Deal Alert: Up to 9 United Business Class Seats From Hong Kong to Chicago

July 17, 2019

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4 min read

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United's flagship premium product — Polaris — has been a long-time coming but receives solid reviews, and for good reason. It features Saks 5th Avenue bedding, chef-designed meals and top-notch lounges. Fittingly, saver award availability for these flights is scarce, with United heavily restricting the amount of space it releases.

However, a recent search shows quite a bit of award availability at the saver level for May and June 2020 on the carrier's nonstop flight from Hong Kong (HKG) to Chicago-O'Hare (ORD):

Amazingly, availability is for multiple travelers — the search above is for four people traveling together. And unbelievably, award space appears to be available on select dates even for a party of nine:

So if you and your partner and your grandma and your grandpa and your friends and your kids all wanted to go on a trip together, now's your chance.

You'll be flying nonstop on United's 777-200, though as of now, these flights haven't been retrofitted with the new Polaris configuration:

However, with over half of the carrier's 777-200s updated as of today — and the rest slated to be retrofitted through 2020 — there's a solid chance you'd find yourself flying in the new Polaris.

Unfortunately, the same availability isn't available on the outbound flight, so you'd need to investigate other options to get there — like using 50,000 Alaska miles for a one-way Cathay Pacific business class award ticket.

How to Book

Like we said before, United is notoriously stingy with its saver awards, so this is very surprising to see. There are a few different ways you can book this flight, none of which will incur fuel surcharges:

Using United miles: 75,000 miles (boost your account balance by transferring points in from Chase Ultimate Rewards)
Using Aeroplan miles: 75,000 miles (boost your account balance by transferring points in from American Express Membership Rewards or Capital One)
Using Avianca LifeMiles: 75,000 miles (boost your account balance by transferring points in from Amex, Capital One or Citi ThankYou Rewards)

However, instead of transferring points, consider utilizing LifeMiles' current offer on purchased points. This would allow you to effectively buy this ticket for just $1,155:

Or, if you wanted to take your family, you could purchase 123,000 LifeMiles — which would get you a total of 301,250 with the bonus — and book four of these one-way awards for an out-of-pocket cost of $4,059. That comes out to just $1,014.75 per ticket.