On a recent trip to Tokyo I ended up initially booking an economy flight with Finnair. However, I was surprised to see that I was able to upgrade from economy to business for only €350! That was definitely too good to pass up on, especially since I had been looking forward to try Finnair’s new “non-reclining” business class seats.

With great fanfare, SAS opened a new route from CPH to JFK and I was able to snag a seat in business class on their opening night. This route is part of SAS’ new strategy of flying more point-to-point routes to the US with their smaller A321LR (Long Range). They use this plane on routes from Gothenburg and Aalborg to Newark as well as on several routes from the Nordics to Washington DC and Toronto. The aircraft offers a full 3 class configuration even though it’s a relatively small single aisle aircraft. This has some pros and cons as you will see in this review.

One of the best ways of booking your perfect award trip is to plan far in advance. While most airlines continuously release new award seats throughout the year, it’s always best to book as soon as you have set dates for your trip. Additionally, most loyalty programs are quite flexible when it comes to award bookings, often allowing you to cancel them with minimal fees. It’s better to have a ticket booked than to leave points idling in your account.

One of the great perks of having Oneworld Emerald status it that gives you access to many great first class lounges around the world. Prior to a late evening Finnair departure out of Haneda I was able to enjoy a couple of hours in the JAL First Class lounge at Haneda (HND) in Tokyo.

After having recently acquired my SkyTeam Elite Plus status, through the Delta Skymiles status-match program (matching my BA Executive Gold), I was looking forward to try my first long-haul SkyTeam flight onboard Taiwan’s state-owned carrier. A long 13.5 hour flight from Amsterdam (AMS) to Taipei Taoyuan (TPE) and then connecting onwards to Tokyo.

SAS recently announced the launch of their second route between Copenhagen and New York flying to JFK. We’ve been eagerly awaiting to see what will happen to the award space on this route. The wait is over and as of today the award space is wide open!

Earlier this year I was trying to book a flight from Miami to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I was checking AwardFares for seats available using my SAS EuroBonus points. I saw two seats available in Business Class with Copa Airlines, and I booked them right away.

After many cancellations and with the latest crunch on Eurobonus award seats to the US this trip was close to not being possible at all. But as luck would have it Austrian had some availability in business class on one of their shorter long haul routes to Montreal. I had not heard much about this airline’s business class service so my expectations were not very high, but I was happy to find they were greatly surpassed!

Most of far East Asia is unfortunately still closed (Taiwan, Japan, China). However, South Korea is open, and fairly easy to visit now. Before your trip, make sure you apply for your K-ETA online. As of August 2022, you also need a pre-departure COVID test (PCR max 2 days before, or Antigen max 1 day before your flight). You’ll also want to apply for a Q-code online (so that you don’t have to fill out the health declaration by hand). At this time, you also have to take an arrival PCR test. Be sure to make a reservation in advance (read more about that below).

Singapore Airlines (SQ) is a great airline and serves as a major hub in Asia, serving North America, Europe, and Oceania. Finding award redemptions has always been tricky, but since the start of the COVID pandemic, redeeming award flights on Singapore Airlines through partner programs has become even more difficult and with many restrictions.

After a long break during the COVID-19 pandemic, THAI First Class redemptions are finally back to an increasing number of routes. The first route to receive First Class was the London route, back in April of 2022. Now, Tokyo is also available, and Osaka is coming in September 2022.