Category Archives for Discounts & Deals.
Right now there’s a fantastic business class deal from Los Angeles to Beijing or Shanghai on SkyTeam member China Southern (which is part-owned by American Airlines). You can book one-stop roundtrip for less than $1510 to either destination. That’s an incredible fare.
When fares are this low you don’t want to spend miles for an award ticket.
When Marriott combined programs on August 18th they took all Starwood points balances and tripled them. And they kept the basics of the Starwood points transfers to miles system. So miles transfer 3:1 with most airline partners (instead of the old 1:1, but it’s effectively the same) and transfers into 20,000 miles earns 5000 bonus miles.
In other words, transferring 60,000 Marriott points yields 25,000 airline miles. When you transfer to United you also get a 10% bonus because of the Marriott-United RewardsPlus tie-in. And right now United is offering a 30% bonus on Marriott transfers up to 25,000 extra miles.
Right now Miami – Spain (Madrid or Barcelona) starts at $307 roundtrip on American and its partners.
A couple of weeks ago I highlighted fares West Coast – Hawaii from $246 roundtrip which is an amazing deal. I get more excited about East Coast – Hawaii deals. A few times a year you’ll see prices really drop.
Right now you can book DC or New York – Hawaii from $339 roundtrip.
Star Alliance program Avianca LifeMiles has a hotel booking site that is really Rocketmiles. And they have a quintuple (5x) miles offer for five hours only.
Five hours limits their exposure, because this is incredibly rich. When they ran triple miles for a single day last month I saw 15,000 miles on a $380 stay. This would yield 25,000 miles for the same stay. It can be like buying miles for what they’re worth and getting hotel stays free.
Business class fares originating in Europe to the US are often cheaper than fares which originate in the U.S. I occasionally see $1000 roundtrip fares originating in Europe. Last year there was even a $400 one-way Europe-US fare on Star Alliance member TAP Air Portugal.
TAP is back with amazing fares across the Pond, originating in Europe. You can book them either one way (Europe to U.S.) or roundtrip (Europe – U.S. – Europe). In fact $651 or $656 one way fares are available most days from mid-November through summer.
Premium economy is like domestic first class with foot rests (or in some cases a foot bar). It doesn’t let you lie flat, but it gives you extra room and some upgraded amenities. I don’t think it’s a replacement for business class on ultra long haul flights, but it’s ‘good enough’ flying transatlantic Westbound (day flight) and certainly a whole lot better than coach.
I watch Sydney fares because I have family in the suburbs there, and I’ve been going since I was a kid. In fact my very first international trip was to Australia. I even flew American Airlines the last time they served Sydney — DC10s via Honolulu.
There are some amazing Hawaii fares out there in coach, such as $246 roundtrip. And the deals aren’t just from the West Coast either.
These aren’t mistake fares, it’s a fare war. Several airlines are in on it, and there are great Hawaii deals from several US cities to several destinations in Hawaii.
I love deep discount fares to Hawaii, but it’s a long flight and I’d much rather sit up front. I used to love it when Alaska Airlines $99 companion tickets were valid for first class travel, I’d buy first.
While first class can be cheaper to Hawaii than on similar-distance business routes, it’s rarely super cheap. So sub-$900 first class roundtrips from the West Coast are worth highlighting.
Deals are available on Hawaiian Airlines and on Delta.
American Express Membership Rewards points transfer to a variety of different airline programs and so some hotels. Generally your best redemptions with Amex points is going to be airline transfers. And they offer occasional transfer bonuses.
Right now points transfers to Cathay Pacific are showing up with targeted bonuses.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
