Trade Alert: Air Tahiti’s business class award space is extensive for French Polynesia

French Polynesia – which includes the sought-after islands of Tahiti and Bora Bora – is known for its stunning landscapes, great beaches and fabulous resorts. However, finding reasonably priced, open prizes is difficult, especially in premium cabins.

But if you act fast, you can arrive at your bucket list destination of French Polynesia in style. Currently, Air Tahiti’s business class has large availability, including direct flights from Los Angeles and Seattle. This award space was first reported by AwardWallet.

Let’s take a look at the open prize space and how to reserve by points and miles.

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Airlines: Air Tahiti Nui.

Routes: Best availability is from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Tahiti International Airport (PPT). You can connect from other airports if bonus space allows.

Cost: 60,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles or 80,000 American Atensage miles, plus minimum taxes and fees.

Day: Availability is best until the end of March 2023.

Pay taxes/fees by: Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar for airline tickets booked directly with the airline; up to $500,000 for these purchases per calendar year), Chase Sapphire Reserve® (3 points per dollar for travel) or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (2 points per dollar of travel) for bonus flight travel protections.

Related: Best ways to get to Tahiti using points and miles

Sample journey

The best availability is from Seattle. I find that many flights have up to four business class bonus seats.

There were also plenty of vacancies from Los Angeles, though I couldn’t find room for more than two people at a time.

There is also a rich award-winning space from San Francisco.

Of course, you can also connect to these flights without additional miles if you book with Alaska Airlines’ Sectional Plan or American Airlines’ AAdvantage. For example, this journey from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Tahiti is in the same 60,000 Alaska miles, and the DEN to PPT leg is Alaska domestic first class.

The two best ways to book these seats are through Alaska Airlines Mileage Package and American Airlines A Pros.

Alaska Mileage Plan charges 60,000 miles for Air Tahiti Nui one-way business class from the United States to Tahiti. Alaska also allows free stops on their one-way award ticket, so you can have Tahiti as your stopover if you want to visit Australia or elsewhere in the South Pacific.

Another option is to book through the American Airlines AAdvantage program. American AAdvantage charges 80,000 miles for Air Tahiti Nui one-way business class.

Related: Maximize stops and expand for award tickets

Earn miles for this award ticket

Alaska Miles are relatively hard to earn as they are non-transferable from programs like Rewards for American Express members or Chase the ultimate reward.

One of the best ways to earn Alaska miles is through Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Card. This card currently offers an enhanced welcome bonus of 70,000 Alaska miles after you spend $4,000 in the first three months of account opening.

Meanwhile, AAdvantage miles are significantly easier to earn due to the number of branded credit cards. There are four Citi American Airlines credit cards with different sign-up bonuses and earning structures:

You can also transfer Bilt Rewards pointing to AAdvantage with a 1:1 transmission ratio.

Related: 6 sweet spots in the best airline awards rankings

Don’t forget to use your credit card when buying airline tickets to pay taxes and fees. This includes tags like Platinum Card® from American Express (5 times on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel), Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express® Gold Card, Citi Premier® Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x for all travel purchases). Payment procedures this guide for more on maximizing airfare purchases.