Asiana Selling Memberships to Upgrade Select Business Fares to First Class
South Korean airline Asiana is now selling passes that give travelers unlimited complimentary upgrades to first class. Called Asiana First Membership, this product is valid on select revenue business-class tickets between Seoul and Frankfurt (FRA), Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (JFK).
You can choose between a one-time pass (good for one round-trip flight) or an annual membership, which gets you an unlimited number of upgrades on eligible flights during your membership year. In addition to getting you a seat at the very front of the plane, both membership options entitle you to priority check-in and first-class lounge access.
The one-time pass will cost you about $611, while the annual membership goes for about $1,136. Given that a one-time pass costs just over half the price for a one-year membership, if you fly on an eligible ticket more than once, the year-long membership would make more sense. To purchase either option, you'll need to call the carrier's premium service center (number listed in the link above).
Unfortunately, the Asiana First Membership terms and conditions limit the usefulness of these upgrade passes quite a bit. In addition to only being valid on select international routes, they'll only work on business-class fares booked in J, C or D class. On the JFK-ICN route, business class fares are available for as little as $3,300 round-trip ("U" class), but you can expect to pay almost twice that much for an upgradeable fare. Also, not only are cheaper business fares excluded, but business-class award bookings won't be eligible for upgrades to first, either. The T&C also state that you'll accrue miles based on the originally purchased fare class (so 125% to 135%).
Given the restrictions, this option will only make sense to a small subset of travelers. If you do frequently travel on one of the eligible routes to/from Seoul on a full-fare business ticket, though, the upgrade membership could represent a decent savings — and Asiana's first-class product is top-notch; check out TPG Editor-in-Chief Zach Honig's recent review of ICN-JFK on the A380 for the full scoop.
H/T: One Mile at a Time
Would you consider purchasing this type of upgrade membership?
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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
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- 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