The Best Ways To Fly to Southeast Asia with Points & Miles [2022]

Whether you’re scheming your next big vacation or passively looking for travel destinations, you are sure to have encountered the picturesque scenery of Southeast Asia.

Perhaps you’ve also seen the amazing and ultra-cheap street food available on the curbs deep within major cities.

Well, exploring the vast depths of Southeast Asia should be on everybody’s bucket list. The diversity, vast culture, phenomenal food, and amazing attractions make it a must-visit.

Southeast Asia hasn’t always been the most accessible travel destination for U.S. citizens. Luckily, we’ve got the inside scoop on the best ways to fly to Southeast Asia with points and miles.

There’s tons of value to be had here, but it’s important to understand the best routes to take en route to Southeast Asia.

There are very few nonstop flights from the U.S., so you’ll most likely have to take a connecting flight to get to your final destination.

For the purposes of our analysis, we’re going to consider Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam as “Southeast Asia.” Notably, we are generally going to be excluding China, Japan, and South Korea (generally known as part of North Asia) and India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka (generally thought of as being part of South Asia).

Let’s get started.

Table of contents

Nonstop Flights Between the U.S. and Southeast Asia
Best Programs To Use To Book Flights
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

Nonstop Flights Between the U.S. and Southeast Asia
Best Programs To Use To Book Flights
Final Thoughts

Nonstop Flights Between the U.S. and Southeast Asia

As we mentioned above, we’ll be strictly including nonstop flights between the U.S. and Southeast Asia, and since the region is generally quite far from the U.S., nonstop flight options are limited.

That being said, check out all of the following foreign airlines with nonstop flights between the U.S. and Southeast Asia:

Cathay Pacific
- Boston (BOS) – Hong Kong (HKG)
- Chicago (ORD) – Hong Kong (HKG)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Hong Kong (HKG)
- New York (JFK) – Hong Kong (HKG)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Hong Kong (HKG)
Philippine Airlines
- Honolulu (HNL) – Manila (MNL)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Cebu (CEB)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Manila (MNL)
- New York (JFK) – Manila (MNL)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Cebu (CEB)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Manila (MNL)
Singapore Airlines
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Singapore (SIN)
- New York (JFK) – Singapore (SIN)
- Newark (EWR) – Singapore (SIN)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Hong Kong (HKG)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Singapore (SIN)
- Seattle (SEA) – Singapore (SIN)

And here are the U.S. airlines offering nonstop flights between the U.S. and Southeast Asia:

American Airlines
- Dallas (DFW) – Hong Kong (HKG)
United Airlines
- Newark (EWR) – Hong Kong (HKG)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Hong Kong (HKG)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Singapore (SIN)

Best Programs To Use To Book Flights

Because of the diverse route network of connecting flights from the U.S. to Southeast Asia, there is an unbelievable number of redemptions you can make to book flights there.

We’ve analyzed all of the booking programs and came up with the top frequent flyer programs to focus on when booking flights.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club

ANA Business Class Seat — Enjoy the comfort of ANA business class. Image Credit: Stephen Au

The first choice to book sweet spots award tickets is using All Nippon Airways’ frequent flyer program, Mileage Club. This loyalty program features astonishingly good redemption rates (especially for business class redemptions), a great set of routing rules, and excellent access to Southeast Asian routes from major U.S. hubs.

ANA has several restrictions on award bookings; namely, you cannot book one-way flights using miles. Depending on which airline you fly, ANA may pass on fuel surcharges as well. Even so, paying a couple of hundred dollars in fuel surcharges is absolutely worth saving tens of thousands of points.

To begin, let’s talk about how ANA prices award tickets. There are 2 award charts:

Cheaper priced ANA-operated flights (subject to seasonality rules)
Higher priced ANA partner flights

Currently, your best options to fly to Southeast Asia would be on ANA-operated flights due to the miles you’ll save.

For example, if you wanted to fly to Indonesia from North America, you’d pay:

100,000 to 115,000 ANA miles for ANA business class through Tokyo (HND or NRT)
136,000 ANA miles for partner business class through Tokyo (HND or NRT)

Because of this large mileage differential, you generally will want to focus on booking ANA business class.

ANA splits its Asia award chart into 2 zones:

Asia 1 (Zone 3) — Guam, Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, the Philippines, Taiwan
Asia 2 (Zone 4) — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Here is the ANA partner award chart:

Departure Point	Class of Service	Asia 1 (Zone 3)	Asia 2 (Zone 4)
North America (Zone 6)	Economy (Y)	60,000	80,000
	Business (C)	95,000	136,000
	First (F)	180.000	240,000

If you fly from North America to the Philippines (which is in Asia 1), you will pay round trip costs of 60,000 miles in economy, 95,000 miles in business, and 180,000 miles in first class.

