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Air Tahiti Nui currently has amazing business class nonstop award availability between Los Angeles and Tahiti! Normally it’s tough to find 2 seats on any date, but currently it’s wide open!
They fly A340s with 2-2-2 angled flat seats and 787s with 2-2-2 lie-flat seats.
This is available to partner airlines, so you can book this for 80K American miles each way with no fuel surcharges. You’ll need to call American to book this space. I had no problem finding award space with American’s US call center (800-882-8880), but on DDF some members had to call American’s Australia call center to book this (+61291011948).
You can also book this with Delta miles, though they charge 100K miles each way and they add on about $84 in fuel surcharges each way.
I’ve rounded up award space availability on dates that have at least 2 business class award seats. If there are more than 2 seats I’ve noted that in the parenthesis after the date.
There is business saver award space from Los Angeles to Papeete on:
March 10 (5 seats), 16 (4 seats), 21, 24, 30
April 2, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 16 (4 seats), 18 (3 seats), 20, 21 (4 seats), 22, 30
May 2, 4 (3 seats), 5, 6 (3 seats), 7 (4 seats), 11 (4 seats), 12, 13, 14 (4 seats), 16, 18, 19, 20, 25, 27, 28, 30
June 1, 2 (4 seats), 4 (4 seats), 8, 9 (5 seats), 15, 16, 17, 18 (3 seats), 20, 21 (4 seats), 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30
July 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24
August 12, 13, 16, 19, 20, 23, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31
September 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 28, 29, 30
October 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 21, 22, 26, 31
November 2, 10, 14, 17, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30
December 1, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23, 26, 28, 29, 30
January 6, 9, 11
There is business saver award space from Papeete to Los Angeles on:
March 9, 28
April 3, 4, (3 seats), 5, 7, 16, 25, 28, 30
May 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31
June 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 25 (3 seats), 26, 28, 29, 30
July 2, 3, 5, 6, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31
August 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 29, 30, 31
September 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
October 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 31
November 1, 2, 8, 9, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28, 29, 30,
December 5, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 26, 27, 28, 31
January 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11
Hotel options:
From Papeete you can take a ferry or short flight to the beautiful island of Moorea, to the stunning resorts of Bora Bora, or to the many other islands of French Polynesia.
There are evening and morning arrival times into Papeete, but the best availability is on the evening arrival time. If you do that you will have to overnight in Papeete as there are no later flights to connect to other islands in French Polynesia. You can stay at the nearby Intercontinental Tahiti near the airport with points.
Bora Bora and the Maldives are both famous for luxury resorts with incredible overwater bungalows. I’ve been to the W Maldives and the S. Regis Maldives, but I’ve yet to go to Bora Bora. That’s been partially due to how easy it is to find amazing business and first class awards to the Maldives, point deals that I’ve taken advantage of, and the ideal Maldives weather taking place during winter in the US.
IHG has 2 properties in Bora Bora, Marriott has 2 properties, and Hilton has 1 hotel there. If you can find award availability at the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort Thalasso Spa you can book right into an overwater villa. You can currently earn 80,000 points with the Chase IHG Premier card or points with the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card.
You can book stays in the Le Meridien or the S. Regis for just 60K Marriott points/night, though it won’t be in an overwater villa unless you pay a cash supplement. You can currently earn 75,000 points with the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card.
IHG has hotels in Papeete and Moorea and Hilton has a Moorea property as well.
Papeete even has a Jewish community and an Orthodox shul, though unfortunately it’s not within walking distance of the Intercontinental Tahiti. There’s little information about it online, so I’d love to hear about it if you’ve been there.
Have you been to French Polynesia? Do you have plans to go in the future?
Booked!
Awesome!
congrats! if anybody is going to be in Moorea the middle of August send me a message via DDF : always happy to meet fellow travelers 🙂
which tool do you use to find award space ?
Expert Flyer
I booked this with Delta. It’s worth noting their price is 100k Miles each way
Online or over the phone?
Did Delta add fuel surcharges as well?
