In fact, some parts are greater by 50% to 90% off in Business or First Class.
SPECIAL REPORT AT A GLANCE:
- Why you should consider booking two one-way flights vs. a round-trip.
- Why award travel is based on simple odds.
- Six scenarios where two one-way award bookings make sense.
- 14 one-way mileage programs with pricing and transfer partners.
A GAME OF TWO HALVES
There are many default mind settings when it comes to travel, and one of them is this: when flying somewhere and back, you book a round-trip ticket.
Well, I don’t. In fact I don’t remember the last time I did. The reason is that by dividing an itinerary into two one-way trips, you conquer it, much more easily. Because the odds are much better for scoring good award deals.
BETTER THAN SNAKE EYES
The odds of rolling “snake eyes” (a one on each of two dice) are 1 in 36. Good luck. Let’s apply that metaphor to travel. We say you should roll one die for the first trip, and a different die, perhaps at a different table, for the second trip. Your odds for a good outcome are much better. Let’s talk about this some more.
MILEAGE AWARD TRAVEL ALL HINGES ON AVAILABILITY
Are you a fixed flyer? If you’re fixed on a particular day, route, airline, and cabin class, your chances of hitting the jackpot on mileage award availability for a round-trip ticket—meaning using one airline’s mileage program—get exponentially less with each next requirement. It’s really important to know that it’s a numbers game, and in the great casino of the air, you’re allowed to count cards.
TWO ONE-WAY TICKETS VS ONE TWO-WAY TICKET
Buying two one-way tickets means that you pay 50% (with most programs) of the round-trip cost, but you increase your chances of getting a First or Business Class seat at a low saver level. Below is a range of one-way ticket scenarios, along with an explanation of how to optimize the one-way award for each.
WHEN A ROUND-TRIP SAVER AWARD IS NOT AVAILABLE
Let’s say you’re flying Dallas-Frankfurt in Business Class. For the trip to Frankfurt, you get lucky and find a tasty one-way award on American Airlines for 57,500 miles. Now, if you were to stay with American, you’ll likely have to buy an unrestricted AAnytime Level 1 award for 110,000 miles for the return, as this is one airline where you start out with bad odds (little availability). Total: 167,500 miles.
But if you were to look around, you might find that Lufthansa had a 52,500-mile saver award for the return trip, non-stop.
Why not get one-ways with both American and Lufthansa? At 110,000 for the entire trip, you save 57,500 AA miles.
Divide. Conquer.
WHEN A ROUND-TRIP SAVER AWARD IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE SAME CABIN
Another option is to fly a different class of service on each leg, say First Class out and Business Class back. This can often net First Class for less than Business, especially when First Class is available at the saver rate and Business Class is only available at the standard rate, a frequent occurrence.
WHEN YOU WANT THE BEST ROUTING AND BEST PREMIUM SEATS
Example: You’re traveling from New York to London and returning from Frankfurt, and you want to fly nonstop and get the best seat on each flight leg. That means First Class going out, given that you’ll be flying overnight, and Business Class coming back (good enough for a long day flight and even doing some work). It’s the usual suspects: British Airways or American to London, and Singapore Airlines from Frankfurt. Each belongs to a different alliance (oneworld and Star, respectively), so you can’t book a round-trip award. One-way awards are tailor-made for this situation.
WHEN A PARTNER SAVER ROUND-TRIP AWARD IS NOT AVAILABLE ON YOUR PREFERRED CARRIER BUT IS VIA THE PARTNER’S PROGRAM
Let’s imagine you found low-cost award travel for New York-Zurich in Business Class on United, 60,000 miles one-way. Great, but you can only get an Everyday award, 155,000 miles one-way, on United for the return. That’s 215,000 miles round-trip.
However, SWISS, a Star Alliance partner, has a saver award for your return date, but it’s not available through United miles. This is when it pays to have a mileage account with Marriott/SPG because you can turn the points into the 52,500 SWISS miles you need for the one-way return award and book the one-way award outbound with United. Total cost: 112,500 miles. That’s 102,500 fewer miles than booking a round-trip award on United.
WHEN A ONE-WAY TICKET KICKS OFF A BIGGER STRATEGY
FCF’s Leg Stretch Strategy kicks off in Europe (we’ve written recent special reports about it here) and it’s so lucrative for the premium flyer that getting to its departure cities are easy with the one-way award ticket method.
