Singapore Success: How I Got 98% Off a $2,000 Ticket

It has been an adventure over the last couple of weeks and I ran out of time to post a new journal. Now that it’s calmed down, Mardi Gras is over, and we are back on schedule. In the last three weeks a lot has happened. I travelled to Norway and Sweden, had family and friends in town for Mardi Gras, and helped a couple book their honeymoon flights to Italy!

What has likely brought you to this article is something about a business class flight for just a few bucks. The fact is that each of the trans-Atlantic flights from my European trip were done in Business Class, a travel bucket list item for me, and cost me a fraction of what their retail value was. I want to share just how I managed to book these flights that are ticketed at thousands of dollars and give you some insight into how to do it yourself.

The main aspect of this adventure was figuring out how to get to Frankfurt, Germany as that is where my best friend is currently located and where we would begin the trip. I began to search for my trip just as I would for any one of my clients: understanding the partner airlines that fly into Frankfurt from the US. A great tool for this kind of search is the FREE website seats.aero. They constantly update flights from your selected airports and show the points required to book along with the taxes and fees. The free version allows you to search up to 60 days in advance which isn’t ideal but you can use this to gain an understanding as to where to begin your search.

Seats.aero search tool for the flight I booked

Lucky for me, my friend procrastinates and I was looking to book within that 60 day period. I quickly hopped online and began to look for a route to Frankfurt from any of the major airports along the East Coast. I knew that I would need to take a positioning flight in order to find a decent redemption since New Orleans has very few international routes. After some searching and finding a great redemption for business class along with an efficient positioning flight, it was time to book.

The business class flight outbound was on Singapore Airlines but was booked via Air Canada by virtue of a Chase points transfer. Yes, you read that right. I booked a Singapore Airlines business class seat with Chase points. You may be thinking that I spent an absurd amount of points to get this luxurious business class seat; however, I used only 50,000 points! At the time of booking, there was a bonus to transfer to Air Canada who also had the best flight available. The common price for these tickets using points is 60,000 but with a transfer bonus I was able to save the additional 20%. If you have not looked into Air Canada’s partnerships, please do so ASAP, as they are some of the most lucrative. Shortly after booking, I received a Singapore Airlines confirmation number and selected seat 16K (a nice window seat). I was all set to get from JFK to FRA, but I had to get to JFK first. This involved an easy Delta reward redemption flight for only 10,500 SkyMiles to take me from New Orleans to JFK. This was a steal of a redemption on Delta to get me in the perfect position to tackle this once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Singapore Airlines Business Class Cash Price

A few weeks went by and it was time to get in the air. I had no issues with my positioning flight, even though we got delayed 30 minutes. My personal rule of thumb is to give around 5 hours or more of a buffer from a positioning flight to your main leg but it depends on the season. After arriving in JFK, I made a stop in the Air India Lounge by way of the Singapore business class ticket. This lounge has Priority Pass access but with limited space there is often a wait for those trying to access it in this manner. After a few plates of butter chicken and a glass of wine, it was time to board (more on lounges later). 

Upon boarding, one thing was clear, I wouldn’t be hurting for space as this seat was huge. The Singapore business seats are laid out on this Boeing 777-300ER in a 1-2-1 layout. For those who are not familiar, this is essentially two seats in the middle of the aircraft and one on either side aisle. Being in a window seat, I didn’t have a neighbor next to me so I had plenty of privacy. I settled in with a nice glass of champagne from the flight attendant and a warm towel before getting set for 8 hours of airtime.

The product this Asian airline puts together is top notch even though their planes are starting to become a little antiquated. As you can see with some of the controls features, there is some age here as opposed to some of the competitors who have rolled out more advanced technologies. Still, the service on this flight was the best I received anywhere prior on any flight. The flight attendant checked on me to see if there was anything I needed and I of course had to ask for the amenity kit, as it is upon request with Singapore, and another drink. They recently changed their amenity vendor to New York based Le Labo and their updated canvas kit. It was a simple but effective set of products that included lip balm, face mist, and hand cream. I’ve seen so many videos and pictures of people getting an amenity kit, it was fun for it to be my turn.

Shortly after takeoff the crew prepared to serve dinner which began with a salmon salad. The meal quickly progressed to my main course, from the airline’s Book the Cook option, a chili prawn ramen. The food did not disappoint and in fact I asked to try the beef tenderloin as well. After the mains, I had some ice cream and a chocolate cheesecake to wrap up the best airplane food I’ve ever had. I had to wash it all down with their signature drink, the Singapore Sling.

The flight attendant then came around and placed the seat into the lay-flat bed mode. I was looking forward to this the most. As someone who is 6’ 2” tall, I was skeptical of the space I would have to sleep but with a minor bend in my legs, I was quite comfortable. I managed to get a few hours of sleep before the wake up call for the refreshments before landing. I had a small breakfast, just to try the options, and soaked up the last bit of time on this incredible leg of the trip. It is really quite impressive how fast the time goes by when in a seat that is so comfortable and the crew so accommodating. I did not want the flight to be over so fast and would’ve liked to stay on until Singapore!

But at last the plane touched down in Germany and my first lay-flat experience had come to an end. What you may be wondering is what did this flight actually cost? I mentioned in the beginning that I spent 50,000 points, but what about the cash fees to go along with that? For a ticket that had a cash price of nearly $2,100 I only spent $55.29 in taxes. This redemption results in a 4cpp value and I got an even more outrageous redemption on the way home so stay tuned. This was such a cool experience and I want to show you how you can do the same type of trip. If you are someone who wants to travel in luxury for the price of a takeout dinner, let's get in touch.