American Airlines business class level between the U.S. and the Middle East/India has only increased by 2,500 miles, but the first class rate, which wasn’t cheap to begin with, is now a whopping 25,000 miles more. It’s hard to recommend spending 230,000 miles just to get pampered, especially since all airlines flying to India and the Middle East offer lie-flat seats in a business class cabin.
A direct flight from North America to Asia can take you 12 to 15 hours. Spending that amount of time in a great business or first class seat will not just make you feel pampered — it will help you adjust to the time difference easier. Enjoying a good night sleep in a comfortable 180-degree bed helps your body clock adjust despite crossing a dozen time zones.
Unlike Europe, you don’t have a lot of options for Latin America with AAdvantage miles. Aside from American Airlines, there are only two carriers that can get you there, the Chile-based giant LAN and Brazil-based behemoth TAM. The two carriers merged a few years ago to form an even bigger airline called LATAM, but they are running things separately for now, until at least 2017.
Europe is small and very nicely interconnected. Don’t get bummed if you can’t get a business class award seat to your final destination there. The most important part is to cross the ocean and arrive relaxed and happy in that premium seat. Connecting from one point in Europe to another is a breeze compared to getting your perfect ticket across the pond.
If both United and American fly out of your local airport and you’re looking for a
American Express offers six travel rewards cards for consumers in its Membership Rewards lineup: EveryDay, EveryDay Preferred, Green, Gold, Premier Rewards Gold and Platinum.
Etihad is an American Airlines partner that still features old AAdvantage award levels. At some point in the future, they will update their chart, but for now you can book American Airlines awards the old way.
Unfortunately, there is no way to book partners on the Etihad website. You have to search for an award on AA.com and then call Etihad to book it.
If you feel nostalgic about the old American Airlines’ award chart, you’re not alone. AAdvantage used to be the most valuable frequent flyer program bar none, but since March 22nd it’s more on par with other legacy programs like United and Delta that have undergone severe business and first class award devaluations.
Despite the recent devaluation, AAdvantage still remains one of the most valuable frequent flyer programs in North America. There are many reasons for that, one of which is the sheer number of American partner airlines you can fly on using AAdvantage miles. Between the oneworld alliance and additional airline partnerships, American has 22 strategic partners that can take you to every corner of the world.
Who says you can’t get something for nothing? There are number of
Aeroméxico is a founding member of the SkyTeam Alliance and a transfer partner of Starwood Preferred Guest and American Express Membership Rewards programs. The flag carrier of Mexico is not a very popular airline for North American frequent flyer aficionados because it usually adds fuel surcharges to its partners’ rewards flights, and because finding Aeroméxico availability, especially for premium flights on partners, can be a daunting task.
As we discussed earlier, not all business or first class seats are worth spending miles and efforts. In the last few years, airlines have done a great job designing new aircraft and retrofitting the old ones with swankier-than-ever premium class seats. Of course, the mile price of these seats is also higher than ever, but it’s still be a great deal, especially if you are embarking on a major trip and eager to arrive rested and ready to enjoy your destination right away.
If you’re a small business owner or an independent contractor you can earn points towards free airline tickets with a
Alaska Airlines made headlines recently due to its successful bid to purchase Virgin America. Though it’s not yet clear how that merger will play out for loyal Virgin America customers, it is clear that Alaska will be able to expand its West Coast routes and transcontinental flights.
There are a lot of
Longest flights have been a thing since the Wright Brothers flew 852′ in 1903. A few years ago, Singapore Airlines flew the longest flight in the world which was Newark, New Jersey, to Singapore for a distance of 9,539 miles, the longest scheduled route in the world ever flown commercially with passengers. They plan to reinstate this route using the new Airbus A350s at some future date yet to be announced.
A flight to Hawaii can take longer than flying to Europe for some. For East Coasters it’s a whopping 11-12 hour journey, about as long as it takes to fly between New York and Buenos Aires. There is a considerable shortage of comfortable premium class seats from the U.S. to Hawaii, although they do exist and more are on the way. Here’s a rundown.
Let’s face it, some of you are mileage hoarders. You’ve earned all those miles and you don’t know what to do with them. Or you are saving for that special trip. Some people even end up letting miles expire unknowingly. Then you have to contact the airline and beg for forgiveness. Sometimes that works, and other times it doesn’t.
As a rule, it’s not worth splurging miles for premium travel domestically. The flights are usually short, the seats are old-school recliners, there are no individual entertainment systems and the food is usually average at best.
When the travel hacking bug hits, most newcomers to the hobby only think about
