Rare United Polaris Business Class Saver Award And Upgrade Space Nonstop Between The US And Tel Aviv!

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Related post: United Award Sale On Flights From Europe And Israel To The US For United Cardholders And Elite Members!

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 limited 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):

Tel Aviv to Newark:

• January 20 (1 seat 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)
• February 7 (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 14 (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)
• February 21 (5 seats for all members, at least 9 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, 5 upgrade seats for all members, at least 9 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• March 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)
• March 13 (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)

San Francisco to Tel Aviv:

• January 22 (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 29 (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 30 (No seats 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)
• 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 19 (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)

Tel Aviv to San Francisco:

• January 23 (No seats for all members, 5 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, 5 upgrade seats for GS elites)
• January 25 (No seats for all members, 1 saver award seats available for Platinum/1K/GS elites, no upgrade seats for all members, 1 upgrade seats for GS elites)

Chicago to Tel Aviv:

• January 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)

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 40K one-way in coach or 80K 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 80K 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.