Premium economy deal to Southeast Asia, starting at $1,200
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Later this year, I'll be heading to Southeast Asia, marking my big trip of 2022 and my first time to the continent; I will be flying premium economy to get there and back.
I am so excited about this trip that I had to share a premium economy deal with discounted flights across the region, particularly convenient for New York City-based travelers. This deal features round-trip flights from the Big Apple, which hover around $1,200 to Singapore, Thailand, the Phillippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia.
You can also find similarly priced flights departing from Los Angeles for two of the routes, plus flights from St. Louis, Dallas and Houston, which are much rarer. Seeing as these routes usually start at $2,000 for premium economy fares, this is an opportunity to save a significant amount of money on a premium fare type.
Deal basics
Airlines: Singapore Airlines and American Airlines.
Routes: New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Houston and Dallas to Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand.
How to book: Directly with the airline.
Travel dates: September 2022-May 2023; exact availability depends on the route.
Book by: One to two days.
Shoutout to Scott's Cheap Flights for alerting us to this deal. After a 14-day free trial, sign up for a Premium membership for $49 per year to get deals up to 90% off. An Elite membership is $199 per year and includes all the Premium deals plus premium economy, business-class and first-class alerts.
Sample routes
As I mentioned, this deal mostly features flights from the three New York-area airports but also includes availability from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Example round-trip flights you can book through this deal include the following:
- From John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), starting at $1,216.
- From JFK and EWR to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), starting at $1,219.
- From JFK and EWR to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK), starting at $1,224.
- From EWR to Phuket International Airport (HKT), starting at $1,229.
- From LAX to CGK, starting at $1,236.
- From La Guardia Airport (LGA) to CGK, starting at $1,255.
- From LAX to KUL, starting at $1,260.
- From JFK to Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), starting at $1,281.
- From STL to CGK and JFK to Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB), starting at $1,282.
- From IAH to Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), starting at $1,285.
- From JFK to HKT and Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), starting at $1,287.
- From JFK to HAN, starting at $1,292.
To search for this deal, start by browsing your origin and destination cities on Google Flights and playing around with the dates until you find a flight advertised at the sale price. For example, New York City-based travelers interested in heading to Phuket, Thailand, can consider flying from either EWR or JFK, depending on their desired travel dates.
Although Google Flights advertised the below round-trip flight on Singapore Airlines at $1,229, that price point is reflective of booking through a third-party booking site. However, we always recommend paying more to book with the airline directly for more flexibility.
Therefore, you would head to the Singapore Airlines website to book this flight. From there, you'll see a variety of flight options for each leg of the trip, but if you want to take advantage of this deal, be sure to look for the lowest-priced flight (which is indicated by an orange triangle in the upper left-hand corner). In this case, select the lowest-priced flight at $1,228.07, for travel from April 18 to April 26.
Related: Footrests and fine dining: Manchester to Houston in Singapore Airlines A350 premium economy
Flights in this deal will likely have at least one layover, and flights from JFK and EWR to HKT will include a stop at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN). These flights on Singapore Airlines will include a mixture of fare types, meaning your longest segment (EWR-SIN) will be in premium economy, but your regional segments (SIN-HKT, HKT-SIN) will be in economy since the carrier doesn't offer premium economy seats on that route.
In booking your flight back to New York, be sure to select a flight that has only one stop to keep the same total price — that is, unless you want to pay more for an extra yet shorter layover that would get you home sooner, assuming you encountered zero delays. To keep the total price to $1,228, you would book the below flight on April 25.
Similar to your outgoing flight, your flight from HKT to SIN will be in economy, while the long-haul route, SIN to JFK, will be in premium economy; this includes two free checked bags, advance seat selection, priority boarding, reclining seats and wider seats, among other features. You can change your premium economy flights on Singapore Airlines for $100, but they are nonrefundable outside of the first 24 hours of booking.
If you booked this flight specifically, you wouldn't have time to leave the airport with a three-hour layover on the way there, but the 13-hour layover on the way back presents a great opportunity to get out and explore Singapore. Keep this in mind for any flights you come across with longer layovers.
When searching, be sure to look for the other routes included in this deal, including from New York City to both Cambodia and Hanoi, Vietnam, for $1,300, Los Angeles to Singapore for $1,200, and Houston or Los Angeles to Hanoi for between $1,250 and $1,300, among others.
Maximize your purchase
When you book this deal, be sure to use a credit card that earns bonus points on airfare purchases, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year) or the Citi Prestige® Card (5 points per dollar on airfare). Otherwise, consider the Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees) or Chase Sapphire Reserve (both 3 points per dollar on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar on travel). Read this post for more ways to maximize airfare purchases.
The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
If you're like me and Southeast Asia has long been on your travel list, there's no better time to finally book your ticket than when you can save money on a higher fare class, as you can with this deal. Especially when it comes to long-haul flights, I jump at any opportunity to save money on premium economy.
Be sure to book this deal ASAP because we do not expect these flights to last.