Hainan Airlines is generally regarded as the best airline in mainland China. They have an excellent onboard product, in terms of the seats, service, and even food and drinks.

Hainan often has attractive business class fares, which can be a great way to earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles (Hainan isn’t in any global alliance, but they do have a partnership with Alaska).

For the past several weeks Hainan has had excellent business class fares from the US, though I figured it was worth posting about these fares again, because the fares have gone down even further, and the window over which you can travel has been extended.

At the moment Hainan Airlines has spectacular business class fares for travel from both Los Angeles and New York to both Beijing and Shanghai. A majority of the availability is for travel this fall and winter — I see wide open availability from September 2019 through February 2020.

So, what are the fares like in business class roundtrip?

  • You can fly roundtrip from Los Angeles to Shanghai for $1,466
  • You can fly roundtrip from Los Angeles to Beijing for $1,466
  • You can fly roundtrip from New York to Shanghai for $1,548
  • You can fly roundtrip from New York to Beijing for $1,712

You can find these fares on Google Flights, and then can book through Hainan’s website. Other websites will in many cases show higher fares.

Hainan Airlines doesn’t fly nonstop from Los Angeles or New York to Beijing or Shanghai, so all of these are connecting itineraries:

  • Hainan flies from Los Angeles to Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Xi’an
  • Hainan flies from New York to Chengdu and Chongqing

These fares book into the “I” fare class for the transpacific flight. If crediting to Alaska Mileage Plan you’d earn 100% elite qualifying miles and 200% redeemable miles. On top of that you’d earn your regular elite bonuses, which are up to 125% for MVP Gold 75K members.

Depending on the routing you choose, the itineraries cover a distance of ~15,000-18,000 flown miles.

These flights are all operated by 787s, and most of them should feature reverse herringbone seats in business class (when you book, make sure the seatmap shows a 1-2-1 configuration and not a 2-2-2 configuration).

If you take advantage of these great fares, make sure you use a card offering bonus points for airfare purchases. You can earn up to 5x points, which I value at up to 1.7 cents each, for an additional return of 8.5%.

CardPoints earned on airfare spend
The Platinum Card® from American Express5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent
Citi Prestige Card5x ThankYou points per dollar spent
American Express® Gold Card3x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent
Chase Sapphire Reserve®3x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent
Citi Premier℠ Card3x ThankYou points per dollar spent
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card2x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent

Bottom line

If you’re looking to travel to China in business class at a good fare on what I’d consider to be the best airline in mainland China, and if you’d like to earn Alaska miles in the process, this is a pretty incredible deal. The fares and eligible travel dates are even better than before.

Anyone plan to take advantage of this great Hainan fare?

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