Tl;dr – Seats.aero adds Copa Connect Miles, Ethiopian ShebaMiles, and Saudia AlFursan to its platform. Here’s a look at some of these programs sweet spots.
When discussing my favorite tools of the points game, I’ve highlighted Seats.aero as a fantastic platform for finding award flights. One of the reasons I enjoy using Seats.aero is that the platform constantly evolves. I’ve been a premium user for a while now, and I’m continually impressed by how the team rolls out new features (such as Rooms.aero) that add value to my membership. Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that Seats.aero has expanded the number of airline loyalty programs it supports, adding Copa ConnectMiles, Ethiopian ShebaMiles, and Saudia AlFrusan.
Where to Find the Values with These Loyalty Programs
These three programs are likely not at the top of the list for points and miles enthusiasts looking to make a savvy redemption, and that’s for good reason. None of these three programs are transfer partners with any of the major banks, though in the case of Copa ConnectMiles and Saudi AlFursan, you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to those programs. Though, of course, that’s at a tough-to-swallow 3:1 ratio. As I’ve mentioned before, there’s sneaky value in many programs, so let’s look at some redemption options across these three programs.
Purchasing miles is the best way to accrue miles quickly in these programs. If you want to take advantage of some of the award redemptions below, I suggest buying miles.
Copa Connect
Let’s start here as this might be the program most are familiar with. Copa is the flagship airline of Panama. I recently spent about a week in Panama exploring some fabulous new hotels (reviews forthcoming). I generally advocate for Panama as a great weekend getaway or a solid one-week excursion for someone looking for a taste of it all; there’s great hiking, nature, wildlife, beaches, water, food, culture, and nightlife. Additionally, Panama City has underrated connectivity and excellent award availability. In the right situation, you could justify a pistop/layover in Panama City (PTY) on your way to Europe. As a member of Star Alliance, you can use Copa ConnectMiles to book flights on Star Alliance’s 24 other member Airlines.
Where can you find some good values with ConnectMiles?
11th-hour flights to Asia—For last-minute fares between the West Coast (or Hawaii) and Asia, I’ve consistently found award seats on routes between the following cities: SFO-SIN, SFO-NRT, SFO-HND, SFO-ICN, and HNL-HND.
Most routes are operated on United Airlines, though you’ll also find some gems on All Nippon Airways planes. What’s great is that the cost of these flights in miles is typically cheaper through Copa Connect than on other popular Star Alliance programs, like Aeroplan and United MileagePlus. You’ll need 75,000 or 80,000 miles when redeeming through Copa versus 100,000 United MileagePlus miles for the same ticket.
Remember that the best deals in buying points will be during an airline’s miles sale. In the case of Copa ConnectMiles, the program has sold miles with a bonus as high as 90%, and this typically happens once a year, sometime in the second half of the year. That might be the ideal time to stock up and stake out a last-minute fare.
To run some numbers. In a no-sale situation, 80,000 ConnectMiles will cost you $2,400. During a 90% bonus sale, you’d need to purchase 43,000 miles (you’d receive another 38,700 with the bonus) for $1290.
For context, this price is ~$2,700 cheaper than the cash fare, even at the 11th hour.
Lay-flat business class for $1290 doesn’t sound too shabby, particularly when the cost of the economy on the very same plane is already $800.
Flights to Dublin—Another suite spot is on flights to Dublin. Leaving out of Newark (EWR), you can fly United Polaris transatlantic to Ireland for 70,000 miles. This is 10,000 fewer miles than you’ll pay on United and Aeroplan. Of course, those miles are much easier to come by; United and Air Canada have bank transfer partners and offer easy-to-get credit cards. That said, if you’re starting from zero and need to purchase points, you’ll pay less to buy the necessary miles required for this fare through Copa ConnectMiles.
Lastly, you can, of course, redeem Copa ConnectMiles for flights operated by Copa. There are some intriguing destinations in South America, particularly if you’re up for the connection in Panama City. If you’re seeking the premium cabin lay-flat experience, you’ll want to pay attention to the aircraft assigned to your fare, as Copa’s lay-flat business class only exists on specific long-haul routes.
Ethiopian ShebaMiles
Ethiopian Airlines, the flag carrier of Ethiopia, offers long-haul business class on three aircraft – Boeing-777, Boeing-787, and the A350. While its Cloud-9 cabins all feature the less-than-ideal 2-2-2 format, the airline provides strong in-cabin service that many travelers have said makes for a pleasant experience. There are some solid redemptions within the ShebaMiles program, mostly on Ethiopian Airlines own planes:
US to Ethiopia—If you’re traveling between the US and Addis Ababa, you can expect to pay 76,000 ShebaMiles for your ~13-hour journey. You can fly from Washington, D.C. (IAD), Newark (EWR), Chicago (ORD), and Atlanta (ATL).
Between Europe and Addis Ababa—You have some compelling options as well. You can enjoy 8-hour lay flat journeys between London Heathrow and Addis Ababa, as well as Stockholm and Addis Ababa – all for just 37,000 ShebaMiles.
Between Asia and Ethiopia—Bangkok (BKK), Hong Kong (HKG), Chengdu (TFU), Beijing (PEK), Guangzhou (CAN), Singapore (SIN), and Seoul (ICN) are all reachable in Ethiopian Airlines business class for just 52,000 ShebaMiles.
