This plane is not American’s 787 or 777-200, it’s a much smaller E-170.
[Deals like this tend to expire quickly so this article may be out of date after February 19, 2016]
Kudos to theflightdeal.com for finding this deal!
American Airlines is offering an excellent deal where you can fly for under $500 from the US to China. American Airlines offers one of my favorite elite programs with perks that include complimentary first class upgrades and reasonable award flight redemption rates. You can credit the flights below to American Airlines’s frequent flier program. In addition, you’ll want to use a credit card–such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Citi Prestige, or the Citi Advantage Preferred–that offers additional points for airfare purchases.
China requirements: You’ll need a visa if you plan to stay in China longer than 72 hours, but this requirement may soon be doubled to 144 hours per the Shaingai Daily.
I used Google Flights to find exact dates and organized the screen shots by departure city. After you find the flight that you want, I recommend booking on Orbitz so you can earn Orbitz Rewards in addition to airline miles.
Beijing (PEK)
- Airline: American Airlines
- Destinations: Chicago (~$473), Los Angeles (~$561), Washington DC ($556), New York ($551)
- Dates: February 2016 – April 2016
- Miles: ORD to PEK is 13,158 miles
- Special requirements: the cheapest fares are widely available during the above dates.
- Other notes: most flights are on American’s new Boeing 787 (wifi available for a fee)
Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission.
Shanghai (PVG)
- Airline: American Airlines
- Destinations: Chicago ($516), Los Angeles ($546), Washington DC ($550), New York ($547)
- Dates: February 2016 – April 2016
- Miles: ORD to PVG is 14,114 miles
- Special requirements: the cheapest fares are widely available during the above dates.
- Other notes: most flights are on American’s older Boeing 777-200 (no wifi)
Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission.
Conclusion
I’ve never been to China but I put a flight on hold for a possible mileage run because these fares are great! American Airlines ends its distanced-based redeemable miles frequent flier program in the second half of 2016 and transitions to a fare-based redeemable miles frequent flier program. This switch is devastating for those of us who fly on cheap fares and it would reduce the number of redeemable miles earned from ~14,000 older the old program to ~3,000 miles. Either way, if you plan to fly to China you’ll want to book quickly.