McCown and I are working on researching a trip to Myanmar for sometime in 2015 and have been scouring the internet trying to learn all that we can about how to get there, what to see, where to stay, etc… We’ll have a few points related to our Myanmar trip planning over the next few weeks, but, first of all: What’s the best way to get to Myanmar using miles or points from North America? 

Map of Myanmar/Burma. Yangon = home of the main international airport for the country. Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake are popular tourist destinations within the country.

There are essentially 3 major international entry points for Myanmar: Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyidaw.

Destinations served from Yangon-RGN:

This represents all non-stop flights to/from Yangon-RGN

This is a zoomed in view on the region

Destinations served from Mandalay-MDL:

All non-stop flights served from Mandalay-MDL

Destinations served from Naypyidaw-NYT:

Non-stop routes flown to/fom Naypyidaw-MDL

Most travelers will find it most economical and logical to make Yangon-RGN their Myanmar entry and departure points. From Yangon, you’ll need to plan the rest of your destinations.

Of all of the above flights, those wishing to travel with miles or points will be most interested in the routes operated by companies who participate in one of the 3 major alliances.

British Airways Avios

Transfer Partners: 1:1 Chase Ultimate Rewards & 1:1 AMEX
Alliance: Oneworld Alliance

A pretty good option for many might be to include a combination of a paid booking and an award booking with British Airways Avios.

The Avios award chart is distance-based and based upon segments, meaning, if you add in a few connections, you can quickly wind up with a rather unreasonable price tag in miles. A great option, however, could be to book a paid flight to/from one of the following gateways and then book an award to carry you to the final destination of Myanmar.

Referencing the Avios award chart:

You’ll find that the 3 Oneworld routes into Myanmar will cost:

The even better news is that British Airways won’t hit you up for outrageous fuel surcharges that might make this method a deal breaker. Here’s a few sample bookings:

Kuala Lumpur-KUL to Yangon-RGN will only cost you 15k Avios + $35 roundtrip in economy

American Airlines

Transfer Partners: Not partners with Chase or AMEX
Alliance: Oneworld Alliance

American Airlines no longer allows stopovers on its awards, but an open-jaw shouldn’t be a problem since it permits one-way award bookings. If you’re traveling from North American to Myanmar (or any other country in “Asia 2” as designated by American Airlines:Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Saipan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam):

North American to Myanmar on American Airlines requires 70k American Airlines miles roundtrip in economy

We’ll go more into depth on the best routings using American Airlines miles to Yangon-RGN but, in the meantime, here are the intermediate airlines that you can choose from to bring you the last stretch to Myanmar:

Delta SkyMiles

Transfer Partners: 1:1 AMEX
Alliance: SkyTeam

The Delta SkyMiles program is making big changes starting Jan 1, 2015, but, so far, the award prices to Southeast Asia (including Myanmar) will remain the same. Here’s the award chart for Delta award flights booked after Jan 1, 2015:

Delta Skymiles 2015 Program = 80k SkyMiles in Economy to Myanmar

Delta Skymiles 2015 Program = 140k SkyMiles roundtrip in BusinessElite to Myanmar

The one big change that will affect an award booking is that (until Dec 31, 2014) you can include a stopover and open-jaw in your award booking. This will likely end on Jan 1, 2015 when the new program takes hold. The good news? You will be able to book one-way SkyMile awards, which means you could spend 40k SkyMiles getting to Myanmar and then return on a different airline’s rewards or purchase a paid ticket home.

SkyTeam actually has a pretty solid presence when it comes to routes to/from Myanmar; here are your choices for the last leg:

United MileagePlus miles

Transfer Partners: 1:1 Chase Ultimate Rewards
Alliance: Star Alliance

Given all of your options, the United MileagePlus program may very well be the most versatile program to use for award travel from the U.S. to Myanmar and other countries in South Asia. Although it’s not the cheapest U.S. based carrier (United costs 10k more miles RT than American), United still allows awards to be booked with 1 free stopover and 1 free open-jaw:

A United MileagePlus award ticket to Myanmar will cost you 80k miles roundtrip in economy

Economy: 80k miles
Business: 140k miles
First: 160k miles

This means you can easily visit 3+ cities on one award ticket.

