NYC <--> LAX/SFO/HNL: Great Biz Award Availability!

You may recognize these as routes that are both LONG and also have premium business class experiences.

I’m seeing a lot of Business Class Space on these United routes through May 2021

Here are the dates that I see

EWR-LAX: Great availability through May 2021, mostly Tues/Weds/Sat

EWR-SFO: Great availability through May 2021, mostly Tues/Weds now-March and Tues/Weds/Sat in April/May

EWR-HNL:

Feb 14th, 2021

Mar 2, 10

Apr 8, 13, 20,

May 3, 5, 11, 12, 23

LAX-EWR: Great availability through May 2021, mostly Tues/Weds/Sat

SFO-EWR: Great availability through May 2021, mostly Tues/Weds/Sat

HNL-EWR: 

Jan 29

Feb 9, 11, 24

Mar 29

Apr 6, 13, 19, 20, 23

May 7, 11, 12, 14

Pre-COVID, United was extremely sparse with this award space, but from now through next May, there’s a relatively large amount of award space. If you are flying to Hawaii, please do check the latest COVID-19 pre-arrival testing requirements.

If you can find space on a United 787-10 Dreamliner, that would be the best choice for sure. I reviewed the United 787-10 Dreamliner EWR-LAX last year.

If not, I’d opt for the 757-200, despite it being a bit dated.

The one to avoid is the 777-200, which crams you in to Business Class like it’s economy, facing other passengers.

Award Pricing by Program

The best way to book all of these flights is using Turkish Miles&Smiles, where you’ll pay no more than 12,500 miles for a Business Class seat on any of these routes.

If you don’t have any Turkish miles, which are only a transfer partner of Citi ThankYou and Marriott Bonvoy, you really should consider a Citi Premier credit card, which comes with 60,000 bonus ThankYou points when you spend $4,000 in 3 months. That’s enough for two round trips anywhere in North America in Business Class using Turkish miles. Be sure to read the ins and outs of using Turkish miles to book United awards here.

Using Turkish Miles&Smiles: All routes are just 12,500 miles each way (Transfer from Citi ThankYou or Marriott Bonvoy, however transferring from Marriott is NOT recommended since the transfer time of 2 days is longer than the 48 hour award hold period Turkish offers)

Get 60,000 Citi ThankYou points when you spend $4,000 in 3 months. Using Turkish as a transfer partner, this could be worth 2 round trip domestic flights in Business Class or just 30,000 points shy of a roundtrip flight to Europe in Business Class! Get This Offer

Using Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: EWR-LAX/SFO: 23,000 miles each way; EWR-HNL: 34,500 miles each way (Transfer from American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Citi ThankYou, or Marriott Bonvoy).

Using Air Canada Aeroplan: EWR-LAX/SFO: 25,000 miles each way; EWR-HNL: 40,000 miles each way (Transfer from American Express Membership Rewards [Guide], Capital One or Marriott Bonvoy).

Using Avianca Lifemiles: EWR-LAX/SFO: 25,000 miles each way; EWR-HNL: 40,000 miles each way (Transfer from American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Citi ThankYou, or Marriott Bonvoy).

Using United MileagePlus miles: EWR-LAX/SFO: 35,000 miles each way; EWR-HNL: 50,000 miles each way (Transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards [Guide] or Marriott Bonvoy)

Did you book one of these routes? What miles did you use to book?

Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.

And if this post helped you, please consider sharing it!

You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards. 

New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.