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Update 2/23: As of this morning, this is effectively sold out. I was only able to find two days at 75K for the rest of the year.
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There’s not a plethora of options for flying business class non-stop between the US and Taiwan. So, in early 2023, when Alaska Airlines and Taipei-based Starlux Airlines announced their intention to partner with reciprocal mileage earning and award redemptions, folks were cautiously excited to see what would develop. Initially, Starlux planned to fly an A350 between Taipei (TPE) and Los Angeles (LAX), with TPE-San Francisco soon to follow.
When Alaska and Starlux launched their partnership later in the year, Mileage Plan said that its members would be able to redeem their miles at an initial promotional rate of 60K miles in business and 20K in economy…a great price for an excellent way to get to East/Southest Asia. That got people excited…so much so that the “promotional” awards sold out much faster than Alaska was expecting, and most folks never even got a sniff.
Since then, there hasn’t been much in the way of saver availability for Starlux via Mileage Plan. Instead, we’ve seen months and months of non-saver availability, which Alaska prices at a whopping 165K miles each way.
All of a sudden, there’s quite a bit of Starlux business class saver space that’s been released between San Francisco and Taipei over this Spring and early Summer. The best months are April and June, with a much more palatable price of 75K Mileage Plan miles each way. Most dates currently have at least two seats available, but that probably won’t last long.
The Deal
- Starlux business class saver awards from San Francisco to Taipei are available via Alaska Mileage Plan for many dates this Spring
- Saver price is 75K miles each way.
- Best months for availability are April and June, but there are scattered dates in March, May and July as well.
- Many dates have 2+ seats available.
Quick Thoughts
Starlux is a Taiwan-based airline that was founded in 2018 and began operations in 2020, a tricky time to start a new travel company, to say the least. Despite the poor timing, it has garnered quite positive reviews for both its hard and soft product. The airline now operates two long-haul routes, flying A350s nonstop between Taipei and both LA and San Francisco.
We’ve seen hardly any saver availability come online since the initial launch of the Alaska/Starlux partnership last year. Suddenly, the SFO-TPE route has multiple seats available throughout the next few months. Although 75K isn’t as sweet as the initial 60K promotional rate, 75K + $19 for a non-stop flight between the US and Taiwan on an appealing business class product is a good price and will be tempting for many.
As of this writing, here’s what was available in April and June for 2 passengers:
There are a smattering of dates in February, March, May and early-July as well, but none of them have anything approaching what we’re seeing during the other two months.
This space most likely won’t last long, so if it fits into your travel plans, I’d book now and ask questions later.
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Can someone please confirm if we could transfer partner airline miles (say BA, Cathay, etc, ie those in OneWorld) to Alaska and book Starlux that way? I have not seen anyone discussing this – everyone seems to say buy Alaska miles or redeem Alaska miles (which i dont have) and book that way. Thank you!
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to miles between airline rewards programs. You can transfer from bank currencies, like Amex Membership Rewards, to airlines, but once they’re in the program, they’re fixed.
When I was searching I only saw 1 business seats per day, but April did have 2+ business seats. Was anyone able to book 2+ business class for SFO-TPE?
Back up to 165
“Starlux Business Class awards available to Taiwan for 75K each way”
Taiwan and what? To/from where? The title should specify.
Typical clickbait title. I’m not surprised.
There’s a few words underneath the title that may or may not answer those queries.
Clickbait ….this is the last site that needs to clickbait ….that’s why you got 16 down arrows
So if I have Chase UR or Amex MR, I’m out of luck?
Pretty much, unless if you want to buy MileagePlan miles.
Yep, didn’t last long. June all gone for 2 pax. April still wide open.
Any other airlines with reasonably good availability/pricing on awards to Asia from the US right now? This certainly qualifies but without transferrable currencies difficult to build up Alaska miles.
Right there with you. I have UR and MR and I can’t seem to find decent business class seats. Looking for second half of April.
BR (book with BR) and CI (book with AF), though note that neither allows Mainland PRC passport holders to transit TPE when departing PRC (unless they have the transit permit that they almost assuredly don’t).
What is BR(book with BR)?
EVA (use EVA miles for much better availability than they make available to partners).