Just last month we told you about our unique Leg Stretch Strategy delivering Business Class for 33% less than coach by using points.
Our dedicated staff of mileage-busters have taken the strategy even further this month—to the luxurious confines of the First Class cabin. And the best yet: it’s for at least 105,000 fewer points than you’d pay in Business Class to do the same two trips.
In this case, we Leg Stretch from London to New York to Brazil to Philadelphia/New York to London, all for 155,000 miles in First Class.
You book the flights through Japan Airlines (JAL)—a Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) points-to-miles transfer partner—but take the flights on JAL’s mileage partner, American Airlines.
[aside headline="Leg Stretch 101: How Does It Work Again?" alignment="aligncenter" width="big" headline_size="default"]
Our FCF team created the Leg Stretch Strategy when they saw that a normal round-trip airfare from Europe to South America offered free stop-overs in the U.S.—both ways.
Since then, we've shown you a number of other Leg Stretch journeys as well—using cash or miles—from South America to Asia, and from Europe to the South Pacific.
It's not for everyone, but if you are planning on, say, going to Europe twice this year and South America once in First Class, or vice versa, this strategy is great, because you can time it so that the "free stop-over" (in your home city) can last for weeks or even months. The only restriction is that the itinerary has to be completed within 12 months of your departure date.[/aside]
LET’S BREAK IT DOWN — OPTION 1:
POSSIBLY THE WORLD’S BEST MILES/POINTS
TICKETING STRATEGY FOR FIRST CLASS TRAVEL
This is a sample itinerary, but one that will work for many other itineraries.
Combine Europe and South America on one ticket! Usually, you’d think of them as separate trips, but the Leg Stretch Strategy lets you combine them with amazing effect. And you can “stretch” the trip over a year (you don’t have to do it all at once).
Pre-Leg Stretch: Get yourself to London on the cheapest ticket you can find. No sweat: FCF is where you find those one-way award and fare deals.
Then, We S t r e t c h
Leg 1: London to New York—the first U.S. stop (it could be at the end of a vacation or business trip.)
Leg 2: New York to São Paulo—for a vacation in Brazil and the first segment of the second trip. (Remember, you don’t have to do it all at once.)
Leg 3: São Paulo to Philadelphia—the second U.S. stop. Japan Airlines fine print requires you to stop at a different U.S. airport than the first one, and connect via a different airport, too. (End of the second trip.) If that’s a problem, see option 2, below.
Leg 4: New York to London (Start of the next vacation/business trip.)
Post-Leg Stretch: Either come back home from London on a cheap one-way ticket or start another Leg Stretch. Your call.
American Airlines four-segment itinerary (equivalent to two round-trips)—all on one ticket. Screenshot from www.JAL.co:
155,000 JAL miles for the four segments—which cost me 125,000 SPG points. (AA credit card users pay 105,000 more for Business Class!) Screenshot from www.JAL.com:
WHAT YOU SAVE USING OPTION #1
If you fly from the U.S. to Europe one-way in Business Class, it will cost you at least 57,500 miles each way using American's program, and from the U.S. to South America in Business Class it's 57,500 miles each way. All up, that's 230,000 miles at a minimum to fly Business Class for these four segments—and (you'd better sit down), 340,000 miles in First Class using AA miles.
With this Leg Stretch Strategy, you get those same destinations in First Class for 155,000 miles or 125,000 SPG points. (American Airlines credit card players pay 105,000 / 45% more miles for Business Class travel!)
That’s a stratospheric 105,000 fewer miles than Business Class. Think of it as a couple of free tickets and more. I know it's April but I'm not fooling.
OPTION #2: WHEN YOU MUST RETURN TO THE SAME U.S. CITY
To get around the rule that forbids stopping in the same city twice, it will cost you 210,000 miles round-trip, but it means you can use the same city as your U.S. stop-over. It is, in effect, two one-way tickets that each allow a stop-over in that one city.
Savings: Each one-way Leg Stretch ticket costs 105,000 miles (27,500 more than half a round-trip ticket), so 210,000 in total for a round-trip in First Class—or 170,000 SPG points. It's still at least 60,000 fewer miles than Business Class, and you get to stop in your U.S. home city twice, which should make booking the LSS easier.
Here's an example of how option #2 might work:
Ticket #1: Europe > U.S. (stop-over) > South America
Ticket #2: South America > U.S. (stop-over) > Europe
KEY FACTS ABOUT THE JAPAN AIRLINES MILEAGE PROGRAM
- You must book partner travel by phone: (800) 525-3663 when booking the round-trip award (option 1). Two one-way awards (option 2) can be booked online after you log in to your JAL mileage account. We recommend first checking the AA website for availability, then calling JAL to make the reservation, as award space is usually the same.
- Holding award space is not permitted, so you must have the miles in the account in order to book.
- The LSS works only with American flights to Europe and South America; code-share flights are not eligible.
- There’s a maximum of six flight segments permitted on round-trip tickets, so the LSS can also be used for connecting flights to the gateways.
- There’s also a maximum of three stop-overs: This is based on one stop in South America and two in the U.S., the home city can only be used for two stops for additional miles (sample option 2).
- Getting Japan Airlines miles: These can be transferred from Starwood, based on FCF’s research; transfer time can be three to five days.
- Be flexible: Look for a “cluster of award space,” meaning several days on both sides of your preferred dates. That gives you better odds of booking the space using Japan Airlines miles once the transfer is completed. See below for FCF Sweet Redeem research on American to Europe and South America.
- JAL has a flight-distance program, meaning miles charged are based on flight distance. The Leg Stretch Strategy for 155,000 miles for four long-haul segments works for trips for up 20,000 flight miles; for trips up to 25,000 flight miles the cost increases to 200,000 JAL miles (for example: Los Angeles-London-San Diego-Rio de Janeiro-San Diego).
FCF CHEAT SHEETS GET YOU THERE FAST AND EASY
We’ve prepared a few First Class “Sweet Redeem” alerts to show you when and where free mileage award space for American Airlines flights is available to/from the U.S. and Europe, and to/from the U.S. and South America, including:
Save 69% on American’s First Class to Argentina, Brazil, and Chile with Cash—or 61% Off with Miles
Save 65% on American’s First Class to Argentina, Brazil, and Chile with Cash—or 73% Off with Miles
NO DATES? NO PROBLEM.
JAL allows you to make date changes for just $20. You can’t change the cities on your ticket once travel has commenced, but changing dates only requires American Airlines to have availability.
So, if you’re flexible, it’s no problem. As you can see above, FCF publishes availability opportunities with American all the time. Just get your cities right and you should be fine by providing “placeholder dates” when you make your booking.
MORE HELPFUL LINKS
Figure out how many flight miles your trip will be.
Japan Airlines flight distance pricing chart.