Wide Open Business Class Awards From Tahiti To The US

ByEdward Pizzarello
a group of huts in the water

Earlier today I noticed View From The Wing reported on a ton of availability between Tahiti and Los Angeles (the route is PPT-LAX).  Tahiti is a destination that has eluded me over the years.  I almost ended up with a stopover there right before the pandemic started closing countries.  Now, you can book business class award for the whole family on many days at a reasonable rate.  There are two options:

  • 64,000 Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles plus $292.36 per passenger.  The Flying Blue has lots of transfer partners, including Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Cap One and Citibank.  And, if you got in on the huge Brex offer you can also transfer those points to Flying Blue.
  • You can also redeem 100,000 Delta SkyMiles plus about $54 per passenger.

I see plenty of availability when I check out the Delta website:

a screenshot of a flight schedule

Frequent Miler actually appears to have originally uncovered this deal and makes a really good point about booking round-trip tickets for this.  Even though business class is pretty much non-existent on LAX-PPT, booking a round-trip flight should entitle you to free award changes.

You should know the flight times from LAX to Tahiti are…..rough.

a screenshot of a flight schedule

That would be one brutal flight in coach for a wimp like me.  But, a great flight if you can get a cozy business class seat(not 100% sure this is what plane will fly the route in March).

The Final Two Pennies

It’s been a while since we’ve talked about great deals on award flights.  So, it’s a good time to remind folks that you should always think of deals like this as “US to Tahiti” or “Tahiti to the US”, as opposed to saying “I don’t live in Los Angeles”.  It’s a heck of a lot easier to find your way from wherever you live to LAX than it is to find saver award inventory on a popular route like this.  Also, keep in mind Frequent Miler’s suggestion about originating in the US to give you more flexibility.  Happy hunting!

Did you enjoy this article?  Please share it! There’s plenty of ways to do that below.

You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

And, I hope you’ll check out my podcast, Miles To Go.  We cover the latest travel news, tips and tricks every week so you can save money while you travel better.  From Disney to Dubai, San Francisco to Sydney, American Airlines to WestJet, we’ve got you covered!

My goal in life is to fill my family’s passports with stamps, creating buckets of memories along the way. You’ll find me writing about realistic ways for normal people to travel the world, whether you’re on a budget or enjoy luxury. I also enjoy taking us on the occasional detour to explore the inner workings of the travel industry.

5 Comments

  1. One reader booked PPT-LAX and connected onto Paris, overnighted, and then booked the flight back to the US all as part of a single award for just over 80k in J 😀

    Reply

  2. Overnight flight isn’t bad at all. Flew it March ’19 for 26k. Make sure you have $20 US for the taxi from PPT into town, bus doesn’t run that early (at least not on Sundays).

    Reply

      1. Yup, coach. Whatever you do, don’t tell people the exit row for $75 is the best deal in the world. If my legs were 10 feet long it might have been uncomfortable…

        Reply

Leave a Reply