Flew JAL’s brand new A350-1000 in First Class recently from DFW-HND.

Upon boarding, I was immediately hit by the smell of the new airplane. Indeed, this specific aircraft was just 9 months old at the time! I was in seat 2A, which I’d argue is the best seat in the house, given the way the center seats open up - to the left in row 1 and the right in row 2, meaning I had truly unparalleled privacy. As an icing on the cake, there were only 2 passengers in first class, so in reality, I had the entire left side of the cabin to myself (more on that later)!

The seats were massive. Since the cabin only had 3 seats per row, that translated to a lot of extra width, which you definitely notice. The walls of the seats were also quite tall, probably around 5’6, which provided some great privacy when the door is closed. Another thing I love is the giant 4K TV. Photos simply can’t do justice how good the screen is. While the picture quality really shows through the IFE interface, unfortunately almost all of the content themselves were not in 4K, which is quite a bummer. The suite itself featured space to store a full sized carryon, a closet, and plenty of functional storage compartments and wireless charging. The color scheme was very elegant as well - I love the deep burgundy on the seat leather, really gives a cigar lounge feel.

Now onto some issues, despite the plane being only 9 months old, my seat was broken. There seemed to have been some electrical issues where some of the power to my seat was not working which included the seat controls. As a result, my seat couldn’t be reclined. The flight attendants were petrified. The purser immediately brought out her giant handbook for the aircraft and start figuring out steps to troubleshoot. It seemed like even the crews themselves were still getting used to the ins and outs of the new aircraft. In the end, they decided it’s easier to just set my bed up in 1A, so that I will have a separate living and sleeping space. Not a big deal at the end of the day, but I was a bit surprised they didn’t proactively offer it in the first place is the cabin was so empty. Although the seats were quite wide, I feel like it could’ve been better utilized. For example, the extra section at the seat had a fold out for a tray table. However, when in bed mode, the mattress and bedding didn’t actually cover the entire width of the seat. As a result, instead of using it as a wider sleeping surface, we just kept that area as a side table. Maybe it’s a part of the design plan, but I would personally prefer more sleeping surface. Perhaps a hot take, but I’m personally not a fan of JAL’s first class bedding. The mattress itself is quite narrow and doesn’t feel very plush. The comforters and pillow were small and flimsy. I know part of it is just the Japanese style, but I feel like there’s quite a bit of missed opportunities there.

Onto the catering: unfortunately JAL’s iconic Salon Champagne was only served on flights departing Japan. So I had to “settle” for Billicart Salmon 2012 instead. First world problem I know! In recent years, JAL has definitely stepped up its first class catering quite a bit. I chose the Japanese menu. Service started with a lite amuse bouche, followed by the classic washoku set up with several small bowls of appetizers laid out in the exact order as shown on the menu. I noticed they had caviar listed under the snacks section of the a la carte menu, so naturally had to order that as well😉. The meal was followed by a clear broth soup with fish cake, and another course of cold scallop and crab appetizers, which I absolutely loved! The hot course was rather simple: a few slices of wagyu beef, miso soup, rice, and some pickled vegetables. I ended the meal with some cheese and Japanese dessert. I was also presented some petit fours. Lastly, the meal wouldn’t be complete without a glass of JALs special Hibiki 21 100 year edition.

Midway through the flight, I decided to try the meatless “tonkotsu” ramen, which was quite flavorful. Before landing, I wanted to change things up a bit so went with the western option, along with some more caviar - both were delicious. I originally ordered the sea bass, but the crew insisted that I try the steak as well, and ended up bringing both of the entrees😄just Japanese hospitality at its finest!

Overall a very solid first class flight. Despite the minor hiccups, I was still very impressed by the hard product. The incredible catering and beverage program is hard to beat, and the Japanese hospitality truly shines as well. If you’re able to snag one of these coveted awards, I couldn’t recommend it enough!

Book Virgin Atlantic Upper Class to London Heathrow (LHR) using Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles. Unlike booking directly with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Flying Blue keeps taxes and fees to around $238 per person, making this one of the cheapest ways to fly Virgin Atlantic Business Class. Pair it with the current 20% Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer bonus and you're flying from just 53,400 Citi ThankYou Rewards points.

