Q & A
We are planning to go to Beijing next June to meet our son who is studying there. What is the best way to garner three Business Class seats? We have the American Express Starwood card, and I thought of purchasing miles from Alaska Airlines or Asia Miles and transferring them to American Airlines. How does one go about transferring the miles once purchased?Andrew Wong, San Marino, CA
Sure, you can transfer Starwood Starpoints to both Alaska Airlines and Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles program. Once transferred, the miles can be used on any of their partners (American among them) for award travel. We recommend holding (or at least checking) space before transferring points to an airline mileage program. Otherwise, by the time the transfer comes through, the award seat might no longer be available.Alaska Airlines allows unlimited mileage purchases at 2.75¢ per mile, with a per-transaction limit of 30,000 miles. So if you are still short on Alaska miles after the point transfer, buy the difference. Asia Miles allows you to buy up to 30% of the miles needed to top off an award in blocks of 2,000 miles for $60. I recently flew Japan Airlines First Class and it was amazing; mileage availability from San Francisco was wide open so you might check there first. — mb
I am going Denver-Shanghai in December and have been given authorization to fly Business Class. I am also taking along my son, so I need a Business Class ticket for him. I don’t have enough miles for an award ticket. Should I buy the miles? I have been looking around, but it is so confusing. What would you do?
MaryAnn Stroub, Ft. Collins, CO
Look at the Amex Platinum companion program (IAP), under which you buy one ticket at full price and receive the second free. Participants flying to Shanghai include Delta and Japan Airlines. (For a full list, visit: Amex Rewards Platinum IAP )Since you live in the Denver area, I assume you are a United Mileage Plus member. If so, try to upgrade from an economy fare ($2,400), which requires 60,000 points round-trip. That will save you about $2,000 off a 50 day-advance Business Class fare of $4,500. With prices this high, it’s time to use those miles. Otherwise, check other credit card points you might have that can be transferred to a mileage program, or buy more to put in your account. — mb
SUCCESS STORY: I paid $999 for a Denver-Sydney round-trip in coach, then used my e-upgrade (elite status) certificates for the domestic leg. I flew on a Wednesday afternoon knowing there’s plenty of availability then. At LAX, I paid $781 for a Business upgrade at the counter. Coming home, I did the same thing. Total trip cost was $2,562. You would have paid more than that for a coach ticket last Christmas. While this strategy is a little risky, if you fly midweek (outside of major holidays) you will most likely pull it off.