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The Ultimate Guide To United Miles: Part 10 – All The Ways to Get to Japan, North Asia & South Asia!

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    United Airlines flies to the most number of Asian cities than any airline in the US.  In addition, they have several partner airlines such as Thai air, which are based in Asia.

    And on top of that, they allow you to fly to Asia via Europe!  Because of this, there are so many ways to get to Asia with your United miles!

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    The Best Tip for Searching on United.com

    Don’t forget to change your search results to show you 50 flights (instead of the default) when you search on United.com

    Step 1 – Click On “Advanced Search”

    Click on “Advanced Search” at the bottom of the award search page.

    Step 2 – Change “Number of Flights to Display” To “50”

    Click on the drop-down box by the “Number of Flights to Display” and change it from the “Default” to “50“

    Step 2- Increase the Number of Flights to Display to 50

    You will see MANY more flight options this way!

    How To Use The Information In This Post

    You could rely on United.com to find you awards seats to Japan, North Asia, and South Asia.  And United’s website is pretty good.  But it is unlikely to find every possible option on using United miles to Japan, North Asia, and South Asia.

    If you’re really commited to finding award seats to Japan, North Asia, and South Asia and don’t want to hire an award booking service, you could search for award seats on many of the routes below.

    The information below will help you find the long-distance flight to Japan, North Asia, and South Asia.  Once you find the long-distance flight to Japan, North Asia, and South Asia, you should start searching for flights to your final destination in Japan, North Asia, and South Asia and then from your US departure city to the gateway (i.e. where the flight to Japan, North Asia, and South Asia departs from the US).

    Asia Award Routes

    Today we will go over finding award flights to Asia, which includes the regions of:

    Here is the award chart which shows the number of miles needed from the United States to Asia.

    Asia Award Chart

    Here’s how much you will pay from the U.S., Alaska, and Canada to Japan:

    Here’s how much you will pay from the U.S., Alaska, and Canada to North Asia or South Asia:

    1.   United

    Of all the airlines based in the USA, United has the most routes to Asia!

    You can fly from:

    United Flies To Many Cities In Asia!

    1.  From Tokyo (Narita)

    As you can see from the map above, every airport listed has a flight to Tokyo (Narita), where United operates its Asia hub.

    Onward from Tokyo (Narita), United flies to:

    2.  From Hong Kong

    United also flies onward from Hong Kong to:

    2.  Air Canada

    Air Canada has flights to several Asian destinations, all from both Toronto (YYZ) and Vancouver (YVR) airports.  This is useful for flights to/from Canada, and also useful for many people in the US, because you can connect in Canada on the way to Asia.

    You can fly to:

    Air Canada’s Flights To Asia

    3.  Air China

    Air China is based in Beijing, and flies from there to several cities in the USA and Canada.

    You can fly to Beijing from:

    You Can Fly On Air China To Beijing From Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, And Vancouver

    From Beijing, Air China has decent connections to other places in China, as well as Southeast Asia.

    4.   ANA

    ANA is one of Japan’s national airlines.  They are based in Tokyo (Narita), but also fly internationally out of Tokyo-Haneda (which is closer to the center of Tokyo).

    ANA recently started flying from San Jose, California to Tokyo (Narita).  Flights from San Jose tend to have more award seats because very few flights from the East Coast and the rest of the US connect in San Jose.

    ANA flies from Tokyo (Haneda) to Los Angeles.

    You can fly from Tokyo (Narita) to:

    You Can Fly On ANA From Tokyo To Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, And Washington

    ANA has many onward connections to the rest of Asia.

    5.  Asiana

    Asiana is one of the major airlines in South Korea.

    You can fly internationally out of Seoul-Incheon airport to:

    From Seoul, You Can Fly On Asiana To Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, And Seattle

    From Seoul, Asiana flies to many Asian destinations.

    6.  EVA Air

    EVA Air is the newest member of the Star Alliance (as of June 2013).  They are based in Taipei and fly to several US and Canadian destinations.

    You can fly from Taipei to:

    You Can Fly On Eva Air From Taipei To Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, And Vancouver

    EVA Air has many onward and convenient connections into Southeast Asia.

    7.  Singapore Airlines

    Singapore Airlines is the national airline of Singapore.  Many people love Singapore Airlines because they have great service, especially in First and Business Class, and even in economy class!  Their main airport, Singapore Changi airport, is one of the best in the world, with butterfly gardens, koi ponds, and free movie theaters!

    Unfortunately, Singapore Airlines knows how much people love to fly them, and so they don’t tend to offer First and Business Class award seats to people with United miles.

