Excellent Business and First Class Award Availability on Many AA Routes
Update: There's even first-class award space to Sydney! But only one seat per flight:
The clock is ticking on pre-devaluation AA award redemptions, and given that rates will jump in less than two months, you'd think AA's natural move would be to hold award seats until after the big shift on March 22. Fortunately, it seems that American is doing just the opposite, releasing several business and first-class award seats on many of its routes. If you're looking to burn those AA miles, now's the time to do it!
As has been the norm recently, AA's releasing not just one or two, but four or more business and first-class seats on many dates. There are nonstop flights available from the US to cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, London, Madrid and Frankfurt, before, during and after the peak summer season. I'll focus on the DFW-HKG route first, however, since that's arguably the most premium redemption you can get out of Dallas.
As you can see above, it's possible to book four passengers in American's first class in both directions. That round-trip redemption will require 135,000 miles + $37 per person (going up to 220,000 miles on March 22!). While AA's first class is nothing like Cathay Pacific's, it's still a very comfortable ride to Hong Kong. You can also book the same route and dates in business class for 50,000 miles per person, and AA's 777-300ER business class is certainly worthwhile.
Note that all of the Hong Kong examples below have at least four seats available!
Here's summer availability from Dallas to Hong Kong in first class:
And the return flight:
And the same route in business:
Here's Chicago to London for two passengers in first class:
And in business:
And JFK to London in business (we're back to four passengers here):
And NYC to Dallas, to meet your connecting flight to Hong Kong:
And JFK to LAX on AA's A321T (four passengers):
LAX to Sydney is still a miss, but there is economy award space:
I'm not sure I've ever seen American award availability this open — there's simply far too much award space to list out here. Of course, there's always the chance that availability could disappear pretty quickly, so if you think you might want to book, call AA right away at 800-882-8880 to put your dates on hold. If there's a long wait, try an international call center, instead.
H/T: One Mile at a Time
[card card-name='Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® MasterCard®' card-id='22144516' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1.25X | Earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Earn up to 1.25 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.
- Earn additional points through Bilt Neighborhood Benefits™ when you use your card at Bilt's network of 50,000+ merchant partners.