Compare this to the Asia 1 and Asia 2 award charts for ANA flights from North America:

Departure Point	Class of Service	Low Season	Regular Season	High Season
Asia 1 (Zone 3)	Economy (Y)	45,000	55,000	60,000
	Premium Economy (PY)	66,000	76,000	81,000
	Business (C)	80,000	90,000	95,000
	First (F)	165,000	165,000	180,000
Asia 2 (Zone 4)	Economy (Y)	55,000	65,000	70,000
	Premium Economy (PY)	84,000	94,000	99,000
	Business (C)	100,000	110,000	115,000
	First (F)	195,000	195,000	210,000

As you can see, the range of costs for ANA-operated flights depends on seasonality. Here are the dates that correspond to each seasonality bucket:

Departure and Destination		Asia 1 (Zone 3) or Asia 2 (Zone 4)	North America (Zone 6)
Season	Year	Period
Low	2021	January 5-29, April 1-27, May 10-June 30, December 1-19	January 5-February 28, April 1-27
	2022	January 4-20, April 1-26, May 9-June 30, December 1-18	January 4-February 28, April 1-26
	2023	January 4-12	January 4-February 28
Regular	2021	January 30-March 31, July 1-22, August 23-November 30	March 1-31, May 10-July 22, August 23-December 19
	2022	January 21-March 31, July 1-21, August 22-November 30	March 1-31, May 9-July 21, August 22-December 18
	2023	January 13-March 31	March 1-31
High	2021	January 1-4, April 28-May 9, July 23-August 22, December 20-31	January 1-4, April 28-May 9, July 23-August 22, December 20-31
	2022	January 1-3, April 27-May 8, July 22-August 21, December 19-31	January 1-3, April 27-May 8, July 22-August 21, December 19-31
	2023	January 1-3	January 1-3

To put all these charts together, let’s take an example itinerary.

Suppose you want to fly to Kuala Lumpur in ANA business class and have found award availability on April 22, 2022.

Since this falls under low season and consists wholly of ANA flights, your cost will be 100,000 ANA miles round-trip.

ANA’s mileage scheme is a bit complex, but those who take the time to learn the ins and outs of ANA Mileage Club will reap the rewards of very cheaply priced award flights.

If you’re not willing to fly on ANA business class, check out some other partners that will be useful in planning your Southeast Asia itineraries:

Air China (via Beijing (PEK))
Air India (via Delhi (DEL) or Mumbai (BOM))
Asiana Airlines (via Seoul (ICN))
EVA Air (via Taipei (TPE))
Garuda Indonesia (via Jakarta (CGK) or Bali (DPS)
Philippine Airlines (via Manila (MNL))
Singapore Airlines (via Singapore (SIN), Tokyo (NRT), or Hong Kong (HKG))
THAI Airways (via Bangkok (BKK))
Vietnam Airlines (via Hanoi (HAN) or Ho Chi Minh City (SGN))

By putting all of this knowledge together, let’s talk about some excellent route options you can take:

Houston (IAH) – Tokyo (HND or NRT) – Jakarta (CGK) round-trip in ANA first class, then business class during regular season for 110,000 ANA miles + $291 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Beijing (PEK) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip in Air China and Singapore Airlines first class for 240,000 ANA miles + $256 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Manila (MNL) round-trip in Philippines Airlines business class for 95,000 ANA miles + $246 in taxes and fees
Seattle (SEA) – Taipei (TPE) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) round-trip in EVA Air business class for 136,000 ANA miles + $194 in taxes and fees
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Tokyo (NRT) – Manila (MNL) round-trip in ANA business class during low season for 80,000 ANA miles + $247 in taxes and fees

Hot Tip: You can always add 1 stopover and 1 open-jaw on itineraries booked using ANA miles. Be sure to incorporate this into your trip to visit multiple cities for free!

Here are the steps you can take to begin booking your flights with ANA miles:

If you are searching for flights on Star Alliance partners, you can use ANA’s website directly.
On the right-hand side of the top banner of ANA’s website, click ANA Mileage Club.
Click International on the left-hand side of the following page. Then, click Award Reservation.
Log in with your ANA member number and password.
Type in your cities, travel dates, class of service, number of passengers, and click Search.
Once you’ve found award availability, you’ll want to transfer your points. Be sure to incorporate any transfer times into your booking.
Click on the flights you want.
If searching for award space separately from ANA, such as through ExpertFlyer, you’ll want to call ANA at 800-235-9262 after finding availability for your desired flights.
Confirm your reservation and pay for any taxes and fees.

