With flights full and award inflation through the roof, FCF found a few ‘needles’ in the otherwise worthless AA miles ‘haystack’…
Our research team has been playing “needle in a haystack” with low-cost award space availability on American. It’s a very big haystack, with very few needles. But if you’re planning on booking a trip soon, and have a bunch of AA miles, or points you’re considering transfering to AA miles, in your pocket, it’s good to know exactly where you stand. So we decided to do a deep dive survey into where American is hiding a few lower-cost award seats, so you don’t waste your time in fantasy land.
In other words, if you’re not careful or not reading FCF’s special reports, you’d have to plan on paying around 180,000 miles for Business Class one way to Europe, and 175,000 one-way to Asia. However, with Oneworld Alliance partner airlines, FCF’s team found award space for as low as 57,500 American miles one way to Europe, saving you ~68%, 60,000 to Asia — also saving you ~66%, get the Middle East for as low as 70,000 one-way and the South Pacific for as low as 80,000 one-way. See FCF’s cheat sheet below:
FCF’s American & Partner Discount Award Survey
American: We checked 81 long-haul routes for Business Class award space at the following one-way rates, which we consider relatively reasonable: Asia up to 80,000; Europe, 78,000 (nothing’s cheaper); Hawaii up to 28,000; South America up to 60,000; and South Pacific up to 90,000.
We also checked eight American partners’ availability at the normal pricing level using American miles.
Breadth of FCF’s Survey:
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Summary of Findings on American in Business Class
Here’s a snapshot of what we found:
Europe: 6 out of 43 routes with any availability to speak of:
- Three routes with four seats, two months or more of availability, in both directions
- Three routes with four seats, one-two months one way (outbound only)
Asia: 1 route out of 6 available, with up to four seats (outbound only)
South America: Zip-zero-zilch
Hawaii and the South Pacific: It seems like those palm trees will have to wait.
FCF includes the bad news, too, i.e. it’s obvious where not to fish, so:
- You don’t waste time fishing in a fishless pond if you have a trip already planned to a place AA miles won’t take you
- For those of you in the destination-deciding phase who want to use your miles, you can know sooner than later what ponds to avoid, so to speak.
Remember not to book backwards, in other words.
American Routes With
Round-Trip Business Class Availability
Our survey below shows results for routes with availability of two or more seats in both directions, for two or more months, at the time of research. Use this as a guide since availability can be volatile.
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American Routes With
One-Way Business Class Availability
(Mix & Match for Open-Jaws)
- Los Angeles to Tokyo has a handful of days with four seats outbound in April, 2023.
- Dallas to London has a handful of days one way outbound in November and December with four seats.
- Los Angeles to London had a few dates one way outbound in November and December.
- New York to London also had dates one way outbound in October, November, and December.
Summary of Findings on
American’s Partners in Business Class
*Remember to use the following data as a guide since availability can be volatile…
Asia
Japan Airlines: Five out of eight long-haul routes we checked have a handful of days with two seats, in both directions for booking 10 to 12 months out; and a single seat in both directions two months or more for Spring 2023 travel.
Europe
Finnair: Chicago to Helsinki has plenty of days with one seat April to June, 2023 outbound and March through June on the return; a handful of days both directions January to March outbound and January, February on the return.
Dallas to Helsinki has a handful of days with one seat February to June, 2023 in both directions.
Los Angeles and Miami show one seat a handful of days in March, 2023 outbound travel only.
Iberia Airlines: To Madrid from Boston, Dallas, Miami, New York and Washington, DC have two-seat availability for two or more months in both directions; from Chicago two seats a handful of days in February and July, 2023 outbound and a handful of days with one seat both directions December to February.
Middle East
Qatar: Three out of seven long-haul routes we checked have a handful of days with two seats in both directions for booking 10 to 12 months out; five routes have two seats in June, 2023 for outbound travel only.
South Pacific
Air Tahiti Nui: Los Angeles-Papeete has four seats outbound in August; two seats on the return in June, 2023.
Fiji Air: San Francisco-Nadi has a handful of days with one seat September and May, 2023 on the return flight only.
AA Partner Treasure Map of Low-Priced Business Class Seats
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So don’t give up on using your American miles for international Business Class seats just yet. Consider these valuable ‘haystack needles’ we’ve found for low-cost award space, instead.