TAP Air Portugal Business Class For 4 (Fall 2022)
Admittedly, I have a bit of an obsession with under-the-radar ways to book award tickets. Today, I want to share a great way to use LifeMiles to book a business class award flight from JFK to Lisbon.
Some of you may know it already, but I bet it'll be a surprise to others. Either way, it's certainly worth a look for your next trip to Europe.
You can, of course, book flights between JFK and Lisbon with other points and there are some other great options.
So, let's get into the details!
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: JFK-LIS
Operating airline: TAP
Class of service: Business class
Dates: October - December 2022
Seats available: 4+
Cabin layout: 1-2-1 (A330); 1-1/2-2 (A321)
Book with (per person, one-way):
- *Air Canada Aeroplan: 60,000 miles
- *ANA Mileage Club: 88,000 miles (round-trip only)
- *Asiana Club: 40,000 miles
- *Avianca LifeMiles: 63,000 miles (35,000 miles JFK-LIS)
- *EVA Infinity MileageLands: 65,000 miles
- *Miles & More: 56,000 miles
- *Singapore KrisFlyer: 72,000 miles
- *Turkish Miles&Smiles: 45,000 miles
- *United MileagePlus: 73,000 miles
*No surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person):
- One-way: $5.60
- Round-trip: ~$53
Aeroplan and LifeMiles have a partner booking fee. The taxes/fees on JFK-LIS with LifeMiles is ~$50 while round-trip is around ~$147.
Bank transfer partners:
- Air Canada Aeroplan: Amex, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- ANA Mileage Club: Amex, Marriott
- Asiana Club: Marriott
- Avianca LifeMiles: Amex, Brex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- EVA Infinity MileageLands: Citi, Capital One
- Singapore KrisFlyer: Amex, Brex, Chase, Citi, Cap One, Marriott
- Turkish Miles&Smiles: Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- United MileagePlus: Chase, Marriott
Don't forget to let me know if you book and how you did it!
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Amex Platinum: Submit Your 150k-Point Referrals
The annual fee might have gone up but there are still two great offers the Amex Platinum. Beyond a huge welcome bonus, you also get tons of lounge access plus an airline fee credit, Uber credits, and more.
There is a 150k welcome offer via referral. I have collected some referrals from readers so email me if you want one. You can also submit your referral here. Please only submit if you have the 150k offer.
Alternatively, there's a welcome offer for 125k points + 10x at US Restaurants for 6 months (up to $25k). This offer is only available via Resy.
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DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that the COVID-19 situation and the resulting travel restrictions could prevent you from traveling. Additionally, please make sure you understand the cancellation/redeposit and change fees required before booking with a particular program.
Travel Restrictions and Requirements
Travel restrictions change by the day. Please take a look at the US embassy site for your destination. Here's a link to the US Embassy site for Portugal.
Flight Experience
TAP Air Portugal has made some significant improvements to its business class product with the launch of the A330-900neo and A321neo. From what I've read, the food won't blow you away but the crews are friendly - not to mention a lie-flat always makes things better!
Flights will be operated by either an A330neo or an A321neo. The A330 has a cabin layout similar to United Polaris while the A321 has a cabin similar to older JetBlue Mint. Check the aircraft before booking so you know what to expect!
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Available Dates
You can find at least 4 seats on the following dates. Some dates have award space for up to 8 people though.
JFK-LIS
October: 5, 8, 9, 15, 17-19, 21, 22, 24-27, 30, 31
November: 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14-17, 19, 21, 23, 25-30
December: 1-6, 23-25, 27, 28, 30, 31
LIS-JFK
October: 10, 11, 14, 16-19, 22, 25, 27
November: 1, 2, 5, 8-12, 15, 16, 19-25, 30
December: 2, 4, 5, 7-9, 11-14,
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Best Ways To Book
If you're booking a non-stop from JFK to Lisbon, 35,000 LifeMiles is easily the best option. It's even better when you consider the fact that you can transfer Amex, Brex, Capital One, and Citi points.
Please remember this rate only works from JFK to Lisbon. It won't work with a connection or from Lisbon to JFK.
If you're short or just prefer to save your transferable points, you can buy LifeMiles with a 145% bonus when you buy at least 51,000 miles. That's about 1.35 cents per miles. Here's more info on that deal.
For the return, 45,000 Turkish miles is the best option if you have Bilt or Citi points. It's also the best option if you need a one-way with a connection on United.
If you're booking a round-trip ticket (with or without a connection), transferring 88,000 Amex points to ANA Mileage Club is a great option.
If you have Amex, Capital One, or Chase points, Aeroplan is another good one-way option at 60,000 points. If you connect within the US or Europe and your total flight distance exceeds 4,000 miles, you'll get bumped up into the next award tier which requires 70,000 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 on a one-way award.
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How To Book
If you're not sure what dates you want, you can use United to search:
- From United's homepage, select Advanced search
- Choose to show price in miles
- Enter the origin & destination
- Select your dates or choose Flexible dates and choose a month
- Select nonstop
- Select the number of passengers
- Select Business
- Show flights from "Star Alliance airlines"
- Run the search
- 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 want to book with Turkish miles, I'd suggest calling (800-874-8875) to put the ticket on hold before transferring points. They'll hold the award space for up to two days, though transfers shouldn't take that long.
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Bottom Line
Admittedly, I love niche booking opportunities that can save a bunch of miles. Of course, a trip to Lisbon is more than
Happy Booking!
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