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UK-US fares special from £1296
Fares to the US from London have been yielding some great bargains over recent months with pricing on 6 month advance purchases not that much more than a usual Premium Economy flight. Star Alliance have just launched an aggressive flash sale until 29 August but should you book these, especially if you collect miles with Virgin or Avios? I will compare the sale prices with the other offers available.
Star Alliance flash sale
In a bid to compete with some of the prices around, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Swiss and United are offering some cheap prices from London to a variety of second tier destinations as follows:
- Atlanta £1316
- Detroit £1316
- Portland £1365
- Minneapolis £1319
- Salt Lake City £1369
The official rules say the fares are available from 22 February 2019 to 29 March outbound but I can see similar fares until July 2019. Book by 29 August.
Minimum stay is a Saturday night.
The following fares are also available from February onwards:
Virgin Atlantic/Delta/KLM/Air France fares
- Atlanta £1296
- Detroit £1525
- Portland £1499
- Minneapolis £1449
- Salt Lake City £1449
- New York £1325
- Boston £1325
- Chicago £1414
These are all 6 month advance purchase fares for mid week departures with a minimum stay of 7 days. You can search fares on Virgin Atlantic here including Delta.
British Airways/American Fares
- Atlanta £1475
- Detroit £1529
- Portland £1499
- Minneapolis £1448
- Salt Lake City £1599
- New York £1325
- Boston £1335
- Chicago £1428
These are all the 6 month advance purchase fares on BA/AA for mid week departures with a minimum stay of 7 days. The best way to find the lowest fares on BA is using the low fare finder tool here.
Which to pick?
Obviously a lot depends on whether your priority is price, collecting miles/tier points or ease of getting there. Some of the cheapest options involve more than one stop which is great if you are collecting miles but not so good if you just want to get there. The BA/AA flights are all direct or with only one stop which is a consideration. The onboard product is also a big factor for me. In terms of comfort I would be going to American Airlines on routes with their B777s which all have new seats from London (B777-300 is the better of the two). Next would be BA or Virgin which both have drawbacks but at least have a consistent product unlike the other airlines that vary depending on the aircraft type.
Beat the price rise on Priority Pass now
If like me you have your Priority Pass through American Express Platinum then you won’t be too worried to hear that the fee per visit or for guests is rising from £15 to £20 on 18 September 2018. With Amex, you can guest one person in for free. However, if you are someone that wants to pay per visit or take in guests on a normal pass then you will want to lock in a better price now by buying a card with a number of visits pre-paid.
There are two options currently to save money on this options. There is still a Groupon offer for 25% off. But as you have to pay £6 to use it, you would be better off with the straightforward Priority Pass offer for 25% which you can find here.
