Emirates A380 Award Availability Still Wide Open, Business Class Sales, And The 7-Star Burj Al Arab

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! In case you missed it, here's a round-up of some of the notable posts from the past week. Keep up with all the latest news by following me on Facebook or Twitter, and feel free to send me an email anytime with questions or comments!

• Emirates is upgrading it's San Francisco and Houston routes on December 1st and 3rd, respectively, to daily Airbus A380 flights to and from Dubai. As an added bonus, award availability is still wide open.
• Business Class sales and offers from Air France and Cathay Pacific for winter travel

• A review of our stay at the 7-star Burj Al Arab in Dubai, where we were upgraded to a 3,600 square ft. suite!

• My problem with the newly released 2014 list of Top 100 hotels from Conde Nast

• Things will inevitably go wrong at some point if you travel often enough, here's some lesser-known credit card benefits that can help

Flash Sales And Offers from Air France And Cathay Pacific

Here's a round-up of offers I received via email today from Air France and Cathay Pacific that may be of interest!

Air France

24 Hour Flash Sale to Dubai

Fares to Dubai are as low as $849 from Houston, $899 from New York, and $999 from Los Angeles.

The fine print: Round-trip fares including taxes and carrier surcharge and applicable fees. Fares are valid for travel between November 1 through December 12, 2014 and January 10 through March 31, 2015. Fares can only be purchased on October 22, 2014 and there is a 7 day advance purchase.

Holiday Business Class Fares 

Air France is a little later to the party here, but better late than never. Fare are up to 70% off, with sample city combinations shown below:

The fine print: Fares are round-trip and include taxes, carrier surcharge and applicable service fees. The fares are valid for travel between November 22 through November 28, 2014 and can be purchased 28 days in advance. Fares are also valid for travel  between December 15, 2014 through January 3, 2015 and can be purchased 60 days in advance.  Tickets must be purchased before October 24, 2014 11:59PM EDT.  A 3 day minimum stay is required and a maximum  of 10 days stay is permitted.

I say that Air France is late to the party, since there were some fantastic Business Class fares available for winter holiday travel earlier this month. In some cases they are still around, and you can certainly find better prices to select European destinations than the ones above.

Cathay Pacific

$100 Inflight Gift Certificate

From now until October 31st, you can receive inflight gift certificates good for pre-flight duty-free orders at the Cathay Pacific Online Shop when you book a Premium Economy Class flight. Quantities are supposedly limited, so if this is something that interests you, I'd recommend jumping on it quickly.

The fine print: Offer valid for online roundtrip bookings in subclasses W, R & E from the United States to Asia and Australia made on us.cathaypacific.com between October 1 and October 31, 2014 by a person with a valid U.S. mailing address only. Passengers must travel between October 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014. All travels must be completed by December 31, 2014.

Earn Bonus Asia Miles To/From Hong Kong

Register and fly round-trip onCathay Pacific between the US (Newark, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York) or Vancouver and Hong Kong and you can earn up to 25,000 Bonus Asia Miles. Based on the chart, here are bonuses by cabin:

- Economy will earn 5,000 bonus miles
- Premium Economy will earn 10,000 bonus miles
- Business and First Class will earn 25,000 bonus miles

Registration Period:
30 Sep 2014 - 15 Nov 2014

Travel Period:
30 Sep 2014 - 30 Nov 2014
The fine print:

1. This offer is only applicable to members residing in the United States. Residency is determined by the member's preferred mailing address as registered with Asia Miles.
2. This offer is only applicable to round-trip flights marketed and operated by Cathay Pacific Airways, originating in Newark (EWR), San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK) or Vancouver (YVR) and travelling to Hong Kong. Travel must commence and be completed between 30 September and 30 November 2014, inclusive.
3. This offer is only applicable to members who pre-register online for this promotion between 30 September and 15 November 2014, inclusive, before the commencement of the first sector of the trip.
4. This offer is only applicable to travel in eligible fare classes F, A (First Class), J, C , D, I (Business Class), W, R, E (Premium Economy Class), Y, B, H, K, L, M and V (Economy Class). Subclasses not listed are not eligible for this offer.
5. Open-jaw within the same country is allowed.
6. Mixed class travel is allowed, with Bonus Asia Miles calculated according to the ticket class of each sector.
7. There is no limit to the number of times Bonus Asia Miles can be earned during the promotion period.
8. Bonus Asia Miles will be credited to the member's account 6 to 8 weeks after the promotion ends.