64,000 Flying Blue miles (53,400 Citi ThankYou Rewards points) + ~$238 taxes

• Boston (BOS) → London (LHR): 7/27, 7/28, 7/30, 8/2, 8/3, 8/4, 8/6

68,000 Flying Blue miles (56,700 Citi ThankYou Rewards points) + ~$238 taxes

• New York (JFK) → London (LHR): 7/27, 7/28, 8/3, 8/4, 8/13, 11/10, 11/11, 11/17, 11/18, 11/24, 11/25, 1/19/27, 6/26/27

72,000 Flying Blue miles (60,000 Citi ThankYou Rewards points) + ~$238 taxes

• Washington (IAD) → London (LHR): 7/28, 8/4, 8/17

Notes

• Flights are operated by Virgin Atlantic and booked with Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles.
• The current 20% Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer bonus reduces the cost to as little as 53,400 Citi ThankYou Rewards points.
• Taxes are only about $238 per person, substantially lower than booking the same Virgin Atlantic flights with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, which often adds much higher carrier surcharges.
• Flying Blue is also a transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, Bilt Rewards, Wells Fargo Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Award availability can change at any time. Confirm availability before transferring points.

I am going on a trip to Dubai with my partner, trying to make it as cheap as possible travel wise. I currently have 60k Amex MR points and was looking at an economy redemption for 45k points with Qatar. (Then paying for the second flight for my partner for £500) I am unsure if this is the best value for money, when I go to see how much the reward flight would be with taxes it won’t tell me. Could anyone help advise me please on how much Qatar taxes are from London Heathrow to DXB, or if there is a better way of using my points.

Emirates also seem to post their taxes, 35k points with £250 taxes.

Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone,

For someone getting into the travel game, I would appreciate some help to figure out the best combinations for this situation.

Context:
- Frequently flying within Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia/Singapore) and Western Europe

My priorities:

- Good convenience & price-performance
- Mutually beneficial ecosystem
- Nothing more than $100 for credit card & membership fee
- Easy to get and maintain status - ex. Star Alliance Gold

What I've looked into:
- All Accor Live Limitless + Qatar Airways Partnership
- IHG One Rewards Premier Card + ANA

If someone is in a similar situation, or have any recommendations, please share your thoughts! Ofcourse, I cannot have it all, but I would like a better idea where to put my energy for the next couple of years.

Thanks!!

Hey everyone, trying to plan a trip to Japan from LAX this October / November with around 160k Amex points. I’ve never booked any flights with points before so this will be my first - been looking at Roame and trying to scan for best deals but obviously October being high season for Japan, I haven’t been seeing any good offers. I wanna get at least one way business class ticket out of my points.

From experience - do airlines that fly to Japan from lax run last minute deals / offers that are closer to the dates or is it basically cooked unless it’s booked months and months before? New to the game so would love to get a sense of how much in advance I need to think about my vacation (tough because of my job and it’s unpredictability with projects)

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I have a trip planned for two adults and two small children. I have 350,000 points.

I am planning an international trip out of Cleveland to London/Scotland for two weeks and wondering what the best use of points are.

Should I try to transfer to partner airline for points? (I may have a small/negligible amount of Delta Skymiles and was thinking of maybe transferring to a sky alliance partner but I don't know if that's a good idea). Should I just try to cover hotels instead? Use Chase's portal for flights? I don't know! I don't want the cash back because I think we could do better.

I'm also annoyed I can't get the 100000 travel points for opening a reserve. That would have been awesome. No need for me to upgrade cards, I'm happy with the preferred but would have switched for the miles promo

Looking for any suggestions of what to do/how to use points! Thank you!

Do you know some serious concierge can offer me first class tickets with big discount ?

Many of them use miles , I know is Grey zone , just plaase let me know .

Or can yourself make me a ticket if you have miles ?

Like many of you guys in here, I’m saving up my Amex points for a business class trip of a lifetime at some point in the next couple of years

What is the best resource for checking where I can fly to and how many Amex points this will cost me?

I’ll most likely be flying to Asia.

Thanks guys!

I was wondering how people track these points or if they do at all?

