Questions and Answers

The recent post about PointPros not responding (though they probably were
:)) precipitated this post. Though a somewhat savvy traveler, I often couldn’t find the deals and awards that are sometimes mentioned. For instance, I blew 450k AA miles flying my son and brother business class to London (I had a paid ticket and used SWUs). What a complete waste of miles, but it still left me with 250k. I am back up to 800k. Having recently joined PointsPros (I am [B]not[/B] getting paid for this post!) I sought help in booking an award trip to Singapore for next April. The day ticketing opened up, Jimmy was on it and I am flying JAL F from NYC to NRT and J from NRT to SIN. Just for fun I priced this on GoogleFlights and it was $17,500. Best use of 110k AA miles ever (at least for me).

Now I am waiting for the return leg to open, and am seeking some advice – should I fly CX F (I’ve flown J a few times), or some other airline (needs to be OW or one I can book with AA miles). I also am leaning CX because I want to use HKG as a base of operations to fly to Beijing, Manila and possibly Hanoi to visit clients. I’ve flown AA F on transpacific flights, and except for better wine I am content with AA biz (compared to F. Not other airlines!). Should I stick with CX or is there something I am missing? Finally, I think I am going to try QSuites this fall for an Asia trip, so anything else. Thanks in advance!

Edit: I do have Amex MR points, but am saving those and Hilton points for the hotels on this trip. But I could be tempted to use Amex points…

CX is definitely a great choice, especially if you’ve never flown them before. Cathay operates some fantastic lounges at HKG and worth a visit. Qatar’s QSuites wont disappoint either.

Look into obtaining Alaska ‘s miles/credit cards – they partner with both JAL and Cathay and frequently sell miles at a discount, not to mention great redemption rates for F and J awards.

[QUOTE=”David W, post: 64727, member: 29″]CX is definitely a great choice, especially if you’ve never flown them before. Cathay operates some fantastic lounges at HKG and worth a visit. Qatar’s QSuites wont disappoint either.

Look into obtaining Alaska ‘s miles/credit cards – they partner with both JAL and Cathay and frequently sell miles at a discount, not to mention great redemption rates for F and J awards.[/QUOTE]

Never flown CX F. I love CX business class more than most people, I guess. More than most westerners at least. Especially rows 11 or 12 on the 77W. But it has been almost 3 years since I’ve flown CX J. I love all the CX lounges in HKG, and have been many times in the last few years, and as OWE have enjoyed the F lounges. (Though I’ve been underwhelmed by the self-service food in the F lounges. Love the a la carte restaurants, however, and the Champagne Bar.)

Like Lucky I’ve been trying to ween myself off AA, but it is hard here. I am committed to getting Exec Plat at least one more year, but have started putting all my airfare on Amex Plat Biz card. Next up are Chase UR points (later this year). I’ll consider Alaska cards in 2020. Alaska has decent service from PHL to the west coast, so I’ll consider flying it.

Thank you… think I will stick with CX on the return.