    But, Singapore Airlines economy class seats are available with United miles on flights from the United States.

    Singapore Airlines flies from:

    Where You Can Use Your United Miles On Singapore Airlines

    Keep in mind that you are allowed to book an award to just the connecting point on these flights.  For example, if you wanted to fly just from Los Angeles to Tokyo, you can fly on Singapore Airlines even if you don’t book your ticket all the way to Singapore.

    Singapore Airlines has a lot of onward connections from Singapore to the rest of Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and South Asia.  Those regional routes tend to have Business Class award seats available.

    8.  Thai Airways

    Thai Airways is based in Bangkok and usually has a lot of award availability.  If you fly out of Bangkok on Thai in First or Business Class, you even get a 30-minute or 1-hour massage before your flight!

    However, they only fly to one North America city – Los Angeles.  Outside of this route, Thai is generally useful if you want to fly intra-Asia, between Asia and Europe, or between Asia and Australia.

    Thai flies from Los Angeles to Bangkok via Seoul-Incheon.  If you only want to fly Los Angeles to Seoul, you are allowed to book just that portion.

    You Can Fly On Thai Airways From Los Angeles To Bangkok With A Connection In Seoul

    TIP:  When booking award seats on Thai Airways flights for multiple people, you might see only 2 seats available.  Try holding or booking the first 2 seats, then see if Thai opens up more seats afterward.  Often, Thai Airways will only release 2 award seats at a time.

    Flying To Asia Via Europe

    You can use your United miles to fly from North America to Asia via Europe.

    This is huge, because it also allows you to have a stopover in Europe on the way to Asia, if you book your trip as a round-trip.

    We discussed how to find award space from North America to Europe in Part 8: All The Ways To Get To Europe! 

    After reviewing that previous post, we will now have to see how to connect Europe and Asia on our award ticket!

    Restrictions On Segments When Flying To South Asia Via Europe

    Before we begin, you should know the restrictions on awards between the US and South Asia that connect in Europe

    Let’s say you wanted to fly from Chicago to Singapore via Europe on a one-way ticket. You are allowed to book Chicago-Frankfurt-Istanbul-Bangkok-Singapore, because that has 4 segments (3 connecting cities).  However, you are not allowed to book Chicago-Boston-Frankfurt-Istanbul-Bangkok-Singapore because that has 5 segments to South Asia via Europe on a one-way award.

    On a round-trip ticket, you could book Chicago-Boston-Frankfurt-Istanbul-Bangkok-Singapore, but only if you book a return.

    Which Airlines Fly Between Europe And Asia?

    The following is a list of airlines that fly between Europe and Asia.  Cities that are international Star Alliance hubs are bolded.  These hubs tend to have many connection opportunities from partner flights.

    1.  Air China

    You can fly to Beijing, Shanghai, and/or Chengdu from:

    Cities In Europe Where You Can Connect To An Air China Flight

    2.  ANA

    You can fly to Tokyo (Narita) and/or Tokyo (Haneda) from:

    The Cities Where You Can Connect In Europe To Fly ANA To Tokyo.

    3.  Asiana

    You can fly to Seoul-Incheon from:

    The Cities In Europe Where You Can Connect To An Asiana Flight To Seoul

    4.  Austrian

    You can fly from Vienna to:

    You Can Connect In Vienna To Fly Austrian To Bangkok, Beijing, Or Tokyo

    5.  EVA Air

    You can fly to Taipei and Bangkok from:

    You Can Connect In These Cities To Fly EVA Air To Taipei Or Bangkok

    6.  LOT Polish Airlines

    You can fly from Warsaw to:

    LOT Flies From Warsaw To Beijing

    7.  Lufthansa

    You can fly from Frankfurt and/or Munich to:

    You Can Connect In Frankfurt And Munich To Fly Lufthansa To These Asian Cities

    8.  Scandinavian (SAS)

    You can fly from Copenhagen to:

    You can connect in Copenhagen to fly SAS to Asia.

    9.  Singapore Airlines

    Singapore Airlines has mostly economy class award seats available to Singapore from:

    You Can Connect In These European Cities To Fly Singapore Airlines To Singapore

    10.  SWISS

    You can fly from Zurich to:

    You Can Fly From Zurich On SWISS To These Cities In Asia

    11.  Thai Airways

    You can fly to Bangkok from:

    You Can Connect In These Cities In Europe To A Thai Airways Flight To Bangkok

    Bottom Line

    You can use your United miles to fly to Asia on United or a Star Alliance partner such as Air China or ANA.

    You can even fly to Asia via Europe and add a stopover on a roundtrip!

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)