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Book American Airlines Flagship First Class to Japan for just 55,000 miles

Andrew Kunesh
Articles
Andrew Kunesh is a former senior editor at The Points Guy covering loyalty programs. He's been a miles and points fanatic since 2014 and previously wrote for Upgraded Points and Credit Karma. Outside of the travel world, Andrew is a cyclist, craft coffee aficionado and — despite now living in NYC — a Chicagoan at heart.
April 06, 2020
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4 min read
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Book American Airlines Flagship First Class to Japan for just 55,000 miles
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Editor’s note: The team at The Points Guy loves to travel, but now is not the time for unnecessary trips. Health officials note that the fastest way to return to normalcy is to stop coming in contact with others. That includes ceasing travel. We are publishing travel deals because we should all use this time to think about and plan our next adventures. TPG doesn’t advise booking trips for travel until the late spring or early summer – and even then be mindful of cancellation policies.

While now isn't the time to travel, it can be a great time to start planning trips for a post-coronavirus world. We've seen airlines run awesome promotions and open tons of award space for the end of the year; for example, airlines are offering sub-$100 fares to the Caribbean and wide-open award space to Europe for the holidays. Today, American Airlines quietly launched a promotion of its own: super cheap award tickets to Japan in premium cabins.

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As reported by God Save The Points, American Airlines is offering Web Special fares from the continental U.S. to Tokyo (HND) in first and business class. Tickets in American Airlines' Flagship First Class cabin cost 55,000 AAdvantage miles one-way, while business-class tickets cost just 45,000 AAdvantage miles. Taxes and fees are low too: expect to pay just $5.60 departing the U.S. and $56 when flying from Tokyo to the U.S.

Related: Maximizing redemptions with American Airlines AAdvantage

Most of these awards require connecting in American's Dallas (DFW) hub, and you can connect from most U.S. airports. When doing this, your connecting flight will be in American's domestic first class if space is available. As you can see in the screenshot above, there are connecting itineraries available from New York (LGA), and we've seen awards from Chicago (ORD), Washington D.C. (DCA) and others as well.

Related: Choosing the best credit card for American Airlines flyers

Tickets are available from late 2020 through early 2021, so it's a great trip to plan now for travel after the coronavirus is contained. The earliest flight we can find with Web Special pricing departs on Oct. 24, 2020, and the promo is bookable through early March 2021. You can find and book this award ticket by searching on American Airlines' website.

Just be aware that — since these are Web Special awards — they cannot be changed, and cancellations cost $150 for mileage redeposit.

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Should I book first or business class?

(Photo by Zach Griff/The Points Guy.)

Regardless of which cabin you book, you'll score an excellent deal with this American Airlines promotion. However, I think that first class is worth the additional 10,000 AAdvantage miles. You'll get a larger seat, elevated service and — of course — better Champagne, giving you a truly luxurious way to travel from the U.S. to Japan.

Make sure to watch TPG's video review of American Airlines' Flagship First Class before you book. This video shows a review of the product on American's Miami (MIA) to Sao Paulo (GRU) route, but you can expect a similar experience on the Dallas (DFW) to Tokyo (HND) route.

Bottom line

The coronavirus outbreak has given points and miles enthusiasts an interesting opportunity for travel. While you shouldn't book travel departing in the near future, wide-open award space in premium products and excellent promotions like this make now a good time to book travel for late 2020 and early 2021.