MilesBuzz! - Best way to travel to France on points

I'm looking into putting together a trip to France and would be interested in using some points. I've still got plenty of time to accumulate the points, so having the points is not the biggest issue. However, the miles I have most of are Amex Membership Rewards, AA, and SPG currently. I'd look into getting a BA card, United, Sapphire Preferred, or possibly others for the miles.

I'm hoping for a luxury trip for 2 ideally from the west coast (LAX being most convenient) to Paris. We recently used miles for first class on Cathay and had a great time. From what I can tell, there aren't any such seats nearly as easy to redeem and for the same value as AA miles on CX to Asia but I'll take what I can get.

What would give me the best opportunity for redeeming miles at least in business class? From what I've read, BA (in F or J) would be a fairly easy redemption but would still cost quite a bit in fees. How's the quality and availability of Air France in business, either through KLM or Delta? Or perhaps something a little more creative, booking something on Singapore Airlines or Luftansa and then making our way to France?

Air France availability is pretty good for many days, especially as they've added an A380 on the LAX route. The highest you can redeem for without AF elite status is Business, which is 100K DL miles per person (using AF/KL points would introduce fuel surcharges). AF J is angled-lie flat.

The best way with AA miles is to either fly AA (no fuel surcharges) or BA (high fuel surcharges). AA will start flying their 77W with a nicer business class from JFK/DFW to LHR early next year, and from there you can use BA to get to PAR. However, it's still AA service.

If you spend $30K on the BA Chase Visa, you get a travel together ticket, which means that 2 F tickets from LAX to CDG (LAX-LHR in F, LHR-PAR in J) would be 168K Avios + fuel surcharges/taxes/fees for both tickets. With the current BA card sign up bonus, you can get 137.5K from spending the $30K and top off with Chase UR or AMEX MR. Keep in mind that the $30K spending has to be per calendar year to achieve the 2-for-1 pass. When using Avios for BA, I think of them as paying for the Economy Class ticket and using Avios to upgrade from Y to F. Yeah

Lastly, UA miles are well set up for Europe, but transatlantic F space on Lufthansa and SWISS is hard to come by if you're not looking for a flight tomorrow or the day after. You can fly UA F, which is a good hard product but a mediocre soft product (especially when you say you've experience CX F).

SQ flies JFK-FRA, but that's the only way you could include SQ on a flight to Europe. They don't seem to realease a lot of space to *A partners, but AMEX is partners with Krisflyer, but since that route is A380, the highest you can go is Business Class.

From what I've read, BA (in F or J) would be a fairly easy redemption but would still cost quite a bit in fees.


BA First is excellent.

You can go SFO-LHR or LAX-LHR in BA First for 150K BA miles (Avios), plus about $900 in fees.

If you get the BA card for 100K miles, then spend $30K on it to get the 2-for-1 voucher, you will almost have the 150K miles needed for 2 First Class tickets.

Availability is good, too.

And a flight from London to Paris is an inexpensive 30 minute flight, so it doesn't matter if you go economy or low cost carrier on that segment.

Good recap above.

I would add that the BA fees are likely to be in the $1,300-1,500 range for 2 tix in J from LA.

I just got back from a trip on BA in J: San Fran-LHR-CDG; Return-LHR to DEN. BA J is very good, much better than any US carrier, but not as great as some think. And LHR is just a huge maze, even with the fast passes BA gives its J customers.

If it was up to me, I'd do AF J as there are more flights and you don't have to connect. And, if you can get the right AF Amex, charges earn points that count toward staus.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Yet another option with AAdvantage miles is IB LAX-MAD-ORY in Business. There are now surcharges on IB metal redemptions, but they are much lower than on BA metal redemptions.

AA partner Air Tahiti Nui flies nonstop LAX-CDG (only airline other than AF afaik) but I believe they are stingy with business class award space and have old-school recliner style seats. If nonstop is a priority, though, it might be worth looking into.

It's worth noting that if you are planning on traveling during winter, USAirways offers off-peak awards to Europe from January 15-February 28th.

It's a limited window, but their rates can't be beat; 60k roundtrip from North America to Europe. Also, if you hold the Barclays USAirway card, you get an additional 5k off, so you could be flying to Europe in business class for 55k a person.

Just something to keep in mind. The only real signup bonus is the Barclays USAirway card which will give you a 40k bonus right off the bat. However, I was able to churn it after 4 months, so you could feasibly have 80k from it by October. Also, if the Grand Slam promotion comes back, that could be a nice way to rack up some USAir miles as well.

Civico, did you cancel the first US Airways Barclays card before applying for the second? Thank you.

Civico, did you cancel the first US Airways Barclays card before applying for the second? Thank you.

I did not cancel, although I waited about seven months, and the second one came through with no problems

I have flown Air France San Francisco to Paris twice (then on to Bucharest once- return from Viena open jaw ticket, and Rome the second time - return from Venice open jaw ticket). I very much enjoyed the business class food and service, and did not mind the flat but 165 degree angled seats. 100K Delta miles got me the tickets, but I booked way in advance (almost a year).

Thanks for all the great advice. I think I'll continue to save up MR points, likely add a BA card and maybe Ink Bold or Sapphire Preferred. I guess between AF and BA I should have decent options. If things work out I'll go for some Dividend Miles as well as a backup.