What about South America?—It’s tricky to get between South America and other parts of the world that aren’t Europe, North America, or Central America. In business class, 52,000 ShebaMiles is enough to go between Sao Paolo and Ethiopia.
Normally, ShebaMiles are sold for $25 (USD) per 1,000 miles, though if you wait for a sale, you can purchase miles with up to a 60% bonus. Without any bonuses, you’d pay $1300 to fly between Ethiopia and Brazil or the aforementioned Asian cities. You’d need to pony up $1800 to go between the US and Ethiopia. Africa is not the easiest to get to on points from North America, so that is a decent deal in its own right, as cash rates go for $3000 or more.
Of course, if you can buy points on a sale, you can reap even better value, possibly paying as little as ⅓ of the cash rate, which might mirror the price of purchasing an economy ticket. Boom!
I’ve saved the best treat for last. Ethiopian Airlines doesn’t assess fuel surcharges. So, the price you see in miles will be the price you pay. Sign me up.
Saudia AlFursan
Saudia (formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines) is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia. As a member of SkyTeam, you can (in theory) redeem Saudia AlFursan miles for flights on 18 other member airlines. Finding good use of Saudia AlFursan miles wasn’t easy here as the airline charges hefty fuel surcharges on many of its routes, and partner airline award availability isn’t too plentiful. Still, the program is worth investigating as it’s significantly improved over the years. Regarding Gulf carriers, many travelers have pie-in-the-sky thoughts of airlines like Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, and Oman Air. I wouldn’t put Saudia on that level, but the airline has experienced a significant uptick in quality, and as its soon-to-be fellow flag carrier Riyadh Air is planning to bring the noise and funk, there’s pressure even more pressure on Saudia to put its best foot forward. My investigation revealed some solid redemption options, particularly one partner airline gem I was delighted to discover.
First, let’s talk about a pitfall to avoid. Booking Saudia first class on any long-haul route or any business route to/from LHR will come with costly fuel surcharges. You’ll find that other redemption options offer more digestible fees:
Travel between North America and Saudia Arabia—Saudia operates flights between Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), Washington D.C (IAD), Toronto (YYZ) and either Riyadh (RUH) or Jeddah (JED). For the routes between JFK, IAD, YYZ, and RUH or JED, you’ll pay 65,000 AlFrusan miles. The cost of traveling to/from LAX rises to 80,000. The move here is to depart or fly into Toronto. Why? Toronto’s route is exclusively serviced by a 787 Dreamliner, with the 1-2-1 abreast. All the other routes are serviced by a 777 aircraft featuring a 2-2-2 layout. If you’d need to position yourself in one of these cities to fly, opting for the better in-cabin layout is the best option.
Between Saudi Arabia and Asia in Business Class—64,000 AlFursan miles will get you between Jeddah and any of the following Asia cities in business class: Bangkok (BKK), Phuket (HKT), Hong Kong (HKG), Singapore (SIN), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Jakarta (CGK), Manila (MNL), Chengdu (TFU), Beijing-Daxing (PKX), and Guangzhou (CAN).
Between the US and Seoul on Korean Air Business—I was surprised to find that you could book Korean Air business class between the US and Seoul using AlFursan miles. For 96,000 miles, you can fly between Seoul and the following US cities: Seattle (SEA), Chicago (ORD), Atlanta (ATL), and Boston (BOS). That seems promising – but what would it cost you to purchase 96,000 Saudia AlFursan miles?
All Saudia AlFursan members can purchase a maximum of 80,000 miles per year. This is before factoring in any bonuses from sales and promotions. Thus, if you’re starting from zero, even the maximum annual purchase wouldn’t get you enough miles to make this Korean Air redemption when there’s no sale. Additionally, this would cost you SAR (Saudi Riyal) 9000 or ~$2400 USD (at the time of this writing). Given that cash rates for the ICN-SEA route are around $3000, this isn’t that great of value (especially when considering the cost to acquire the additional 16,000 miles). It’s better if you’re eyeing the ICN-BOS or ICN-ATL routes, but this isn’t the outsized value we’re after.
Instead, you’ll want to wait until Saudia puts AlFursan miles on sale. You can usually find a few throughout the year, but the best deal seems to come around Founder’s Day, which is February 22nd every year.
For a few days around then, you can scoop up AlFursan miles with a bonus of between 78% and 90%, which is clutch as it increases the number of miles you can acquire while significantly reducing the per-mile cost. With a 78% purchase bonus, you’ll buy just 54,000 AlFursan miles at a cost of 6075 SAR or $1619.54 USD (at the time of this writing). That’s almost $3000 off the cash rate of the ATL-ICN and BOS-ICN fares, which is a solid deal.
If you’ve been wanting to try Korean Air’s business class service, this could be a more cost-effective option.
Lastly, you’ll be cautious with Saudia AlFursan’s program. Some reviews suggest that the customer service is underwhelming, not too dissimilar from some of the other Gulf carriers (despite offering a strong day of travel experience) and everyone’s favorite Latin American carrier, Avianca. It won’t hurt to have a backup (or a few) redemption options and some willingness to keep calling in if you first don’t succeed.
Conclusion
Seats.aero now supports three more loyalty programs – Copa ConnectMiles, Ethiopian ShebaMiles, and Saudi AlFursan. As these three airlines aren’t transfer partners with any of the major banks, piling up miles in their loyalty programs is more challenging. That said, if you strike when each of these programs sells miles at a bonus (or discount), you just might be able to snag an award fare for outsized value.
