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Guam is a U.S. territory, but it’s underrated and lesser discussed than other destinations. Going to Guam from the United States is harder than you think, especially if you want to use miles to book a flight to get there from the United States in a premium class such as Business or First Class.
Given Guam’s geography, it may be easier to get there from Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. But here’s what I gathered for options you can do with your miles and points to get to Guam from the United States:
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| United Polaris Business Class Between Honolulu & Guam |
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United Airlines
United Airlines is the main U.S. airline that flies between the United States and Guam. In fact, you can fly direct from Honolulu to Guam in under 8 hours, and United Airlines operates comfortable United Polaris Business Class seats on this route. If you leave from other U.S. states to Guam, you’ll have to go through a connection in Honolulu or Japan before reaching Guam.
United Airlines Business Polaris Award Availability
Award availability on United Airlines for all the routes to Guam is good, especially for Economy Class; however, it’s hard to find Business Class saver awards when booking ahead of your planned departure. United Airlines only released limited saver awards for Business Class to Guam about 2-3 months in advance if you are lucky, and you may find more saver awards closer to departure. It can be annoying for us who like to plan things well in advance and wish to fly Business Class.
For instance, on Thanksgiving month of November, I saw United Airlines release saver awards from Honolulu to Guam. This article was written in January, and saver awards in Business Class from Honolulu to Guam in February look pretty good too. See the screenshot below.
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| United Award Availability Between Honolulu & Guam |
A non-saver award Business Class ticket between Honolulu and Guam requires 110,000 United miles per way. A saver award Business Class ticket requires only 45,000 United miles per way.
United Airlines Premium Economy
It’s worth mentioning that the Premium Economy in United Polaris-operating flight still offers comfortable seats like the domestic reclining Business/First Class. United charges almost the same miles for premium economy and regular economy redemptions. An option is to buy a ticket in the economy and use miles to upgrade to a premium economy. This option requires 30,000 United miles per way to upgrade a coach cash ticket. You can not upgrade economy award tickets.
The following United miles redemption reflects Saver Award tickets between Hawaii/Honolulu and Guam, except for the Premium Economy.
| Class of Service | Miles Needed (One-way) Hawaii/Honolulu & Guam |
Taxes & Fees |
| Economy | 27,500 | $5.60 (HNL-GUM) $9.43 (GUM-HNL) |
| Premium Economy | 100,000 (Non-Saver) | $5.60 (HNL-GUM) $9.43 (GUM-HNL) |
| Business | 45,000 | $5.60 (HNL-GUM) $9.43 (GUM-HNL) |
If you are flying from the mainland United States, such as between LAX and Guam, you will have a layover in Honolulu or Japan. While United Airlines somehow is consistent with award miles between Hawaii/Honolulu and Guam, award miles for other routes are dynamically priced, except for the Premium Economy:
| Class of Service | Miles Needed (One-way) Mainland U.S. States & Guam |
Taxes & Fees |
| Economy | Starting 35,000 | $5.60 (HNL-GUM) via HNL, $24.60 via Japan $9.43 (GUM-HNL) via HNL, $34.03 via Japan |
| Premium Economy | 135,000 | $5.60 (HNL-GUM) via HNL, $24.60 via Japan $9.43 (GUM-HNL) via HNL, $34.03 via Japan |
| Business | Starting 70,000 | $5.60 (HNL-GUM) via HNL, $24.60 via Japan $9.43 (GUM-HNL) via HNL, $34.03 via Japan |
Star Alliance
United Airlines is a member of Star Alliance. Therefore, as long as there’s a Saver Award available to book with United Airlines, you can use other frequent flyer miles within the Star Alliance members to book as well. Here are a couple examples:
Air Canada Aeroplan
- Between Honolulu and Guam
- Economy Class: 35,000 Aeroplan points + CA $74 – CA $79
- Business Class: 55,000 Aeroplan points + CA $74 – CA $79
- Between LAX and Guam
- Via Honolulu:
- Economy Class: 50,000 Aeroplan points + CA $95
- Business Class: 75,000 Aeroplan points + CA $95
- Via Japan:
- Economy Class: 60,000 Aeroplan points + CA $74
- Business Class: 87,500 Aeroplan points + CA $74
Avianca LifeMiles
- Between Honolulu and Guam
- Economy Class: 27,500 LifeMiles + $30.53 – $34.99
- Business Class: 48,000 LifeMiles + $30.53 – $34.99
oneworld
Because Guam is closer to Japan than America, you can also redeem miles for Japan Airlines JAL flights. One thing to note is that JAL cannot sell tickets between Guam and Hawaii/USA with a Tokyo connection on one reservation, and you’ll have to be creative and book each segment separately. The good news is that JAL award availability is considerably better than United Airlines, and their Business and First Class services between Tokyo and the United States are also nicer than United Airlines.
If you choose this method, you can use Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and British Airways to search for award availability and book. They are all part of the oneworld alliance.
One caveat with JAL between Guam and Hawaii route is their schedule is sporadic:
SkyTeam
Guam is also closer to South Korea, so you can fly between Guam and the United States via Seoul through Korean Air. The issue is that, like Japan Airlines, Korean Air cannot sell tickets between Guam and the United States via Seoul on one ticket. So you’ll need to book them separately. Moreover, Korean Air award availability for premium seats can be hard to find between Seoul and the United States. Korean Air miles are also hard to earn since they left Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) points.
You can use Delta Air Lines SkyMiles to search and book Korean Air flights. Alternatively, you can also use Alaska Airlines miles to search and book Korean Air flights; however, the ticket must be a round-trip ticket.
Credit Card Points & Amex Business Platinum 35% Pay With Points
Last but not least, consider the credit card points if you are unsure what miles to use, saver award availability is too limited, or redemptions are not good. While redeeming your flexible credit card points this way is not always the best option, sometimes you have to do what you must to make the trip work for your time and money if you want to visit Guam.
Chase, Citi, and Amex have travel portals where you can use points to book a flight ticket, and the value of points depends on which card you have. One of my favorite redemption for premium class flights is the 35% Pay With Points Rebate With American Express Business Platinum Card.
My recommendation is to be creative in your search. United Airlines may be the best bet because you can find cheaper airfare using multi-city searches.
For example, when I searched Honolulu to Guam round-trip, the price was $3,110 for a United Polaris Business Class seat. However, if I did multiple cities by building each leg in between, the price would change to $3,540. So for $430 more, I can fly from Guam to Saipan and back and get all the way to the mainland, LAX specifically, all in Business Class seats. In addition, you’ll also earn United frequent flyer miles from the trip.
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| United Airlines Multi-City Search |
Use Google Flights to help build the itinerary because it is very useful. Then plug the routes into the Amex Travel website.
The following blog post will show you more details on how to use and book the 35% Pay With Points Rebate With American Express Business Platinum Card.
