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Get your Selfie Stick ready and your best Humblebrag caption primed. It’s time to pimp your Instagram out!
#blessed #Wanderlust #travel Your hashtag game is tight, but you need a few pics that really say – I’m killin’ it. Sure you could fly in a normal seat, with your back straight and your legs bent, but who’s going to double tap that pic? What you need is that first to board, turn left, lie-flat flair that you can only get from premium cabins. But, how are you going to do that without a grip of cash or points? You came to the right place. I’m going to show you how you can do it on various airlines, around the world, for less 15,000 points.
Yep, you can do it on Cathay Pacific. Keep reading.
British Airways is an outstanding program if you know how to work it. Lets take a look at a few best uses of Avios.
British Airways Avios can be redeemed using a distance based chart. We’ll focus on the following zones.
- Zone 1 is 1-650 miles
- 4500 for economy, 2x for Business, 3x for First
- Zone 2 is 651-1,151 miles
- 7500 for economy, 2x for Business, 3x for First
This means you can redeem just 15,000 Avios to fly up to 1,151 miles in business class. Ahhhhhh – yes!
How do we get Avios, Miles?
Amex is offering a 40% transfer bonus. This means business class for less than 11,000 Membership Rewards.
American Express currently has an amazing transfer bonus running until September 17th, 2017. You’ll receive a 40% transfer bonus to British Airways. This opens up an entire world of opportunity to get yourself flying flat. When you look at routes under 1,151 miles you begin to see a lot of potential options around the world that will set you back just 10,750 American Express Membership Rewards.
If you’re short on Amex, you can transfer 1:1 from Chase
5 Airlines, 5 Amazing ways to fly flat < 15,000 Points
1) Cathay Pacific Business Class is one of the best in the air. Enjoy it intra-Asia for just 15,000 Avios. Here’s a look at what you’d have from Hong Kong to Bangkok
You want to make sure you’re flying on a 77W ( 777-300ER), and it has a first class as well. If it has that…you’re good to go.
2) You can lie-flat domestically. American Airlines flies a 772 from Dallas to Miami
Miles enjoyed this cabin from London to Chicago last year, but you can kick back and relax on a domestic flight. It operates consistently between Dallas and Miami
Make sure your flight is a Boeing 777
3) Fly Flat intra Europe from Madrid to London Heathrow on Iberia’s A340
Why would you want to end your romantic holiday to Spain any other way? Get flat on your back!
You want to make sure the route that you select is operated by the A340. You’ll pay a bit in added taxes, but you’ll enjoy one of the best ways to fly within Europe.
4) Japan Airlines will put you on your back Intra Asia.
I found this route from Tokyo to Shanghai which is serviced by a 787. Cabins can vary as JAL has a few business class offerings. I flew one of them last year from Bangkok to Tokyo pictured in the middle. I recommend making sure your flight is outfitted with the Jal Sky Suite on the left
5) Qantas offers a great Business Class on the A330. Just 9000 Avios will put you flat from Melbourne to Sydney.
Woah, 9000 Avios. That’s only 6500 Membership Rewards. 
Granted this is only an hour and a half flight, but how can you beat it for so few points?
Unsure how to search and redeem Avios? Check out our Avios tutorial.
https://youtu.be/J97Ts_S44lE
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.