YummyRambutan

Hello all,

My DW and I are planning a ~week long trip to Japan (Tokyo) sometime between April and June. We would be flying out of LAX. I would like to be able to book an "awesome first class experience" for the one-way leg to Tokyo with miles, and just do economy back to the states either with miles or just cash.

Our current points are at...

Membership rewards: 56,000
Ultimate rewards: 140,000
British Airways avios: 104,000

And I'm planning on signing up for ~3 credit cards total between the two of us between now and then (if needed).

I've been looking on BA.com and seeing first class availability with AA on several days, but it seems AA's first class is "alright". JAL seems to only have premium economy availability - but that might end up being ok since I could just do miles for the roundtrip.

I could wait until 2 weeks out to try and book JAL first class...but that seems risky. What's BA's policy on booking an award flight with AA now - and then switching to JAL first class IF it's available?

Are there any other paths we could take?

Thanks for the help!

Yoshi212

I'd stay away from BA on this trip. The surcharges will reduce your value. Look at UA (UR transfer partner) & SQ or NH (MR transfer partners) NH has good value Business class asia awards but with some surcharges. AA's first class on the 77W is there better product which may involve routing via DFW.
I believe BA's change fee is 55USD.

YummyRambutan

Thank you for that - that's also the weird thing. With other flights, I'd see the surcharges...but right now a one way award on premium economy is 50,000 pts + $32 in fees. Is it a glitch? Because you're not the first one to warn on fuel surcharges.

LondonElite

What is a DW?

Prospero

The quoted amount seems right. As a BAEC member, I do expect to pay carrier imposed surcharges when I redeem my Avios but this only applies to routes/carriers where the surcharge is assessed by the operating airline. These surcharges are not imposed by either AA or JL between the US and Japan.

AnthonyGT

I know this one! DW = Dear Wife

dukerau

SQ flies LAX-NRT on the A380. May be a tough ticket to get, but you have the miles if it opens up. ~66k miles in business one-way or ~75k in first one-way.

YummyRambutan

True. And yeah - so far...definitely a tough ticket to get so far...

TMM1982

SQ is the way to go. And you have the miles necessary (75k each way from LAX-NRT or NRT-LAX). If you opt for this, I'd recommend moving all your MR to SQ and then fund the difference with your UR.

You said you wanted to do F on the way to Japan and then Y on the way back. I'd reverse that if I were you. Better to do F on the way back home so that you have something to look forward to. Doing F there and then Y back will make you cry on the way home.

YummyRambutan

That's very interesting! I've heard the other way where people like to be "up and running" when they hit their destination - and "who cares" on the way back home. But, maybe I'll find more availability that way.

TMM1982

Yes but I believe the LAX-NRT flight will get you to Tokyo in the evening. My flight in October gets me there around 7:30pm. By the time I get my bags, transport, and in the hotel, it will be 9pm easily. Day is pretty much over at this point and you can go to sleep if you wanted.

When you're going to Europe from the U.S., then I agree the flight there is more important since you'll likely land in the morning and it's better to be well rested so you can take advantage of the rest of the day.

YummyRambutan

Touche...

Question for you...I guess this would be better asked in the SQ forum, but would I be able to book 2 business class award seats...and then waitlist on other business class dates and first class dates - and switch the reservation IF it opens up?

I'd rather not, move points into SQ and have them sit there. I know they last "3 years" but...the idea of blanking out my points account for "possible" seats makes me feel "meh."

TMM1982

If you want to waitlist other dates, you need the points in your account.

That being said, what I think you could do is pick your dates (weekday is best for hoping saver waitlist clears), waitlist the F, and then you'll be able to pick your J seats (if available). If the F opens up, you'll be able to change your J to F.

You said you want to go between April-June? Are there any restrictions? I can take a quick look and see what I find.

YummyRambutan

^^^ VERY good point. That's right - they don't take points from your account UNTIL the waitlist clears. So if I bought the business class tickets - there's no waitlisting for me. Thank you for that. I'd have a pretty "fail" face if I did what I was planning before seeing your response

LondonElite

Thanks. I wish people would stop with these stupid abbreviations, just like people should stop post ing 'I missed the AA1267 do you think I should get them to reroute me on AA7389 and then AA3973?'