We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com and CardRatings. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Hong Kong Airlines released insane $600 roundtrip business class tickets to Asia a couple of weeks ago. As luck would have it, I was not only able to book tickets, but I’ve also already taken the trip and thought it’d be helpful if I showed seating options to those of you still waiting to take your trip. Newly outfitted A350s featuring reverse herringbone ,B/E Super Diamond seats will begin operation to LAX, but my flight was fitted with Zodiac seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.
Here’s the cabin and seat overview from SeatGuru:
As you can see the business class cabin features all aisle seating; however, not all seats are created equally. Middle seats in the odd rows are “honeymoon” and great for couples. We were seated in these on the flight back from Hong Kong and I found them to be very comfortable, but lacked the intra seat storage than the even rows in the middle.
Here’s the overall cabin view in real life:
Every seat has aisle access, an outlet, usb ports, 180 degree lie flat beds, and is configured 1-2-1. It’s essentially the same seating you’ll find on Etihad’s pearl business class, or even some of Virgin Atlantic’s A330‘s that they acquired from Air Berlin. It’s comfortable and functional, but the new A350s fit with Super Diamond seats will blow these out of the water.
The “Honeymoon suite” – Odd rows. Middle.
These are great seats for couples…who get along 😉 The middle armrests completely disappear when in bed mode to essentially create one large combined bed, and you’re insulated by the armrest. I found these to be incredible comfortable. The downside: not as much private storage compared to other seats.
Middle Seats – even rows.
We flew these seats on the way to Hong Kong from Los Angeles, and while they fully recline, you’re completely exposed to the aisle. I’m 6′ and 170-180lbs and while the total length of the bed was very comfortable, the width was a bit problematic when I was positioned on my side. Either my knees or my butt stuck out into the aisle, and I always felt as if I was gonna be bumped. The biggest benefit to these seats is the storage compartment.
Window seats – odd rows.
These seats are very similar to the middle seats on the aisle. However, instead of a storage compartment by your feet, there is a small space where you could stow something along side the window.
The best seat on the plane of a single passenger – Window – even Rows
You’re shielded from the aisle, larger foot well for storing items, and the bed is larger because of the extra width pads that stick out for your head and feet. My personal favorite seat is 12K.
Here’s an overview of our last minute long #weekendwarrior trip
- Los Angeles International Lounge
- Hong Kong Airlines Business Class A350 Los Angeles to Hong Kong
- Where to sit on Hong Kong Airlines Business Class A350
- Hong Kong Airlines business class lounge – Club Autus
- American Express Centurion Lounge – Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Airlines A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
- Waldorf Astoria Bangkok during its soft opening
- What it’s like eating in Asia’s #1 Restaurant – Gaggan
- Bangkok’s floating markets – Dumnoen
- Diora Spa – Thai massage and Ayurvedic treatments
- Peninsula Bangkok – Grand Deluxe Suite with River View
- Smalls Bar – the hidden Sathorn IT bar
- Miracle Lounge Bangkok BKK
- Sky City Marriott Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Airlines Business Class A350 Hong Kong to Los Angeles
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.