OneMoreDay previously reported that AA had released quite a few summer peak-season award tickets to and from Shanghai, first come, first served! Unfortunately, at that time only travelers heading to Shanghai could benefit. Now there’s good news for those based in Beijing too: AA’s Dallas–Beijing route has also released a huge number of business class award seats!
Here are the available nonstop return-to-Beijing dates during the peak May–June period:
Plenty of date options, right? Here’s the highlight: the screenshot above was searched for six passengers! So it’s no exaggeration to say AA released award space in bulk. If you search for two passengers, there are even more available dates:
By July and August, even weekends are available too (for two passengers):
Available dates continue all the way into mid-November, so keep an eye out if you need this route.
What about the return? Below are the available May dates for the Beijing–Dallas direction (for two passengers):
This is especially great for parents coming to attend graduation ceremonies, or for people visiting during the May Day holiday.
What about August, the super-peak season for students returning to the U.S.? Here are the dates for two passengers:
People living in Beijing are really lucky this time T_T. Also, AA is using its newest Boeing 787-8 on the Beijing–Dallas route. This is the same aircraft type used on the Los Angeles–Shanghai route. It has 28 business class seats, and on many dates AA released 7 business class award seats. The 1-2-1 reverse herringbone fully flat configuration is quite solid hardware-wise. Below are photos of AA’s 787 business class seats, from aa.com:
So how do you search and book these tickets? chanye previously wrote a very good introductory article on this topic: American Airlines Miles Guide (2) - Redeeming Miles (Beginner Edition).
Because AA miles will be devalued starting March 22, one-way business class between China and the U.S. will increase from 55,000 to 70,000 miles. So if you need these tickets, remember to redeem before the devaluation. If you live in Beijing but your base is not Dallas, don’t worry either. Since Dallas is a major AA hub, you can search directly on AA’s website for tickets from your base city to Beijing. Since AA tends to release award space in waves, if you miss this round, the next one might come only after the devaluation. If your plans are uncertain, you can choose to place the ticket on Hold first and issue it later. If you have a Citi AA credit card or a Barclays AA Aviator credit card, your award redemption will also come with a 10% rebate, with a rebate cap of 10,000 miles per year.
If you need these tickets, act fast. The earlier you book, the more dates you can choose from. Although AA has released a huge number of award seats this time, they are very easy to book online without calling, and as March 22 approaches, many AA miles holders will be increasingly eager to burn their miles before the devaluation. Competition on this route is likely to be fierce.
The good news is that whether it was this Dallas–Beijing route or the earlier Los Angeles/Chicago–Shanghai routes, this blog was among the first to spot the award space. For the Shanghai seats, major North American blogs posted the news a day later, and as of publication, there was still nothing about this on boardingarea (though they did post about a large amount of award space to Europe). So subscribers to this blog can get the most timely and accurate information on AA long-haul transpacific award space and book early. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can enter your email in the right-hand sidebar on the homepage to receive new posts directly in your inbox, or subscribe to the WeChat public account uscreditcards101.