How to save up to 78% with All Nippon, up to 65% with Asiana, and 54% with Singapore.
There are dozens upon dozens of ways to fly non-stop to/from Asia from California—yet there are three things that are far more important to know:
- When and where is there good “availability”?
- What “partnership opportunities” exist to get the ticket for far less than retail?
- If you don’t have the necessary miles or points, how can you buy them to save a small fortune?
So here’s your FCF cheat sheet on the who (the airlines), the what (partners with the best deal), and the when (award space availability).
Deal #1: All Nippon First Class
Published Fares: To Tokyo from Los Angeles round-trip starts at $15,601, and $17,936 from San Francisco.
Mileage Cost: 150,000 miles (165,000 during high season). For the same price you can fly free to anywhere else in Japan—and to many other destinations in Asia for only 15,000 more miles—with a free stopover in Tokyo, if you want. Or, add a free domestic flight to any All Nippon U.S. gateway. See mileage award availability in chart below.
No All Nippon Miles? No Problem: Transfer 120,000 Starwood points or 150,000 Amex Rewards points to All Nippon.
Best “Buy Miles to Fly in Style” Deal: Purchase Amex Rewards points at 2.5¢ each, which brings the First Class ticket down to $3,920 round-trip (including about $170 in award taxes), a savings of $14,016 (78%) on the San Francisco-Tokyo route.
Deal #2: Asiana First Class
Published Fares: To Seoul from Los Angeles round-trip start at $8,549.
Mileage Cost: 160,000 miles (50% more required during peak seasons, Dec. 5 to Dec. 23, and May 12 to July 1, 2018). That also gets you a free ticket to anywhere in Korea and many other destinations in Asia for only 15,000 more miles, with a free stopover in Seoul, if you like. Or, add a free domestic flight to any Asiana U.S. gateway. See mileage award availability in chart below.
No Asiana Miles? No Problem: Transfer 130,000 Starwood points to Asiana.
Best Buy Miles to Fly in Style Deal: Purchase LifeMiles from Avianca, an Asiana partner. (This deal also applies to travel on All Nippon to Tokyo and on Singapore to Seoul.) Based on the last LifeMiles deal, which offered a bonus of up to 125%, the strategy can net up to 65% off, bringing Los Angeles-Seoul First Class down to $3,009 round-trip (180,000 miles, including award taxes of $72 on Asiana).
Or, Purchase Amex Rewards Points, then transfer them to All Nippon, and redeem them on Asiana flights. This strategy can net you up to 44% off, bringing Los Angeles-Seoul First Class down to $4,745 round-trip (180,000 miles, including award taxes at around $245).
Deal #3: Singapore First Class
Published Fares: To Seoul from Los Angeles round-trip start at $10,447.
Mileage Cost: 190,000 miles to Seoul. Japan can be added to a Korean itinerary for the same cost. See mileage award availability in chart below.
No Singapore Miles? No Problem: Transfer 155,000 Starwood points, or 190,000 Amex Rewards, Citi ThankYou, or Chase points to Singapore.
Best “Buy Miles to Fly in Style” Deal: Purchase Amex Rewards points at 2.5¢ each, which brings the First Class ticket down to $4,833 round-trip (including about $83 in award taxes), a savings of up to 54%.
Sweet Redeem Survey: First Class Availability to Asia
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Why isn’t United included in this special report?
Simple: Our research showed virtually no award space for First Class—not enough to mention—on the carrier. Once again, this shows how little your loyalty is worth on United as we’ve stated again and again, and on the other major U.S. carriers.
For more on saving up to 90% on Cathay Pacific’s stratospheric First Class fares to Asia from Boston and New York non-stop, go here; and on the top two best ways to nail New York – Asia First Class and non-stop on Star Alliance Airlines, go here.