Earning ANA Mileage Plan Miles

Earning ANA miles is made easy by the fact that it is transfer partners with American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.

You can transfer at a 1:1 ratio from Amex or a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus from Marriott Bonvoy when you transfer 60,000 points.

Transfers from Amex take around 3 business days, while transfers from Marriott take around 7 business days.

Recommended American Express Cards (Personal)

Recommended American Express Cards (Business)

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 Business Class Window Seat. Image Credit: Greg Stone

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is, unsurprisingly, right at the top of our best ways to book travel to Southeast Asia. With amazing airline partners, sweet spot redemptions everywhere, and awesome routing rules, it’s no wonder that it is our highest-value airline mileage currency.

There are a ton of ways to redeem Alaska Airlines miles for huge value, and this one is no exception. The most useful airline partners will be:

Cathay Pacific
Japan Airlines
Korean Air (round-trip flights only)
Hainan Airlines
American Airlines

The best airlines on the list are the first 2, and the award redemption rates are phenomenal. Additionally, you can add on a stopover for free on one-way flights, effectively getting you a free flight!

Fuel surcharges will not be passed on with Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines, which is the icing on the cake. If you’re still hesitating, check out our spectacular experiences in Cathay Pacific first class and Japan Airlines first class.

Here are some example routes you can take to Southeast Asia using Alaska Airlines miles:

Boston (BOS) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Surabaya (SUB) one-way in Cathay Pacific first class and Cathay Pacific business class for 70,000 Alaska Airlines miles + $55 in taxes and fees
Chicago (ORD) – Tokyo (NRT) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) one-way in Japan Airlines first class and Japan Airlines business class (Sky Suites III) for 75,000 Alaska Airlines miles + $53 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) one-way in Cathay Pacific business class for 50,000 Alaska Airlines miles + $58 in taxes and fees
Seattle (SEA) – Tokyo (NRT) – Bangkok (BKK) one-way in Japan Airlines business class for 65,000 Alaska Airlines miles + $54 in taxes and fees

If you’re ready to book using Alaska miles, here’s a step-by-step guide:

Visit Alaska Airlines’ website.
- You can’t search Cathay Pacific or LATAM using Alaska Airlines’ website. Instead, visit British Airways and search from there.
There will be a search box on the homepage. Check off the box that says Use Miles. Check off the box that says Multi-city if you’re going to add stopovers or open jaws.
Type in your search criteria, which includes dates, destination and origin cities, number of passengers, and trip type (one-way or not).
Select the best flights for your situation and checkout by spending your Alaska miles and paying for taxes and fees.
- If you’re booking Cathay Pacific, you’ll need to call Alaska Airlines at 800-252-7522 and give them the flight numbers, dates, and other information.
Choose the best seats in advance by using your airline record locator (not Alaska Airlines’ record locator!).

Earning Alaska Airlines Miles

There are several ways to earn Alaska miles.

Alaska Airlines’ singular transfer partner is Marriott Bonvoy, but there are tons of other ways to get your hands on Alaska miles, including using the co-branded Bank of America credit cards and purchasing miles during sales.

You can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred to Alaska Airlines. Transfers from Marriott Bonvoy take around 3 business days to process.

Since the best way is arguably transferring from Marriott Bonvoy, we’ve also written a guide on the best ways to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.

Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards

Bottom Line: In all, Alaska Airlines is a gem when booking flights to Asia. Whether it’s the numerous airline partners with sensational premium cabin products, the awesome mileage price, generous stopover and open-jaw policy on one-way awards, absence of fuel surcharges, or easy booking process, Alaska Airlines should be on your radar when booking flights to Southeast Asia with points.

American Airlines AAdvantage

Japan Airlines 777 First Class Seat — Measuring 33 inches wide, the Japan Airlines 777 first class seat will give you more space than you know what to do with! Image Credit: Stephen Au

American Airlines belongs to the Oneworld alliance. Notable Asian partners include Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines. By strategically leveraging these partners, you’ll be able to piece together an itinerary to Southeast Asia much quicker than usual.

Here are the one-way mileage costs on partner flights between the U.S. and Southeast Asia (in American’s Asia Region 2) using AA miles:

Class of Service	American AAdvantage Miles Cost
Economy	37,500
Business	70,000
First	110,000

American Airlines AAdvantage does not allow stopovers or open-jaws on award tickets. If you want to stopover in a certain country, you’ll need to pay the mileage price for each individual segment.

For example, if you wanted to fly on Japan Airlines business class from the U.S. to Japan followed by another flight several days or weeks later to Southeast Asia, you’ll need to pay 60,000 AA miles for the first segment and another 30,000 AA miles for the second segment.