Up to 45% off Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hotels in Thailand

Lastly, it appears that Cathay Pacific and Mr. and Mrs. Smith have partnered to provide exclusive discounts at 6 hotels in Thailand:

- Foto Hotel, Phuket
- Anantara Lawana Resort and Spa, Koh Samui
- Point Yamu by Como, Phuket
- The Pavilions, Phuket
- Six Senses Samui, Koh Samui
- Putahracsa, Hua Hin

Walking Away From 500,000 Points, 70% Off Business Class Sale, Laughing At Uber

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! In case you missed it, here's a round-up of some of the notable posts from the past week. Keep up with all the latest news by following me on Facebook or Twitter, and feel free to send me an email anytime with questions or comments!

• Join me on my trip report as I go island-hopping in the Seychelles, including a visit to the best beach in the world and a stay at the Hilton Northolme Resort and Spa

• My experiences with timeshare vacation offers and the sales presentation, and how I was able to make the decision to pry myself away from a 500,000 point offer

• There's still time to book a last-minute winter holiday trip with Business Class fares as low as $1,620 from the East Coast and $2,390 from the West Coast to Barcelona and other European destinations

• Like to eat? The 2014 SAVEUR Culinary Travel Awards were just released, highlighitng the best food you can find on land, sea, and air across 21 different categories. The best First and Business Class in-flight dining winner is a shocker!

• Here's the funniest way I've seen the Uber vs. taxi war portrayed

• Lastly, President Obama's credit card was declined at a restaurant in New York. Here's my back-up plan in case my Palladium card is declined as well, including the strategy the President should have been using in the first place.

Winter Holiday Business Class Sale: 70% Off

In case you missed the flurry of fantastic Business Class fares to multiple European destinations that showed up several weeks ago, you're in luck!

KLM just announced a winter holiday sale with fares to Barcelona as low as $1,803, and $2,175 to Copenhagen from New York. This is a great deal from the East Coast, but unfortunately fares from the West Cost jump up above $3,000.

The time period for travel coincides with both the Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year's holidays:

• Thanksgiving: travel between November 22, 2014 through November 28, 2014 (28 day advance purchase, 3-10 day stay permitted)
• Christmas/New Year's: travel between December 15, 2014 through January 3, 2015 (60 day advance purchase, 3-10 day stay permitted) 

Here's the full text of the fare rules for reference:

*Fare rules: round-trip fares including taxes and carrier surcharge and applicable fees. Fares are valid for travel between November 22 through November 28, 2014 and can be purchased 28 days in advance. Fares are also valid from travel between December 15, 2014 through January 3, 2015 and can be purchased 60 days in advance.There is a minimum stay of 3 days and a maximum of 10 days permitted. Fares have to be purchased by October 24, 2014.  Changes are allowed for a $400 fee plus fare adjustment fees. Fares are nonrefundable, except for flights to/from the U.S., you may cancel the ticketed reservation without penalty and receive a refund provided that you cancel the reservation within 24-hours after making it. Changes are allowed for a $250 fee plus fare adjustment fees. Fares are subject to class of service availability and may be changed or withdrawn without notice and are based on the most direct routing to each destination. Additional baggage fees may apply. Additional transfers will increase the fare. Non-stop flights to Europe can be operated by Air France, KLM, Delta Air Lines, or Alitalia. Segments within Europe can be operated by Air France, KLM, Alitalia, Cityjet, Transavia, Tarom, Alitalia, Air Serbia, Estonian air, Air Baltic, Flybe, Aeroflot, Acces Rail, Belavia, Ukraine Int. airlines, Georgian Airways, dzech Airlines, Air Lingus, AIR EUROPE.

