JL/*A: NYC-CGK $670 no min stay
 

I am a bit reluctant to start another Jakarta thread, but didn't see any that referenced the latest update to this fare.

JL has excellent availability on flights to Jakarta for a bit under $670 from JFK using their metal. They have their "Sky Wider" economy seats on the route, which I find to be pretty darn nice if you are sitting in the back. I checked availability from mid-January through February, and it seems wide open. Available for quick turns.

UA/NH seem to also allow quick turns for a similar price, but their availability opens up for March.

On the JL flights, you can work schedules to get an overnight in Tokyo in each direction for the cost of some additional taxes. (I booked overnights both ways and the total was $687.) A real stopover in Tokyo prices for just $100 more (plus some taxes).

Overall, it is an N fare, but certain routings appear to book at least one of the CGK-NRT legs into S, which earns a bit better and also allows early seat assignment. (N does not allow seat assignment until check-in at T-72 hours.)


For those wishing to credit to AAdvantage, the EQD calculation (N fare at 6% of distance) comes out to about $1200.

Thanks for the post

nevermind :)

Great fare!

If crediting to AAdvantage, and if the additional overall cost is not a problem, I think it is a better deal to book PE on CX, which is as low as $1749 from JFK right now for early next year.

Instead of 0.5EQM and 6% EQD, you get 1.5EQM and 20% EQD for much less than 3x the cost (so better per mile/dollar rate). [It might be a few hundred miles longer going through NRT than HKG so the 3x calculation is not precisely accurate.]

Just make sure that HKG-CGK is an E fare -- some of those flights don't have PE.

CGK is a reliable standby for MRs. If you can spare a few days, it is a short hop away from DPS (Bali) which is usually more expensive to get to on its own.

Appreciate you breaking this down like that. Been looking for a post like this to show an example of how to use OW partners to make earning EXP status viable for next year without spending the full $12k.

Maybe someone can verify my math. The route you posted is roughly 20900 miles (using milecalc), which would earn 31350 EQM (1.5*20900) and 4180 EQD (0.5*20900) at a rate of 5.5cpp ($1743/31350).

So, basically 3-4 weekend trips like this be enough to hit the $12k EQD while only spending around $6k. Getting EXP status seems more palatable now.

I believe your math is correct. How much flying do you do outside of mileage runs that it would take 12k EQD and 94k EQM to qualify for EXP? Seems like spending that $6k on paid business class tickets would get you the same benefits without three trips to Jakarta...

Not much right now. Domestic and internationally couple of times a year, though I'm expecting that to increase going into 2018 as I get more time off.

How does one go about getting EXP with $6k in business class tickets? Flying business on AA metal doesn't seem that efficient because it is raw dollar spend whereas OW partners are based on miles. Business on OW still gets 1.5X EQM and only slightly higher 0.25X EQD, which isn't really much better than premium economy for the extra cost difference.

Be on the lookout for some fare sales on QR. A few times a year, Qatar offers some very nice business fares.

I assume you want EXP for the lounges and upgrades. Spending your hypothetical $6k on business class tickets for flights you actually want to take instead of going back and forth to Jakarta seems like a better plan to me.

Makes sense. I'm still on the fence, so your advice definitely helps. For now, just going to keep shopping for some deals next summer and try to find other routes as well.

Personally, I like to treat MR more like mini vacations if possible. Some (perhaps more desirable) routes I have had my eye on:

CX PE: LAX-HKG-AKL for $1938 (~5c/eqm; ~37c/eqd)
CX PE: JFK-HKG-SGN for $1617 (~6c/eqm; ~45c/eqd)

AY J: YYZ-LHR-HEL-BKK for $2517 (~8.7c/eqm, ~52c/eqd)
JL J: YYZ-ORD/JFK-NRT-HAN for $2797 (~10.6c/eqm, ~64c/eqd) [this one is sort of expensive in my book, but I am willing to pay a premium for JL J]

The best bang for the buck in the entire OneWorld system (feel free to correct me - PLEASE!)

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy, Johannesburg to Toronto. Often found for $1550-$1700 USD, but credits out to a whopping 43,300 EQM and $5,760 EQD.

Last year the fare was $722 RT and was pulled on Jan 7th. I would guess this year will be similar, so for those looking to book, do it now or it will go up. However, there was a "flash sale" around Jan 24 or so that had AA flights going to SE asia for less than $500 (CGK) or in some cases less than $400 (KUL)