Search Results for "ASIA".
Effective June 22 they’re making changes to mileage earning and redemption. This matters to folks in the U.S. because Asia Miles is a oneworld frequent flyer program (earn and redeem on American, British Airways, Japan Airlines, etc.) and because it’s a points transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards.
To me the most important takeaway is that roundtrip premium cabin long haul awards are getting more expensive.
One of the big mistakes people make booking awards is to assume that when you want to travel you go to your frequent flyer program’s website and enter where you’re flying from, where you’re going to, and you’ll be presented with your options.
If you go to the American Airlines website and say you want to go to Bangkok there will be no availability, ever. And that’s not because there’s no availability, although that’s what most people assume it means.
On March 26 we learned that Uber was selling its Southeast Asia business to Grab and shutting down operations in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Vietnam in two weeks.
Singapore’s competition regulators stepped in to halt the sale.
I reached out to Delta and they confirmed that this is “No[t a] glitch on the award pricing” so we can apparently rely on it, until it changes again.
On Monday we learned that Uber was selling its Southeast Asia business to Grab and shutting down operations in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Vietnam in two weeks.
Not so fast says the government of Singapore.
The bottom line for travelers in that the Uber app will not work in the region, you’re more or less stuck downloading Grab or taking a taxi (please don’t tell me about this or that local alternative).
Star Alliance member Asiana is great for award availability. I’ve always had good luck with space on the West Coast – Seoul flights in business class, and beyond to Southeast Asia and first class availability — on the limited routes where it’s offered — is generally good too.
Right now New York JFK – Seoul is served by a Boeing 777-200LR with no first class. However the Airbus A380 returns to New York at the end of March. The A380 is available Frankfurt – Seoul as well.
ANA first class availability, booked far in advance, is outstanding right now. And it’s accessible using miles from a variety of programs — in the Star Alliance and through other airline partnerships as well. They offer one of the best and most consistent first class products in the world. It’s not as flashy as Emirates or Etihad, but the service and food are fantastic.
Business class awards on Cathay Pacific between New York JFK and Hong Kong are wide open starting in August and running through end of schedule. Space beyond Hong Kong is generally very nicely available.
Now’s the time to lock in those business class awards to Asia for later in the year.
ANA first class availability, booked far in advance, is outstanding right now. And it’s accessible using miles from a variety of programs — in the Star Alliance and through other airline partnerships as well. They offer one of the best and most consistent first class products in the world. It’s not as flashy as Emirates or Etihad, but the service and food are fantastic.
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 »
