International Airline Program (IAP) 2 for 1 for Platinum/Centurion Members
 

I have seen several threads on the international airline program 2 for 1 business or first class ticket promotion. On this program you have to purchase a full fare unrestricted business or first class ticket (if available) to get a second ticket for taxes. Below are rules for the airlines that participate in the US program. Included is the booking class code that has to be available for the program and the fare basis that the paying passenger ticket is priced at. The flights must be booked in the booking code, usually discounted business or first class and priced at the fare basis, which is a full fare. For example a Lufthansa flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Delhi(DEL) would have to be booked in D and priced departing on January 1st, 2008 and returning January 20th, 2008 would have a fare basis of CR and be approxiametly 10228.00USD for the paying passenger and 382.00USD in taxes for the companion. If you just priced it at D class, it would be 8014.00USD per person. A South African Airways itinerary on the same dates would have to be booked in J class and priced at the C fare basis, which would be 13142.20USD/222.20USD for two tickets. Travel on this program must originate in the US through one of the gateways listed below for each airline.

Aeromexico
Booking Class: A
Fare Basis: JPR
Gateways: New York (JFK) -- Miami (MIA) --
Houston (IAH) -- Los Angeles (LAX)
San Diego (SAN) -- Chicago (ORD)
Phoenix (PHX) -- Orlando (MCO)
Las Vegas (LAS) -- Ontario, CA (ONT)
Seattle (SEA)
Maximum Transfers: Two (2) transfers on the entire journey.
Journey Types: One-way, Circle, Open-jaw, Roundtrip

Air France
Booking Class: I-Long haul and transatlantic flights
C-short or medium haul flights
Y-single cabin airplanes
Fare Basis:CRT, CUSRT
Gateways: New York (JFK)-- Atlanta (ATL)
Philadelphia (PHL) -- Newark (EWR)
Los Angeles (LAX) -- Miami (MIA)
San Francisco (SFO) -- Boston (BOS)
Houston (IAH) -- Washington (IAD)
Chicago (ORD) -- Cincinnati (CVG)
Detroit (DTW) -- Seattle (SEA)
Franchise Carriers: Brit Air (DB), Regional (YS), Cityjet (WX), CCM (XK)
Maximum Transfers: Two (2) transfers on the entire journey; maximum 4 coupons on itinerary.
Journey Types: Circle-trip, Open-jaw, Roundtrip (No One-way travel in 2007)

Air New Zealand
Booking Class: D, Y-single cabin plane
Fare Basis:C3, C3OW(one way)
Destinations: Select international NZ operated flights when originating in the US to New Zealand, Australia, the South Pacific** and London.
NAN, PPT, TBU and RAR must be onward (direct or nonstop flights) from/to LAX (no backtracking/connections thru AKL allowed).
Trans-Tasman flights are allowed in Business Class.
FLIGHTS NOT PERMITTED:
NZ300-699, NZ2000-5999, NZ9000-9999 series flights
Domestic New Zealand sectors NOT permitted.
Gateways:Los Angeles -- (LAX)
Honolulu -- (HNL)
San Francisco -- (SFO)
Maximum Transfers: Two (2) transfers on the entire journey.
Journey Types:One-way, Circle, Open-jaw, Roundtrip

Al Italia
Booking Class: I, Y-single cabin plane
Fare Basis: J, JR, J2, J2RT
Gateways: BOSTON (BOS)
CHICAGO (ORD)
NEW YORK (JFK)
NEWARK (EWR)
MIAMI (MIA)
WASHINGTON (IAD)
Maximum Transfers: Up to three (3) transits IF THRU FARE applies. Sector fares do not apply.
Journey Types: One-way, Circle, Open-jaw and Roundtrip

Asiana Airlines
Booking Class: A - First Class
Z – Business class
Y - Coach Class (domestic Korea)
Fare Basis: First- F
Business- C
Gateways: New York (JFK) -- Los Angeles (LAX)
San Francisco (SFO) -- Seattle (SEA)
Chicago (ORD)
Maximum Transfers: Three (3) transfers on the entire journey. Six (6) coupons per ticket. No sector fares allowed.
Journey Types: One-way, Circle-trip, Open-jaw, Roundtrip

