class and 60,000 or more round-trip in coach. Booking American flights through BA, the trip costs 68,000 Avios points, only 8,000 miles more than coach. See the chart below for more routes on which you can get a similar deal.

Business Class for only 8,000 Miles More than Coach to Japan, Europe, and South America

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Drawbacks of using Avios points to keep in mind:

  • Connecting flights are priced separately. For travel within Europe, fly coach since BA’s European Business Class is usually a coach seat with the middle seat left open.
  • Long-haul routes often cost more using a flight-distance chart than a zone chart.
  • BA imposes high taxes and fees for award travel on international BA flights ($600 to $1,200 for First and Business Class) and international partner flights. But flights to the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico, are much lower, ranging from about $70 to $200.

See chart below for favorable Business Class award availability on British Airways.

Routes Offering Good Mileage Availability in Business Class on British Airways to London

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[["Route","Coach Class Miles With AA","Business Class With BA","Starwood Transfer Amount Needed During Promo","Business Class Savings Over Coach Class"],["Dallas - Cancun","35,000","30,000","<strong>20,000<\/strong>","<strong>15,000<\/strong>"],["Dallas - Puerto Vallarta","35,000","30,000","<strong>20,000<\/strong>","<strong>15,000<\/strong>"],["Dallas - San Jose Del Cabo","35,000","30,000","<strong>20,000<\/strong>","<strong>15,000<\/strong>"],["Miami - Aruba","35,000","30,000","<strong>20,000<\/strong>","<strong>15,000<\/strong>"],["Miami - Belize City","35,000","30,000","<strong>20,000<\/strong>","<strong>15,000<\/strong>"],["Miami - Guatemala","35,000","30,000","<strong>20,000<\/strong>","<strong>15,000<\/strong>"],["Miami - Punta Cana","35,000","30,000","<strong>20,000<\/strong>","<strong>15,000<\/strong>"],["Miami - San Jose (CR)","35,000","30,000","<strong>20,000<\/strong>","<strong>15,000<\/strong>"],["Miami - San Juan","35,000","30,000","<strong>20,000<\/strong>","<strong>15,000<\/strong>"],["Miami - St. Thomas","35,000","30,000","<strong>20,000<\/strong>","<strong>15,000<\/strong>"]]
[["Route","Coach Class Miles With Other Airlines","Business Class With BA","Starwood Transfer Amount Needed During Promo"],["Boston - London","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["Chicago - London","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["Chicago - Madrid","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["New York \u2013 Barcelona","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["New York - London","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["New York - Madrid","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["New York - Manchester","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["New York - Paris","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["New York - Zurich","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["Philadelphia - London","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["Raleigh Durham - London","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"],["Washington, DC - London","60,000","80,000","<strong>56,000<\/strong>"]]
[["U.S. Departure City","Business Class With Many Airlines","First Class With BA","Starwood Transfer Amount Needed During Promo","First Class Savings Over Business Class"],["Boston","100,000","120,000","<strong>80,000<\/strong>","<strong>20,000<\/strong>"],["Chicago","100,000","120,000","<strong>80,000<\/strong>","<strong>20,000<\/strong>"],["New York","100,000","120,000","<strong>80,000<\/strong>","<strong>20,000<\/strong>"],["Philadelphia","100,000","120,000","<strong>80,000<\/strong>","<strong>20,000<\/strong>"],["Washington, DC","100,000","120,000","<strong>80,000<\/strong>","<strong>20,000<\/strong>"]]
[["U.S. Departure City","Departure Availability","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return Availability","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","Handful","Decent","Go For It","Handful","Decent","Go For It"],["Boston","","","Jan. to Nov.","","","Jan. to Nov."],["Chicago","Jan., April, May., Aug.","Sept., Nov.","Feb., March, Oct.","Aug.","March, May, Sept.","Jan., Feb., April, Oct., Nov."],["New York","","","Jan. to Nov.","","","Jan. to Nov."],["Philadelphia","June, Dec.","Feb., May","Jan., March, April, July to Nov.","July","May","Jan. to April, June, Aug. to Nov."],["Washington, DC","June, July","Aug.","Jan. to May, Sept. to Nov.","July","","Jan. to June, Aug. to Nov."],["<strong><span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Handful:<\/span><\/strong> <em>Our most recent research shows that award space is available for at least one person about 4 to 8 days during the months indicated in the chart. Worth pursuing if you\u2019re flexible.<\/em>","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["<strong><span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Decent:<\/span><\/strong> <em>Our most recent research shows that upgrade award space is available for at least one person about 9 to 12 days during the months indicated.<\/em>","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["<strong><span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Go For It:<\/span><\/strong> <em>Our most recent research shows that award space is available for one person about 13 days or more during the months indicated.<\/em>","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#"]]
