American Airlines’ new Flagship Suites on Boeing 787-9 aircraft promise next-level comfort, privacy, and luxury. Positioned at the front of the plane, the suites use privacy doors, chaise lounge seating, a wireless charging pad, personal storage space, and more.
Flagship Suite seats went on sale this past Monday, with the first trip on June 5 from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Other debut routes to London, Zurich, and Brisbane will follow during the summer. However, the seats aren’t cheap, with fares for the ORD to LAX route running around $6,000. The Points Guy found a clever approach to book a Flagship Suite for less, using points from another oneworld Alliance airline. Here’s how it works.
Book a Flagship Suite using his oneworld Alliance member’s loyalty program
The Points Guy found that American’s Flagship Suites are in high demand, with a commensurate cost. The cash price is $6,088 one-way, while using AAdvantage Miles requires almost 300,000 miles. Even summer business-class reward fares are on the pricey side, with reward fares requiring 100,000 miles and sometimes 200,000. But TPG found an interesting workaround that gets you on a Flagship Suite for less.
If you book through American’s oneworld Alliance partner, Alaska Airlines’ MileagePlan program, you can get a Flagship Suite for only 55,000 miles one way (plus taxes and fees). The tip was first reported by View from the Wing’s Gary Leff, and provides a per-mile valuation of 11 cents, greatly exceeding TPG’s May 2025 Alaska miles rating of 1.5 cents per mile.
To ensure you secure a Flagship Suite with Alaska Miles, you’ll have to pay close attention to the aircraft type, with American denoting its new 787-9s with Flagship Suites as “787-9P”.