Austrian Airlines
Booking Class: C
Fare Basis: C1, CR (only destinations that offer these fares allowed)
Gateways: New York (JFK) -- Washington (IAD)
Chicago (ORD)
Maximum Transfers: Two (2) transfers on the entire journey
Four (4) coupons per ticket
Journey Types: One-way, Circle, Open-jaw, Roundtrip

Cathay Pacific
Booking Class: I
Fare Basis: JSR
Destinations: Hong Kong (HKG)
Indonesia (DPS, JKT, SUB)
Malaysia (KUL, PEN)
Philippines (MNL, CEB)
Singapore (SIN)
Taiwan (TPE)
Thailand (BKK)
Gateways: New York – (JFK) Los Angeles - (LAX) San Francisco - (SFO)
Maximum Transfers: Two (2) transfers on the entire journey
Four (4) coupons per itinerary
Journey Types: Roundtrip, Open Jaws ONLY -- One Ways NOT allowed.

China Airlines
Booking Class: A - First Class (747 only)
D - Business Class (747 and A340)
Y - Coach (used only as immediate connection within Taiwan)
Fare Basis: F, FXRT (MON-THU), FWRT (FRI-SUN) (B747 -First)
C, CXRT (MON-THU), CWRT (FRI-SUN) (B747-Business)
J (A340-Dynasty Supreme)
NOTE: MAY *NOT* USE C02 or J02 fares!
Gateways: New York -- (JFK) Los Angeles -- (LAX) Anchorage -- (ANC)
Honolulu -- (HNL) San Francisco -- (SFO) Houston -- (IAH) Seattle -- (SEA)
Destinations: Offer valid in CI First and Business classes for carrier travel when originating at US gateways listed below to Asia, India and Australia.
Exception: CI is NOT permitted to sell Guam when a passenger originates his/her travel from the USA.
Note: All CI domestic air travel within Taiwan must be an immediate connection. CI is not permitted to operate domestic travel within Taiwan. If IAP itinerary includes a voluntary stopover, it must be issued on a seperate airline for domestic travel
Journey Types: One-way, circle-trip, open-jaw* and round-trip itineraries allowed
*subject to verification

Continental Airlines
Booking Class: Z- US gateway to designated international city
D- First US mainland city to US gateway
Y- Coach CO Express commuters (US mainland to US gateway)
Fare Basis: Any published full business class fare that begins with J.
Central America destinations eligible (SAL), (SJO), (GUA), (LIR) and (PTY) are priced using C fare.
Caribbean & BDA (see select destinations above) C, C8
Destinations: ANTILLES (NETHERLANDS) – ST MAARTEN (SXM)
BERMUDA (BDA) - ANTIGUA (ANU) - ARUBA (AUA)
BAHAMAS – NASSAU (NAS)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – PUERTO PLATA (POP)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – SANTO DOMINGO (SDQ)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - PUNTA CANA (PUJ)
GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS (GCM)
JAMAICA – KINGSTON (KIN), MONTEGO BAY (MBJ)
PUERTO RICO – AGUADILLA (BQN), SAN JUAN (SJU)
TRINIDAD – PORT OF SPAIN (POS)
VIRGIN ISLANDS (U.S.) – ST THOMAS (STT)
(No Gulfstream operated flights to Caribbean!!)

COSTA RICA: Liberia (LIR) San Jose, (SJO) - EL SALVADOR: San Salvador (SAL)
PANAMA: Panama City (PTY)- GUATEMALA: Guatemala City (GUA)
BRAZIL: Sao Paulo (GRU), Rio de Janeiro (GIG)
ARGENTINA: Buenos Aires (EZE)
ENGLAND: London (LGW) Birmingham (BHX), Manchester (MAN), Bristol (BRS)
SCOTLAND: Glasgow (GLA), Edinburgh (EDI)
IRELAND: Dublin (DUB), Shannon (SNN), Belfast (BFS)
FRANCE: Paris (CDG) - NETHERLANDS: Amsterdam (AMS)
GERMANY: Hamburg (HAM)
BELGIUM: Brussels (BRU) - PORTUGAL: Lisbon (LIS)
SPAIN : Madrid (MAD) BARCELONA (BCN)
NORWAY: Oslo (OSL)
ISRAEL: Tel Aviv (TLV) - JAPAN: Tokyo (NRT)
INDIA: Delhi (DEL) Mumbai (BOM)
Gateways: NEWARK (EWR) HOUSTON (IAH) CLEVELAND (CLE)
Journey Types: One-way, Circle, Open-jaw, Roundtrip

