United's current
business class award redemption rate is 57,500 miles (though this is changing in November with MileagePlus» most recent devaluation), and will usually be through either Amsterdam or Brussels.
For example, Alaska Airlines
business class award redemptions to Asia cost only 100,000 miles roundtrip.
I already mentioned that American Airlines» AAdvantage is my favorite loyalty program in the world and that you can use it for cheap
Business Class award redemptions from the USA to South America, or Europe to the Maldives.
Not exact matches
Now that you have a handle on how to book a British Airways
business class award flight, let's take a look at some of the best
redemption options.
Except for Melbourne, the
redemption rates for economy,
business, and first
class awards from the U.S. to major cities in eastern Australia will require the same number of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles.
Promo
awards change every few months throughout the year, and offer 25 % or 50 % off economy and
business class redemptions from Europe to certain destinations around the world.
Awards redeemed in this way can garner a $ 0.02 / point value or more, which you will get with
business and first
class redemptions.
While the
redemption rates with Air France / KLM Flying Blue might not be as competitive as Korean Air or Delta when booking a Korean Air
business class award, there are many more options to earn Flying Blue miles.
However, adding a short - haul economy flight to a long - haul
business or first
class flight may, as in my example, drastically reduce the number of Iberia Avios required for your
award redemption.
United Airlines MileagePlus might not have the most competitive
business class redemption rates, but it does provide some different avenues to earn points for
award travel.
Countries Visited: 84 Favorite First
Class: Emirates A380 Suites Favorite
Business Class: Delta One Suite
Business Class A350 Best
Redemption Value: The one - way 12,500 mile Delta
awards to Alaska in the summer.
As mentioned above, a one - way
business class award flight to «Europe» will cost 62,500 miles, which is a solid
redemption.
Do note that Flying Blue's best
award redemptions tend to be in economy
class vs
business and offer low rates to places like Hawaii, Central and South America, and even Europe at costs less than many of their partner airlines included Alaska or Delta.
For example, Delta recently changed its partner
redemption rates so that a one - way
business class award to Europe on Virgin Atlantic, Air France,... read more
Promo
awards change every few months throughout the year, and offer 25 % or 50 % off economy and
business class redemptions from Europe to certain destinations around the world.
Business class award flights require 90,000 miles, and first
class redemptions require 165,000 miles.
Etihad also presents a wealth of opportunities, including Etihad's own first
class redemptions,
redemptions on American at the old, pre-devaluation levels, as well as the cheapest transatlantic
business class award seat
redemption in the world.
I'd rather store them elsewhere where I can get better value on my
redemptions — or even earn points with a transferable currency like Citi, Chase, or American Express» reward programs, so I can transfer them to any carrier where I can get a fantastic first or
business class award.
AeroMexico offers tremendous value for
award redemptions all over the world, and the best way to redeem AeroMexico Miles is in
Business Class.
With a load factor of 84 %, the carriers are constantly tweaking the cost of
award flights by either raising
redemption levels or reducing the saver
award inventory, especially in first and
business classes.
Aeroplan is great because you can book one way
awards, avoid fuel surcharges on airlines like United and Singapore Airlines, they have one of the best search engines (although it can be a bit slow), and a lot of their
redemption rates for
business class are pretty reasonable.
And that 100,000
award in
business class is also one of the best
redemption rates to get to Europe in
business class — it beats out all of the rates from major US airlines and competes with some of the best available
redemptions (fees may be around $ 250).
Virgin Atlantic has great
award redemption values for flights between the U.S. (especially Eastern U.S.) and Europe in both
classes, economy and
business, although outrageous Heathrow Airport fees and fuel surcharges in Upper
Class make business class TY redemptions on Virgin a less attractive op
Class make
business class TY redemptions on Virgin a less attractive op
class TY
redemptions on Virgin a less attractive option.
Remember that United's
award redemptions for first
class and
business class seats are some of the most expensive in the game.
Yes, British Airways did push through a massive increase in their premium
class redemptions, affecting most of their
business awards and all of the first
class ones.
Airline miles are getting harder and harder to use economically and, although 120,000 airline miles will technically get you an American Airlines roundtrip
Business Class redemption from the continental US to Hawaii, Europe, South American and parts of Asia, have you tried actually booking such an
award?
