HURRY: Cathay Pacific Business Class Flights for Less Than $700 Round-Trip

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

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Airfare deals are typically only available on limited dates. We recommend you use Google Flights to find dates to fly, then book through an online travel agency such as Orbitz or Expedia, which allows you to cancel flights without penalty by 11pm Eastern Time within one day of booking. However, if you’re using The Platinum Card® from American Express, you’ll need to book directly with the airline or through the Amex Travel portal to get 5x MR points. Remember: Fares may disappear quickly, so book right away and take advantage of Orbitz or Expedia’s courtesy cancellation if you’re unable to get the time away from work or family.

It's a day filled with low fares. We wrote about sub-$400 fares to China earlier today from a slew of US cities but this next deal is even better if you're willing to get a bit creative. Right now, you can get a business class ticket on Cathay Pacific from Vietnam to the US round-trip for cheaper than a coach ticket. We're seeing fares less than $700 round-trip for business class.

I know what you're thinking: "I live in the US, that doesn't help me." This is where miles come in. Find yourself a flight to Asia using miles, or buy one of those cheap China flights. Then, use the business class sale to get you home. If you put your mind to it, you can actually create two trips by "nesting".

For example, book an award flight to Asia in July. Then, book a round-trip business class flight back to the US in August, with a return a few months later. Availability to cities such as NYC is amazing. Then, use another award flight to get you home. Two trips to Asia for less than the price of one business class ticket!

To search for these flights, head to Google Flights and enter your origin and destination cities. Scroll through the calendar function to find dates and prices that work for you. Finally, click through to book directly with the airline or through an OTA like Cheap-O-Air, Priceline or Expedia. Note: the total cost will differ from what's on the Google Flight results page and what's offered through sites like Cheap-O-Air, Expedia, and Priceline. Check each OTA's final price to ensure you are booking a deal fare. Also, note that Cheap-O-Air is the most consistent OTA in regards to actually offering the fares seen through search engines like Google Flights and Kayak.

Airlines: Cathay Pacific/Cathay Dragon
Routes: DAD/HAN to JFK/SFO/YVR
Cost: $678-$767, round-trip
Travel Dates: January - December 2019
Book via: Cheap-O-Air (some itineraries also bookable via Expedia/Priceline)
Pay With: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare booked directly with the airline), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, American Express® Gold Card, Citi Prestige Card (5x on airfare plus excellent trip delay insurance) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on travel)

The availability to NYC is the best, with sub-$700 round-trip fares appearing almost every day all year long:

Sample business class flight from Da Nang (DAD) to New York (JFK) for $678:

Da Nang (DAD) to San Francisco (SFO) comes up a bit higher at $936 round-trip:

Da Nang (DAD) to Vancouver (YVR) for $767 round-trip:

Or spend $15 more and get a free day to roam around Hong Kong:

Note: Sometimes things can be too good to be true. Even though these flights are available from a variety of cities for a variety of dates, Cathay Pacific may choose not to honor them. I'd caution against booking any other non-refundable travel around these tickets for a few days to see where the dust settles.

Maximize Your Purchase

Don’t forget to use a credit card that earns additional points on airfare purchases, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel), Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, American Express® Gold Card, Citi Premier® Card, Citi Prestige Card (5x on airfare) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on all travel purchases). Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.