Fly One of Asia's Best First-Class Products for Just 19,000 Citi Points

Update 12/23/16: It appears Garuda has pulled this promotion early (h/t Doctor of Credit) though it's not clear if tickets on hold will be honored. Did anyone manage to book?

Update 12/22/16: Based on the experience of travel expert and friend of the site Cynthia Drescher (below), this deal might be a bit too good to be true.

Wow! Garuda International is currently running an unbelievable promotion: 90% off award tickets! Garuda Indonesia is calling this the "Best Deal of the Year," but that actually might be understating it.

As we needed to use Google Translate to read this promotion page, we suspected that something had been lost in translation and the deal was only 10% off the award flights — rather than 90% off. So, we called up the airline. Unfortunately, its call center is overwhelmed with calls and you'll be disconnected if an agent doesn't pick up in just two minutes. However, on the ninth call, we were connected to an agent who was able to price out multiple itineraries, confirming that the deal is indeed 90% off.

If you're unfamiliar with Garuda Indonesia, TPG's Zach Honig reviewed the airline's business-class product from Bali to Tokyo.

Here's how the promotion works: Book award flights between December 22 and 31 for travel between February 1 and May 31, 2017.

A few tips to help you book this incredible promotion:

• The US call center is unable to book this deal. You're going to have to call +62 21 2351 9999 and choose the English prompts to get an agent with access to this promotion.
• Note that the call center will automatically disconnect you after about two minutes if you aren't connected with an agent. So, prepare to call back multiple times.
• It's best if you sign up for a Garuda Miles account online before calling — although I was able to do so quickly while speaking with the agent.
• Award tickets can't be placed on hold, so you should wait until you have miles in your account before calling.
• Use ExpertFlyer to find award availability before calling. Although unfortunately ExpertFlyer doesn't show first class award availability.

Here are just some of the incredible redemptions that you can get. All prices are after the 90% discount:

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The full list of award redemption values can be found here (caution: PDF link)

Need miles? You can transfer ThankYou points to Garuda Indonesia. However, note that the transfer process takes about two days. So, you might want to get the transfer started right away if you plan on taking advantage of this deal.

Bottom Line

While Garuda Indonesia doesn't fly to or from the US, if you're able to take advantage of this deal while traveling outside the country, it's quite reasonably the best deal of the year.

H/T: One Mile At A Time