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American Airlines is notorious for being uber stingy on releasing premium cabin award space across the pond. Unlike airlines like Cathay and Lufthansa you can’t even count on a rhyme or reason to how they release…it’s feast or famine. Right now, AA has released loads of space from their Dallas Hub, DFW, to London, LHR in First Class. Decent space in business. Either way, if you’re looking to get to Europe from the States this creates a very good opportunity to fly flat in one of the best products to fly across the Atlantic.
Here’s their First Class – 85k points across the pond.
I haven’t flown it, but based on the reviews out there, it’s a larger product, more private, but with very much the same service as you’d get in business. You would have access to first class lounges which is a nice touch in London as AA flies out of Terminal 3 – new Cathay First Lounge is open.
The great thing is that it avoids the taxes and fees assessed vs flying BA. 85k + $5.60
Here you can see the calendar for DFW to LHR
And then back from London:
Here’s a couple month wide looks at business – just 57.5k each way.
Their 77W business class is one of the very best ways to fly from the USA to Europe and vice versa. You can read our review here.
You can also redeem Alaska Miles for American’s First Class at the same rate 85K. If you’re short – they’re currently selling miles for 2.1 cents.
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.
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