Two Very Rare Airline Business Class Awards Available Today
As I shared a little while back, I have a travel goals 2020 list where I outline where we hope to go each year until 2020, but it's just a list. God willing at least some of trips on the list will happen, but odds are some of it won't happen, or at least it won't happen when and where it is currently penciled in. However, part of the reason some of it might not happen is simply because an idea gets bumped in favor of some other limited time travel opportunity. Limited time travel opportunities come in all forms, but one form is saver award availability that normally is not there.
A couple of notoriously very difficult saver awards to get are United business class lie-flat seats from Newark to Honolulu and any American Airlines operated business class seats from the United States to and from Europe, especially in the summer months. Not only is it hard to get one saver seat on those routes, but getting multiple seats is a serous unicorn situation.
Well, in the last day or so both of those unicorns have been spotted and they are worth reordering your plans for if they help you out. To get the best deal for your miles you need to not only be flexible and move quickly when what you want becomes available, but you also need to always have your eyes open as you never know where you may learn of great award availability. I first saw word of the multiple mid-July United first class saver awards from Newark to Honolulu on the Award Travel 101 Facebook page yesterday, and I first saw the American Airlines business class award seats on their new European routes mentioned in the comments section of this otherwise unrelated View from the Wing post this morning.
United Saver Business Class Awards from Newark to Honolulu
The United saver first class awards from Newark to Honolulu are very limited, and I currently see them available on just July 21st and 22nd of 2018. The cost is 40,000 United miles each way, though it is just 30,000 miles each way via the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program. That said, this is so rare and so limited that I would just lock them in online right away with United miles, assuming you have the miles available.

American Saver Business Class Awards to Europe
The other unicorn of award availability is much more plentiful in terms of dates and cities on the new European seasonal American Airlines routes that were just announced for next summer. These routes have now been loaded in the schedule and business class saver availability is fantastic.
The available routes are:
- Philadelphia - Budapest on a 767-300
- Philadelphia - Prague on a 767-300
- Chicago - Venice on a 787-8

These flights will operate from May 4, 2018 - October 27, 2018, but if you want in on the plethora of business class or upgrade availability I would move quickly as these things seem to disappear as quickly as they appear. Business class awards are 57,500 American Airlines miles + minimal taxes with no fuel surcharges if you book via American.

If you are searching specifically for one of those routes, I recommend clicking the non-stops only button circled below so you aren't shown available dates on the calendar that don't really have these awards available. With American you can put awards on hold for free, so that can be a good option if you need a couple days to mull this over before committing.

Getting multiple business class saver awards to Europe on American Airlines or to Hawaii on United is really something to celebrate. Remember that it can be worth just locking in the available segment even if you would need to add positioning flights on your own to the front or back end of these flights. I'd love to hear if you were able to put either of these award unicorns into action to travel in style with your family next summer!
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month