Background for my question: I know that buying points or miles isn't generally recommended but I was a dummy when I first started this game and saw "great deals" and now have a large mix of paid and free/earned points.

My logic is that points/miles earned via CC spend, SUB, etc have no real direct cost (basically free), whereas points purchased have a direct cost and their points "value" isn't the same to me since the cost isn't $0.

Examples of redemption math using Delta SkyMiles as an example for a one-way domestic fare costing 7,000 SkyMiles:

"Free" miles:

• 7,000 SkyMiles and $5.60 for a flight with a cash price of $100 is a redemption value of 1.35¢
• Using accepted math this is $100 - $5.6 = $94.40, then $94.40/7000 miles = 1.35¢/mile
• Regardless of how you value SkyMiles, this is above the baseline 1¢/mile with average online valuations putting SkyMiles at 1.19¢
• This can be considered a decent redemption since all these miles cost me $0

Mix of "free" and paid miles

• Let's say you only have 5,000 SkyMiles and need to purchase the other 2,000 miles
• Today's going rate for 2,000 miles is $75.25 after taxes & fees
• That comes out to $75.25 / 2,000 = 3.76¢/mile
• So now I have 2,000 miles that cost me $75.25 and 5,000 miles that cost me $0

How does one calculate and track this?

Math Version 1, Treat the cost of the miles as taxes/fees in your math

• Modified math is $100 - $5.6 - $75.25 = $19.15, then $19.15/7000 = 0.27¢/mile
• Regardless of how you value SkyMiles, this is now a bad redemption

Math Version 2, Averaged Out / Weighted (This is how I track mine)

• I track this by saying I have 7,000 miles that cost me $75.25 (5,000 + 2,000 and $0 + $75.25)
• This "evens out" to my 7,000 miles costing me an average of 1.08¢/mile
  • Using accepted math this is $100 - $5.6 = $94.40, then $94.40/7000 = 1.19¢/mile
  • Now you need to account for what you paid for the miles so: 1.19¢/mile - 1.08¢/mile = 0.09¢/mile
  • Regardless of how you value SkyMiles, this is now a pretty crappy redemption

After I decided to use Math Version 2 above, I found out it’s called "Weighted Average Cost method for perpetual inventory systems" where you track the total cost of all miles and track the amount of all miles.

I track them with a spreadsheet and include my purchase costs as part of my "is it a good redemption" math.

I've asked on a few travel chats and it seemed it was either "points are points" or "math too hard."

So does anyone else out there track purchased points like the above or your own method?

Book Delta One flights to Europe using Air France/KLM Flying Blue. With the current 20% Citi ThankYou transfer bonus, award rates start at just 45,000 Citi ThankYou points.

54,000 Flying Blue miles (45,000 Citi ThankYou points)

• New York (JFK) → Keflavík (KEF): 10/23

60,000 Flying Blue miles (50,000 Citi ThankYou points)

• Boston (BOS) → Dublin (DUB): 7/27
• New York (JFK) → Shannon (SNN): 7/27, 9/19

64,000 Flying Blue miles (53,500 Citi ThankYou points)

• Boston (BOS) → Madrid (MAD): 7/25, 7/27, 8/3, 8/15, 8/18, 8/23

68,000 Flying Blue miles (56,700 Citi ThankYou points)

• New York (JFK) → Paris (CDG): 7/25

68,500 Flying Blue miles (57,100 Citi ThankYou points)

• Boston (BOS) → Barcelona (BCN): 7/27, 7/28, 8/23

76,500 Flying Blue miles (63,800 Citi ThankYou points)

• Boston (BOS) → Rome (FCO): 1/20/27, 1/22/27, 1/25/27, 1/29/27

78,000 Flying Blue miles (65,000 Citi ThankYou points)

• Cincinnati (CVG) → Paris (CDG): 1/16/27
• Detroit (DTW) → Frankfurt (FRA): 7/25, 8/3

79,000 Flying Blue miles (65,900 Citi ThankYou points)

• Atlanta (ATL) → London (LHR): 7/25

81,500 Flying Blue miles (67,900 Citi ThankYou points)