On the phone only. Total taxes and fuel was $116 for lax-ppt per pax. I think about $80 was fuel
Looks like fuel surcharges should add $168 round-trip, plus Delta is 40K more miles. Not a great deal, though I’ll add it.
Hello Dan you know AA shows TN online now. But doesn’t look like they show as much space as EF says is there
I am aware. Hence why I said phone only for this.
Do you know why these were pulled back from the AA site?
Buggy site, what else is new.
I have been to French Polynesia. Loved it. Scuba diving was great, and I swam with whales! I have stayed at the Intercontinental Le Moana Bora Bora as well as at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui. The Conrad was among the best places I have ever stayed at in my travels. I absolutely loved it. In Papeete I have stayed at the Intercontinental Tahiti Resort and Spa.
I would love to know how you found availability at the Conrad with points. I searched the whole year they have nothing available on ow
My wife was very diligent. This was back when they were new, so they might have pulled availability since then. The really nice thing is that they automatically upgraded us to an over the water bungalow.
They upgraded you upon reservation or when you got there? Did they charge? U had status? Why did they do it
I only had Gold status. They did not tell us they were upgrading us. They simply escorted us to an over the water bungalow. Totally unexpected. We asked no questions about it. We were very excited as we walked into the room. One of the best stays we have ever had anywhere.
I had something similar happen to us in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands. We got a totally unexpected upgrade to a Presidential Suite, biggest and most incredible hotel room I have ever seen, with grand piano, separate office, separate master bedroom and other bedroom, full kitchen, karaoke room, massage room, exercise room and barber chair. We were never told we were being upgrade or why. She simply said she was going to give us one room, but it would be big enough and we would be happy. We asked no questions about it. However, at Marina Bay Sands I had booked two rooms for my whole family, so I guess they would rather give us just one room that was big enough to accommodate six people than give us the two rooms that we had booked.
Oh, I also have stayed at the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa. It was nice.
Dont just brag. recommend………
Not bragging, just letting those who have questions about these places know they can ask.
is early sept bad time to go? weather wise?
https://www.google.com/search?q=bora+bora+average+weather
thanks- one more q is it normal that only garden king view rooms are available @ 80K HH. anyway to book OW villa at that rate?
Normal. Contact the hotel to see how much it would cost to confirm an upgrade.
At the HIlton, I booked 4 nights in a garden bungalow with Chase UR. Then called hotel to do a cash upgrade, which was $100 per night. So $400 total. It would have been more than $800 total to book the overwater bungalows at the normal cash rate from the get- go. Something to check when booking. . . .
What do you mean you booked with chase ur portal? How did it come out to be 400$ a night ?
OMGGG I have been waiting for this but my miles don’t post for a week weeks. Far lock every five days while waiting? Desperate times.
OMG, my first DD h/t! I am truly kvelling! good shabbos!
Just Booked this, thanks so much for the alert Dan. Going with a 4 month old so I’m sure we’ll get some nasty looks going in business class but oh well!
I did it. You’ll be fine
Lap infant fees associated with this?
Anything ever come up originating in tlv?
I’m sure your Israeli fan club would greatly appreciate
Tahiti is not really a great place for kids.
is there a better chance of finding availability with someone that has a free night cert int heir ihg account? it goes through a different search engine i think
@dan how can you say that 100k Delta points is a worse deal than 80k as points?
AA, not Alaska.
Let’s say AA is worth 1.2 and Delta is worth 1.0.
80K AA is $960, 100K Delta is $1,000, plus Delta adds fuel surcharges onto Ait Tahiti Nui.
What time of the year is the best to go to Bora Bora?
Neva Neva
(If you’re a frum Jew, that is… )
Only teasing…
St Regis will arrange for Kosher food for you with advance notice
I’m on a cruise ship in French Polynesia right now. So far, Bora Bora has blown my mind. Heading to Fakarava now. Note that If you fly Economy on Air Tahiti Nui’s new Dreamliner, the seats are excruciatingly close together. No room at all for anything other than a purse under the seat in front of you. Beautiful plane but super cramped. I’m only 5 feet and it was super challenging for me!!
a bit late to this but can i book 5 nights at the st regis with a 5 night cert old cat 9?