Neither Cathay Pacific (based in Hong Kong) nor Japan Airlines (based in Tokyo) offers first class flights from their hub airports to destinations in Southeast Asia, so your connecting segment to your final destination in Southeast Asia will, at best, be in business class.

Remember also that American Airlines allows only transpacific routes from the U.S. to Southeast Asia, so you won’t be able to fly the “long way” across the Atlantic to get to Southeast Asia.

Here are some great example routes you can take while trying 2 distinct premium cabin products:

Dallas (DFW) – Tokyo (NRT) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) one-way on Japan Airlines business class and Malaysia Airlines business class for 70,000 AAdvantage miles + $20 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo (NRT) – Hanoi (HAN) one-way on Japan Airlines first class and business class for 110,000 AAdvantage miles + $20 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Bali (DPS) one-way on Cathay Pacific first class and Cathay Pacific business class for 110,000 AAdvantage miles + $32 in taxes and fees

To begin using AAdvantage miles for Southeast Asia travel, follow this procedure:

Locate award availability by searching on British Airways (alternatives include Qantas or American Airlines if British Airways doesn’t work).
Log into British Airways by typing in your Executive Club member number and password on the top-left side of the page. Click Login.
Type in your travel route, travel dates, class of service, and the number of passengers.
Write down the flight information for the flights you want to reserve.
Call AAdvantage at 800-882-8880.
Give them your flight information, including the number of passengers and cabin class you want to book.
Provide any additional information and pay with AAdvantage miles and a credit card for taxes and fees.

Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

There are 2 main ways to earn AAdvantage miles from credit cards:

Citi or Barclays co-branded AAdvantage cards
Marriott Bonvoy transfers

Besides this, there are a lot of other ways to earn a lot of American Airlines miles.

Marriott Bonvoy transfers to AAdvantage at a 3:1 ratio, and tansfers take around 2 business days to complete.

Bottom Line: The possibilities with AAdvantage are honestly limitless. While you can’t add stopovers and open jaws to your AAdvantage reservation to Southeast Asia, we believe the best utilization of your American Airlines miles is in business class. First class is significantly more expensive, and there aren’t many itineraries deep into Southeast Asia wholly in first class.

Air Canada Aeroplan

A comfortable lie-flat seat, fantastic food and beverage offerings, and even pajamas are what you can expect in EVA Air business class. Image Credit: EVA Air

Air Canada Aeroplan is a fantastic frequent flyer program to use! Over the years, it has maintained great redemption prices, consistent airline policies, and a streamlined booking process.

Redeeming Aeroplan points is possible on Star Alliance flights, along with select Air Creebec, Bearskin Airlines, Calm Air, Canadian North, Cathay Pacific, First Air, GOL Airlines, Middle East Airlines, and Olympic Air flights.

Here are some notable pros of using Aeroplan:

No close-in award booking fees
No fuel surcharges
1 stopover allowed for 5,000 points extra, even on one-way flights
Great prices for business class itineraries
Excellent access to Asia with the partner network

Here are the mileage prices for flights to/from North America and Southeast Asia:

Distance (Miles)	Operated By	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First
7,501 to 11,000	Air Canada	50,000 to 90,000	70,000 to 160,000	85,000 to 200,000	130,00 to 300,000
7,501 to 11,000	Partner Airlines	60,000		85,000	130,000

Here are some cool sample routes you can take:

Chicago (ORD) – New Delhi (DEL) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in Air India business class with a stopover in India for 90,000 Aeroplan points + $42 in taxes and fees
Houston (IAH) – Taipei (TPE) – Hanoi (HAN) one-way in EVA Air business class with a stopover in Taipei for 90,000 Aeroplan points + $42 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Beijing (PEK) – Bangkok (BKK) one-way in Air China business class with a stopover in Beijing for 90,000 Aeroplan points + $42 in taxes and fees
San Francisco (SFO) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in United economy class with a stopover in Hong Kong for 65,000 Aeroplan points + $42 in taxes and fees
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Tokyo (NRT) – Da Nang (DAD) one-way in ANA first class and business class with a stopover in Tokyo for 135,000 Aeroplan points + $42 in taxes and fees

As you can imagine, there’s a huge list of possible routes you can take. Here are the steps you’ll take to book using Aeroplan points:

Visit Air Canada Aeroplan.
Click Log in on the top-right corner of the homepage. Type your Aeroplan number followed by your password. Click Enter to log in.
On the homepage, toggle the slider bar that says Points within the main search box.
Fill in the search details, including travel date(s), trip type (one-way, round trip, or multi-city), destination and origin cities, and the number of travelers.
Perform the search and find the flights you want to book. Complete the booking by redeeming your Aeroplan points and paying for taxes and fees.
- If you have searched segment-by-segment and want to book a stopover, call Aeroplan to complete your booking at 800-361-5373.

