American long-haul deals almost are like unicorns this year. Nonexistent. Here’s one! United, Asiana, and Korean has this for about $50 cheaper. Only United and American are full mileage earning. American is being featured because there hasn’t been too many American long haul deals this year.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Photo: David McKelvey, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)

Sample Travel Date:

• September 15th – 22nd

Fare Availability:

• Valid for travel on the outbound from August 21st – November 30th or January 1st, 2015 – May 20th, 2015 for Monday through Thursday departures. Must purchase at least 3 days in advance of departure.

How to Search for Availability:

• Use ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search and use the following search criteria:
  • Departing from: SEA
  • Outbound Advanced Routing Code: aa+
  • Destination:  SGN
  • Return Advanced Routing Code: aa+
  • (Click on Advanced Routing Codes link to enable advanced routing code input)
  • Select “See calendar of lowest fares”
  • Length of stay “0-7” (the max date range is 7 days. So 0-7, 5-12, 7-14 etc)
• Beginner’s Guide on How to Use Matrix by ITA Software
• How to Read Airfare Rules and Use It to Your Advantage

Fare Class:

• N

Routing:

• SEA – LAX (Los Angeles) – NRT (Tokyo) – SGN (Ho Chi Minh City) – NRT – LAX – SEA. Some segments will be operated by Alaska and Japan Airlines under American flight numbers.

Stopover:

• Two permitted at $100 each
• How to Take Advantage of a Stopover

Mileage:

• 18,226 miles or 4.8 cents per mile

How to Book:

• Use Google.com/Flights to book with dates found on ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search. It will redirect you to American to book. That’s the only thing that worked for us to have it price.

• Save $400 off your next travel purchase after signing up for the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®.* Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days – that’s enough to redeem for a $400 travel statement credit

Accommodations:

For hotel bookings, we recommend that you only book using online travel agencies (Hotels.com, HotelsCombined.com or Hotwire.com) if it is a non-chain hotel. We don’t want you to miss out on earning rewards with chain hotels.

• Accor Hotels
  • Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis
• Aloft Hotels
• CheapTickets
• Country Inns and Suites
• Four Points
• Hilton Hotels
  • Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Home2
• Hotels.com
• HotelsCombined.com
• Hotwire
• Intercontinental Group
  • Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites
• Le Meridien
• Orbitz
• Preferred Hotels & Resorts
  • Preferred, Sterling, Summit
• Radisson Hotels
  • Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn, Hotel Missioni
• Sheraton
• Venere
• Westin
• W Hotels
• Wyndham Hotels
  • Wyndham, Tryp, Wingate, Hawthorn, Microtel, Dream, Planet Hollywood, Ramada, Night, Baymont, Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn

Car Rentals

• Avis – US and Canadian Rentals
• CarRentals.com
• Fox Rent A Car
• Hotwire
• Orbitz
• Payless Car Rental
• Sixt Car Rental – Good Agency for Rentals in Europe

Background Information:

• Visa Requirements: US Citizens – Visa required prior to arrival. Prices vary. However, you may have an agent arrange a visa for pick-up upon arrival at Ho Chi Minh City Airport for a $20-25 handling fee paid upfront + $45 for the visa itself (also payable upon arrival). The Flight Deal team has used VietnamStay.com in the past for this service. It is much better than sending away your passport. Other nationals, check the TIMATIC Visa Database.
• Currency: Vietnamese Dong (VND). $1USD = 21,088 VND

Tips for saving when using credit cards at international destinations:

• No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards to save on international purchases
• Don’t get hit with Dynamic Currency Conversion
• Get your taxes refunded when shopping
• How to Avoid International Data Roaming Charges

For more of the latest cheap Seattle Flight Deals:

• Go to the The Seattle Flight Deals page

* The Flight Deal will receive a commission if you use the Orbitz, accommodation or car rental affiliate links to make a booking or apply and is approved for a credit card using our link above. Thank you for your continuing support.

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The Flight Deal does not sell travel products or services. We provide you with information about third-party travel suppliers’ offers, and link you to their sites. The information posted by The Flight Deal is valid at the time of publication. However, we have no control over the suppliers, and we therefore do not warrant or guarantee that their offers will not change or become unavailable. Nor are we responsible for their products, services or site content. Please see their sites for their most up-to-date offer information and all applicable terms and conditions.