Bay Area flight deals radar - July 13-20, 2026: SFO Asia from $713 and Starlux awards

The best move today is to check the July 18-19 Cathay fares first, then search Starlux business-class space before moving any points. The freshest cash board is unusually concentrated in Asia: six SFO posts from July 16-19 range from $713 to $895 roundtrip, but The Flight Deal does not publish a normal-price baseline for these routes. That $713-$895 figure is a same-week cross-route reference, not a historical average. 1 2 3 4

Book-or-skip board

The Flight Deal says fares are likely gone once a post is more than two days old. Treat July 18-19 as check-now, July 16-17 as verify-first, and do not build a trip around an older fare until the airline or booking engine shows the price.

Status	Route and airline	Fare and reference	Travel window	Rules and booking path	Decision
Check now	SFO to Phuket on Cathay Pacific	$895 roundtrip, Q class. Highest price in this week's verified SFO Asia group; no historical baseline published. 1	Mid-August to early November, or mid-January 2027 to April 2027	Monday-Thursday departures and returns; limited availability; buy at least 7 days before departure. Route is SFO-HKG-HKT-HKG-SFO. Two stopovers permitted at $100 each. Search Matrix first, then buy through Priceline. 1	Best for flexible Thailand dates. Check the live fare before planning around it.
Check now	SFO to Phu Quoc on Cathay Pacific	$811 roundtrip, Q class. $84 below the Phuket fare and near the lower end of this week's Southeast Asia cluster; no historical baseline published. 2	Late August to October	Monday-Thursday departures and returns; extremely limited availability; buy at least 3 days before departure. Route is SFO-HKG-PQC-HKG-SFO. No stopovers. Search Matrix, then buy through Priceline. 2	The lowest of the two July 19 Cathay posts, but the source's "extremely limited" warning matters more than the $84 gap.
Verify first	SFO to Xi'an on Cathay Pacific	$802 roundtrip, Q class. $9 below Manila and $91 below Phuket in this week's SFO Asia snapshot; not a normal-price comparison. 3	Late August to November, January 2027, or mid-March to April 2027	Monday-Thursday departures and returns; limited availability; buy at least 7 days before departure. Route is SFO-HKG-XIY-HKG-SFO. Two stopovers allowed at $100. Search Matrix, then buy through Priceline. 3	Worth a live check for a China trip, but it is at the two-day freshness boundary.
Verify first	SFO to Manila on Cathay Pacific	$807 roundtrip, Q class. $5 above Xi'an and $84 below Phuket in this week's snapshot; no historical baseline published. 5	Late August to November, or mid-January 2027 to early May 2027	Limited availability; buy at least 7 days before departure. Route is SFO-HKG-MNL-HKG-SFO. Two stopovers allowed at $100. Search Matrix, then buy through Priceline. 5	Check only if Manila is the target; the post is already past the source's two-day freshness warning.
Verify first	SFO to Hanoi on Cathay Pacific	$818 roundtrip, Q class. $11 above Phu Quoc and $105 above Phuket; no historical baseline published. 6	Late August to October, or April 2027	Monday-Thursday departures and returns; limited availability; buy at least 3 days before departure. Route is SFO-HKG-HAN-HKG-SFO. One stopover permitted. Search Matrix, then buy through Priceline. 6	A useful Vietnam comparison, but likely stale unless the live search reprices at $818.
Verify first	SFO to Shanghai on Asiana	$713 roundtrip, W class. Lowest price in this week's six-route snapshot, $89 below Cathay Xi'an; that is a cross-route comparison, not a historical baseline. 4	Late August to November, or January 2027 to April 2027	Limited availability; buy at least 3 days before departure. Route is SFO-ICN-PVG-ICN-SFO. No stopovers. Search Google Flights, then book through Priceline. 4	The price leader if it still exists. Do not transfer miles or lock in hotels until the cash fare is live.

Stale domestic watch

The only fresh domestic SFO post found in the window was not still fresh by Monday: JetBlue's July 14 SFO-Buffalo fare was $258 Basic Economy or $346 regular economy for September to early November. The $88 upgrade buys advance seat assignment and a normal carry-on; Basic Economy allowed neither advance seat assignment nor changes or cancellations. The post itself warns that fares are likely gone after two days, so this is a price reference, not a book-now recommendation. 7

No new, verifiable OAK or SJC fare or airline promotion made the board for July 13-20. That makes the SFO Asia cluster the actionable center of this week's scan rather than a reason to pad the list with older Oakland or San Jose material.

The points move worth checking

Starlux SFO-Taipei business class

The strongest SFO-specific award signal is wide-open Starlux business-class space to Taipei. The Points Guy reports 75,000 Atmos Rewards points each way from SFO to TPE, plus $25.60 in taxes and fees going to Taipei and $53.83 returning. It found dates from July 2026 through June 2027, with some flights offering up to four seats. Book directly through Alaska Airlines; Bilt transfers to Atmos Rewards at 1:1. 8

There is no published end date and no comparable cash fare in the source, so the value test is practical: search the exact dates and passenger count first, compare the same itinerary's cash price, and transfer only after the award space is visible. This is a real SFO sweet spot for travelers who value a lie-flat Asia crossing, but availability can disappear quickly. 8

Transfer bonuses still active

These offers are program-level tools, not proof that a specific SFO award seat exists. Search the award first, then transfer only the amount needed.

Transfer	Bonus	Ends	Bay Area use	Booking read
Amex Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	30%	July 31	Useful for a found Virgin, Delta, or partner award; no SFO inventory is guaranteed by the bonus. 9	Transfer only after the award prices and passenger details are confirmed.
Capital One Miles to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands	30%	July 31	Keep this on the SFO-Asia search list when EVA space is visible. 9	Confirm EVA availability and the final taxes before moving miles.
Rove Miles to Frontier Miles	25%	July 31	Relevant to a specific Frontier redemption, but no new OAK or SJC award was verified this week. 9	Do not transfer speculatively.
Rove Miles to Qantas Frequent Flyer	50%	August 14	Can improve a confirmed Qantas or partner award; the bonus itself does not identify a Bay Area route. 9	Price the exact award before moving Rove miles.
Citi ThankYou Rewards to Air France KLM Flying Blue	20%	August 22	Useful for a confirmed Flying Blue itinerary; the July Promo Rewards list did not establish an SFO route in this run. 9	Treat the bonus as a discount on a found award, not as availability.

The same tracker lists a 100% Chase-to-IHG offer through July 30, but that is a hotel transfer and does not improve a flight booking by itself. 9

What to do today

Search Cathay's July 19 Phu Quoc and Phuket fares first, using the source's weekday and advance-purchase rules.
Check Asiana Shanghai at $713 and Cathay Xi'an at $802 before assuming either fare survived the weekend.
If you need business class to Asia, search Starlux SFO-TPE on Alaska for the exact passenger count before transferring Bilt or Atmos Rewards points.
Use the active transfer bonuses only after an award is visible. None of the bonuses above replaces the need to verify route, dates, taxes, and cancellation terms.