Delta Airlines
Booking Class: A – First Class
D – Business Class
Y - Domestic commuter (single cabin connecting to gateway and int'l flights)
Fare Basis: International Business -- C,J -- Business Elite
International First -- F (No F06)
Destinations: ATLANTA (ATL) to/from:
Acapulco (ACA)
Antigua (ANU)
Aruba (AUA)
Cancún (CUN)
Cozumel (CZM)
Merida (MID)
Puerto Vallarta (PVR)
Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo (ZIH)
Tel Aviv (TLV)

NEW YORK (JFK) to/from:
Acapulco (ACA)
Accra (ACC)
Aruba (AUA) - International First Class only
Athens (ATH)
Cozumel (CZM)
Cabo San Lucas (SJD)
Puerto Vallarta (PVR)
Pisa, Italy (PSA)
Bucharest, Romania (OTP)
Budapest, Hungary (BUD)
Istanbul, Turkey (IST)
Kiev, Ukraine (KBP)

SALT LAKE CITY (SLC) to/from:
Cancún (CUN)
Puerto Vallarta (PVR)
Gateways: New York (JFK) Atlanta (ATL) Salt Lake City (SLC)
Journey Types: One-way, Roundtrip and Open Jaw

Emirates Airlines
Booking Class: A – First Class inventory C – Business Class inventory
Y – Not allowed beyond hub for single-class cabin.
Fare Basis: JOW, JRT, FOW, FRT
Gateways: New York (JFK) Houston (IAH) effective 12/3/07
Maximum Transfers: Two (2) transits (one in each direction) with 4 coupons maximum
Journey Types: One way, open jaw, circle trip or round trip

Japan Airlines
Booking class: D -- Business Class
J -- Domestic Japan flights
Y -- Coach class for single cabin aircraft
Fare Basis: US gateway to Japan(LAX-NRT-LAX) DWRT, DXRT, DXOW, DWOW
US gateway beyond Japan(LAX-NRT-SIN-NRT-LAX) D1, D1234(MON-THU)
US gateway to Australia(LAX-NRT-SYD-NRT-LAX) D2JLRT, D2JLOW
Gateways: New York (JFK) Los Angeles (LAX) San Francisco (SFO)
Chicago (ORD) Honolulu (HNL) Kona (KOA)
Code Shares permitted: Eligible codeshares are QF(Qantas) (EXCEPT TYO-MEL) , VN(Vietnam Airlines), CZ(China Southern), MU (China Eastern)
Maximum Transfers: Two (2) transits permitted per itinerary.
Journey Types: One-way, Circle, Open-jaw, Roundtrip

LAN Airlines
Booking class: D Business Class
Coach (Y) class may be used for international travel beyond hub city only if a single-cabin coach class aircraft is operated
Fare Basis: Based on Published Unrestricted fare beginning with J
Partner Airlines: LA (LAN Chile) LP (LAN Peru), XL (LAN Equador)
4M (LAN Argentina) - all valid on the IAP.
LAN Express flights are valid on IAP.
Gateways: New York (JFK) Miami (MIA) Los Angeles (LAX)
Unlimited Transfers
Journey Types: One Way, Circle, Open-jaw, Roundtrip

