AA Business Class Award Space to Europe, South America, & Asia

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It appears American Airlines has released batches of Business Class award space to Europe, South America, and Asia. This is news because American Airlines doesn’t normally have so much premium cabin SAAver level award space, and in regards to the European award space, the majority of the other award space bookable with American Airlines miles to Europe is on British Airways which incurs ridiculously expensive fuel surcharges.

I would act quickly if you want to book this any of this award space as it is already drying up and won’t last much longer.

Product

To see what kind of Business Class seat the plane has, check the aircraft type by clicking the Aircraft type link (on the flight schedule results page when you click a specific day from the calendar and then click Flight Details).

The pop-up lists American Airlines’ planes and the seat pitch of each class on each type of plane.

The example above is for Miami to Rio de Janeiro, which has angled lie-flat Business seats.

Award Space

From what I checked, I can see Business Class award space availability from cities across the United States to London, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, Santiago, and Rio de Janeiro throughout random times of the year (specific dates are below).

I chose American Airlines only flights in the Advanced search options when look at award space to Europe to eliminate any British Airways results which incur high fuel surcharges and Finnair award space which is often phantom.

I also isolated direct flights in my search results, to eliminate the number of connections necessary (in case you need to add another American or Alaska flight from your hometown– see the Connections section of this post below). To do this, on the left side of the search results page that displays the calendar, check “Non-stop only” in the drop-down menu next to Number of Stops:

All of the following calendars show award space for two travelers.

Chicago to Paris

The second of October and the seventh of November also have flights with Business Class SAAVer space for two travelers.

Raleigh to London

There are random dates available before, but the award calendar starts to open up for two travelers in January.

**Pro tip: If you decide to take advantage of award space to Europe, I would avoid returning to the United States from London. London airports charge big departures taxes. Do an open jaw and see two or more cities in Europe and start the return on the continent in a low tax country like Helsinki to save yourself extra cash and enhance your trip.**

Los Angeles to Tokyo

Dallas to Beijing

Miami to Santiago

Miami to Rio de Janeiro

There are other routes with availability as well. Try..

• Los Angeles to Rome
• Chicago to Tokyo
• Chicago to Beijing
• Dallas to Rio de Janeiro
• Miami to Rio

Connections

If you don’t live in any of the cities mentioned above, you can still take advantage of this space. The cities are hubs for American Airlines with flights to most of the country. You can tack on economy, Business, or First Class Saver award space on American or Alaska to these international flights for zero extra miles.

On the other end, if you don’t to go to the specific destinations in Europe, Asia, or South America, remember you can always tack on a Saver level award flight one a oneworld partner to elsewhere in the region for no extra miles.

For a refresher on AAdvantage award routing rules, check out Redeem American Airlines Miles: Part 4, Award Rules & How Many Miles You Need.

Booking the Award

You can search for award space and book these awards right on aa.com.

Best card to pay for taxes and fuel surcharges?

• If you care more about earning rewards, check out the Best Credit Card to Buy Airfare.
• If you care more about travel insurance, check out our post that goes over the travel protection benefits of nine popular travel rewards cards.

Bottom Line

If you’ve got AAdvantage miles you’ve been saving, book your trip to Europe, Asia, or South America in American Airlines Business Class now. The cheapest level award space–SAAver level–is typically not so available in a premium cabin.

Hat tip Frequent Miler