Earning Air Canada Aeroplan Points

It’s extremely easy to earn lots of Aeroplan points with 4 transfer partners in American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Capital One, and Chase all transfer at a 1:1 ratio almost instantly.

On the other hand, Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio and takes around 4 business days. Also, for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred to Aeroplan, you’ll get a bonus of 5,000 Aeroplan points.

Recommended Capital One Cards

United MileagePlus

United New Polaris — Traveling in business class is one of the best ways to maximize your frequent flyer awards. Image Credit: United

Booking United MileagePlus awards to Southeast Asia is super easy. Currently, the cost of partner awards is competitive in business class.

United MileagePlus has moved to a dynamic award pricing system for flights on its own metal. However, the pricing for partners has largely remained the same.

The only exception is that for flights booked within 30 days before departure, there’s an additional “close-in booking fee” of 3,500 miles.

These award prices don’t include the close-in booking fee, so you’ll want to add 3,500 miles for any close-in bookings.

To begin, here’s the award chart for Star Alliance partners:

Class of Service	United MileagePlus Cost (Saver-Level Availability)
Economy	44,000
Business	90,000
First	140,000

The countries included in South Asia are:

Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Laos
Macau
Malaysia
Myanmar
The Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

Here is what the cheapest level of availability will cost on United-operated flights. The range is huge, but the Saver-level availability is what you’ll want to look for.

Class of Service	United MileagePlus Cost (Saver Level-Availability)
Economy	From 35,000 miles
Business	From 70,000 miles

Here are some great example routes you can take:

Newark (EWR) – Mumbai (BOM) one-way on United Polaris class from 75,000 MileagePlus miles
San Francisco (SFO) – Seoul (ICN) – Palau (ROR) one-way on Asiana Airlines business class for 90,000 MileagePlus miles
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Beijing (PEK) – Chiang Mai (CNX) one-way on Air China business class for 90,000 MileagePlus miles

Booking award flights on United MileagePlus is easy. Just follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to Southeast Asia in no time:

Visit United.
Choose from Roundtrip or One-way.
Check the box that says Book with miles.
If you want to view as many dates as possible, also check off the box that says Calendar shop
Type your departure and destination airports
Toggle your dates, number of travelers, and class of service.
Click Find flights.
You’ll be prompted to log in with your MileagePlus account.
Choose your flights and complete the booking completely online by paying with your MileagePlus miles and a credit card for taxes and fees.

Earning United MileagePlus Miles

There are several ways to earn United miles, and using Chase co-branded United credit cards or transferring points from Chase (best way) or Marriott Bonvoy are some of the best ways to do so.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to MileagePlus at a 1:1 ratio and are instantaneous. On the other hand, transfers from Marriott Bonvoy are at a 3:1.1 ratio. This 3:1.1 ratio is slightly better than its usual airline partners.

Also, you will receive a 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points bonus transferred to United when you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This means you will get a total of 27,500 United miles when transferring 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

If you’re a business owner, see our recommended Chase business credit cards.

Avianca LifeMiles

Asiana Airlines business class spacious seat — Enjoy a spacious seat in Asiana Airlines’ business class. Image Credit: Asiana Airlines

Avianca LifeMiles is extraordinarily useful, particularly if you’re a Citi ThankYou Rewards loyalist.

Up until now, there haven’t been any options to redeem Citi ThankYou Rewards points for flights to Southeast Asia. That changes with the introduction of one of the most underrated airline loyalty programs in the business.

Here’s what Avianca LifeMiles has to offer:

Great first class award prices
No fuel surcharges
No close-in booking fees
Ease of earning LifeMiles
Star Alliance network of partners

For flights to Southeast Asia, the mileage price is as follows:

Class of Service	Avianca LifeMiles Cost
Economy	39,000
Business	78,000
First	99,000

The countries included in the South Asia region are:

Bangladesh
Brunei
Cambodia
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

Note that areas like Guam, Palau, the Philippines, and Taiwan fall under the North Asia pricing, which is as follows:

Class of Service	Avianca LifeMiles Cost
Economy	35,000
Business	75,000
First	90,000

Here are some great example routes you can book:

Chicago (ORD) – Tokyo (NRT) – Bangkok (BKK) one-way in ANA business class for 78,000 LifeMiles + ~$62 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Taipei (TPE) – Jakarta (CGK) one-way in EVA Air business class for 78,000 LifeMiles + ~$62 in taxes and fees
San Francisco (SFO) – Seoul (ICN) – Phnom Penh (PNH) one-way in Asiana Airlines business class for 75,000 LifeMiles + ~$62 in taxes and fees

Here’s how to get started booking your LifeMiles reservation:

Visit LifeMiles.
Change the language as necessary to English by clicking on the flag in the top-right corner.
Click Log in on the top-right corner with your LifeMiles number and password.
Click Fly on the top banner.
Type your route, class of service, and the number of passengers. Click Find Flights.
Finish booking your flight by paying with LifeMiles and taxes/fees.