Interestingly enough when I tried to find availability for the fares above, I noticed even lower fares to Barcelona during the Thanksgiving time period as low as $1,620 New York on American Airlines:

And $2,390 from Los Angeles on a mix of Air France and Delta:

These fares aren't quite as low as the ones available in late-August, but if you don't have holiday plans and are looking for a quick mileage or vacation run, here's your chance!

Alaska Airlines Credit Card Bonus Offer: $50 Flight Discount

I've written previously about my experiences with the Bank of America Alaska Airlines credit card. While it doesn't come with the biggest sign-up bonus nor have the best bonuses on spend, you still get a ton of bang for your buck. For the $75 annual fee, you'll receive 25,000 Alaska Airlines miles along with a Coach Companion Fare which let's you add a companion to any trip for just $118 round-trip. Oh, and the card is extremely churnable, with reports that it's possible to get a new one every 90 days.

I received an unexpected surprise in my email this morning with a bonus offer for a $50 flight discount after spending $500 on the card. But wait, but there's some fine print - the spend must be at qualifying book, toy, electronics, sporting goods and department stores from the day you activate through December 31, 2014. The categories seemed a bit odd to me, so here's the exact definition on what is included:

"*To be eligible for this offer, your account must be open with charging privileges and you must activate this offer by December 31, 2014. You will receive a $50 flight discount code on future travel if from the date you activate this offer through December 31, 2014, you make purchases of $500 or more at merchants which are assigned one of the following specified merchant category codes ("MCC"): Department Stores (5311), Electronics Stores (5732), Computer Software Stores (5734), Hobby, Toy and Game Shops (5945), Book Stores (5942), Sporting Goods Stores (5941) and Sports Apparel, Riding Apparel Stores (5655), each an "eligible purchase" for this offer. Please note that this list does not include MCC(s) commonly assigned to large discount retailers that are often referred to as "big box" stores or "superstores". Although we do not determine which MCC a merchant chooses to classify itself, merchants are generally classified based upon their primary line of business. Purchases made at merchants that do not process transactions under these codes, credits, returns, adjustments, purchases of cash equivalents, fees, interest charges and fraudulent transactions will not qualify. We reserve the right to verify eligibility of all transactions. If your account is converted to a different rewards program or to a card without a rewards program during the offer timeframe, the offer is no longer valid. Allow up to 12 weeks from the end of the promotion for the $50 flight discount code to appear in your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan^TM online account. You must use 'My Account' to access the $50 flight discount code at www.alaskaair.com/myaccount. The discount code can only be used on Alaska Airlines flights and is not valid on partner airlines. The $50 flight discount code expires on 12/31/15."

It certainly doesn't hurt to register, but if you plan to meet the $500 spend requirement, make sure to take into account the MCC code when planning your purchases. For me, the easiest category of the group looks like department stores.

There was one more piece of information in the email that jumped out to me:

"The value of this reward may constitute taxable income to you. You may be issued an Internal Revenue Service Form 1099 (or other appropriate form) that reflects the value of such reward. Please consult your tax advisor, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide tax advice."

The wording is extremely vague and doesn't provide any details, but tt's the first time I've seen this type of language in a bonus offer. Hopefully it's not a sign of things to come, especially as the discussion around the taxability of miles starts to gain steam.

REMINDER: Cathay Pacific Selling 2,014 Tickets for HK$100 (~$13 USD) TONIGHT 5PM PST

As I wrote about last week, in honor of Cathay Pacific being named the 2014 World's Best Airline by Skytrax, they will be selling 2,014 Business Class and Premium Economy tickets beginning at 8am on Tuesday, August 26th. While not explicitly stated, this is most likely Hong Kong local time, which translates to 5pm PST Tonight.

Tickets will be on sale to the following destinations and can be booked here:

• Business Class: Bangkok, Cebu, Kuala Lumpur, Nagoya, Osaka, Taipei
• Premium Economy: Chicago, London, Maldives, New York (Newark), Sydney

Good luck!

Cathay Pacific Selling 2,014 Tickets for HK$100 (~$13 USD)

 
In honor of Cathay Pacific being named the 2014 World's Best Airline by Skytrax, they just issued a press release announcing the sale of 2,014 Business Class and Premium Economy tickets beginning at 8am on Tuesday, August 26th, 2014. While not explicitly stated, this is most likely Hong Kong local time, which translates to 5pm PST on Monday, August 25th.

