Originally Posted by
ghurty
I am currently based out of NJ so EWR is my closest airport. I am looking to potentially fly transcon to Los Angeles often. I have a few million Amex, Chase, and Marriott points. While I can transfer the points into united, I know sometimes not transferring points is the best way to get the best value from your points.
Whats the best way to get the most value to be able to fly business class?
If it makes a difference, I have silver status.
Thank you
I would use awardhacker to see how much it costs for business class flights in each program then transfer points only after searching for availability.
https://www.awardhacker.com/#f=New%2...=0&c=j&s=0&p=1
Assuming you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, getting 1.5 cents per point is the easiest way to redeem using the Chase travel portal since you don’t have to search for availability.
If you want to try to save even more miles, you could book a cash ticket on United and use miles for the upgrade but since the non-stop transcon is a premium route, United will want miles plus a co-pay depending on fare class. It also does not guarantee a business class seat unless you find availability in advance (PZ if using expert mode) which is very rare. Although you will be on the waitlist until the last seat is cleared and silver status will help a little bit.