[["Route","Coach Class Miles With Other Airlines","Business Class With BA","Starwood Transfer Amount Needed During Promo"],["Atlanta - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Calgary - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Chicago - Paris","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Dallas - Buenos Aires","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Dallas - Frankfurt","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Dallas - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Dallas - Santiago","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Denver - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Houston - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Las Vegas - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Los Angeles - Lima","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Los Angeles - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Los Angeles - Tokyo","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Miami - Buenos Aires","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Miami - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Miami - Paris","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Miami - Rio De Janeiro","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Miami - Santiago","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Miami - Sao Paulo","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["New York - Buenos Aires","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["New York - Milan","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["New York - Santiago","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["New York - Sao Paulo","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Orando - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Phoenix - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["San Diego - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["San Francisco - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Seattle - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Tampa - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"],["Vancouver - London","60,000","100,000","68,000"]]
[["U.S. Departure City","Departure Availability","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return Availability","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","Handful","Decent","Go For It","Handful","Decent","Go For It"],["Atlanta","Jan., April, June, Aug., Nov.","May","Feb., March, Sept., Oct.","Jan., April","March, May, Sept., Nov.","Feb., Oct."],["Boston","Nov.","April, June, Aug. to Oct.","Jan. to March, May, July","June to Aug., Nov.","March, Sept., Oct.","Jan., Feb., April, May"],["Chicago","Feb., March, Nov.","","","March, Nov.","Feb.",""],["Denver","Jan., March, June, Nov.","Feb., April, May","Oct.","Jan. to March","","April, May"],["Houston","Jan.","Feb., March, Aug. to Oct.","","April, Aug. to Nov.","Jan., Feb.","March"],["Las Vegas","Jan., April , Aug., Dec.","March, Nov.","Feb.","March, Dec.","Jan., Nov.","Feb."],["Los Angeles","April","","","May","April, Sept.",""],["New York","May, Dec.","Jan., June","Feb. to April, July to Nov.","Dec.","May to Aug.","Jan. to April, Sept. to Nov."],["Orlando","June","","Sept.","June","","Sept."],["Philadelphia","","Jan., April, May, July, Sept., Nov.","Feb., March, Aug., Oct.","","June, Aug., Sept., Nov.","Jan. to May, Oct."],["Phoenix","Sept..","Jan., March, July, Oct., Nov.","Feb., Aug.","Jan., March, May, Dec.","Feb., April, Aug., Nov.",""],["San Diego","Feb., March, Nov., Dec.","","","Feb., March, Dec.","",""],["Seattle","Nov., Dec.","Jan. to March","","March., Dec.","Jan., Feb., Nov.",""],["Tampa","Sept.","","","Sept.","",""],["Washington, DC","Jan., June to Aug.","March, Oct., Nov.","Feb., April, May, Sept.","June, Aug.","Nov.","Jan. to May, Sept., Oct."],["Vancouver","June, July, Dec.","Oct., Nov.","","Jan., April, July to Sept.","May, Oct., Nov.",""],["<strong><span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Handful:<\/span><\/strong> <em>Our most recent research shows that award space is available for at least one person about 4 to 8 days during the months indicated in the chart. Worth pursuing if you\u2019re flexible.<\/em>","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["<strong><span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Decent:<\/span><\/strong> <em>Our most recent research shows that upgrade award space is available for at least one person about 9 to 12 days during the months indicated.<\/em>","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["<strong><span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Go For It:<\/span><\/strong> <em>Our most recent research shows that award space is available for one person about 13 days or more during the months indicated.<\/em>","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#"]]