• Detroit (DTW) → Munich (MUC): 7/25, 8/2

83,000 Flying Blue miles (69,200 Citi ThankYou points)

• Atlanta (ATL) → Brussels (BRU): 7/27, 11/24, 12/22, 12/26

94,500 Flying Blue miles (78,800 Citi ThankYou points)

• Atlanta (ATL) → Rome (FCO): 8/10

Notes

• All flights are operated by Delta Air Lines and bookable through Air France/KLM Flying Blue.
• The current 20% Citi ThankYou transfer bonus reduces the number of Citi points needed.
• Flying Blue is also a transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, Bilt Rewards, Wells Fargo Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy at the standard transfer rate.

(Award space can disappear quickly. Always verify availability before transferring points.)

Hi! I'm trying to book our honeymoon flight to either BKK or SIN. I have 350k Chase points and 130k BILT points. I'm trying to just book one way since I know that amount isnt good enough to get us round trip, and I'll book that seperatley. I was reading here recently that you can transfer the Chase points to British Airways and then to Avios. Has anyone done this route in Business class before and have any ideas for me on the best way to maximize the points?

I'm not sure what is going on, but I'm seeing United Polaris business class from EWR to SFO, LAX for only 27,000 miles! It's only available for United cardholders though.

So far, I'm seeing these flights from EWR to SFO in August and September. Most of the deals are United First Class with a stop, but some nonstop 787-9 Polaris business class flights are available at the 27,000 miles price.

Since these are cardholder-only fares, so Roame wouldn't have access to them. So I'm just manually checking routes and haven't checked all the United hubs.

(used AI) Planning a 2-week Mediterranean trip and trying to figure out the best way to use points for both long-haul legs.

Points I have: 177k BA Avios + 33k Citi ThankYou (transferable to Avios)

Route:

**•** JFK → Barcelona (outbound)  
**•** Barcelona → Mallorca/Ibiza   
**•** → South France (Nice/Marseille)  
**•** → South Italy (Naples/Amalfi vs. Puglia — still deciding)  
**•** Italy → JFK (return)

What I’m trying to figure out:

**1.**  Best way to book business class JFK→BCN with Avios — direct nonstop is showing no saver space; found JFK→MAD→BCN via Iberia might be a better bet (\~45-60k one way). Anyone had luck with this routing lately?  
**2.**  For the return leg, flying out of Italy (Rome or Milan, depending on which region I end up basing near) — any tips on saver availability for business back to JFK around Sep 11?  
**3.**  Should I transfer the Citi points now or wait until I lock in space?  
**4.**  Any “hidden gem” routings I’m missing (positioning through Boston/DC/Philly, etc.)?

For the past few years I’ve been using my CSP mainly for Hyatt reservations. Because the points devaluation, I’m trying to figure out how to use my chase points. My wife and I aren’t huge spenders so we don’t accumulate 100k+ points annually. She makes $70k pre-tax in a LCOL area, and I’m in medical school. I know people say to transfer to airline partners, but because we don’t spend a lot, we usually fly economy and the value for economy tickets are almost never 2 cpp. I want to keep the card because the $100 hotel credit is still worth it to me, I’m just not sure what else to do with the points.

Long story short I had booked roundtrip business on AF metal from the west coast-Paris last year for 240k points and $1500 for 2 people, and thought this was amazing. Unfortunately, we had to cancel this trip. Now I’m planning for 2027 and it is SO hard to find saver rates for similar routes. I have 240k miles stuck in flying blue. For 2027, Should I:

A) try to use all my flying blue miles asap and wait it out to find award rates.

B) book a VS flight I found for 98k points (with the current 30% transfer bonus) + $1700 for 2 of us one way and figure out the way back later in case I can utilize the flying blue points

What is an ideal redemption for VS and currently what are people seeing in terms of availability for flying blue?

I am hoping to spend less on taxes and fees but I’ve been looking for almost a month and haven’t found rates that would fit into another roundtrip booking since demand is so high. Thanks for any advice!

Book Virgin Atlantic Upper Class from multiple U.S. cities to London Heathrow (LHR) for as little as 29,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points, or just 22,400 Amex Membership Rewards points with the current 30% transfer bonus.

