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The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Deals
Delta One Suites deal: Fly to Asia in comfort in 2021 with widespread award space for 4+ passengers
Benji Stawski is a former reporter for the site, covering all things points, miles, credit cards, travel and aviation.
June 12, 2020 • 10 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
Significant saver-level business-class award space is available on flights to Asia, including routes from several major US cities to destinations like Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul.
Most flights feature the highly private suite product, offering fully enclosed seats with sliding doors and enhanced comfort.
Award availability spans from August 2020 through May 2021, with multiple seats open on many dates, making it ideal for planning future travel.
Flexible change and cancellation policies are currently in place, allowing travelers to book with reduced risk amid ongoing travel uncertainties.
What to consider
Some offers and availability mentioned may no longer be current; always check for the latest updates before booking.
Booking through certain airline partners can require fewer miles and lower taxes and fees, but may involve restrictions such as per-segment pricing or limited connection options.
Award ticket values can vary significantly depending on the booking program, with TPG valuing miles at $1,020 to $1,440 for these routes as of the article's publication.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed step-by-step guidance on searching, comparing and booking premium-cabin awards to Asia, including tips for maximizing value with various loyalty programs.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Editor’s Note: As the travel industry reopens following COVID-19 shutdowns, TPG suggests that you talk to your doctor, follow health officials’ guidance and research local travel restrictions before booking that next trip. We will be here to help you prepare, whether it is next month or next year.
We here at TPG have been analyzing award availability based on data from ExpertFlyer (which is owned by TPG’s parent company, Red Ventures) throughout the pandemic and have come across some fantastic pockets of premium cabin award space for travel in late 2020 and early 2021 on airlines like Air France, Qatar Airways and Royal Air Maroc. And today we're back with another terrific deal, this time from Delta.
Delta has released a ton of saver level business-class award availability for all of its flights to Asia. Even better, most of these flights are operated by planes equipped with the ultra-private Delta One Suites.
Continue reading for details on this inventory and how to book.
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As noted above, we’ve found several premium routes with terrific award availability, and a number of flights with excellent cash fares. Many airlines are also currently waiving change and cancellation fees for new paid and award bookings in an effort to lure back skittish travelers. For instance, Delta is allowing any tickets purchased through June 30 to be canceled or changed for up to a year from the date of purchase without any fees.
The biggest risk right now is entrusting the airline’s financial state. Airlines around the world are on rocky financial ground following the coronavirus-fueled demand crisis and are often relying on government assistance to stay afloat. While Delta is expected to make it out alive on the other side of this, the same can't be said about all of its partners. If the airline whose miles you used to book an award ticket goes bankrupt, your ticket and miles could be rendered worthless, and you won't be able to reverse any points transfers from your credit card.
The Atlanta-based airline offers nonstop service to Asia from hubs like Atlanta (ATL), Detroit (DTW), Minneapolis (MSP), Los Angeles (LAX), Seattle (SEA) and Portland (PDX) and serves major cities like Tokyo (HND), Beijing (PKX), Shanghai (PVG) and Seoul (ICN). We're currently seeing saver-level business class awards on all of these routes. Seats are available from August 2020 through the end of the flight schedule in May 2021, with most dates offering four or more open award seats.
For the best experience, you'll want to book a flight which offers the Delta One Suites. They're the only fully enclosed business-class product offered by a major US airline, featuring sliding doors and memory-foam seats. You can find them on all of the carriers A350s and A330-900s, as well as the 777s, though those will all be retired by the end of 2020.
The Delta One Suite on the A350 (Photo by Zach Honig/The Points Guy)
Below are some sample routes we found with widespread award availability in early 2021. Your best bet would be to use your favorite SkyTeam search tool to search the route of your choice and see how it’s pricing.
Personally, I like to start my search on Delta or Virgin Atlantic's website, as they let you search with a flexible dates option and get a monthly calendar view of availability. Whenever you see a Delta One award pricing at 120,000 SkyMiles or less one-way on Delta's website, there will likely be saver-level award space available to partners.
Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo (HND) Delta One availability for 8+ passengers in April 2021
(Photo courtesy of Delta.com)
Atlanta (ATL) to Tokyo (HND) Delta One availability for 4+ passengers in March 2021
(Photo courtesy of VirginAtlantic.com)
Detroit (DTW) to Tokyo (HND) Delta One availability for 8+ passengers in March 2021
(Photo courtesy of VirginAtlantic.com)
Detroit (DTW) to Seoul (ICN) Delta One availability for 4+ passengers in February 2021
(Photo courtesy of VirginAtlantic.com)
Detroit (DTW) to Beijing (PKX) Delta One availability for 4+ passengers in February 2021
(Photo courtesy of VirginAtlantic.com)
Atlanta (ATL) to Shanghai (PVG) Delta One availability for 4+ passengers in February 2021
(Photo courtesy of VirginAtlantic.com)
How to book Delta awards with miles
The first, and perhaps most obvious, way to book Delta awards is through Delta’s own SkyMiles program. It uses a dynamic pricing model for award tickets and is pricing these awards at a reasonable 85,000 to 120,000 miles each way, which is worth $1,020 to $1,440 based on TPG valuations. For reference, Delta often prices these awards at over 300,000 miles each way. The program is a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards if you have a card like The Platinum Card® from American Express or the American Express® Gold Card.
However, if you plan on using your credit card points for this redemption, you might be better off booking your award through one of Delta's partners like Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
Your best choice will probably be Virgin Atlantic Flying Club as it charges a flat 60,000 miles each way for non-stop awards to Asia. That's half of what Delta is charging. Plus, unlike some Delta awards booked through Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic doesn't pass on any fuel surcharges, so you’ll just be stuck paying the taxes, which come out to just $5.60.
(Photo courtesy of Delta.com)(Photo courtesy of VirginAtlantic.com)
The one quirk with Virgin Atlantic is that it charges on a per-segment basis, so you'll need to pay a significant premium for awards that include a connection. As a result, if you don’t live in a Delta gateway city, you might be better off purchasing a positioning flight to save hundreds of dollars worth of miles.
Searching and booking Delta awards through Virgin Atlantic is pretty straightforward and can be done online. The program is an instant 1:1 transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, so you have a lot of choices when it comes to boosting your balance. Citi and Amex also routinely run bonuses when transferring points Virgin Atlantic, but unfortunately there's no bonus currently being offered.
When paying the taxes and fees on your award ticket, be sure to use a credit card that earns additional points on airfare purchases and offers travel protections in case anything goes wrong, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
If you don’t currently have any of the aforementioned transferable points, you may want to consider adding one of the following cards to your wallet so you can jump on deals like this in the future:
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you use your new card to make $6,000 in purchases in your first six months of account opening, though be sure to check the CardMatch Tool to see if you're targeted for a 125,000-point offer (offer subject to change at any time).
American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases on your new card in your first six months, though be sure to check the CardMatch Tool to see if you’re either targeted for a 75,000-point offer (subject to change at any time).
Citi Premier® Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Note that Chase and Amex have both announced temporary changes to many of their cards in light of the coronavirus outbreak, and Citi will be updating the Premier card’s earning rates in August. In addition, if you applied and were approved for a new American Express card between Dec. 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020, you have an extra three months to meet the minimum spend thresholds and earn the corresponding welcome bonus.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
