Taiwan's Starlux Airlines has just run its first promotion on buying miles, and for a certain kind of traveller it's genuinely interesting. Until 9 November 2026, members of the airline's COSMILE program can buy miles at 40% off, paying 2.4 cents per mile instead of the usual four. It's the cheapest route yet into a first class cabin that's otherwise notoriously hard to book at a fair price.

Some background: Starlux launched COSMILE in 2019 when the airline started flying, but for years it was only useful if you actually flew Starlux or lived in Taiwan. The program has just one airline partner (Alaska Airlines), and most people redeeming on Starlux do better with Alaska's own points. In August 2026 that changed slightly, when Starlux began selling miles directly through its website — log in, head to the COSMILE section and choose Mileage Purchase. Sales run through points.com, you can buy 1,000 to 150,000 miles per transaction, and 150,000 is the annual cap.

Why bother? Because Starlux first class has long been a cash trap. The product itself is a bit odd — it sits on all the airline's A350s, with no curtain separating it from business class, and pricing is steep. The author had struggled to find a long-haul first class fare for less than about $8,700 one-way. Redemption was the loophole, and it still is: an Asia–Americas or Asia–Europe first class award now costs 130,000 miles each way after a small devaluation on 1 October 2026. At the promo rate, that works out to roughly $3,120 for a ticket that would cost thousands more in cash, plus about $300 in taxes and fees.

Two things sweeten the deal. First, award availability is reportedly excellent — unsurprising for a cabin the airline barely sells. Second, if you fly out of Los Angeles, a first class ticket gets you into PS LAX, the private terminal experience that normally costs $1,300 on its own. Factor that in and the maths starts looking friendlier.

The author, who flew Starlux first class from LAX to Taipei on an A350-900 and then on to Tokyo Narita on an A350-1000, came away impressed despite modest expectations — even if the first class lounge is, in his words, strange.

Is this for you? Honestly, it's niche. There are cheaper ways to buy your way into other first class products with points, and 2.4 cents per mile is a big outlay — you'd need 130,000 of them. But if Starlux's first class specifically is on your bucket list, this promo is about as good as the maths is likely to get, and it's unclear whether a discount this size will return. Just note the window: purchases must be made between 15 October and 9 November 2026.