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As I briefly mentioned in my previous post,
starting March 22nd American Airlines is set to vastly increase the
amount of miles for first and business class award tickets. The new updated award chart can be found
here. I’ve taken a thorough look and compared
the old and new award chart. Here are my
thoughts for flights from and to the United States.
Flights
within Contiguous 48 U.S. States
Regular award redemption in Economy costs
remain at 12,500.
Business class tickets remain the same at
25,000.
First Class tickets go up significantly by
53% from 32,500 to 50,000.
Overall this is great news for those who use their miles for domestic award travel. Keep in mind domestic first class flights are
classified as business class for award purposes. Only transcontinental flights between New
York to LA and San Francisco have a true first class product which isn’t that
impressive anyway.
Flights
to Hawaii
Regular award redemption in Economy costs
remain at 22,500.
Business class tickets go up slightly by 6%
from 37,500 to 40,000.
The mileage
increases basically match United’s award chart.
To save miles, I recommend using Singapore Krisflyer miles instead which
charges only 20,000 miles one way. Keep
in mind domestic first class flights are classified as business class for award
purposes.
Flights
to Canada and Alaska
Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go up by 20% from 12,500 to 15,000.
Business class tickets go up by 20% from
25,000 to 30,000.
With the increased amount of miles, I
recommend using United which still charges 12,500 for economy class and 25,000
for business class.
Flights
to Europe
The good news is the regular award
redemptions in Economy costs remain the same at 30,000 miles. However, Off Peak Economy award redemptions
increased from 20,000 to 22, 500. However,
American Airlines has reduced the number of days in the off season
significantly from October 15th to May 15th to November 1st
to December 14 and January 10th – March 14th. This is a significant loss since now you
can’t travel during the shoulder season or during the Christmas break.
Business class tickets go up slightly by
15% from 50,000 to 57,500.
First Class tickets go up significantly by
36% from 62,500 to 85,000.
First class
flights between the United States and Europe are solely operated by American
Airlines and British Airways, which happen to have the subpar first class
products. This increase makes redeeming
miles for First Class travel between the US and Europe a very poor value.
British Airways First Class
Flights
to Asia Region 1
Regular award redemption to Asia Region 1
(Japan and Korea) in Economy increased slightly by 7% from 32,500 to 35,000. However,
American Airlines has eliminated off peak redemptions to Asia completely. This represents a significant increase in
miles, since off peak redemption only cost 25,000 miles.
Business class tickets go up by 20% from
50,000 to 60,000. This is still
relatively a good value especially since Japan Airways has better business
class products.
First Class tickets go up by 28% from
62,500 to 80,000. Although that is a
slight increase, the amount of miles needed still represents a good value since
other airline mileage programs charge more and Japan Airways has the best first
class products.
Japan Airlines First Class
Flights
to Asia Region 2
Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go slightly up by 7% from 35,000 to 37,500.
Business class tickets go up by 27% from
55,000 to 70,000.
First Class tickets go up significantly by
62% from 67,500 to 110,000. This is a
huge increase in miles, making the award from one of the best value redemptions
to a mediocre one. This is a huge loss,
since I’ve always been a huge fan of Cathay Pacific first class products, and
this increase makes it unaffordable.
Cathay Pacific First Class
Flights
to South Pacific
Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go slightly up by 6% from 37,500 to 40,000.
Business class tickets go up by 28% from
62,500 to 78,000.
First Class tickets go up significantly by
51% from 72,500 to 110,000. Again, this
is a huge increase by American Airlines.
What makes it especially difficult is Qantas offers amazing first class
products. However, now that American
Airlines flies to Australia, award availability should increase. Currently Qantas awards are very hard to
find.
Qantas First Class
Flights
to Africa
Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go slightly up by 6% from 37,500 to 40,000.
Business class tickets remain the same at
75,000.
First Class tickets go up by 20% from
100,000 to 120,000. While the award price
didn’t increase by much, the award redemption cost has always been high. Additionally, flying to Africa usually
requires flying on British Airways, taxes and fees could reach up to $1,000
round trip.
Flights
to Middle East/Indian Sub Continent
Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go slightly down by 11% from 45,000 to 40,000.
Business class tickets go slightly up by 3%
from 67,500 to 70,000.
First Class tickets go up by 27% from
90,000 to 115,000. While the amount of
miles has increased, this is still reasonable unlike redemption flights to Asia
and Australia. Overall this is ok
news for those who want to fly on Ethihad which features one of the best hard products in the world. In addition,
the Maldives is still classified as part of the Middle East.
Etihad First Class
Flights
to South America Region 1 (Northern Southern America)
Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go slightly up by 14% from 17,500 to 20,000.
Business class tickets remain at
30,000.
First Class tickets go up significantly by 37%
from 40,000 to 55,000. Overall, award
tickets to countries such as Peru and Colombia represents a good value.
Flights
to South America Region 2
Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
remain at 30,000.
Business class tickets go up by 15% from
50,000 to 57,500.
First Class tickets go up significantly by
36% from 62,500 to 85,000.
Business class awards to South America still
represent a good value. While the amount
of miles needed for first class flights increased by quite a bit, American
Airlines has a poor first class product to begin with.
Flights
to Central America
Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
remain at 17,500.
Business class tickets go down slightly by
8% from 30,000 to 27,500.
First Class tickets go up significantly by
31% from 40,000 to 52,500.
Even though the amount of miles for a
business class award slightly decreased, I’d recommend saving your miles and
fly Economy. The domestic first or “business
class” product is not a good use of miles.
Flights
to Mexico
Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
remain at 17,500.
Business class tickets go down slightly by
8% from 30,000 to 27,500.
First Class tickets go up significantly by
31% from 40,000 to 52,500.
Even though the amount of miles for a
business class award slightly decreased, I’d recommend saving your miles and
fly Economy. The domestic first or “business
class” product is not a good use of miles.
Flights
to Caribbean
Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
remain at 17,500.
Business class tickets go down slightly by
8% from 30,000 to 27,500.
First Class tickets go up significantly by
31% from 40,000 to 52,500.
Even though the amount of miles for a
business class award slightly decreased, I’d recommend saving your miles and
fly Economy. The domestic first or “business
class” product is not a good use of miles.
In
Summary:
Overall, American Airlines award
redemptions in first class go up significantly, while business class
redemptions in general seem to go up around 10-20%. The good news is economy flights stay
relatively the same, although the elimination of AAsaver awards for flights to
Asia and South America do sting a bit.
Award redemptions through Aadvantage will
still “price” at the old level for all award bookings until March 22,
2016. Since you can book your award
flights around 11 months ahead, this means if you book on March 21, 2016 you
can book for flights until February 2017.
I
highly recommend using your miles to fly first class products, especially
flights on Cathay Pacific and Qantas before the amount of miles vastly
increases.
