Cross to Bear: High Transcon Prices And How To Get Over ‘Em

November 2022
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You snooze you lose on transcon flights… if you don’t want to wake up at 4 a.m., or take a red-eye to arrive at 5 or 6 a.m., then read on

How do you solve a problem like the high transcon (NYC-LAX/SFO) Business Class fare? And I’m not just talking about cash fares. Mile costs are high too nowadays, making this a particularly tough cross-country nut to crack.

Current Fare Trend

These days, transcon fares range from $1,698 to $3,898 in Business Class round-trip. That’s a Grand Canyon of a chasm. Flights are averaging around $3,400, at a minimum. 

Here are the hard facts:

  • Typical fares for transcon flights, New York to Los Angeles in Business Class, round-trip:
    • American
      • Within 30 days $2,298-$3,048
      • 31-119 days out $1,798-$2,498
      • 120+ days out $1,698-$1,898
    • Delta
      • Within 21 days $1,838-$3,298
      • 22-45 days out $1,448-$2,198
      • 46 days out $1,848-$2,148
    • JetBlue
      • Within 21 days $1,547-$2,236
      • 22-45 days out $1,198-$2,398
      • 46+ days out $2,398-$3,298
    • United
      • Within 45 days $1,448-$2,398
      • 46+ days out $1,848-$3,438
Typical fares for New York to Los Angeles in Business Class, round-trip:

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Typical fares for New York to San Francisco in Business Class, round-trip:

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Is This a Domestic or International Flight?!

Given the cost, why do I feel that when I buy a transcon ticket, I should be going to Europe or South America and not another U.S. state?

Oh wait, that’s because I could fly in Business Class round-trip from:

  • New York to Maui for $1,537
  • New York to Casablanca for $2,061
  • New York to Tel Aviv for $2,999
  • New York to Johannesburg for $3,493
  • Many destinations in Europe including Athens for $3,100, Barcelona for $2,987, Frankfurt for $2,088, London for $2,506, Milan for $3,191
  • New York to Santiago for $2,932, or Sao Paulo for $3,199
Out west, you can fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo, round-trip in Business Class on ZipAir for $1,569, Sao Paulo for $2,792 to Hawaii from $1,099 and to Papeete on Delta nonstop for $2,862, for example.

Or you could fly across our own vast country and pay more. Crazy. It’s more cost-to-cost than coast-to-coast.

Ways to Beat the Transcon Right Now

Like I said, I’m not a fan of early morning or red eye flights. So what to do? I used to get strategic to beat these price gouges. For example, to score a nice nonstop flight on a widebody aircraft I’d drive an extra hour on the front end (Philly to Newark). But doing that now on top of a $3,400 round-trip fare makes me feel cross.

Think Connections

Fares for flights that have connections can cost much less.  On my last flight, for example, I just made a connection on a $600 one-way First Class fare rather than drive an extra hour for the $1,700 nonstop. In other words, I saved $800 and an extra hour in the car, in exchange for having to make a connection. In some ways it was more convenient.

What About Miles?

When should you think about using your miles for a transcon journey? Domestic Business Class mileage redemption rates have historically been around 25,000 one-way, then they went up to 50,000. Now, they’re typically 60,000 to 70,000 miles each way.

Without a lot of options, is it time to consider paying 120,000 to 140,000 miles for a domestic Business Class round-trip? If you don’t already have the miles and the fare is $3,400+, as it often is, and you can buy American and United miles for around 1.8 cents each when on sale, the total cost comes to about $2,160. That means you're still saving $1,240 off many fares.

Buy Miles From American or United

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If you already have the miles, you’re looking at getting in the neighborhood of 2.7 cents a mile in value, which is more than many people enjoy.

Using Amex, Capital One, Chase, or Citi Points

Amex, Capital One, Chase and Citi cardholders can transfer to points to miles, as seen in the chart below.

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Buy Via Amex

Amex sells points at 2.5 cents each that transfer into All Nippon, Air Canada, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta and JetBlue.

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La Cross Pro Tip

Counterintuitively, Hawaii can take the pain out of transcon prices too. Check out FCF’s Hula Loophole to reimagine upgrading.

[["Travel Month/s","American","Delta","United","JetBlue"],["Through December","$2,098-$4,164","$2,758-$3,558","$2,898-$3,678","$2,066-$2,797"],["January - February","$1,798-$2,498","$2,198-$2,788","$1,598-$2,398","$2,096-$2,496"],["March - October","$1,748-$2,158","$2,198-$2,788","$2,898-$3,798","$2,896-$4,096"]]
[["Travel Month/s","American","Delta","United","JetBlue"],["Through December","$2,598-$3,192","$2,098-$2,608","$2,398-$2,978","$2,598-$3,028"],["January - February","$2,198-$2,697","$1,898-$2,408","$1,898-$2,998","$2,048-$2,198"],["March - October","$1,848-$2,038","$1,898-$2,038","$2,398-$4,878","$2,848-$3,898"]]
[["Operating Airline","Buy Miles From","Typical Mileage Cost Round-Trip","Cost To Buy Miles When on Sale at 1.8 Cents Each","Normal Published Fare","Savings","#colspan#"],["American","\n\nAmerican","125,000","$2,250","\n\n\n\n$3,400","$1,150","34%"],["JetBlue","#rowspan#","80,000","$1,440","#rowspan#","$1,960","58%"],["United","United","125,000","$2,250","#rowspan#","$1,150","34%"]]
[["Operating Airline","Transfer Points From","Points Transfer To","Mileage Cost R/T"],["\n\n\nAmerican","Citi","American","125,000"],["#rowspan#","Amex, Capital One, Chase","British Airways","77,500"],["#rowspan#","Amex, Capital One, Citi\n\n","Cathay Pacific","60,000"],["Delta","Amex","Delta","125,000"],["\nJetBlue","Amex, Capital One, Chase","British Airways","90,000"],["#rowspan#","Amex, Capital One, Citi","Cathay Pacific","80,000"],["\n\nUnited","Chase","United","125,000"],["#rowspan#","Amex, Capital One, Chase","Air Canada","50,000"],["#rowspan#","Amex","All Nippon","55,000"]]
[["Operating Airline","Amex Points Transfer Partner","Mileage Cost R/T","Cost To Buy Amex Points at 2.5 Cents Each","Normal Published Fare","Savings","#colspan#"],["\nAmerican","British Airways","77,500","$1,938","\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n$3,400","$1,463","43%"],["#rowspan#","Cathay Pacific","60,000","$1,500","#rowspan#","$1,900","56%"],["Delta","Delta","125,000","$3,125","#rowspan#","$275","8%"],["JetBlue","JetBlue","90,000","$2,250","#rowspan#","$1,150","34%"],["\nUnited","Air Canada","50,000","$1,250","#rowspan#","$2,150","63%"],["#rowspan#","All Nippon","55,000","$1,375","#rowspan#","$2,025","60%"]]