Pros: United doesn’t pass on fuel surcharges from their partner airlines. Thai Airways is a Star Alliance member and is very well suited to get you around Southeast Asia.
Cons: If you book Business or First class with partner airlines the award prices increase dramatically.

US Airways

Transfer Partners: Not partners with Chase or AMEX
Alliance: Oneworld Alliance

Economy: 80k miles
Business: 120k miles
First: 160k miles

Pros: Allows one stopover or one open jaw, No fuel surcharges except on British Airways and Iberia
Cons: Fuel surcharges on British Airways and Iberia

AeroMexico

Transfer Partners: 1:1 AMEX
Alliance: SkyTeam Allaiance

Economy: ~112k KMP miles
Business: ~152k KMP miles

Air Canada Aeroplan

Transfer Partners: 1:1 AMEX
Alliance: Star Alliance

Economy: 90k miles
Business: 155k miles
First: 215k miles

Pros: Allows stopovers and open-jaws
Cons: Warning! Many carriers might charge a fuel surcharge from around ~$300 for economy to ~$900 for business

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Transfer Partners: 1:1 AMEX
Alliance: SkyTeam Alliance

Number of Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles required for a roundtrip award:

Economy: 80k miles
Premium Economy: 160k miles
Business: 200k miles

Cons: Warning! You’ll get hit with fuel surcharges!

Alitalia MilleMiglia Club

Transfer Partners: 1:1 AMEX
Alliance: SkyTeam Alliance

It’s not entirely clear if Myanmar falls into Indian Sub-Continent or Southeast Asia on Alitalia’s award chart as they don’t specifically list it, but this will give you a ball park idea:

Economy: 70k – 80k miles
Business: 95k – 100k miles

ANA Mileage Club

Transfer Partners: 1:1 AMEX
Alliance: Star Alliance

Economy: 75k – 100k miles
Business: 115k – 145k miles
First: 180k – 220k miles

Asia Miles

Transfer Partners: 1:1 AMEX
Alliance: Oneworld Alliance

Asia Miles has a distance-based award chart that goes up in price depending upon how many partners you choose to book with. For example, here’s the chart for booking 2+ Oneworld Alliance members:

You’ll be hard pressed to use any less miles than the Award Zone 10 or 11 so count on the following amounts:

Economy: 95k – 110k miles
Business: 140k – 160k miles
First: 205k – 235k miles

Pros: “You can make a maximum of five stopovers, two transfers and two open-jaws at either origin, en-route or turnaround point, subject to airline partners’ terms and conditions.”
Cons: Fuel surcharges!

Iberia Plus

Transfer Partners: 1:1 AMEX
Alliance: Oneworld Alliance

While Iberia also uses Avios, the same currency as British Airways, its award chart is priced a bit higher:

Economy: 82.5k – 112.5k miles
Business: 165k – 225k miles
First: 249k – 337.5k miles

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer 

Transfer Partners: 1:1 Chase Ultimate Rewards & 1:1 AMEX
Alliance: Star Alliance

Economy: 70k – 75k miles
Business: 160k – 170k miles
First: 215k – 220k miles

Virgin America Elevate

Transfer Partners: 100 Elevate points = 200 Membership Rewards® Points AMEX
Alliance: None

While Virgin America doesn’t publish a full award chart, they do give you a few estimates on select routes. Below is the range for flights from San Francisco-SFO to Hong Kong-HKG and Dubai-DXB so it should give a decent estimate of what to except if requesting a full booking to Myanmar.

Economy: 40k – 50k Elevate points, adjusted to typical rates = 80k – 100k AMEX points
Business: 95k – 115k Elevate points = 190k – 230k AMEX points
First: 130k Elevate points = 260k AMEX points

BOTTOM LINE: You’ll want to use the miles/airlines that make the most sense for you. I’ve been hoarding Chase Ultimate Rewards points so any of the airlines that partner with Chase will be a good choice for me. For 80k miles roundtrip that includes a stopover and an open-jaw, United will likely be our best bet.

Featured image: https://flic.kr/p/8ZQFgr