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Qantas debuts stunning new first class on the A350-1000
Last May, Qantas announced that they will fly direct to London and JFK starting in 2025 on their new A350-1000s and released specs of their new first class.
And WOW!
I remember my jaw hitting the ground after seeing the spec photos. They debuted a stunning new first class featuring a separate seat and bed, and they’ve followed up with even more specs, but better images on what they are referring to as : Project Sunrise A350
- The new first class cabin will be just 2 rows in a 1-1-1 configuration: a total of just 6 seats.
- 22inches wide
- Separate 80 inch long bed
- 32 inch entertainment system
- 14inches bigger than first on the A380
The current Qantas First Class on the A380
You can read our review here but it’s virtually impossible to book with points at the moment. Fingers crossed this changes in the future.
The new first class suite which will feature a bed and a seat
I mean how gorgeous is this new suite? It looks absolutely massive.
It will also feature a “Wellbeing Zone” where presumably you could do some stretches, etc.
Qantas New A350 Video
And a feature on the A350 First Class
Other First Class cabins to compare
Cathay Pacific First Class on the 77W
1-1-1 configuration so you have an idea of that configuration
First Class with Seat and bed combo
The only two competitor seats that I can think of that may be flying that offer a seat and a bed are the Singapore Suites and Etihad Apartments
Singapore Suites A380
Etihad Apartment
Overall
I was super lucky to fly Qantas First Class back in 2018 and would LOVE to fly this new product. The odds of finding partner award availability will probably be incredibly difficult. If history is any indication of how Qantas will release award space on this route…premium cabin space will be few and far between.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
80k offer in branch currently – I think this should be online soon
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Super solid welcome offer.
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.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 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 Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
There is currently an 80k offer after $4k spend in 3 months available in branch, and up to 90k after $6k spend in 6 months. I suspect some version of this will be online soon if you don’t want the hassle of going into a branch.
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 60k is a very, very good offer. 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.
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