Earning Avianca LifeMiles

As mentioned above, Avianca LifeMiles is transfer partners with Citi ThankYou Rewards, along with American Express Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Brex, Capital One, and Citi transfer instantaneously at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy transfers in around 1 business day at a 3:1 ratio.

In addition to regular credit card transfers, you can purchase LifeMiles with huge bonuses regularly. In fact, the largest bonus was a whopping 200%, so it’s definitely worth it to wait until these sales to buy LifeMiles.

There are other ways to earn lots of Avianca LifeMiles as well.

Recommended Citi Cards

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Singapore Airlines Business Class 777 - Cabin — Singapore Airlines business class 777 cabin. Image Credit: Alex Miller

The very last option we’re including in this guide is Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. Known for its luxurious business class and over-the-top first class products, Singapore Airlines offers one of the best ways to fly to Southeast Asia. Since it is based in the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore, it’s one of the absolute best candidates to traverse Southeast Asia.

Furthermore, the only way you’re going to book airline awards in business/first class on Singapore Airlines (except for intra-Asia flights) is by redeeming KrisFlyer miles.

Singapore Airlines enjoys the most versatile route network due to its centralized home airport located in the heart of Southeast Asia. Also, no fuel surcharges will be levied for Singapore Airlines flights, though the case is not the same with partners.

Hot Tip: If you want to figure out how you’re going to cross the Pacific from the U.S. aboard Singapore Airlines, check out our definitive guide on Singapore Airlines’ direct U.S. routes.

Here are some Singapore Airlines routes you can take to Southeast Asia:

Los Angeles (LAX) – Singapore (SIN) – Bandar Seri Begawan (BWN) one-way in Singapore Airlines business class for 107,000 KrisFlyer miles
New York (JFK) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Singapore (SIN) one-way in Singapore Suites for 148,500 KrisFlyer miles
Newark (EWR) – Singapore (SIN) – Siem Reap (REP) one-way in Singapore Airlines business class for 111,500 KrisFlyer miles
San Francisco (SFO) – Singapore (SIN) – Mandalay (MDL) one-way in Singapore Airlines business class for 107,000 KrisFlyer miles

When flying nonstop to Singapore, you get to fly to exotic/relatively inaccessible cities such as Bandung (BDO), Koh Samui (USM), and Kota Kinabalu (BKI) with a one-stop itinerary, which is great news.

Here’s how you can book your KrisFlyer itinerary:

Visit Singapore Airlines.
Log into your Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer account.
Click Redeem Flights.
Select your dates of travel and airports.
Choose your class of booking by selecting either Business or First/Suites if you’re a premium cabin traveler.
Click Search.
Choose your flight and pay for any taxes and fees.

Hot Tip: Need help booking? Check out the step-by-step guide for booking Singapore Airlines business class or first class.

Earning Singapore KrisFlyer Miles

There are tons of ways to earn KrisFlyer miles.

Singapore Airlines is transfer partners with every major transferable currency: American Express Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Brex, Capital One, Chase, and Citi are all 1:1 transfer partners and all take 1 to 2 days to execute.

Marriott Bonvoy is a 3:1 transfer partner, and you’ll receive a 5,000 KrisFlyer miles bonus for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred, up to 240,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per day. Transfers take up to 2 business days to complete.

Bottom Line: The only way to book Singapore premium cabin awards from the U.S. is by using its own frequent flyer program, KrisFlyer. While the mileage prices are not the best out there for a similar route, the difference is flying on one of the best airlines in the world. Luckily, there are loads of ways to earn KrisFlyer miles.

Delta SkyMiles

China Airlines Business Class — China Airlines business class. Image Credit: China Airlines

Although the value of Delta SkyMiles for business/first class redemptions is extremely limited on Delta Air Lines’ own flights, partner airlines are a completely different story.

In fact, much of Delta SkyMiles’ value proposition lies in business class flights on partners.

Although SkyMiles charges lots of miles for these flights, you’ll generally pay minimal taxes and fees for one-way flights in business class deep into Southeast Asia.

