Any long - haul
economy redemption on the EarlyReturns award chart is a good deal, but flights to Costa Rica are particularly valuable.
Not exact matches
Considering this
redemption would only cost 12,500 Avios each way for
economy tickets, you can get some great value out of your miles
on this route!
They have solid
redemption rates, but the surcharges
on tickets are particularly steep (especially with
economy class bookings).
With ANA Mileage Club, you will find the best
redemption rates for
economy class and business class to Australia
on United Airlines.
Including this, Justin would still save about 22,000 miles as opposed to ponying up 40,000 per person for a full
Economy redemption home
on United alone.
Considering this
redemption would only cost 12,500 Avios each way for
economy tickets, you can get some great value out of your miles
on this route!
Compared to 110,000 MileagePlus miles
on similar
economy - class routes when booked through United, these
redemptions are not bad.
Qantas is running a four day sale
on Economy class
redemptions.
British Airways has launched a promotion similar to one it has run at this time of year in the past offering 50 % off all
Economy Class Avios
redemptions on flights to / from London Heathrow and London Gatwick.
As an added note, check out the
redemptions for DWF to CPT
on economy on United versus Aeroplan.
Redemption for
economy seats
on United Airlines metal aren't too bad and are pretty much in line with the other legacy carriers.
Thus, I'd probably try to use Alaskan miles
on American to get to Europe, and although finding availability in business class can be difficult, that off - peak 40,000
redemption in AA
economy is very nice.
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 option.
If you have to pay high fees or fuel surcharges
on an
economy or short - haul flight, you should be especially cautious about using points for that
redemption.
On a positive note however, there's going to be a significant increase in the number of Premium
Economy seats available and, as Premium
Economy redemptions are a sweet spot of the recently reconfigured Virgin Atlantic rewards chart, that's very good news.
Premium
Economy redemption bookings will see a smaller, 9 %, drop
on flights to / from the US.
Yesterday, while most people's attention was focused
on the addition of Premium
Economy redemptions to the Singapore Airlines award chart (more
on that in a separate post), the airline slipped in a change to the charts in a way that increased the cost of Premium Cabin Saver Awards to certain European cities.
All of the
economy class
redemptions on the MEA award chart are a decent deal.
Premium
Economy can be more expensive
on a cash basis, so there may be better value in such
redemptions.
Domestic
redemptions on United will remain 25/50/70 for
economy, business and first.
Discounts
on offer this season include 25 % off business class flights between Boston and Europe; 20 % off
economy class
redemptions within Europe to cities like Luxembourg, Milan, and Prague; and 25 % off business class
redemptions between Europe and cities in China including Beijing, Chengdu, and Xiamen.
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).
One of the issues for business class
redemptions is that the business class fares are often mixed with
economy on long segments.
Economy cabin awards
on this route are often easier than premium seat
redemptions.
American Airlines puts many of its
economy class award
redemptions on sale for travel during off - peak times of year when demand slows.
They have solid
redemption rates, but the surcharges
on tickets are particularly steep (especially with
economy class bookings).
The best way to maximize your Chase Ultimate Rewards
on economy flights with these
redemptions.
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.
Virgin's 787 - 9 aircraft have just 35 Premium
Economy seats onboard so the addition of a third daily service to / from Los Angeles will be boosting the number of Premium
Economy seats available
on the route quite substantially... and that should be good news for reward
redemptions which have, historically, been quite challenging to find.
Cathay Pacific is running a promotion offering a 20 % discount
on Award
redemptions in Premium
Economy and Business.
charges ridiculously high surcharges
on reward flights (so much so that most long - haul
Economy Class
redemptions are terrible value for money).
Finally, LAX to Tahiti (PPT)
on Air France's fifth - freedom route could become an interesting
redemption as it drops from 75,000 to 64,000 miles in business class and from 30,000 miles to 25,500 in
economy class.
70,000 to Japan in
economy isn't terrible but considering how amazing the
redemptions on ANA, JAL, Alaskan Airline miles can be to get to Japan, I would rather not go with Avianca when getting to Japan.
British Airways, for example, allows
redemptions on short - haul flights in
economy class for as few as 4,500 points one - way.
But, business class
redemptions on International routes required twice the number of miles needed for an
economy award.
Some good Flying Blue
redemptions include travel in
economy class between the continental U.S. and Hawaii, which costs just 30,000 miles with Flying Blue compared to 40,000 miles
on Delta.
One - way
redemptions for short flights of 500 kilometers or less
on partner airlines cost only 6,000 LAN kilometers (3,728 miles) for
economy.
Club Premier, the airline's frequent flyer program, has favorable
economy and business class
redemptions on flights between North America and other destinations worldwide, including Europe and Southeast Asia.
Star Alliance and SkyTeam may offer slightly cheaper
economy class
redemptions, but if you can find a seat it's probably worth paying a little extra to fly nonstop
on American Airline's luxurious partner, Etihad.
Flying Blue has a number of great sweet spots in
economy class but unfortunately isn't the most lucrative reward program for business class flights because many of these flights are
on the higher side of
redemptions and many
redemptions also come with high fees.
I think what while the
economy award
redemptions aren't the most valuable, the business class awards still offer great value despite the fees
on a round trip award.
If all you care about doing is going from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back for as cheap as possible in
economy, then by all means hoard Amex points and transfer to BA Avios to get in
on those 4,500 point one way short - haul
redemptions on American Airlines.
With the introduction of so many different award classes, the miles needed for an award have changed drastically: Some of the «Standard» awards have dropped by more than 20 % — that was to be expected as all the routes in question have offered very cheap
economy fares over the last year, making a
redemption on these routes generally unattractive.
There are always a couple of seats in business and
economy available for
redemption, and business class is the same as the seats
on the A380 (not the short - haul «business» seats).
If you travel
on cheap
economy fares, then stick with the Citi ThankYou Premier card for its
redemption rebate.
On the
redemption side, the program offers very cheap short - haul awards (as low as 4,500 miles in
economy or 9,000 in business class), thus perfect for domestic flights within Japan (with no taxes!)
Better than Asian or Middle Eastern
redemption rates, but still 60 - 110K miles in
economy on United, 60 - 130K
on Delta, or 60 - 100K
on American.
Some changes will benefit members, such as the simplified elite status earning system and the new short - haul
redemption level, but others, particularly earning rates
on economy flights, will sting a bit.
Rates for
redemptions on economy fares are still the same, but if you were planning
on using Avios to book Cathay Pacific First Class, well... I guess I suggest you book it before April 27th!
These flights used to be the most expensive
redemption option
on the
economy award chart, at 45,000 miles each way.