When most people plan a trip to Asia, they often visit famous tourist destinations such as Tokyo, Seoul or Hong Kong. However, there is an often forgotten destination that can match these famous cities: Taipei.
Earlier this week, the Taiwanese government opened its borders to international visitors and ended the strict quarantine after two and a half years.
Fortunately, there are many entrepreneurial awards available to Star Alliance members Eva gas between the US and Taipei.
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Airlines: Eva gas.
Routes: The best place is from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE). There are also some decent availability from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
Cost: 75,000 won Air Canada Aeroplan points, 85,000 won Avianca LifeMiles or 88,000 won United MileagePlus miles (plus taxes and minimum fees).
Day: Availability is best between July and September 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.
Sample journey
As mentioned above, the best award is available outside of Los Angeles. There are weeks where there is an award space of five days or more.
There is also a pretty good awarding space outside of San Francisco.
Finally, there are days outside of Chicago. While there aren’t as many accolades as from the West Coast, there are still plenty.
Best of all, there are at least two business class seats that can be booked at this price on some days.
Related: 7 reasons EVA Air is the most overlooked business class option across the Pacific
How to set
Since EVA Air is a member of Star Alliance, there are many ways to reserve these seats. My favorite way is to book in advance Air Canada Aeroplan Program. Aeroplan only charges 75,000 points for a one-way business class seat to Asia.
Another option is to book through Program Avianca LifeMiles. Unfortunately, LifeMiles recently had a Discounts on Asia Business Level Awards. In a nutshell, Avianca currently charges 85,000 miles to book a one-way Star Alliance business class seat to Asia.
Finally, you can also book these seats through United MileagePlus. United charges 88,000 one-way business class miles from the United States to Taiwan for Star Alliance partners.
Related: The best sites to search for Star Alliance awards are available
Earn points or miles for this award ticket
Earning Aeroplan points is quite simple because you can transfer rewards in a 1:1 word ratio Rewards for American Express members, Bilt Rewards, Capitalize one and Chase the ultimate reward. You can also transfer points from Marriott Bonvoy at a ratio of 3:1, with a bonus of 5,000 points for every 60,000 Marriott points you transfer.
Earning Avianca LifeMiles is also relatively easy as you can transfer rewards in a 1:1 word ratio Rewards for American Express members, Capitalize one and Citi Thank You Rewards. You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points in a 3:1 ratio and you will get a 5,000 miles bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points you transfer.
Earning United miles is also simple, as you can transfer mileage from Chase the ultimate reward and Marriott Bonvoy to United MileagePlus. You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to United at a 1:1 ratio with a minimum transfer of 1,000 miles. Marriott Bonvoy’s transfer score to United at 3:1.1 is slightly higher due to United and Marriott’s RewardsPlus collaborate. You will also receive the same 5,000 miles bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer. This means that 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points is equivalent to 27,000 miles.
However, before transferring rewards, check to see if you can expect the transfer to happen instantly. Here are the transfer times for each of the major transferable currencies:
Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable points
Key point
With Taiwan finally opening up, now is a great time to start planning a trip to an often forgotten destination. There are plenty of business class award spaces available from major US hubs. You’ll likely get the best value when you book through Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles or United MileagePlus.
