72. Horses, Zebras, and Unicorns: Business Class Award Flight Edition (Part 2)
Jul 15, 2024
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Discover the challenges of booking business class award flights to unique destinations like South America and Japan. Learn strategies for securing these elusive tickets, including utilizing credit card travel portals and unique connecting itineraries.
Identifying zebra business class award flights requires strategic planning and flexibility for successful booking.
Booking unicorn business class flights demands extreme flexibility, quick actions, and potential compromises for premium cabin tickets.
Deep dives
Understanding Business Class Award Flights
Business class award flights can be easily booked for one or two passengers on most flights, but the challenge lies in finding multiple award tickets on the same flight. While some believe it's nearly impossible to secure four or more business class seats, several airlines consistently offer such availability. Knowing which airlines have better award availability can lead to successful award flight searches, especially when planning travel around peak seasons or traditional school breaks.
Differentiating Criteria for Zebra Award Flights
Zebra business class award flights, less common than horses, present challenges due to lower availability, particularly on routes with limited flight options operated with fewer airlines. For example, flights to South America may lack true lie-flat seats with limited award options. Identifying these zebra flights helps in strategizing searches and understanding the distinct challenges they pose compared to more common business class awards.
Strategies for Zebra Award Flights
When dealing with zebra award flights like lie-flat seats to South America or Japan, flexibility and strategic planning are essential. Exploring alternative airlines, being open to creative itineraries, and considering connecting flights can enhance the chances of securing multiple business class award tickets on zebra flights. Moreover, allocating additional points to the award flight budget and being open to diverse travel dates and routes play crucial roles in overcoming the challenges of booking zebra flights.
Navigating the Challenges of Unicorn Award Flights
Unicorn business class flights, extremely rare and challenging to find, pose significant difficulties due to limited availability and high demand. Flights to destinations like Hawaii, East or South Africa, and Australia/New Zealand fall into this category, offering few direct flight options with steep points prices. Booking unicorn award flights requires extreme flexibility, quick action upon finding available seats, and potentially compromising on preferred routes or airlines. Considering unique itineraries and utilizing credit card travel portals can broaden flight choices, albeit at the expense of point value, increasing the chances of securing premium cabin tickets on unicorn flights.
1.
Exploring Business Class Award Flight Challenges and Strategies
Is it possible to book four or more business class award tickets on the same flight? You might think it's outright impossible to get a deal like this, but in my experience, you have more options than you think. When you know what you're looking for and you have a strategy for getting it, you increase your chances of finding what you want. That's exactly what we're covering in part two of this series.
Discover the specific business class award flights that are considered zebras and unicorns. I dive into the specific challenges you'll face when trying to get your hands on a zebra or a unicorn, and you'll learn what your award-booking game plans need to include if you don’t want to come away from your awards search empty-handed.