United Business Class to Japan (Aug/Sept 2023)
Since Japan is always popular, I wanted to flag this great opportunity to book business class on a route most people probably don't even know exists.
If Kyoto is on your list to visit (it should be!), there's not a more convenient flight from the US as Osaka (KIX) is the closest airport and a quick train ride away.
Naturally, I started digging a bit more once I saw the Osaka space so I've included a bunch of dates with space to Tokyo in the next few weeks.
There's only space on the outbound, but you should definitely jump on this if you've been looking for a flight to Japan this month or next!
If you'd like to read about my recent Starlux Airlines business class experience, here's Part 1 and Part 2 of my review!
Now, let's get into the details.
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: SFO-KIX, IAD/IAHORD/SFO-NRT/HND
Operating airline: United
Class of service: Business class
Dates: August - September 2023
Seats available: 2 (up to 4)
Cabin layout: 1-2-1
Book with (per person, one-way):
- *Air Canada Aeroplan: 75,000 miles
- Asiana Club: 60,000 miles
- *Avianca LifeMiles: 90,000 miles
- *EVA Infinity MileageLands: 87,500 miles
- *Miles & More: 71,000 miles
- *Singapore KrisFlyer: 129,500 miles
- *Turkish Miles & Smiles: 67,500 miles
- *United MileagePlus: 100,000 miles
*No Surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person):
Aeroplan and LifeMiles have a small partner booking fee.
Bank transfer partners:
- Air Canada: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- Asiana: Marriott
- Avianca: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- EVA: Capital One, Citi
- Singapore: Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
- Turkish: Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- United: Bilt, Chase, Marriott
Let me know if you book!
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Flight Experience
On these routes, the business class cabin will be arranged in a 1-2-1 layout so each seat will have direct aisle access and is lie-flat. Personally, I prefer United's food and beverage offering in their Polaris Lounges to the inflight options so I'd make time for a meal.
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Available Dates
SFO-KIX
August: 16-19, 21, 22, 24, 26-30
September: 4, 6, 7, 13, 14
SFO-HND
August: 16-18, 21, 22, 24, 29
SFO-NRT
August: 16-24, 29
NRT-SFO
August: 23
September: 4
IAH-NRT
August: 16-18, 20-24, 28, 29
September: 4
ORD-HND
August: 17-24
September: 3
IAD-HND
August: 16-18, 20-25, 28-30
September: 4, 5, 11
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Best Ways To Book
You can potentially include connections to other destinations in Asia but the rates might increase, especially if you want to visit Southeast Asia.
Turkish: Best One-Way Option
If you have Bilt, Capital One, or Citi points, Turkish is a great way to book at 67,500 miles one-way. While Turkish typically passes on surcharges, there aren't surcharges on this one.
If you can find award space on United within the US, connections will not increase the award rate.
As is often the case, Turkish's online search doesn't show space so you'll have to call to book.
Aeroplan: Great For A Stopover On A One-way
Aeroplan is a solid option at 75,000 points one-way if you have Amex or Chase points. Additionally, you can include a stopover on a one-way award for only 5,000 additional miles. Just remember that the award rate will increase if your trip exceeds 7,500 flight miles.
You can use GCmap to calculate your total flight distance and double-check Aeroplan's zone-based chart. You can also include a stopover for 5,000 additional miles.
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How To Book
If you don't know the exact dates you want to fly, keep things simple and use United's calendar search option.
- From United's homepage, select Advanced search
- Choose to show price in miles
- Select Roundtrip or One-way
- Enter the origin & destination
- Select Nonstop only (if you don't need a connection)
- Select the number of passengers
- Select your dates or choose Flexible dates and choose a month
- Select Business
- Run the search
- If booking with another Star Alliance partner, confirm space by searching with that program
- Transfer points (if necessary)
- Log into your account
- Run the search again
- Complete the booking
Once you know the exact dates you want, you can run the search with the program you'll be using to book. As always, I recommend confirming the program you're using sees the award space before you transfer points.
If you're booking with Turkish, I would call (800-874-8875) to put the award on hold before transferring points.
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Final Thoughts
There's still time to catch a baseball game if you visit Japan this summer and I highly recommend it. If that's not your cup of tea, there's tons to do in Tokyo and Kyoto plus plenty more throughout the country.
Happy booking!
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