United “sale”: Lome (Africa) to Tokyo in business class for 38.5K miles

Someone spotted a “sale fare” on United and there have been many heated discussions in the last week or so. It is a bit niche, but nonetheless a very good deal if you can fly the route.

Using United miles, you pay only 38,500 miles for a one-way business class ticket from Lome, Togo in West Africa to Tokyo, or vice versa.

You typically need to change at Addis Ababa first and then once more at Shanghai, Seoul or Bangkok. The flights could be operated by Ethiopian Airlines, Thai Airways, Asiana Airlines and Juneyao Airlines.

At 9,000 miles in total distance it’s a very long flight:

Citizens of most countries need to acquire an e-visa before visiting Togo. If you don’t have United miles, you could transfer from Marriott points but it usually takes around one week.