This is a deal I will be getting in on, because there's no quicker, easier way to rack up 100,000 miles that can be redeemed for Star Alliance flights for $1,478. In fact, I often go to Europe in January/February, so I frequently take advantage of US Airway's off-peak Envoy awards that are only 60,000 miles roundtrip in business class ($887 if buying miles through this promotion). In fact, I was on a off-peak saver award on January 15, 2009 flying LaGuardia to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Madrid and my LGA-PHL flight took off just 20 minutes before US Airways flight 1549, which as we all know ended up in the Hudson River.
This February I also used an off-peak award to fly my friend from Madrid to San Francisco for a close friend's surprise birthday party (and memorable French Laundry dinner) - all for 60,000 US miles and about $90. The coach fare on that trip was $1,110, so spending $887 on a prior buy miles 100% bonus promotion, seemed to make the most sense - especially since she got to fly business class on all four legs of the trip, including the new Envoy sleeper seats.
Off-peak awards may not work for everyone (they do not work on Star Alliance partners- only on US Airways operated flights), but if you can plan travel around them, they can be great values. The great thing is you can see if they are available before you buy any miles. Just search for awards during the off-peak time periods and it'll automatically show at the discounted price if there is availability at the low level.
Even if you don't want to fly US Airways on off-peak dates, this promotion can be a huge value versus paying for tickets - especially in premium cabins. Remember, US Airways is a member of Star Alliance, which means you can redeem US miles for flights on: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Blue1, BMI, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EgyptAir, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, Swiss International Air Lines, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.
Other US Airways partners are: Bahamasair, Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Jet, Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian.
Click here to see the US Airways Star Alliance Award Chart. Some of my favorite roundtrip (US Airways does not allow one-way redemptions for half the price of a roundtrip award) US Airways awards are: 90,000 miles North America to North Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macau, Mongolia, S. Korea, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and 110,000 miles for business class to Africa.
You have to call US Airways to book Star Alliance flights, but you can do research beforehand. Continental.com is the easiest way to find Star Alliance award space - that engine pulls in a lot of Star Alliance partners so whenever you find SaverPass flights, you should be able to book with Dividend Miles. To be safe, call US Airways at 800-428-4322 and put your award on hold, then buy the miles, then ticket the reservation. The bonus miles generally post instantly, so you shouldn't have any issues with this method.
Official T&C:
Offer available for purchases made between June 6 and June 30, 2011, 11:59 MT. All purchases are non-refundable. Bonus mile amounts will be awarded upon completion of the transaction. The maximum number of Buy and/or Gift Bonus miles that can be received by one member for this offer is 50,000 bonus miles. All miles purchased beyond this limit will not be eligible for a bonus. Offer is subject to change. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer. Only purchases made online are eligible for the bonus. Miles purchased through Buy, Share or Gift Miles do not count towards Dividend Miles Preferred status. All other Dividend Miles Terms and Conditions apply. Please note that Dividend Miles accounts less than 12 days old are not permitted to Buy, Share or Gift miles. Award seats are capacity controlled and may not be available for the requested dates or mileage amounts.
Miles are sold for $0.0275 per mile plus a tax recovery charge of 7.5%. GST/HST will be charged to Canadian residents. Miles purchased through Buy, Share or Gift Miles do not count towards Dividend Miles Preferred status. All other Dividend Miles Terms and Conditions apply. Please note that Dividend Miles accounts less than 12 days old are not permitted to Buy, Share or Gift Miles. All purchases are non-refundable.
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