Lufthansa
Booking Class: D
Fare Basis: Published Business class fare basis codes beginning with C
Gateways: Atlanta (ATL) - Boston (BOS) - Washington (IAD) Dallas (DFW) - New York (JFK) - Los Angeles (LAX) Miami (MIA) - Newark (EWR) - San Francisco (SFO) Houston (IAH) - Chicago (ORD) - Detroit (DTW) Philadelphia (PHL) - Denver (DEN) Portland (PDX) - Charlotte (CLT) Orlando (MCO)
LH Group Carries:LH/DE (Condor Air) flights are NOT allowed. Privatair transatlantic flights from the U.S. to Germany (with LH flight number) are eligible on the IAP. Services within Europe operated by CityLine (CL), Contact Air, Augsburg Airways (IQ), Eurowings (EW), LH Bus (*LH) and Air Dolomiti (EN), Cirrus Air (C9), Train Deutsche Bahn (2A) when booked with a LH flight number are also permitted.
Maximum Transfers/Coupons: Limited to three (3) transfers and six (6) coupons or flight segments
Journey types: Valid on one-way, circle trip, open jaw and roundtrip itineraries originating from one of the gateways listed above.

SAS
Booking Class: J
Fare basis: C, CR, CRGB, CUSSCB, CUSSCBOW, CW, CWR, CXR, DUSSCB, DUSEUBC
Gateways: CHICAGO (ORD) -- NEWARK (EWR) SEATTLE (SEA) -- WASHINGTON (IAD)
Code Shares allowed: Domestic U.S. code shares operated by other airlines not permitted. EXCEPTION: SK 925/SK926 (IAD-CPH-IAD) allowed.
SAS allows flights on the following air partner flights booked as SK designators:
KF -Blue1 BU -Braathens BT - Air Baltic JK - Spanair WF - Wideroe
Maximum Transfers: Three transfers thru hub cities (CPH, ARN, OSL) on the entire journey.
One sector fare is allowed per half roundtrip provided it is all on one ticket.
One side trip is allowed per half roundtrip provided it is all on one ticket.
Journey Types: One-way, Circle-trip, Open-jaw, Roundtrip

South African Airways
Booking Class: J -- Business Class
Y -- Coach Class (beyond CPT/JNB flights on single-cabin aircraft operated by SA Express SA/YB)
Fare Basis: C
Gateways: New York - JFK Washington DC - IAD
Destinations:
SOUTH AFRICA: Johannesburg (JNB)Cape Town (CPT)Durban (DUR)Port Elizabeth (PLZ)East London (ELS)George (GRJ)
KENYA: Nairobi (NBO)
NAMIBIA: Windhoek (ERS)
MOZAMBIQUE: Maputo (MPM)
ANGOLA: Luanda (LAD)
MAURITIUS: Port Louis (MRU)
MALAWI: Lilongwe (LLW)
TANZANIA: Dar Es Salaam (DAR)Zambia: Lusaka (LUN)
ZIMBABWE: Harare (HRE)
AUSTRALIA: Perth (PER)
THAILAND: Bangkok (BKK)
Maximum Transfers: Two (2) transfers on the entire journey
Four (4) coupons per ticket. No sector fares allowed. No sidetrips allowed.
Journey Types: One-way, Roundtrip , Open-jaw (both ends)

Swiss Air
Booking Class: A - First class
Z - Business class
Y - Coach class (only allowed on single-cabin aircraft)
Fare Basis: First ---- FICSWIOW (one way), FICSWIUS (Roundtrip)
Business -- CICSWIOW (one way), CICSWIUS (Roundtrip)
Gateways: New York (JFK) Newark (EWR) Los Angeles (LAX) Boston (BOS)
Chicago (ORD) Miami (MIA)
Code Shares: Privatair (EWR only), Cirrus, Darwin, Helvetic Airways & Swiss European Air Lines allowed booked as LX flight.
Maximum Transfer: Three (3) transfers on the entire journey Six (6) coupons per ticket. Sector fares are allowed.
Journey Types: One-way, circle trip, open jaw and roundtrip itineraries

Virgin Atlantic
Booking Class: D
Fare Basis: JX, JW based on destination(LGW, LHR)
Gateways: NEW YORK (JFK) -- BOSTON (BOS) NEWARK (EWR) -- MIAMI (MIA) WASHINGTON (IAD) -- LOS ANGELES (LAX) SAN FRANCISCO (SFO)
LAS VEGAS (LAS) ORLANDO (MCO) CHICAGO (ORD)
Maximum Transfers: No transfers thru hub city allowed.
Two coupons allowed.
Journey Types: One-way, Open-jaw and Roundtrip

Hope this helps :D

This is a very useful contribution, but could you provide a link to the source of the details?

