Rare United Polaris Business Class Saver Award And Upgrade Space Nonstop Between Newark Or San Francisco And Tel Aviv!

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Nonstop saver business class award space between North America and Tel Aviv has been a true unicorn since Israel reopened from COVID. However looking into 2024, there’s some United award and upgrade space, though most is reserved for United’s top elite members. Note that sample dates below include flights that are over Shabbos, so Shabbos observers should take note before booking.

Sample business saver award space (You can also connect from other cities to these flights on the same award ticket):

Newark to Tel Aviv:

• January 29 (1 seat for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, 1 upgrade seat for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 30 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 5 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 6 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 20 (2 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, 2 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)

Tel Aviv to Newark:

• January 19 (2 seats for all members, 2 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, 2 upgrade seats for all members, 2 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 20 (No seats for all members, 1 saver award seat available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, 1 upgrade seat for all members, 1 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 22 (No seats for all members, 4 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, 4 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 26 (1 seat for all members, 1 saver award seat available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, 1 upgrade seat for all members, 1 upgrade seat for GS elites)
• February 13 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 16 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 23 (At least 9 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, at least 9 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• March 8 (2 seats for all members, 2 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, 2 upgrade seats for all members, 2 upgrade seats for GS elites)

San Francisco to Tel Aviv:

• November 23 (No seats for all members, 2 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, 2 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 1 (2 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, 7 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 22 (At least 9 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, at least 9 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 29 (At least 9 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, at least 9 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 30 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 5 (At least 9 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, at least 9 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 6 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 12 (At least 9 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, at least 9 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 13 (No seats for all members, 4 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, 4 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 19 (At least 9 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, at least 9 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 20 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 26 (6 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, at least 9 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• February 27 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• March 4 (4 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, at least 9 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)

Tel Aviv to San Francisco:

• January 11 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 18 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 31 (No seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)

United’s Tel Aviv flights operate with Polaris seating that have direct aisle access for every business class seat. You can choose from solo seats or seats for people traveling together.

Business class seats include United’s newly launched Polaris business class service with Saks Fifth Avenue bedding and pillows. Savvy travelers will also request a Saks Fifth Avenue mattress pad, slippers, and pajamas, as those are not proactively offered by flight attendants as there aren’t enough of them for everyone.

Upgrade awards:

You can always waitlist for an upgrade award, but the dates above have flights that are confirmable now by calling United.

If you have a paid ticket, the cost of an upgrade varies based on your ticket’s fare class as follows:

In other words, it will cost 35K United miles plus $600 for a one-way upgrade from most discounted coach tickets to business class.

Business saver class award booking options:

• You can transfer miles from Chase Ultimate Rewards to United (1:1 ratio) instantly. United charges 42.5K one-way in coach or 75K one-way in business class for United flights to Israel. United now also charges 1,500-3,000 extra miles for tickets bought close-in to the flight date. United never collects fuel surcharges. Awards can be cancelled for free up to the time of departure.
  • You can also redeem 75K United miles for business class even when there is only coach available. Read this post for how to do that via “Plan B”.
  • Having a Chase United card greatly expands the saver award space that you can book. United.com only shows the lowest available award rate when you’re logged in, so a cardholder may see a 42.5K rate while a non-cardholder will see the 95K standard rate. Cardholders also have the ability to book the last seat available in any class with Standard/Everyday awards.
  • Learn more about rapidly accumulating Ultimate Rewards points here.
• Air Canada Aeroplan charges 40K in coach or 70K in business class one-way. There are no fuel surcharges for United flights. Points transfer instantly (1:1 ratio) from AMEX, Capital One, or Chase. Transfers from Marriott (60K:25K ratio) can take 2-20 days.
• Avianca Lifemiles charges 42.5K in coach or 78K in business class one-way. There are no fuel surcharges for any flights. Points transfer instantly (1:1 ratio) from AMEX, Capital One, or Citi. Transfers from Marriott (60K:25K ratio) can take 2-20 days.
• Aegean charges 35K miles in coach or 55K miles in business class one-way. They don’t charge fuel surcharges for United flights. Transfers from Marriott (60K:25K ratio) can take 2-20 days.
• Turkish charges a mere 32K miles in coach or 47K miles in business class one-way. They don’t charge fuel surcharges for United flights. Transfers from Capital One (1:1) are instant, while transfers from Citi (1:1 ratio) take about a day and transfers from Marriott (60K:25K ratio) can take 2-5 days. See directions for how to search for award space here.
• Singapore charges 45K in coach or 76.5K in business class one-way. There are no fuel surcharges for United awards. You can transfer points from AMEX and Capital One instantly or transfers from Chase or Citi take a day at a 1:1 ratio, but it will take about day for points to show up. Transfers from Marriott (60K:25K ratio) can take 2-20 days.
• ANA charges 65K miles in coach or 104K miles in business class round-trip, one-way awards aren’t available. There are no fuel surcharges for United awards. It can take 1-2 days to transfer points from AMEX to ANA (1:1 ratio) and transfers from Marriott to ANA (60K:25K ratio) can take 2-20 days.

