Tokyo 1st Avails & Africa Biz via Amex, Virgin Clubhouse, Honeymoon Points
Honeymoon with Points earned from Wedding Expenses
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Hello hello —
There are two deals on my radar that I couldn’t wait to share:
SFO to Tokyo First Class via ANA (my favorite airline)
Ethiopian Airlines Biz Class to Kenya, South Africa, & more
*Bonus* Review of the Virgin Atlantic Lounge at JFK
💒 Wedding planning or know someone who is?
I wrote a guest article about how to pay for your dream honeymoon with credit card points.
Even if you’re not planning, there are pro tips worth reading:
• When paying by card abroad, always choose to be billed in the local currency
• Instead of converting currency at an airport, consider asking your bank to waive foreign ATM fees and simply withdraw funds at a non-airport ATM
• Be mindful of which card benefits are US-only versus international
💒 Read the full article here.
Let’s get into the deals:
SFO to Tokyo First Class via ANA
ANA is my favorite airline, I shared a few photos from my epic First Class experience in Lesson 1, but would recommend this detailed photo journal from One Mile at a Time for a more in-depth look at the contemporary product.
ANA has fantastic first class award availability between late June and October for up to 5 passengers between San Francisco and Tokyo (to both Haneda and Narita airports) for 55,000 miles one way. I would recommend Haneda both for it’s shorter distance to Tokyo as well as the newer planes which are denoted by First Class being called “The Suite,” when booking. I recommend searching via United.com or SeatSpy. Finding round trip availability can be tricky, so if you want to lock in a one-way flight you can transfer points to Virgin Atlantic and call them to book.
If you’re lucky enough to find a roundtrip itinerary for your preferred dates, the easiest way to book is by transferring American Express Membership Rewards to ANA. To do so, you need to first create an ANA Frequent Flyer Number, and then link that number to your Amex Membership Rewards account. I always recommend sending 1,000 points (the minimum) to test the connection and then sending the balance once that completes, just be sure to check that your flight is still available.
Cards you may want to consider to earn Membership Rewards:
💪 Pro move: Call ANA and have them hold the flight on your behalf for 24 hours while your points transfer. Here’s the latest avails via SeatSpy. Good luck and be sure to let me know if you manage to book a seat!
Ethiopian Airlines Biz Class to Kenya, South Africa, & More
Great business class availability from Atlanta or Toronto to Africa. Again, this is best booked via ANA and another great reason to make sure Amex points are a key “currency” in your points stack.
Routes: ATL/YYZ-ADD
Operating airline: Ethiopian Airlines
Class of service: Business class
Dates: June - December 2023
Seats available: 1 or 2
How to book:
Air Canada Aeroplan: From 90,000 points
ANA Mileage Club: 104,000 miles (round-trip only)
Asiana Club: 60,000 miles
Avianca LifeMiles: 78,000 miles
EVA Infinity MileageLands: 92,500 miles
Miles & More: 71,000 miles
Singapore KrisFlyer: 111,000 miles
Turkish Miles&Smiles: 72,500 miles
United MileagePlus: 88,000 miles
Review of the Virgin Atlantic Lounge at JFK
What would this newsletter be without a bonus deal?
As discussed in Lesson 1, I believe the Capital One Venture X card is one the best premium cards on the market. Their lounge expansion to include the Plaza Premium collection is a significant upgrade and includes my new favorite airline lounge; The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse.
Unlike 99% of other lounges I’ve been to, the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse is styled like a restaurant with a QR code on each table allowing you to order whatever you like from drinks to full meals, all of it 100% included. Better yet, the quality is very high and the selection rotates, so even a frequent flyer has something new to look forward to.
Have a great Sunday, be sure to reply with questions, comments and success stories!
A&A