I took my very first proper mileage run in late 2017. At the time I wasn’t necessarily going for American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum elite status, but rather I simply booked an incredible mistake fare. That year, Qatar Airways accidentally published a $600 business class fare from Vietnam back to various United States gateways. I ended up booking two of those trips because the deal was that good, but also because I figured Qatar wouldn’t honor them anyway. I originally planned on only taking one of the two trips when I booked.
That mileage run ended up being a ton of fun. I was completely nervous going into the trip and almost bailed the day before, but I stuck with it and I’m sure glad I did. With that trip I was able to visit Vietnam, Doha, New York, and Hong Kong. It was such an incredible jumping off point into the world of international mileage running. After taking that first mileage run I was hooked. I loved every minute of it and couldn’t wait to do it again.
Fast forward a few years and my various milage runs (and MRs disguised as vacations) have taken me all over the world. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Scandinavia, and parts of Europe. All in all, I’ve had a ton of fun mileage running and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
AMAZING Qatar Airways Business Class Fare
A few days ago I noticed a post from Lucky on OneMileAtATime discussing an “AMAZING” Qatar Airways fare. You can tell how good the deal is based on the adjective Lucky uses to describe it. INCREDIBLE means book now, AMAZING means you should consider it, and GREAT means better than usual. I’ve been following Lucky for years and finds that he posts the deals that I’m most interested in.
This time, the fare in question was a ~$1,600 Business Class ticket from New York to Kyiv Ukraine in business class with Qatar Airways. When I first read the post I began searching for the fare, but couldn’t quite duplicate the price. After a few attempts I mostly gave up and moved on.
A day later I noticed a forum post on the ever useful Premium Fare Deals forum on FlyerTalk. This time the deal was from Philadelphia to Kyiv in business class with Qatar Airways for about the same price. The difference here was that I was actually able to duplicate this far several times over. As of writing, the deal is still alive and it’s one that I think US based travelers (especially those in the Northeast) should consider as well.
Why I Decided To Book This Trip
At first I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to book this trip. For about a day I thought about it and ultimately decided it wasn’t right for me. The price was good, but not INCREDIBLE (see above) and the minimum stay was a bit long. For a while, I decided that I would instead wait for something better.
I came to my senses a few hours ago when I realized just how great of a deal this fare actually is. To put it into perspective, from Chicago to Kyiv in business class with Qatar Airways costs $6,300! Philadelphia to Doha is $7,880! When looking at those prices I realized what a steal $1,600 really is.
Better yet, this far originates in the United States. I can’t tell you the last time I found a deal like this that originates in the US. For the past few years I’ve had to fly to Vietnam just to get on the first flight of a deal like this. So, after considering the actual price of the trip and the fact that this originates in the US I was sold.
Another reason I loved this fare is that it takes me to Kyiv (Kiev) Ukraine. I’ve never been to Ukraine before and honestly hadn’t given it much thought. Much like I didn’t give Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Da Nang, or Hong Kong much thought before I took mileage runs to those places. What I’m trying to say is that this trips takes me to a completely new place which I love doing when taking a mileage run. I love when I can go somewhere new that I otherwise wouldn’t plan on visiting with one of these trips.
The Flights From Philadelphia To Kyiv
Another aspect of this trip that I especially liked was the aircraft type I’d be flying on. Qatar Airways currently operates a 777-300ER with QSuites from Philadelphia to Doha. I recently flew QSuites for the first time on the A350-1000 and am looking forward to trying it out on the 777.
Qatar Airways currently operates a 787-8 between Doha in Kyiv that I’ll be flying on as well. I’ve never flown on Qatar’s 788 and am excited to give that a try as well. The seat is materially the same as the business class seat found on the A350-900, but the cabin is a bit more intimate.
Finally, the flight from Kyiv back to Doha is on one of Qatar Airways’ Airbus A320s with lie-flat seats. This flight will be the first time I’ve ever flown in a narrowbody aircraft with Qatar. Every flight I’ve taken with Qatar has been on at least an Airbus A330 and traveling with them on a smaller plane should be interesting. I’m excited to see how (if at all) the experience differs from a widebody.
As you can tell, I’m excited to try out a few different aircraft types with this trip. However, I’m acutely aware that Qatar Airways often does equipment swaps with little prior notice. So, I won’t be surprised if I end up flying a non-QSuites 777, a regional A320, or anything other than a 787. Hopefully this doesn’t happen and I get to fly on the aircraft I booked.
Elite Status Mileage Accrual
This itinerary booked into Qatar Airways (R) fare class. That means if I credit the flights to the American Airlines AAdvantage program I’ll earn 1.5 Elite Qualifying Miles per mile flown and earn 20% Elite Qualifying Dollars per mile flown. Flying from Philadelphia to Doha to Kyiv covers approximately 17,000 miles. Provided that, I’ll earn about 25,500 EQM and $3,400 EQD. Basically, this fare isn’t the best deal I’ve ever seen for earning elite status, but it’s better than most.
Whenever I debate taking a milage run I usually stick to a 2:1 EQD per $1 spent threshold. Since this fare cost about $1,700, I’m right in line with that hurdle. If the price was even slightly higher I would have most likely passed on this deal.
It’s worth noting that because Qatar Airways is a member of the OneWorld Alliance you can credit to several other airlines. Perhaps it makes more sense to credit the flights to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Qantas, etc. I’m not exactly sure what is best as that will depend on your goals. However, I think crediting this trip to British Airways is an attractive option.
Final Thoughts
I have to admit, I’m pretty excited about this mileage run. If I had not just flown with Qatar Airways a few weeks ago I think I would have jumped on this quicker. That being said, because I just flew with Qatar I also definitely wanted to book this trip. Qatar Airways is a fantastic airline and their business class product is excellent.
I’m also excited about this trip because of the flexibility it offers. I booked my trip with a “one month stay” in Kyiv. This allows me to book a reverse round-trip in the middle to return to the US for, you know, my day job. Doing this means that I’ll actually end up with two different trips to Kyiv. I figure on the first one I’ll plan to stay two nights and return to the US rather quickly. For the return I can then decide if I want to spend more time in Kyiv, venture elsewhere, or simply do a quick turn and keep this as a proper mileage run. Booking this way gave me a lot of options.
Booking this trip also will push me just one or two trips away from American Airlines Executive Platinum elite status for the 4th year in a row. Hopefully another incredible deal will pop up between now and the end of the year that will help. Otherwise, I have an idea for how to earn the remaining EQD and it’s not great for my bank account…
With that, I’m excited to have another mileage run booked even if it isn’t until this summer. We’ll see if I can make it until then without going overseas.
