Act Fast: Business Class Los Angeles to China $1,489 for Round Trip

Posted By Stephen Hoechst on May 29, 2019 | 2 comments

Hainan’s 787-9 Business Class (courtesy of BusinessTraveller.com)

Today, we’ve got a hot deal for you from the West Coast to China. This deal comes to us courtesy of Chinese carrier and Alaska Air partner, Hainan Airlines.

For less than $1,500, you can spend 30 hours in a flat bed. If you’re going to spend that much time crossing the Pacific anyway, you might as well do it in style.

The Deals

Hainan is currently offering business class fares from Los Angeles to several Chinese cities for $1,600. For the best deals though, you’ll want to fly to Beijing or Shanghai.

• Los Angeles to Beijing $1,489
• Los Angeles to Shanghai $1,489
• Los Angeles to Guangzhou $1,619
• Los Angeles to Shenzhen $1,619

The Dates

Currently, availability is wide open on these routes from late August through the end of 2019. In addition, there is no minimum required stay, so you could even hop over to China for a long weekend if you wanted. These deals also include travel around several holidays including Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

If you’re short on time off, there’s an adventurous option that could work out for you. Labor Day Weekend, you could fly out Thursday or Friday morning and still be back for work on Tuesday. Exhausting? Maybe, but 48-72 hours in Beijing sounds a lot better than 0 hours in Beijing. Plus, traveling on Hainan’s 787s in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone business class makes it much more palatable.

How to Book

To start out, head on over to Google Flights to find the dates that work best with your schedule. The best fares you’ll see on there are $1,609. These deals are also bookable directly with Hainan for the same rate. However, you’re able to save another $100 by using Skyscanner.  To do this, head on over to Skyscanner and plug in the dates you found using Google Flights. You should see a new lowest rate of $1,489.

If you need a little more time to make a decision, you can book with an online travel agency such as Orbitz, Travelocity, or Amex Travel. While it will cost you  a little more (~$100), these sites will allow you to cancel your flights for a full refund within 24 hours. Just make sure to verify that you’re using the US version of the site and that a message like the one below appears during the booking process.

Some OTAs will give you the option to book risk-free and cancel within 24 hours (Amex Travel pictured)

Where to Credit These Flights

These business class flights with Hainan book into the I fare class for the long-haul segments, while the short connecting segments book into the C fare class.

Crediting these flights to Alaska Air’s Mileage Plan would earn 200% of the mileage flown for the long-haul segments, while the connecting segments would earn a whopping 350% of mileage flown.

Using the Los Angeles to Beijing as an example, your estimated mileage earning would look like this:

• Los Angeles (LAX) to Xi’an (XIY) in I: 6,826 miles flown (13,652 miles earned)
• Xi’an (XIY) to Beijing (PEK) in C: 581 miles flown (2,034 miles earned)
• Beijing (PEK) to Xi’an (XIY) in C: 581 miles flown (2,034 miles earned)
• Xi’an (XIY) to Los Angeles (LAX) in I: 6,826 miles flown (13,652 miles earned)

Without factoring in any elite bonuses, you’re already looking at earning an estimated 31,372 miles. If you hold Alaska’s top MVP Gold 75K status, you’d earn an additional 18,518 miles. That would bring your earning potential to nearly 50,000 miles earned for one trip. That’s enough for a one way business class ticket to Asia on Cathay Pacific!

Good luck booking and leave any questions in the comments!