The highlight of this month's Promo Awards is definitely the 50,000
point roundtrip Business Class award between Europe and Dubai.
Not exact matches
Instead, the 100,000
points, when transferred to Singapore's frequent flyer program, get you a
roundtrip coach ticket NYC - Singapore that normally is over $ 1600, or a
roundtrip business class ticket NYC to Frankfurt that retails for over $ 5000.
That means flying
roundtrip on this Aer Lingus route for the same number of
points as a one - way in most other programs, whether flying in Economy or
Business.
A
roundtrip business - class ticket from New York to Paris that is valued at $ 3,500 would cost 245,000
points under Southwest's fixed - value system (if the airline flew to Paris).
In fact, if you're Executive Platinum and could get 10,000 redeemable miles for this sample itinerary along with the possibility of an upgrade, that would leave you with an effective cost of 11,000
points and miles for a transcontinental
roundtrip with a potential free upgrade to
business / first class.
In fact, with just two Chase cards, one could net over 100,000 Ultimate Rewards and have enough
points to fly Korean Air first class to Asia or
business class
roundtrip to Europe.
From a positive
point of view those with foreign - based MileagePlus accounts (or at least those with UK MileagePlus accounts) can now buy enough miles for two
roundtrip Business Class awards between Europe and the US on United operated flights (115,000 miles each).
To use it, you just input your route, choose one - way or
roundtrip, the cabin you want to fly in (economy, premium economy,
business, or first), whether you're willing to make a stop or not, the type of award (peak or off - peak), and which frequent flyer program (the 20 airlines are listed below) or credit card (Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou
Points, and / or Starwood Preferred Guest) you want to use and search.
I'm going to have to position from London to Helsinki to catch my Qatar Airways
Business Class flight and, although I was planning on booking the cheapest possible fare to and from Helsinki, this is yet another route on which you can earn 160 Tier
Points for a
roundtrip Business Class fare.
Virgin America gives the most economical option as you only need 80,000 Elevate
points for a
Business Class
roundtrip or 45,000 Elevate
points for a one - way award while, with Delta, you'll soon need 90,000 SkyMiles for a one - way
Business Class award.
You can get a
roundtrip from the US to London in Virgin Atlantic's
business class known as «Upper Class» for 115,000
points but as you can see the fees are very high at over $ 1,200.
As credit card companies continue to court small
business owners, the rewards programs grow increasingly sweet, from free
roundtrip tickets on major airlines to double rewards
points for every dollar spent.
The problem here is straightforward, and why I don't use a 2 % cash back card to completely offset the cost of my
points: if I don't value the
roundtrip ticket to Europe in
business class at $ 786.05, why am I paying $ 786.05 for it?
Our guess is many people would be happy to pay $ 500 to fly
business class
roundtrip between the west coast and the UK while giving up the typical amount of
points these saver flights cost.
I recently wrote an article on how you could use that bonus to get to Europe in
business class
roundtrip with Iberia Avios for roughly 40,000
points.
I'd mentally budget around 140,000
points / miles for
roundtrip to Europe in
Business Class best case.
If you had used Etihad miles transferred from ThankYou
Points during the period of the bonus, that
roundtrip Business ticket between New York and Brussels in a flat bed would have cost only 28,000 ThankYou
Points.