To fly to Southeast Asia using Delta SkyMiles, you’ll want to take advantage of the relationship Delta has with its SkyTeam alliance partners. Specifically, these airlines will be useful for planning travel to Southeast Asia:

China Airlines
China Eastern
China Southern (no longer in SkyTeam, but still a Delta partner)
Garuda Indonesia
Korean Air
Vietnam Airlines
Xiamen Airlines

As you can see, nearly a third of the SkyTeam partners (plus non-SkyTeam partner China Southern) are located centrally within Asia, so this will be a tremendous advantage in terms of award availability, route flexibility, and more.

Hot Tip: We’ve written detailed route guides for China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, and Korean Air, so be sure to check those out to aid in planning your award travel.

Neither Garuda Indonesia nor Vietnam Airlines operate nonstop routes to the U.S., so keep that in mind, too.

All in all, using Delta SkyMiles on one-way flights with partners will be priced as follows:

Class of Service	Delta SkyMiles Cost
Economy	67,500
Business	165,000

Here are some example routes you can take:

Boston (BOS) – Seoul (ICN) – Phuket (HKT) one-way on Korean Air business class for 85,000 Delta SkyMiles + $40 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Xiamen (XMN) – Phnom Penh (PNH) one-way on Xiamen Airlines business class for 85,000 Delta SkyMiles + $35 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Guangzhou (CAN) – Hanoi (HAN) one-way on China Southern business class for 85,000 Delta SkyMiles + $280 in taxes and fees
Ontario (ONT) – Taipei (TPE) – Penang (PEN) one-way on China Airlines business class for 85,000 Delta SkyMiles + $85
San Francisco (SFO) – Shanghai (PVG) – Cebu (CEB) one-way on China Eastern business class for 85,000 Delta SkyMiles + $120 in taxes and fees

You can make your award search much quicker by using Delta’s flexible award calendar search.

If you ever thought about booking Delta One using SkyMiles, you’d see prices anywhere from 200,000 to 600,000 miles on round-trip flights, which is a jaw-dropping number.

Here are the steps you’ll want to take to book travel to Southeast Asia using Delta SkyMiles:

Search for availability segment-by-segment on Delta, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, or ExpertFlyer.
Once you’ve located the flights you want, write down the flight numbers, travel dates, booking class, and the number of passengers.
Call Delta at 800-323-2323 and give them your flights, dates, and other information.
Wait for the agent to hold the award ticket, and finish reserving your ticket by paying with miles and for any taxes and fees using your credit card.
Write down your airline record locator and visit the website to reserve seats.

Earning Delta SkyMiles

There are lots of ways to earn Delta SkyMiles, including directly via the American Express co-branded credit cards and with partners American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.

Currently, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio and Marriott Bonvoy points at a 3:1 ratio.

Transfers from Amex process instantly, while Marriott takes around 1 business day to transfer to Delta.

Recommended Delta Cards

Final Thoughts

In all, we’ve presented a vast list of ways you can use points to fly to Southeast Asia. We analyzed comprehensive route information from the 3 major alliances in this guide: Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam. With a huge list of excellent airlines to choose from, you’ll be sure to find an itinerary that fits your needs to help plan and guide your travel.

You now know the absolute best ways to fly to Southeast Asia using points and miles.

The information regarding the Capital One Venture Rewards card, Capital One VentureOne Rewards card, and Chase Freedom Unlimited® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, click here.

Featured Image Credit: Patrick Foto via Shutterstock

Frequently asked questions

Which airlines include carrier-imposed surcharges on award flights to Southeast Asia?

The amount you’ll pay in taxes and fees is ultimately dependent not only on the airline you fly, but primarily on the loyalty program you use.

For example, you can fly on ANA business class and spend either $30 when using Avianca LifeMiles or $200 when using ANA miles. The flights are identical, but the different booking programs have implications on the out-of-pocket cost.

As a general rule of thumb, expect fuel surcharges on Air Canada, ANA, and Asiana Airlines. In any case, these surcharges aren’t severe, reaching a maximum of around $200 one-way per person.

What is the fewest number of miles you can use to book an economy class award flight to Southeast Asia?

You can pay as few as 55,000 ANA miles to book round-trip economy using ANA miles.

ANA is transfer partners with American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.

What is the fewest number of miles required to fly business class to Southeast Asia?

To book the cheapest business class, you can pay as few as 100,000 ANA miles to Asia 2 (Zone 4), which includes most of Southeast Asia. This is during low season and only on ANA-operated flights.

If you book flights to Asia 1, which includes Guam, Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, the Philippines, and Taiwan, you can pay as few as 80,000 ANA miles during low season.