So then, if I read this correctly, on Air France and Alitalia I notice that an ¨I¨ class fare would allow you to get the 2 for 1 Business deal on a trans-atlantic flight?
Isn't the ¨I¨ ticket class discounted Business Class? I know on Iberia and Delta it is for sure.
If this is the case, maybe I will start using this service rather than ignore it exists alltogether like I have done ever since I got a ridiculously high fare quote on AeroMexico to CUN with this ¨deal¨.

The flight would have to be booked in I class, however would have to be priced at a CRT or CUSRT fare basis not in the standard I fare. I is discounted business class, which has to be available on most or all of the airlines, however the full paying ticket is never priced at discounted business or first class. You also can not book these reservations on-line it has to be done with American Express Platinum Travel.

Wonderful information, thank you. Now if only someone could do the same for the UK Amex IAP program!

I agree. Thanks for the info, but can someone post similar for UK platinum?

There is a faxback service that one can use for the details of all this info. If I find the fax number I will post it. But the info looks accurate - as of now. Of course it can always change.

It looks like there are a couple CO destinations in the Carribean that might actually make sense to use the deal on, if you were going to spring for paid F anyways. NAS is $1387 from EWR in C and R (discounted Int'l F) is ~$900, so there is some potential for real savings there, though I would still argue that one should pay as little as $450 for the non-stop or even the $300 with one stop in FLL and the short hop on an Embraer Brasilia 120 for the 3 hour flight that is involved. SDQ and GCM seem to also have pretty low C fares, making them possible candidates for such a deal as well.

That being said, I vaguely remember hearing at one point that CO squashed the affordable routes from the deal as they realized that people might actually be using it. I'm curious how current the information is and the source.

I'm missing China Airlines - they offer some of the best 2 for 1 deals to Asia (though also have the worst c class).

You couldn't pay me enough to fly on China Airlines.

Fixed ;)

Thanks so much for your helpful post.

With regard to Delta, does the program only work for the destinations you've listed? For example, I'm waiting for my plat app to be processed (this Thursday) so the plat travel desk wont let me book my tickets yet, understandably. However, in the meantime I've found a full fare business class Delta ticket (operated by KoreanAir) to Bangkok for $4950. Wll Amex not give me the companion ticket on that?

If not, does anyone have any suggestions on getting me to BKK business class for my honeymoon (flying June 2008)? I've tried to use MR points and my delta sky miles and am quickly learning how fast those seats go. Couldnt find anything via the Sky Team. I thought upgrading to platinum would help.

Unfortunately, it would not be valid on Delta and definitely not on Korean air but there are other possibilites. Another thing is no code shares are allowed: no Lufthansa operated by Thai Air or similar unless listed above (ie JL/MU, JL/CZ, LH/CL, etc). I don't know which city you will be departing from so let's assume LAX. Asiana is a good bet and has good fares (A or Z class has to be available) and has gateways in JFK, LAX, ORD, SFO, and SEA. Otherwise, if you are on the east coast , Air France is a possibility, they have many gateways as listed above and I class has to be available on the flight to CDG and to BKK. Lufthana's fares are good as well and they have a myriad of US gateways ranging from Los Angeles to Denver to Chicago to Detroit to Miami to New York and in between; also their D class in business is frequently available. China Airlines also flies to Bangkok through Taipei (A or D class available) and flies from the west and east coast. China Airlines will probably be the cheapest for business class. Cathay Pacific is another nice airline with flights to Bangkok through HKG and has gateways in SFO, LAX, and JFK; expect $10,000 or more for two business class tickets (refer to fare basis JSR). For further research, go to airlineroutemaps.com to see which participating airline flies to Bangkok. It would help to know the dates of travel and which city you are flying from.

This is a far superior program to what we get in Australia, we just get a few thousand $ off the airfares :(

If you are lucky.....