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There are some very intriguing routes available to the middle east in amazing products for very attractive prices. PHEW, that was a mouthful. But, look… you deserve to lie-flat, sip champagne, and feel posh.
Now, not to bring up a sore point, but we all felt the gut-shot of the overnight, without warning, devaluation to the Alaska Air Emirates chart…but, that doesn’t mean there aren’t incred deals still out there. These routes offer steals in the market.
The rates on Cathay Pacific are a h3!! of a deal:
- Coach 50k
- Premium Econ 55k
- Business 62.5k
- First 70k
BBBBBUT, These rates are ridics too!
But look at these rates below! Specifically, British Airways and Air France.
BA:
- First Class at 80k ( remember the surcharges can be rough)
KLM/Air France
- Business Class at 70k
2nd – BA First: 80k vs 115k
Above, Alaska will allow a routing in First Class through England on BA for 80k. Below is the AA.com website at 115k. It’s not even worth looking at the BA site because it would be egregious. If you aren’t familiar with their mileage based program, it’s pretty much only advantageous for short routes and positioning. But look at the difference…80 vs 115!
BA recently introduced a new first class on their 787-900 which currently flies from Austin and San Jose. It looks sick.
The third great spot is Air France/KLM for 70k in biz
Below we can see that the ‘Classic’ ticket would cost 100k with flyingblue. Above, with Alaska, it’s 70k. KLM and Air France both released new products. Their award prices in business just to europe are 62.5 – meaning you could fly on to the middle east for just 7500 points. Not bad for a little jaunt to Dubai for some high tea. Remember – Alaska allow stopovers, so you could actually route through Amsterdam or Paris and do a combo trip.
KLM business class
Air France biz
Finding sweet spots and inventive ways employs aspirational travel and is half the fun in the trip….the other half is turning left, sipping champagne, and enjoying your vacay from the moment you leave…ok maybe that last part is like 90% of it, but solving a puzzle is pretty fun too!
Don’t forget that Alaska currently is having a 50% bonus sale on miles. Highest ever.
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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