Business class prices, premium economy comfort – a wave of new deals is making the middle of the plane look better than ever. Also today: United’s new “elevated” Polaris seat is great, except for one thing, and Chase Sapphire Lounge Priority Pass access is now dead.
💺 Premium Economy for Economy Prices
You deserve better than economy on your next long-haul flight. But if you’re like me, paying thousands for a business class flight just isn’t in the cards.
The solution: Premium economy – the overlooked middle of the plane that offers more legroom, wider seats, more perks, better service, and more.
In the past few weeks, we’ve seen an influx of interesting premium economy flight deals, too. Here’s what I’m talking about.
Take this fare, for example. Fly KLM Premium Comfort nonstop from San Diego (SAN) to Amsterdam (AMS) for just 30,000 miles each way (transferable from Capital One, Amex, Citi, Chase, and more.) We saw the same exact fares from cities like Houston (IAH), Las Vegas (LAS), New York (JFK), and D.C. (IAD), too!
But that’s not all. How about American Premium Economy flights across the Pacific Ocean … all the way down to Auckland (AKL)!
These half-off fares to New Zealand might be the best bang for your buck you can find! Plus, the best fares on this route were bookable in peak season – winter here and summer in the southern hemisphere.
Here’s a sample of some other awesome mid-cabin deals we’ve found lately:
🇸🇪 SAS Plus to cities all over Northern Europe from $740 roundtrip
🇯🇵 Japan Airlines Premium Economy to Tokyo (HND, NRT) & Osaka (KIX) for 40k miles each way
🇸🇬 Singapore Airlines Premium Economy for $1,314 roundtrip on the longest flight in the world from JFK to Singapore (SIN)
🇺🇸 American Airlines Premium Economy from coast-to-coast and to Hawaii from 22k miles each way
Whatever deal floats your boat, don’t settle for economy on your next big trip!
Read our full breakdown of the best Premium Economy deals on our website.
– Gunnar Olson, travel reporter & host of the Thrifty Traveler Podcast
🤝 Deal of the Day: Cook Islands (& Hawaii Stopovers) From $644 RT
Heat scale (out of 3): 🔥🔥
Why we love it: Book a trip to the Cook Islands next January – including Hawaii stopovers!
Fly from several west coast cities to Rarotonga (RAR), and book a Hawaii stopover for just a few dollars more. Best availability this January.
Sign up now to get all the details on this deal & don’t miss the next flight deal alert.
Already a member? Log in to see all your deals. (Not seeing it? Remove your airport filters to see every deal.)
– Gunnar Olson, Thrifty Traveler Premium deal analyst
📲 From the Thrifty Traveler Company Slack
Gunnar asked for feedback on his weekly Flight Deal Friday video, and I … well, I let him have it. He claims only the top button was undone when he started recording, but then the second one wanted to join the party. I’m not buying it …
Either way, if you don’t hear from me later this week, it probably means I got written up by HR and am on a work-mandated vacation. Wish me luck!
– Jackson Newman, senior editor
🎙️ On the Pod: Airfare Absurdities, the Battle for Seattle, & More
📻 From a bizarre (and arguably absurd) Delta flight pricing quirk, new and disappearing Alaska Atmos redemptions, American’s late premium push, or the ongoing “Battle for Seattle,” there’s no shortage of travel news for Gunnar and Kyle to break down on the show this week.
Tune in now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
🌁 Mini Review: United’s New “Elevated” Polaris Business Class
Overall Rating: ️️️️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Seat: ️️️️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Food & Service: ️️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I flew United Polaris for the first time this past week and was fortunate to experience their new “Elevated” Polaris business class seat.
This new seat is only flying from San Francisco (SFO) to London (LHR) and Singapore (SIN) on their Boeing 787-9s, with plans for more routes available from Houston in the near future.
Overall I think this seat is great, but there were a few aspects of this experience that have me wondering if United is trying to bite off more than it can chew.
What I Liked:
I thought this new seat was well designed. The 4K screen is sharp, the amenities, including the bedding from Sak’s 5th Ave, were very comfortable, and the catering was solid. I can comfortably say United’s ice cream sundae beats Delta’s.
And while not as premium as, say, a Delta One Lounge, I did enjoy the United Polaris Lounge at SFO. Plenty of space to relax, good food, and great views of planes passing by.
Room for Improvement:
The biggest disappointment on this flight was the service. Something I explicitly put to the test by booking myself into the very last seat in row 17. United is betting big on its premium cabin, with half of this plane being filled by business class seats.
Being able to deliver a proper service to 64 business class passengers is a large task that took a while to deliver, considering other carriers like Delta currently have up to 40 Delta One seats on their largest planes.
Had I not pre-ordered a meal, several options would have been gone, and the meal I did have had several items missing, which I had to ask for multiple times. To me, it’s not the biggest deal, but for someone paying $8,000 for a ticket like this, I don’t think United’s service matched their premium product.
How I Booked It:
I booked this flight directly from United, paying 72K miles and $5.60 in taxes and fees. Note that to receive this rate, you need to hold a United co-branded credit card or have elite status with United, making it a must to score a good deal, especially in a premium cabin. Otherwise, expect to pay a lot more.
Pro Tip:
Upgrade to the Polaris Studio for more space, an even larger 4K screen, elevated amenities, and food offerings, including caviar. On my one-way flight from San Francisco to London, an upgrade to the Polaris studio was $499. Considering the footwell on the standard seats was quite small, I would consider this upgrade in the future.
Stay tuned on Youtube for the full review coming soon! 🎥
– Kyle Thomas, Thrifty Traveler Content Creator
✈️ Other Travel Tidbits
- 🇸🇬 Delta is planning to return to Singapore for the first time since 2019 – likely flying out of Seattle. At 8,070 miles, it would be the airline’s third-longest route. (One Mile at a Time)
- 🛋️ Chase Sapphire Lounges dropped out of the Priority Pass network entirely over the weekend. Non-Sapphire Reserve (or Ritz-Carlton) cardholders now pay the standard $100 day pass for entry.
- 🚗 Uber One is cutting ride rebates from 6% to 5% in the coming weeks. (View from the Wing)
- ✈️ We’ve updated our master guide to Google Flights – everything you need to know to find the cheapest fares every time you search.
