🔴 Update: June 6, 2026: Big news dropped today. Philippine Airlines has been officially invited to join the oneworld Alliance, announced at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Brazil. This means American Airlines miles, British Airways Avios, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and Japan Airlines miles may all eventually book PAL flights. The Qatar Avios path in this post is live right now (keep scrolling!) but the oneworld news makes PAL an even bigger deal for families. More to come. [Source: oneworld Alliance, Philippine Airlines)
Okay, I Have to Tell You About This PAL Thing.
Because if your family has roots in the Philippines or you have plans to Asia, this is exactly the kind of thing I wish someone had texted me.
Can I just start by saying finding four business class award seats together on a transpacific flight is genuinely hard? Most of those premium cabin award seats are released one or two at a time, which is great if you’re traveling solo. But you have a family and that changes everything.
So when something comes along that actually works for families like multiple seats, flat beds, nonstop, I want to put it right in front of you. That’s what’s happening right now with Philippine Airlines. Grab your coffee. Let me walk you through it.
First, the plane.
Philippine Airlines just received their second brand-new Airbus A350-1000 on May 29th. They got the first one back in December 2025. Here’s the thing: they are the first airline in all of Southeast Asia to fly this aircraft. This is the same generation of plane that everyone loses their mind over when Japan Airlines flies it.
The business class on this plane is called the Mabuhay Studio. Full flat bed. A door on your suite. Every single seat is either a window or an aisle, no climbing over anyone in the middle of the night. 42 seats total in business class, laid out so you actually have your own space.
What’s the whole point of this plane? It was built for ultra-long flights, nonstop from Manila to North America long.
Here’s where it’s flying right now:
- Manila to New York (JFK) : already operating on the A350-1000
- Manila to Toronto (YYZ) : will start on June 5th, also on the A350-1000
There’s a new route coming: Manila to Chicago (ORD) starts November 9th, 2026, three times a week. That one flies on the A350-900, which is the slightly older sibling. It is still lie-flat business class, just not the brand-new Mabuhay Studio product (like with privary door.) But for anyone in the Midwest who has been connecting through Tokyo or Hong Kong to get to Manila? A nonstop option is huge.
Now, here’s where it gets really good.
Philippine Airlines has never been part of a big alliance. No Star Alliance, no oneworld. Which historically meant booking Philippine Airlines with points was a pain.The rules were complicated. It just wasn’t easy.
That changed on June 1st, 2026.
Qatar Airways launched a full award partnership with PAL. This means right now, today, you can go to qatarairways.com, search Philippine Airlines flights, and book them with Qatar Avios ONLINE.
Here’s what the award pricing looks like for business class, one-way per person:
- Flying from New York (JFK) / Toronto (YYZ) to Manila: about 154,500 Avios
- Flying from the West Coast (Los Angeles or Vancouver) to Manila: about 110,000 Avios
And fees are pretty reasonable. Around $200 USD on the longest flights. No horror show of fuel surcharges.
Taxes and fees are pretty reasonable around $200 USD on the longest flights. No horror nor drama show of fuel surcharges. I’ll be very honest with you. Those Avios numbers are not the cheapest you’ll ever see for a transpacific business class redemption. I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
But here’s what I keep coming back to: the availability.
Early searches are showing four to six business class seats open on the same flight. FOUR TO SIX. Do you know how rare that is? Normally you’re staring at one seat, maybe two, and figuring out who gets the flat bed and who gets economy. For a family that needs three or four seats together, this kind of availability changes the math completely.
New York – Manila
New York – Manila
Vancouver – Manila
Oh, And There’s A Transfer Bonus Happening Right Now
If you have Citi ThankYou Rewards points from Citi Strata Elite and Citi Strata Premier, listen up. Through June 30th, Qatar Airways is offering a 30% transfer bonus when you move your Citi ThankYou Rewards points over to Qatar Avios. That brings the real cost down quite a bit.
What that actually looks like:
- That 110,000 Avios West Coast fare? With the bonus, you only need to transfer about 85,000 Citi points to get there.
- The 154,500 Avios East Coast fare? About 119,000 Citi points with the bonus applied.
One thing I want to flag, the bonus Avios don’t post instantly. Qatar says they’ll land in your account by July 31st. So if you’re trying to book something this week, plan accordingly. But if you’re booking a trip later this year or into 2027, this timing works perfectly fine.
If you’re an Amex person rather than Citi: you can still get to Qatar Avios. you can still get to Qatar Avios at 1:1. You can transfer your Amex points directly to Qatar Airways Privilege Club. Or, if British Airways is running a transfer bonus at the time (30-40% is not uncommon), transfer to BA first at 1:1, then move them over to Qatar through something called Combine My Avios. A little more steps but when there’s a bonus running, it pays off.
One more practical thing about Qatar Privilege Club: It needs your account to be at least 30 days old before it can receive transfers. So if you don’t have an account yet, go open one today even if you’re not ready to do anything else. You’re just starting the clock.
So Who Is This Actually For?
I think about this a lot, because not every redemption makes sense for every family. So let me just be specific.
- If you’re on the West Coast like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, or Vancouver, PAL already flies nonstop to Manila from your city. This is probably your most natural option anyway, and the 110,000 Avios fare is the one that applies to you. That’s the lowest pricing tier, and with the Citi transfer bonus running right now, it gets even more manageable. (Or stay tuned for Avios transfer bonus later in the year with the other banks which may come with 30%-40% offer.)
- If you’re in New York, PAL flies nonstop JFK to Manila on the brand-new A350-1000 with the Mabuhay Studio cabin. One flight with flat beds for the whole family and now you can book it with points online.
- If you’re a Filipino-Canadian family in Toronto, the nonstop route on the A350-1000 just launched June 5th. This is new. You can book it with Qatar Avios right now.
- If you’re in Honolulu, PAL serves that route too. Worth knowing if you’re island-hopping or positioning through Hawaii.
- And if you’re in Chicago, the nonstop to Manila is coming November 9th. First time this route has ever existed. For Midwest families who have always had to connect somewhere to get to the Philippines, that’s a big deal.
Even if you have another preferred program for your Asia trips, this is still worth knowing about as a backup. Availability dries up. Plans change. Having another option in your toolkit that actually works for a family-sized booking is never a bad thing.
Here’s one small thing you can do today.
If you have Citi points, check your balance. The 30% bonus to Qatar Avios is live through June 30th. If you’re even thinking about a Philippines trip in the next year, it’s worth doing the math before that window closes.
Just curious? go to qatarairways.com and search. You’re not committing anything. But I think you’ll be surprised by what you find when you search for three or four seats together.
Now when you’re reading this thinking, okay, this sounds amazing, but I genuinely don’t know if my points are even the right ones for any of this. Start with my free guide. It’s called “3 Myths Keeping Families from Flying Business and First Class to Asia” and it will help you figure out where you actually stand. Most families I talk to are closer than they think.
Here’s the thing about award travel for families.
Family award travel to Asia Pacific is not about being lucky. It’s not about catching some magical deal that disappears in 10 minutes and even seconds. It’s about knowing what’s out there so you can make a real decision when the time is right.
Philippine Airlines with a brand-new flat-bed cabin, bookable online with points, with room for your whole family on the same flight, that’s worth knowing about. And now you do.
Questions? Come find me on Instagram @mariapointstheway or facebook drop a comment below. I love hearing from families who are just starting to figure this out and from those who have been at it for a while. All of you are welcome here: All of you are welcome here: Will you try out this latest A350-1000 on PAL?