You can also pay 50,000 Alaska miles one-way for Cathay Pacific business class to Southeast Asia.

What is the fewest number miles required to fly first class to Southeast Asia?

The absolute cheapest way to fly to Southeast Asia in first class is using Alaska miles. You can pay 70,000 miles one-way on Cathay Pacific or 75,000 miles one-way on Japan Airlines.

Other options include 195,000 ANA miles round-trip on ANA during low or regular season or 99,000 Avianca LifeMiles one-way.

Avianca LifeMiles is transfer partners with American Express Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

What are the best business class airlines to fly to Southeast Asia?

Some of the best business class airlines that fly from the U.S. to Southeast Asia are ANA, China Airlines, EVA Air, Japan Airlines, and Singapore Airlines.

Check out our post on the best international business class airlines in the world to learn more.

What are the best first class airlines to fly to Southeast Asia?

Some of the best first class airlines that fly to Southeast Asia are ANA, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Singapore Airlines.

To learn more about the best international first class airlines, check out our post.

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About Stephen Au

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Stephen has been privileged to enjoy many premium cabin products and 5-star hotels. As one of the foremost experts in credit cards, over the past 4 years, he has amassed a portfolio of over 70 credit cards, both personal and business. Stephen has personally tested, first-hand, almost every major rewards credit card on the market today, spanning banks such as American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, City National Bank, U.S. Bank, and more.

Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.

8 comments

vivian ho December 18, 2019

what is the best credit card for airline redemption in Canada?

Reply
- Jarrod West December 18, 2019
  
  Hi Vivian,
  
  That’s very subjective and depends entirely on what your travel goals are. With that said, we only cover U.S. credit cards on this site, so I recommend you check out a Canadian points and miles website like Prince of Travel.
  
  Reply
Tommy Lee December 30, 2019

Hi Stephen,
What a great post! I need some suggestions from you. I am in Tampa and TPA, being a not-so-big airport, doesn’t gives one a lot of option to fly directly out to Asia. More often than not, it means flying out via bigger airports like LAX, SFO or NYC. If I wish to fly to Kuala Lumpur on economy, what frequent flyer program do you suggest that allows me to connect all the way to KUL? Also, which airport do you think I should be flying out from?

Thanks.

Reply
- Stephen Au December 31, 2019
  
  Hi Tommy,
  
  All of this is variable. If you consider the fact that Kuala Lumpur is the home base of Malaysia Airlines, a oneworld carrier, you might be inclined to follow American AAdvantage as a go-to mileage program. There isn’t necessarily a right answer, as it depends on many factors. But, you can’t go wrong with American AAdvantage. Thanks for reading.
  
  Reply
Gust February 10, 2022

I’m so confused. You mention on ANA you can use the following route for 110,000 in First class, then business class. How is that possible?

Houston (IAH) – Tokyo (HND or NRT) – Jakarta (CGK) round-trip in ANA first class, then business class during regular season for 110,000 ANA miles + $291 in taxes and fees

Reply
- Stephen Au February 15, 2022
  
  Hi Gust,
  
  It is possible, but it’s not easy. You need to find availability in each segment first and then repeat the search on ANA’s website. We recommend starting your search on United.com.
  
  Reply
Carmen December 14, 2022

Hi Stephen,

Firstly, I want to thank you tremendously for such a comprehensive and easy to follow write-up for this NA > SEA route. All the time spent researching and doing the legwork to help others does not go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated!

I do however have a question. After spending numerous days going through every step-by-step process from all your recommended award programs, I’ve seem to come up with a nil. I’m trying to plan a Vancouver > Bali trip for the end of July 2023. Since Seattle is the closest American airport from me, I’ve been using both Seattle as well as Vancouver > Bali roundtrip, alongside various multi-city options in the event that more flight options arise. I’ve exercised the utmost flexibility around dates, locations, etc. however there just seem to be no flight awards available, or they’re for an exorbitant amount of ~180k roundtrip for… ECONOMY… per person.

In your expert opinion, does this simply sound like it’s due to being peak season so award flights are extremely scarce? Or do you reckon I’ve done something wrong?

Any help would be appreciated! Between my husband and I, we have about 800k points in our Amex just waiting to be transferred but alas… to where we do not know. LOL!

Reply
- Stephen Au December 18, 2022
  
  Hi Carmen,
  
  I understand your frustration. Finding business class flights using points is not easy! This upcoming summer will probably be a very challenging summer, though not as insane as this previous summer.
  
  But if you feel like you’d get value from a service that will optimize your award travel and offer ultra-personalized points wealth management for luxury travel, please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] to inquire about a membership service.
  
  Reply