Most economy level
redemptions remained the same or even improved while
business and first
class awards took the biggest hits.
While the number of miles needed for a
Business Class redemption isn't exactly low (you're better off trying to get to / from Europe on United's own aircraft which will only cost 115,000 for roundtrip
Business Class), the taxes for a premium cabin
award are low for a European route.
The best
business class redemption is a 90,000 - mile
award seat between the continental U.S. and South America.
Yesterday American Airlines announced a huge number of changes to their AAdvantage loyalty program, including much higher
award prices for their most valuable
redemptions in
business and first
class.
Even with recent devaluations to the United MileagePlus loyalty program, that remains a good value for several types of
award redemptions, particularly in international
business class.
This means that there can be some great value to be had if you select the right
redemption options — like Cathay Pacific in
Business or First
Class between Europe and Asia (not a hard
award to find), LAN
Business Class from the US to South American and Korean Air
Business Class between the US and Asia.
One of the most fantastic features of the Dynasty Flyer SkyTeam
award chart is a 70,000 - mile
redemption per round - trip
business class flight between North and South America.
American have continued their assault on
award redemptions to Hawaii by implementing a 40 % increase in the number of miles needed for a
Business Class ticket but, in the case of partner
awards, this doesn't make much difference as most people would be flying to Hawaii on American Airlines and not a partner airline anyway.
If American doesn't alter the cost of Economy or
Business Class awards then, depending on how Premium Economy is squeezed in, there could be some very good value
redemptions to be had (Premium Economy if the premium over Economy
Class is low or
Business Class if the premium over PE is low... it will be one or the other).
At 80,000 miles for a one - way First
Class ticket, and 62,500 miles for a one - way
Business Class ticket between Seoul and New York this could be one of the better
award redemptions out there.
As stated,
award availability for (saver)
business class to New Zealand on United is not great and you'll need to book far in advance if you want to even have a chance to snag
redemptions with
business class seats between the US and Australia / New Zealand.
AAdvantage doesn't have off - peak and peak seasons when it comes to premium cabin
awards so, year round, this
Business Class redemption will set you back 115,000 AAdvantage miles and just $ 298 / # 206.
Alitalia and Delta, SkyTeam members, fly non-stop between Italy and the U.S. I matched this with the results I received from
Award Hacker which confirmed Korean Air was one of the best
business class redemptions.
For example, Delta recently changed its partner
redemption rates so that a one - way
business class award to Europe on Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM, or Alitalia costs 85,000 SkyMiles.
On the other hand, a
business class Travel Together Ticket
redemption between Seattle and London in August (the earliest I was able to find
award space) would cost 150,000 Avios and $ 2,514, while two paid tickets would cost $ 8,093, giving you roughly 3.7 cents per Avios.
Korean Air has a competitive
business class point
redemption shown on their Skyteam North American
Award Chart, so I knew we would be in for an incredible experience.
Keep in mind changes were expected as some of the
awards were dirt cheap compared to other airlines especially for
Business and First
class redemptions.
While United is the most obvious choice for booking a
business class award, don't forget to check Air Canada Aeroplan as you might find an even better
redemption.
While the
redemption rates with Air France / KLM Flying Blue might not be as competitive as Korean Air or Delta when booking a Korean Air
business class award, there are many more options to earn Flying Blue miles.
That
award chart is particularly valuable for premium cabin
redemptions, since
business class and first
class awards cost 2 and 3 times the cost of economy, respectively, instead of the 3 and 4 times charged on the standard Executive Club
award chart.
Please check our previous report, Best American Airlines First and
Business Class Redemptions, on how to search the award space and the type of the premium class
Class Redemptions, on how to search the
award space and the type of the premium
class class seat.
These
redemptions are... [Read more...] about Save 50 % on
Business Class Awards from Vancouver to Europe
I hardly found any Domestic
business class awards that are reasonably priced, Delta uses dynamic pricing based on the demand, availability for sky miles
redemption.
American Airlines AAdvantage miles are very hard to use economically thanks to the dearth of premium cabin SAAver
awards, United Miles are ok but 100,000 won't get you a roundtrip
Business Class award to any major long - haul destination (if you're heading east or west) while 100,000 Alaska Miles will get you some nice roundtrip
redemptions on Cathay Pacific and even American (subject to
award availability).