For the fourth time in ten months, US Airways has come out with another buying and gifting mileage promotion in which the bonus goes up with the more miles you buy: 1,000 to 9,000 miles gets 25%, 10,000 to 24,000 miles gets 50%, 25,000 to 39,000 miles gets 75%, 40,000 to 50,000 miles gets 100%. Or opt for extra PQMs (Preferred Qualifying Miles), up to 5,000 (1,000 PQMs for every 10,000 miles bought). The fine print: Dividend Miles accounts of less than 12 days old are not eligible. Maximum miles that qualify for bonus: 50,000 miles. Cannot be combined with another offer. Offer ends Sept.15. For more information: US Airways buy miles
The major problem with offers like this one is award availability. What sets US Airways apart in this regard is that it is a member of Star Alliance, the largest alliance with 28 members. US Airways gives you access to domestic First Class award inventory on two other domestic airlines (Continental and United), six to Asia, and more than ten airlines to Europe. That greatly increases your odds of landing an award ticket in absolute terms, and certainly in comparison to the other two alliances, SkyTeam and Oneworld, which each have only one domestic airline and less than half the number of carriers to international destinations.
Even More Uncommon: Discounted Business Class Awards US Airways is the only domestic airline that offers a discount Business Class award for travel at certain times. For Europe, the window is Jan.15 through Feb. 28, while South America is May and October, at which time the cost of a Business Class ticket is only 60,000 miles, the amount many airlines charge for an economy ticket. The cost to buy the miles using US Airways’ current promotion is $963, which nets you 61,250 miles, with the balance coming through the 75% bonus. We searched US Airways for the top routes that have off-peak award space available. See the redemption mileage award chart below.
Top Routes for Business Class Off-peak Award Travel on US Airways
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