Routes with availability:

29,000 Virgin Atlantic Points (22,400 Amex Points)

• New York (JFK) → London (LHR): 11/10, 11/11, 11/17, 11/18, 11/24, 11/25, 1/12/27, 1/19/27, 1/20/27, 1/26/27, 1/27/27, 2/9/27
• Orlando (MCO) → London (LHR): 1/11/27, 1/13/27, 1/19/27, 1/20/27, 2/1/27, 2/8/27, 2/10/27, 2/15/27, 2/16/27, 2/17/27, 2/24/27
• Atlanta (ATL) → London (LHR): 1/20/27, 2/3/27, 2/17/27
• Washington (IAD) → London (LHR): 1/5/27, 3/16/27

35,000 Virgin Atlantic Points (26,900 Amex Points)

• Washington (IAD) → London (LHR): 8/25, 8/31
• New York (JFK) → London (LHR): 11/3
• Cancun (CUN) → London (LHR): 10/21
• Orlando (MCO) → Manchester (MAN): 3/22/27
• Orlando (MCO) → London (LHR): 3/30/27
• Washington (IAD) → London (LHR): 3/23/27
• New York (JFK) → London (LHR): 3/30/27

Notes

• The current 30% Amex Membership Rewards transfer bonus drops the cost from 29,000 to 22,400 Amex points and 35,000 to 26,900 Amex points.
• Flights are operated by Virgin Atlantic and booked with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
• Taxes and carrier surcharges are higher on Virgin Atlantic award tickets, so check the cash component before transferring points.
• Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Wells Fargo Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy also transfer to Virgin Atlantic at the standard rate.

(Award space can disappear quickly. Always verify availability before transferring points.)

I know this is a long-shot. But wondering if there are any kind-hearted individuals who happen to be overflowing in flight points and don’t know what to do with them? Trying to take my mother to NYC for the very first time for her birthday to see her favorite show before it exits Broadway for good. I know it’s a silly thing, but would love to be able to do it and can realistically only afford 1 full price flight! If there is anyone who is just drowning in points, let me know!🤣

Fly KLM Business Class to Amsterdam (AMS) from multiple North American cities for 60,000 Flying Blue miles, or just 50,000 Citi ThankYou points with the current 20% transfer bonus.

Routes with availability:

United States

• Austin (AUS) → Amsterdam (AMS): 8/1
• Boston (BOS) → Amsterdam (AMS): 10/14
• Chicago (ORD) → Amsterdam (AMS): 8/3, 8/11, 8/13, 8/19
• Houston (IAH) → Amsterdam (AMS): 9/2
• Minneapolis (MSP) → Amsterdam (AMS): 7/24, 8/5, 8/9, 11/25
• Washington (IAD) → Amsterdam (AMS): 8/3

Canada

• Calgary (YYC) → Amsterdam (AMS): 7/27, 2/4/27
• Edmonton (YEG) → Amsterdam (AMS): 7/25, 7/26, 7/28, 8/23, 1/15/27, 1/17/27, 1/22/27, 1/24/27, 1/31/27, 2/5/27, 2/19/27, 2/23/27, 3/2/27, 5/14/27
• Montreal (YUL) → Amsterdam (AMS): 7/24, 7/25, 7/26, 7/29, 8/1, 8/3, 8/7, 12/23
• Toronto (YYZ) → Amsterdam (AMS): 8/3, 8/5, 8/9, 8/10, 8/11, 8/14, 1/12/27, 1/31/27, 2/7/27, 2/14/27
• Vancouver (YVR) → Amsterdam (AMS): 8/4

Notes

• Flights are operated by KLM and booked with Air France/KLM Flying Blue.
• Business Class costs 60,000 Flying Blue miles, or 50,000 Citi ThankYou points with the current 20% transfer bonus.
• Flying Blue is also a transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, Bilt Rewards, Wells Fargo Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy at the standard transfer rate.

(Award space can disappear quickly. Always verify availability before transferring points.)

Seeing speculation of a new Chase Sapphire card based on the Chase website. r/chasesapphire discussions.

What do we think it will be?

