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It’s been whispered for quite some time that AA and China Southern would strike a partnership to facilitate earning and burning miles on eachothers programs. Starting on March 20th, that became a reality. However, it should be noted that unless you’re flying on a China Southern flight that is marketed as an AA flight ( AA flight number ) you won’t be earning any Elite Miles/Dollars, only Redeemable miles. This isn’t the case for China Southern loyalists.
Here’s a look at the AA Earning for China Southern.
China is considered Asia 2 by AA’s chart. Here’s look at the redemption chart to fly on China Southern with AA miles.
AA has all sorts of routing rules, and while there are exceptions, generally speaking you can only go between 2 zones, or you need to pay to travel onward. For instance…If you wanted to fly China Southern from the US to Japan, you couldn’t route yourself through China to Japan because Japan is Asia 1 that would require you going from the US to Asia 2 to Asia 1. So, more than likely, this will be the pricing of most people’s flights looking to use AA miles for China Southern
It’s also worth noting that China Southern won’t release first class for an AA award booking.
What’s China Southern Business Class look like?
It’s very similar to Iberia and Etihad’s Pearl business class. Not my favorite…but it allows for all aisle access.
If you happen to be a China Southern loyalist and are looking to earn Sky Pearl Club miles on AA flights, you’ll earn at the following rates
Recap
As long as AA doesn’t lose Cathay Pacific as a partner, or JAL for that matter, this is a positive move for the airline. More options is always better for the consumer, and its quite possible that the increased supply of China Southern award seats will reduce the demand for Cathay and Japan Airlines award tickets.
Will you use AA miles on China Southern?
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
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 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, 2024
- $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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