Star Alliance Business Class to Egypt from $1,689
If you have an Amex Platinum or Business Platinum (or a Centurion), you might have seen an Amex Offer for $300 off $1,000+ spent on an Amex Travel booking with the Amex International Airline Program (IAP).
With that in mind, I thought I'd share a business class deal to Egypt with tons of availability that's priced lower than many options to Europe these days.
Now, let's get into it!
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Business class seat on SWISS.
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Straight To The Points
Routes: EWR/JFK/ORD-CAI
Operating airline: Austrian, Lufthansa, SWISS
Class of service: Business class
Dates: June 2022 - April 2023
Seats available: 4+
Aircraft: Varies
Cabin layout: Varies
Book with (per person, round-trip):
- Amex IAP: From $1,989 ($1,689 after the $300 back via Amex Offer)
- Amex Business Platinum (35% rebate): From 129,285 points
- Chase Sapphire Reserve: From 142,198 points
- Chase Sapphire/Ink Preferred: From 170,637 points
- Austrian/Lufthansa/SWISS: From ~$2,150
Don't forget to let me know if you book and how you did it!
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The "throne" seat on SWISS.
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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 and change fees before booking.
Travel Restrictions and Requirements
With travel restrictions changing by the day, please take a look at the US embassy site for your destination. Here's a link to Egypt to get you started.
Flight Experience
Between Austrian, Lufthansa, and SWISS, the business class cabin layouts will vary a bit so keep that in mind when booking.
- Austrian: 1-2-1 (767); 1-2-1/2-2-2 (777)
- Lufthansa 2-2-2 (2-2 on the upper deck of a 747)
- SWISS: 1-2-1/2-2-1
Austrian's catering gets high marks and many love their coffee drinks. SWISS would probably be my second choice. While Lufthansa is fine but not great. However, if you have United PlusPoints, you might want to try for an upgrade to Lufthansa first class.
Please keep in mind that SWISS charges a fee to select "throne" seats prior to check-in unless you have Miles & More Senator or HON Circle status.
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Best Ways To Book
Without the Amex Platinum or Business Platinum, you can find the cash fare at around $2,150. However, if you have either card, the price can drop to as low as $1,989 via the Amex IAP program. Throw in the Amex Offer for $300 off a $1,000+ IAP booking and you can get the price down to $1,689.
I haven't confirmed it, but you might be able to pay with points with the Business Platinum for the 35% rebate and still trigger the Amex Offer to get $300 back. Would love to hear if anyone tries doing so.
If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, booking via the Chase travel portal is still a solid way to book with points.
Google Flights link
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Where To Credit The Flights
These fares will book under P fare class - I would confirm this after booking though. You can use Where To Credit to check which options would earn the most redeemable miles or help you earn elite status.
If you're earning status with Air Canada, United, or another Star Alliance program, you'll probably want to credit these flights to your preferred program.
If you just want to earn redeemable miles, I would consider which airlines are partners with transferable points program such as Amex, Bilt, Brex Capital One, Chase, and Citi. Picking a program that you can easily supplement with points earned from credit cards is ideal in this scenario.
Use GCMap to check the flight distance and calculate redeemable miles.
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Bottom Line
I've really enjoyed both of my trips to Egypt. If you book, I would suggest getting a guide to make the visit easier. I've worked my friend Taha Marie on both of my trips and sent countless STTP members his way. You can reach him on Instagram or via WhatsApp (+20 114 382 5030).
Happy booking!
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