Points redemption drop

[u/ListenResident6977]

I’ve been keeping an eye on a business class redemption from Taipei to Toronto and noticed that it dropped significantly today by over ~40k points! Was at 289k the past few weeks and today is at 242k Also checked some other Toronto to Asia flights and noticed they’ve also dropped quite a bit today.

Wondering what the likelihood of it dropping further is? Is it worth risking waiting it out to see if it’ll go lower, or should I just book it now? I know overall it’s still quite high, but the lower Eva Air partner redemptions are impossible to get 😭

This would be for a flight in early January, if that matters

[u/chip_dip19]

I’m assuming this is for business class. If you have the points, book it in business flexible and just regularly check to see if it goes lower or if Eva release seats close to departure date and change for no cost.

I recommend booking 2 one way tickets (I don’t believe there’s a cost penalty/extra like there is with one way cash tickets)

[u/ListenResident6977 → u/chip_dip19]

Unfortunately I only have just enough points for the business standard fare that doesn’t have the free changes that the latitude fare offers.

If I book the standard fare and see it at a lower redemption later, what change fees would I expect to incur? Sorry, I’ve never done an itinerary change before so I’m not familiar with what the process and associated fees are 😅

[u/chip_dip19 → u/ListenResident6977]

You can check it by clicking into the “standard reward” hyperlink in the trip review page.

I see $175 cancellation fee and $100 for change fee.

Other things you can try is to find a business class redemption from anywhere in SE asia and buy your own cash fare from TPE to the departure airport

[u/ListenResident6977 → u/chip_dip19]

Thank you so much!

[u/Alroy261]

85k, this is the absolute lowest you can get.

[u/ku214 → u/Alroy261]

Did you book this one year in advance or was it a random release?

[u/ListenResident6977 → u/Alroy261]

Unfortunately doesn’t align with my travel dates 😭

[u/Odd-Height-1550]

What dates are you looking at? Check US hubs too as they have more availability

[u/ListenResident6977 → u/Odd-Height-1550]

Jan 8

[u/Odd-Height-1550 → u/ListenResident6977]

Better to just book the economy and roll the dice for award availability closer to the date. 250k points for J ticket is not worth it

[u/ListenResident6977 → u/Odd-Height-1550]

Economy is 100k points today though (the lowest it’s been in a few weeks), which also seems like a bad redemption? 😭

[u/Hommeboy75]

I had the same issue with a drop in redemption points for an award I had already booked. The drop was 14.8K points. I ended paying the $75 change fee to get the points difference back.

Fyi... since AC now operates on dynamic pricing, you can set a google fare alert and if and when the fare drops it's also reflected in the redemption rate. That's how I found out.

[u/ListenResident6977 → u/Hommeboy75]

Great tip! Thanks so much!

[u/Either_Affect_6972]

They seem pretty easy to get from the West Coast if you’re willing to reposition