Asiana Airlines
How to book Asiana Airlines with points. Best program, saver pricing reality, and the hub-and-route map for the carrier.
Asiana Airlines sits in an interesting position within Star Alliance: a full-service Korean carrier with a genuinely competitive long-haul product, connecting Seoul Incheon to North America on wide-body equipment. The Business Smartium cabin offers fully flat beds and direct-aisle access on transpacific routes, and the First Suites product is among the more private first-class configurations available on a Star Alliance member. For travelers who want a Korean carrier experience without flying Korean Air (a SkyTeam member), Asiana is one of the few remaining options, and the saver award chart still reflects legacy pricing that can represent strong value per point.
Air Canada Aeroplan is the most practical program for booking Asiana saver awards from North America. Aeroplan prices transpacific Business Smartium space at saver rates from 75,000 points one-way, and First Suites from 100,000 points one-way. Aeroplan has no fuel surcharge pass-through on Asiana metal, which matters significantly on transpacific itineraries where carrier-imposed surcharges can reach several hundred dollars on other programs. Aeroplan points are also reachable through several transferable currencies, including Chase Ultimate Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, which we value at 2.0¢ per point on rewardztravel.com's conservative CPP scale. A successful business-class redemption against that baseline can push well above our valuation, making Aeroplan the logical starting point for this route.
On US departures, Asiana operates nonstop transpacific service from three primary gateways: LAX, JFK, and SFO, all routing to Seoul Incheon (ICN). The ICN hub is well-positioned for onward connections within Asia, and Aeroplan's partner-routing rules allow stopovers and open-jaws that can extend the value of a single award ticket. Equipment on these routes is typically wide-body, supporting both the Business Smartium and First Suites configurations, though specific aircraft assignments should be confirmed closer to departure as schedules and equipment can change.
Saver award availability on Asiana is capacity-controlled, and Business Smartium and First Suites seats in particular are released at the carrier's discretion. Asiana does not guarantee a fixed number of saver seats per flight, and premium cabin availability can be sparse on high-demand travel periods including Korean holidays, summer peak season, and around major events in Seoul. Searching across a flexible date window of several weeks, rather than a single target date, significantly improves the odds of finding releasable space. Connecting itineraries through ICN onward to secondary Asian destinations can sometimes surface availability that direct-segment searches miss, but no search strategy removes the underlying scarcity of premium saver inventory.
Find space in Air Canada Aeroplan first, then transfer your points.
Popular routes from US gateways
Saver award space is capacity-controlled. Most flights release 0-4 saver seats; the routes above represent typical patterns, not guaranteed availability on any given date.
Award strategy
- Search through Air Canada Aeroplan first. Its award chart and search engine usually surface Asiana Airlines saver inventory at the best price.
- Use ±3 day flex on departure dates. Saver awards on Asiana Airlines appear and disappear within hours, especially on peak seasonal routes.
- Confirm the seat is held at the headline price before transferring points. Transfers are one-way; if the seat vanishes mid-transfer the points are stuck.
- Book within the same session as the search when possible. Saver inventory you saw 30 minutes ago may be gone.