I booked via UA and I have a combination of UA/SWISS flights to go to and fro.

I believe when I booked my flight, which was months in advance, there was plenty of SWISS Business/First available.

Civico, did you cancel the first US Airways Barclays card before applying for the second? Thank you.

No I didn't close the 1st one before getting the second. Got the first one in Sept. 2011 during the Grand Slam and then got the second in April 2012. Not saying you have to wait 6 months (just kind of happened that way with me) but you should wait at least 90 days.

I'll be trying to get my 3rd one in July/August ish but I don't know anyone who has gotten the 3rd one without closing the 1st or 2nd, so I'm not sure if I'll give it a go and keep both open or if I'll try to be safe and close one before going for the 3rd. Of course, I'll report back with what I find.

It's worth noting that if you are planning on traveling during winter, USAirways offers off-peak awards to Europe from January 15-February 28th.

It's a limited window, but their rates can't be beat; 60k roundtrip from North America to Europe. Also, if you hold the Barclays USAirway card, you get an additional 5k off, so you could be flying to Europe in business class for 55k a person.

Just something to keep in mind. The only real signup bonus is the Barclays USAirway card which will give you a 40k bonus right off the bat. However, I was able to churn it after 4 months, so you could feasibly have 80k from it by October. Also, if the Grand Slam promotion comes back, that could be a nice way to rack up some USAir miles as well.

How far in advance do you need to book in order to find availability during this window? e.g. Can you feasibly earn the miles during this year's upcoming Grandslam and still book tix in time?

Also, does anyone have suggestions on eligible Euro destinations that won't be frozen/shuttered during February??

Cheers

Depends when you want to go.

That US offer is indeed a fantastic one...Europe in J for what it typically costs in Y.

Although that Air Tahiti option sounds quite good too. I like nonstops...and I like the big recliner style seats as long as there's plenty of seat pitch when everybody's fully reclined to sleep. I'm a back-sleeper and hate having to curl up into a fetal position in some of the newer lie-flat "pods".

I booked via UA and I have a combination of UA/SWISS flights to go to and fro.

I believe when I booked my flight, which was months in advance, there was plenty of SWISS Business/First available.
Did you find the LX availability online or did you have to call UA? I periodically check availability for LAX-CDG and I have never once seen a single LX flight in the list of available partner awards.

Did you find the LX availability online or did you have to call UA? I periodically check availability for LAX-CDG and I have never once seen a single LX flight in the list of available partner awards.

Try this excellent service:
http://www.wandr.me/Account.aspx/LogOn?ReturnUrl=%2fstar-alliance-award-search.aspx

Did you find the LX availability online or did you have to call UA? I periodically check availability for LAX-CDG and I have never once seen a single LX flight in the list of available partner awards.

UA's award booking engine is great for LX. With an agent's help, I found a first class flight the first week of January, CDG-FRA-SFO-LAX. I really like the 747 first class, the first class terminal in Frankfurt, and being taken from and to my plane in a Porsche SUV.

whenever searching, use LAX-FRA, or LAX-MUN, not LAX-CDG. if the direct FRA flight isn't available, usually a connection is through SFO, DEN, or possibly MIA.

Also, does anyone have suggestions on eligible Euro destinations that won't be frozen/shuttered during February??

Cheers

I've been to Portugal, Andalucia, and southern Italy during February, and each trip was great. (I was living in northern Europe at the time, so my perspective was a little warped, but I still think all three places are still objectively nice in February.) A little rain, but nothing heavy or extended; some overcast days; some nice, clear, warm days. Temperatures generally in the 50s and 60s. A lot like a coastal California winter, actually.

How far in advance do you need to book in order to find availability during this window? e.g. Can you feasibly earn the miles during this year's upcoming Grandslam and still book tix in time?

Also, does anyone have suggestions on eligible Euro destinations that won't be frozen/shuttered during February??

Cheers

I can't speak to the availability during that time period, but if I had to take a guess, I'd say that there might be some availability if you booked as late as September/October depending on where you wanted to go. Flexibility is the big key, so if you aren't looking for a particular destination or exact date, you should be able to scrounge something up.

As far as a place with an enjoyable climate, you could definitely do Portugal or Southern Spain. Tel Aviv would be quite warm compared to other European cities, and Istanbul, Greece or Italy would be bearable and not sooo bad.

UA's award booking engine is great for LX. With an agent's help, I found a first class flight the first week of January, CDG-FRA-SFO-LAX. I really like the 747 first class, the first class terminal in Frankfurt, and being taken from and to my plane in a Porsche SUV.

whenever searching, use LAX-FRA, or LAX-MUN, not LAX-CDG. if the direct FRA flight isn't available, usually a connection is through SFO, DEN, or possibly MIA.
Presumably MUN should be MUC? It sounds like you're talking about LH (Lufthansa) F not LX (SWISS) F.

Presumably MUN should be MUC? It sounds like you're talking about LH (Lufthansa) F not LX (SWISS) F.

Both. Yes, MUC is always a good city to look for awards...just be prepared to see more UA availability than LH availability. YMMV, but whenever I do a premium cabin query through MUC, I find UA wide open and LH with little to nothing available.

And yes, look at both LH and LX for availability. (Obviously the LX flights won't connect in MUC... ;))