Book now: Two business-class award seats to Tahiti on multiple dates
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The blue waters of French Polynesia are a postcard-worthy sight, and Tahiti regularly appears on many travelers’ bucket lists. Unfortunately, getting there using points and miles isn’t all that easy, thanks to limited flight options and hit-or-miss award availability. This is especially true in business class. In fact, our research of over 120,000 data points from earlier this year found that your overall chance of a successful, business-class award search is (at best) 2.96% on Air Tahiti Nui — and less than 0.05% on both Air France and United.
However, if you’re eyeing Tahiti as a possible destination for an upcoming trip, listen up. As first reported by u/benjinito on reddit, Air Tahiti Nui has opened up two business-class award seats on its nonstop flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Papeete (PPT) in both directions over the next several months — and it covers almost the entire booking schedule.
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At the time of writing, here are the dates with two of these awards available:
To Tahiti
- December 4, 7-8, 10-11, 14-18, 25 and 30-31
- January 5, 7-9, 12-15, 20, 22, 26 and 28-29
- February 2, 4-6, 10, 12, 16-19, 23-24 and 26-27
- March 1, 4, 8, 10-11, 15, 17-18 and 31
- April 7, 12, 15, 19, 21-22, 26 and 28-29
- May 3, 6, 10, 13, 16-17, 19-20, 24-27 and 30-31
- June 2-3, 7, 9-10, 16-17, 19, 21, 23-25, 28 and 30
- July 1-2, 5, 7-9, 12, 14-16, 19, 21-23, 26 and 28-30
- August 2, 4-5, 9, 13, 16, 18-20, 23, 25-26 and 30
- September 1-2, 6, 8, 15, 22-23, 27 and 29-30
- October 4, 7, 11, 13-14, 18, 20-21, 25 and 27-28
From Tahiti
- December 8-9, 11, 16-17 and 31
- January 11-15, 18-22 and 25-27
- February 2-3, 5, 9-10, 16-19 and 23-25
- March 1-2, 4, 9, 16, 18, 23, 26 and 30
- April 1, 8, 13-14, 20-22 and 27-29
- May 4-6, 11-13, 16, 19-20 and 25-27
- June 1-3, 8-10, 15-16, 22-25 and 29-30
- July 1-2, 6, 8, 13-16, 20-23 and 27-30
- August 1, 3-6, 10-13, 17-18, 24-26 and 31
- September 1-2, 7-9, 14-16, 22-23 and 28-30
- October 5-7, 12-13, 19-21, 25-26 and 28
This is an astounding amount of award space, and it likely won’t last. The last time we drew attention to this award availability, we found just 22 dates with award space going to Tahiti and 15 days with award space on the return, so this is a big deal. And you would also be flying on Air Tahiti Nui’s new Boeing 787s, not the aged Airbus A340s that used to serve LAX until earlier this year.
How to book
Air Tahiti Nui doesn’t belong to one of the major three alliances, but it does have partnerships with individual airlines. The best program through which to book these awards is likely American AAdvantage, which will charge 80,000 miles per person for a one-way, business-class award ticket between the U.S. and Tahiti. A round-trip flight for two would thus set you back a cool 320,000 miles — though you’ll need to pay just ~$56 per person in taxes and fees.
Unfortunately, American’s only transferable point partner is Marriott Bonvoy, and those points transfer at just a 3:1 ratio (plus a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer). In addition, our tests found that these transfers can take up to 48 hours to process. That being said, American does allow you to hold award reservations for up to five days, so you could grab the award space and then make a plan to pick up enough miles to lock in the ticket.
Bottom line
Tahiti is considered by many to be a dream destination, but for award travelers looking to redeem miles to fly in business class, it frequently remains just that: a dream. That’s not the case today, as we’re seeing wide-open business-class award availability for two passengers. If you’re looking to plan a honeymoon, special anniversary trip or just a getaway with a loved one, I’d recommend booking these sooner rather than later, as this availability won’t last.
For more information on Tahiti, be sure to check out the following guides:
- The underrated islands of French Polynesia
- Moorea or Bora Bora — Which island paradise is for you?
- Eat your way through Tahiti’s famed food trucks
Featured photo by Brian Biros / The Points Guy
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