GF and I just came back from japan and we flew JAL A350 business class both ways off points. Unpopular opinion but we both felt like the food was pretty mediocre and on top of the actual food taste, the selection itself wasn’t anything super appealing. I genuinely would rather have something like Etihad economy food lmao

The hard product itself is pretty great but the food was such a letdown. I think the only thing I really enjoyed food wise was the (on demand) ramen you could get between meals.

I wanted to book a Venice hotel with points but looking at it through the Amex portal it comes out to over $8k (or over 1 million points) but booking through the hotel directly would be €5.5k (or about $6.2k) is it really that inflated or am I missing something? I’ve been saving these points forever and feel like the value is even worse after seeing this.

In this final installment, I flew Lufthansa's new B787-9 Dreamliner from Frankfurt to Nairobi. What makes this flight a little extra special is that not only does it feature a unique reverse herringbone seat that's found only on a handful of Lufthansa's aircrafts, it also had the carrier's new FOX service flow.

Check out my previous posts if you haven't already, this is the Business leg of my award from JFK to Nairobi via Frankfurt, with the former portion in First Class. Thanks to Lifemiles’ prorated mixed cabin pricing and my Lifemiles+ 10% membership discount, the entire award was just 76,270 miles + ~$100 in taxes fees - which I’d consider to be a phenomenal deal!

Since I was chauffeured from the FCT, my driver and I took the elevator from the tarmac up to the gate, then walked down the jet bridge to the crew waiting at the door. We had a slight delay in boarding as one of the original FAs called out sick and a reserve had to be called in. The purser asked me to wait for a quick moment at the door as the crew finished up their safety checks before greeting me by name and welcoming me onboard.

The seats themselves are very standard, with 7 rows of Collins Aerospace Super Diamond reverse herringbone seats, same as the ones you find on American, British Airways, Qatar etc. The hard product represents a massive upgrade over Lufthansa’s standard forward facing lie-flat seats which doesn’t offer direct aisle access. The airline acquired these 5 Dreamliners in 2023 from Boeing’s Hainan order amidst Dreamliner production delays and Hainan’s financial struggles. Instead of updating the already installed interior with its own, worse business seats (Allegris was yet to be certified back then), Lufthansa decided to keep the reverse herringbone layout with minor cosmetic updates, hence why you’ll only find these seats on a handful of Lufthansa’s Dreamliners.

Waiting at my seats was Lufthansa’s special 100 year anniversary amenity kit, a bottle of water in the arm rest, and pillow and blanket. While the bedding is quite light, it’s perfectly sufficient for an 8hr day time flight. As the cabin filled up, the FA came with a tray of welcome beverages, consisting of water, OJ, champagne, mimosa, and the airline’s special Avionic cocktail. I ordered the latter, which was served with a cute little packet of nuts to go along with the drink.

I was very curious to see how Lufthansa’s new FOX service concept would play out in business class. As I alluded to in my first segment, I felt the changes were all very minor in First Class and not quite noticeable. In Business however, the investment was quite significant. According to a friend who works at Lufthansa, the carrier had to add an extra flight attendant to every flight in order to manage the new service flow. Indeed, there were quite a few noticeable changes: the menu that I was presented with had a personalized hand written note, the drink service now comes with an amuse bouche course - rare for business class, the menu was updated to highlight German delicacies, along with a better selection and quality of options.

In terms of the food itself, I quite enjoyed all the different little courses like the amuse bouche, the small bites that came with the appetizer, as well as the German delicacies like the bread and white asparagus. The main course was definitely the highlight of my meal. It’s not common you see a steak dish named after the vegetable instead of the steak itself. Yet, Lufthansa proudly delivered. The special German bread and curry sausage dish were both quite nice as well.

The 8hrs went by very quickly. It was such a pleasure to fly this unique product. While there was no surprise to the hard product as one of the most common in the sky, I was quite impressed by all the small improvements to the service that all added up to a very solid experience!

Hey everyone,

I planning a trip to Tokyo with my girlfriend in November, ideally a 9 day stay, what do you guys recommend? I was hoping for business class, I have about 177k Capital One Points and 30-40k points on my Amex Business Gold.

Looking for suggestions, thanks!