FOR CRUISE PASSENGERS
Cruise itineraries often require flying to one city and returning from another. It’s called an open-jaw itinerary and it’s perfect for one-way awards. For instance, you begin the cruise out of Venice (flying Alitalia or Delta nonstop from New York) and disembark in Barcelona (an American or Iberia nonstop back to New York).
ONE-WAY AWARDS VS ONE-WAY FARES: THERE IS ONE WINNER
The best deal on a one-way ticket is using miles because one-way fares are usually very high, sometimes as much as the round-trip fare. Having a credit card that transfers points to many different airline programs is key. More on that in The Lazy Upgrader’s Guide to Lucrative Credit Card Opportunities.
One-Way Mileage Programs to Europe
(Asia in next month’s report)
Air Canada: The cost starts at 55,000 one-way in Business (up to 57,500) for both its own and Star Alliance partner flights. Transfer partners: Amex Rewards and Marriott/SPG.
Air France/KLM: Costs vary but start at 53,000 miles (e.g. Boston-London or New York-Paris) for both its own and nonstop partner flights, such as on Delta. Transfer partners: Amex Rewards, Barclays, Chase, Citi ThankYou, and Marriott/SPG.
Alaska: It varies by airline. From any U.S. gateway, it costs 57,500 miles one-way Business Class on American to Europe, and 60,000 on British Airways. First Class is 85,000 one-way on AA, and 70,000 on BA. (Higher-priced awards also offered with Emirates, 105,000 for Business Class, and Finnair, 70,000.) Transfer partner: Marriott/SPG.
Alitalia: For travel to Italy on Alitalia till Dec. 31: 70,000 miles one-way in Business Class. Transfer partners: Amex Rewards and Marriott/SPG.
American: It’s 57,500 one-way in Business Class for both American and partner flights (such as British Airways and Iberia). First Class is 85,000. Transfer partner: Marriott/SPG.
Asiana: A Star Alliance partner award costs 40,000 miles one-way to Europe and is valid on Lufthansa, SWISS, and United, among other airlines. First Class is 50,000 one-way. Transfer partner: Marriott/SPG.
British Airways: Mileage cost starts at 50,000 and varies by route and season for both its own and nonstop partner flights, such as on American and Iberia. First Class starts at 68,000 one-way. Transfer partners: Amex Rewards, Chase, and Marriott/SPG.
: Cost varies by route but starts as low as 50,000 miles one-way (New York-London) on partners AA and BA. First Class starts at 75,000. Transfer partners: Amex Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Marriott/SPG.
Delta: The worst choice because of the high cost. For Delta’s own and partner flights, it takes 75,000 to 86,000 miles one-way for Business Class. Transfer partners: Amex Rewards and Marriott/SPG.
Iberia: Cost varies by route and season: 34,000 to 42,500 miles one-way in off-season, and 50,000 to 62,500 in peak season. Partner costs also vary by route but start at 50,000 miles one-way on AA and BA. Transfer partners: Amex Rewards, Chase, and Marriott/SPG.
LifeMiles/Avianca: Star Alliance partner award starts at 60,000 miles one-way to Europe and are valid on Lufthansa, SWISS, and United, among other airlines. First Class is 87,000. Transfer partner: Marriott/SPG.
Lufthansa: Its Miles & More program includes Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish, and SWISS. Lufthansa charges 52,500 miles for its own and partner one-way flights, such as Austrian, SWISS, and United, all Star Alliance members. First Class is 85,000 one-way. Transfer partner: Marriott/SPG.
Singapore: On New York-Frankfurt and Houston-Manchester, the cost is 65,000 miles one-way in Business Class, and 76,000 in First Class from New York only. Transfer partners: Amex Rewards, Chase, Citi ThankYou, and Marriott/SPG.
United: For its own flights the cost is 60,000 miles one-way in Business Class, First Class is 80,000. Star Alliance and partner airlines are more, 70,000 one-way in Business Class and 110,000 in First. Transfer partners: Chase and Marriott/SPG.
Virgin Atlantic: Cost varies by U.S. departure city and season. Its own and Delta flights to London start at 47,500 miles (and go up to 77,500) one-way in Business Class. Air New Zealand from Los Angeles to London is 77,500 in Business Class. Transfer partners: Amex Rewards, Chase, Citi ThankYou, and Marriott/SPG.
Comparing One-Way Awards to Europe
[table_opt id="5987" style="blue-header" width="default" alignment="thcenter" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter" responsive="no" /]