AMEX cards with transferable Membership Rewards points include:

• AMEX Blue Business Plus
• AMEX Platinum Business
• AMEX Gold Business Card
• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• American Express® Gold Card
• AMEX Green Consumer Card
• AMEX Everyday Preferred Consumer Card
• AMEX Everyday Consumer Card

If you, a member in your household, or an authorized user has one of the following Chase cards, you can transfer points into miles:

• Chase Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card® Card has an 80K signup bonus ending soon, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.3 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 60K signup bonus, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card  earns 3 points per dollar on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($95 annual fee). Read more here.

Chase no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a 75K signup bonus and earns 5 points per dollar on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, office supply stores, and gift cards from office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card has a 75K signup bonus and earns 1.5 points per dollar everywhere ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a signup bonus offering 3 points per dollar on up to $20K of spending in your first 12 month, afterwards earn at least 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

If you or a friend has one of the following Citi cards, you can transfer points into miles:

• Citi Premier® Card has a 60,000 point bonus for spending $4,000 in 3 months, 3 points per dollar on airfare, hotels, travel agents, groceries, gas, and dining. $95 annual fee. Read more here.

Citi no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

• The Citi Double Cash® Card offers 2% cash back or 2 points per dollar spent everywhere that can be transferred into ThankYou points. If you also have a Citi Premier® Card Card you can transfer points into miles. No annual fee. Read more here.
• The Citi Custom Cash® Card offers 5 points per dollar on up to $500 in purchases in your top eligible spending category each billing cycle. This is marketed as 5% cash back, but will actually come in the form of 5 ThankYou points per dollar spent! Eligible categories include Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs, and Live Entertainment. You will also get 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. No annual fee. Read more here.
• The Citi Rewards+® Card offering 25,000 points for spending $1,500 in 3 months. This card can’t transfer points on its own, but can transfer points if you have one of the Citi cards above. This card automatically rounds up rewards earned on every purchase to the nearest 10 points, meaning you earn 10 points on a $0.50 Amazon balance reload. Earn 2 points on $6K in annual spending at supermarkets, and a 10% points rebate when you redeem points, up to a 10K points rebate per year. If you also have a Citi Premier® Card Card you can transfer points into miles and get a 10% points rebate on transferred or redeemed miles. No annual fee. Read more here.

Capital One cards with transferable points include:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4,000 in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent, $300 annual travel credit, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Priority Pass Lounge membership, and more. Read more here.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4,000 in 3 months, plus 2 miles per dollar spent. Read more here.
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business: Earn 50,000 bonus miles, plus 2 miles per dollar spent.
• Capital One Spark Cash Plus: Earn up to 100,000 bonus miles, plus 2 miles per dollar spent, convertible into transferrable miles with any of the 3 cards above. Read more here.

Marriott cards with transferable points include:

• Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Consumer Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^™ American Express^®Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card

HT: arflight, via DDF