Business and First Class Free & Upgrade Award Availability Like Never Before—on American, Delta, Qantas, and United.
Fares have dropped, just as we said they would in our August report, and competition has now also opened up mileage-award space on several airlines—for travel during several different months. The fact that even Qantas (see below) has free First Class award availability is making us do a double-take.
[aside headline="Fare Trend Watch" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]For recent Business and First Class fare trends go here for Tel Aviv, India, Air France, Europe, South Pacific, and Nairobi.[/aside]
Free Awards on United
United’s new route, San Francisco-Auckland, has award space in Business Class in August—140,000 United miles.
Upgrade Awards on United
Big economy-to-Business mileage upgrade opportunity on San Francisco to Auckland and Sydney, plus Los Angeles to Melbourne and Sydney for travel April through September—and otherwise a rarity.
Upgrades can be done on any economy fare, starting as low as $1,194 round-trip (SFO-Auckland) in the summer plus 60,000 miles + $1,200 co-pay. SFO-Auckland Business Class fares currently range from $4,597 to $5,698, but through this strategy the cash outlay can be just $2,394 (plus 60,000 miles to upgrade), a cash savings of up to $3,304 (58%).
You can transfer points from Chase to United miles if you need them. Or, if you just need to top off, you can buy up to 100,000 miles from United.
Free Awards on American
The airline’s Los Angeles-Sydney route has free Business Class mileage award space now—160,000 American miles round-trip—or 100,000 Japan Airline miles, which can be acquired via Starpoints transfer.
Best months on this route for free Business Class space are August and September, and in First Class, the best month is August.
[aside headline="It Pays to Use Miles to the South Pacific" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]
Take Los Angeles-Sydney on American: the lowest First Class fare is $15,728 round-trip. A First Class mileage award ticket requires 220,000 miles (and about $107 in award taxes), which comes out to about a 7¢ per-mile return and a great use of miles.
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Upgrade Awards on American
Go for an economy-to-Business upgrade on AA’s new Los Angeles-Auckland for travel in July and August.
Upgrades can be done on any economy fare, starting as low as $1,095 round-trip in winter plus 50,000 miles + $700 co-pay, round-trip. The lowest Business Class fare is currently $4,399 round-trip (up to $5,098), but through this strategy the cash outlay is $1,795 (plus 50,000 miles to upgrade), a savings of $2,604 (59%). You can transfer Starpoints into American miles, or, to top-off, buy up to 150,000 miles directly from the airline.
Free Awards on Delta
Bet on August for Business Class mileage-award space on the Los Angeles-Sydney route. It’s expensive (220,000 miles round-trip), but you can lower the cost to 150,000 by booking through Delta partner Virgin Atlantic’s miles—which you can get through Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou, Chase, and Starwood transfers—saving you 70,000 miles. Award space through Virgin is often the same as Delta’s own.
Free Awards on Qantas
Dallas-Sydney and Los Angeles-Melbourne, in First, no less. Best month is August. It costs a lot if you book with Qantas (288,000 miles), but booking through Japan Airlines reduces the cost to 155,000 miles—that saves 133,000 miles. Look at this approach as a two-for-one. For Qantas First Class, transfer just 125,000 Starpoints to Japan Airlines to save up to 57%. Partner award space is very often the same as Qantas’ own space.
Conclusion
So, when you are thinking of using miles to the South Pacific, think winter months. And remember, the South Pacific is still a region where it pays to use miles, especially for First Class travel, as fares still start at $16,000+.
[aside headline="Why You Might Consider Traveling to The South Pacific in the Summer" alignment="aligncenter" width="big" headline_size="default"]If you’re like me, off-season travel—which are summer months in the U.S. and winter in the South Pacific—is the way to go. Plus, hotels and tours can be half as much. The Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney in August is just 376AUD ($281 USD), while in February it can run 685AUD ($512USD). Want to get out of your summer heat? Try cool South Pacific.
Source: Weather.com
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