Here's some additional information from the press release:

To celebrate the 2014 award, Cathay Pacific is offering 2,014 return tickets to 11 destinations travelling in either Business Class or Premium Economy Class. The fare for each ticket is just HK$100!* The destinations on offer are as follows:

Business Class: Bangkok, Cebu, Kuala Lumpur, Nagoya, Osaka, Taipei
Premium Economy: Chicago, London, Maldives, New York (Newark), Sydney

Each customer can book a maximum of two return tickets per transaction. The offer will be available from 8am on 26 August only at the “fanfares” website: www.cathaypacific.com/fanfares

The fine print

All trips must originate and end in Hong Kong, so this works best for locals or if you already have a trip planned. It's referenced that this is for the "Hong Kong public", and in the Asia Miles section of the terms and conditions it states that it's "Valid for members residing in Hong Kong and Macau only. Residency is determined by the registered member’s preferred mailing address as registered with Asia Miles."

To get around this, you could use the address of your favorite family member living in Hong Kong, or maybe even the address of your favorite hotel.

Also, while the base fare is HK$100, additional fuel surcharges and taxes do apply, which are as follows:

• For flights between Hong Kong and Southwest Pacific, North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Indian Subcontinent – HKD857 (~$110 USD) per flight sector 
• For all other regional flights not mentioned above – HKD193 (~$25 USD) per flight sector

So taking into account the fuel surcharges, really you are looking at Premium Economy for around $233 USD  and Business Class regional flights for $63 USD.

Obviously, it goes without saying that these will go quickly, so good luck!

Introductory Fares On Turkish Airlines New SFO-IST Route: $699 Round-Trip

Turkish Airlines is launching a new route which will fly direct from San Francisco to Istanbul starting in April 2015. The frequency will begin as 5x per week until May 11th, 2015, after which it will fly start flying daily. As Gary outlined last week, award availability looks great, with up to 4 Business Class seats open on most flights. I'm particularly excited about this new route, since it will add another 1-connection option from San Francisco to the Maldives with a connection in Istanbul.

Via The Flight Deal, Turkish Airlines is selling introductory fares on this new route for only $699 round-trip, which even includes the inaugural flight for those of you that are interested. The fares aren't loaded into ITA yet, so you'll need to search/book through Turkish's website or an OTA such as Expedia or Orbitz.

Unfortunately, this fare does NOT earn miles outside of Turkish's frequent flyer program, and even within that program will only earn 25% of the miles flown. So while it's not mileage-run worthy, it's still a great fare for TPAC travel if you don't need the EQMs, and $200-$300 less that what is currently available to other destinations in Europe during that time of year.

Month of July Deals on Alaska Airlines and Cathay Pacific

I recently received emails from both Alaska Airlines and Cathay Pacific highlighting their month of July deals that may be of interest to those of you planning travel later this year.

Alaska Airlines is currently having a 3-week long sale to various destinations in Mexico. This week features the destination of Mazatlan, with fares starting as low as $169 one-way from LAX and $239 one-way from Seattle. Keep in mind that this could be a perfect use for the Bank of America credit card's companion pass, which will let you bring a companion along for an additional cost of only $119 round-trip. As an added bonus, the companion ticket is even eligible to collect both elite and redeemable miles.

Fares to Mazatlan must be purchased by midnight on July 20th, for travel on Sundays / Mondays / Saturdays from September 1st through October 6th. They will be featuring a new destination in Mexico each week, so keep checking back for additional locations.



If you're looking to travel even further, Cathay Pacific's deal of the month features flights to Cambodia and Vietnam starting as low as $951 round-trip from San Francisco and Los Angeles, and from $1,032 from Chicago and New York. Tickets must be purchased by midnight on July 20th for travel between September 1st and December 9th.




Both of the options above are appealing to me as I'm only about halfway toward re-qualifying for Alaska Airlines MVP Gold status and have been looking for good deals. In case you missed it, last week I outlined some of my experiences year-to-date s a new MVP Gold member.