I Flew From L.A. to NYC in Business Class for $25 — How I Did It

I’m a traveler who often plans at the last minute. My secret for this habit is points and miles. My late summer, spur-of-the-moment trip to New York City for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships is a prime example.

In August, I had the opportunity to attend the U.S. Open, but between work and life obligations, planning inevitably fell by the wayside. I was left with only three days until the event, and I wanted to fly from Los Angeles to New York in business class. I was determined to make it happen affordably with points and miles.

Here’s how I booked my round-trip business-class flight, spending just $25 out of pocket between LAX and JFK.  And, of course, I got to experience two nights of electric tennis action, too.

A Points and Miles Primer

One of the best ways to maximize your points and miles is by accumulating flexible credit card rewards. Having a flexible points currency, like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, or Bilt Rewards, means you can book on almost every major airline. That’s why I not only accumulate airline miles (with carriers like American Airlines), but also ensure I have a stash of credit card points, too.

Flexible points are valuable because they can be transferred directly to a variety of airlines and hotels. While transferring credit card points is a more advanced points and miles tactic rather than redeeming them directly on a travel portal, it can be helpful in certain circumstances.

For instance, points from your Chase Ultimate Rewards can be shifted to your United Airlines MileagePlus account at a one-to-one ratio (one Chase point equals one United mile). Or, in my example below, Bilt Rewards points are transferable to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles (also at a one-to-one ratio).

How I Booked It

While booking flights at the last minute can mean more expensive tickets, the opposite may be true when using points and miles. In some cases, airlines may be more willing to book a seat for fewer miles than have it depart unoccupied.

In my experience, of the major U.S. carriers, American Airlines is the most likely to offer last-minute availability for these so-called “saver” awards. Let’s look at an example, including a similar flight to the one I booked.

Typically, American offers its lie-flat business-class seats between JFK and LAX for 100,000 American AAdvantage miles. Here are the miles required two weeks out.

However, American may sometimes drop the cost of these awards, especially at the last minute when empty seats are still available. Here’s the same itinerary, but departing just three days out.

As you can see, it’s a significant discount on the number of miles. In my case, I was able to book a one-way ticket from LAX to JFK for the same 31,000 miles and $5.60 in taxes to get to the U.S. Open, in lie-flat American Flagship business class.

For my return flight back to LAX two nights later, I opted to book my American Airlines flight via a different method. My American AAdvantage mileage balance was running low, but I still wanted to fly the airline home.

Here’s how transferring flexible points can be helpful (along with knowledge of airline alliances and last-minute availability).

Instead of redeeming miles for an American Airlines flight, I decided to use Alaska Airlines miles to book that same American flight. Alaska and American are partners and both are part of the Oneworld Alliance. That means you can book American flights using Alaska miles (and vice versa). While most flights won’t appear online, they will when there are “saver” awards.

Most importantly, unlike American, Alaska is also a transfer partner of a major flexible currency, Bilt Rewards. That meant I could shift 35,000 Bilt points to my Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account, which transferred instantly.

Alaska does charge slightly more than when booking with American directly; I had to cough up 35,000 miles and $19 in taxes and fees. 

Was It Worth It?

All in, my total price was 66,000 miles (31,000 American Airlines miles plus 35,000 Alaska Airlines miles via Bilt) and $25 in cash for round-trip, nonstop business class between New York and Los Angeles.

This premium transcontinental route can be quite expensive, and business-class seats routinely go for upwards of $1,000 per direction. With this mileage booking, I got all the same perks as someone who paid cash including lounge access at both JFK and LAX, lie-flat seats, and multicourse meals on board.

It was well worth the effort in finding available award seats. Growing up in suburban New Jersey, I always had an annual tradition of attending the U.S. Open. I got to watch my favorite sporting event live and catch up with friends across the coast.