Europe - My 90K Miles Europe Itenerary in BIZ class. What am I doing Wrong???

Hi guys,

So, just curious what the avid traveler may suggest in regards to the trip I plan to book.

Taking this trip in late July, rolling over to August.
So .... starting at NYC.

JFK - LHR (London). (3 days in London)
British Airways ... 40K Miles + $400 Business class on 747.

Yea I know .... fuel surcharges BUT I value Avios less than my other miles and would rather spend $350 extra and just 40K avios vs using up United miles. Plus .... I am curious about their business class. Heard it was pretty good.


London to Paris (3 days in Paris)
Taking high speed rail. 2.5 hours. Around $85

Paris to Amsterdam (3 days in Amsterdam)
Taking high speed rail. 2 Hours. Around $100

Amsterdam to Barcelona (3 Days in Barcelona)
Paying for a 2 hour flight ... Around $150

Barcelona to Ibiza (3 days in Ibiza)
Paying for a 50 min flight .... Around $80

Ibiza to Barcelona to JFK (Will pay around $50 to fly Ibiza to Barcelona)
Lufthansa .... 50K miles + $60 Business class on 747

What do you guys suggest? Anyone been to these places? Any info? What would you do different?

About me ......... 30 year old, male .... not looking for 3+ hour tours where you feel like a goat following the tour guide listening to things you'll forget about the next day. Just want to chill, relax, see the cities a bit, watch the culture, party in Ibiza.

Only thing I might look for is to see if there is F on that LH flight coming back home. Assuming it's two segments, connecting in FRA, right? LH F is fantastic, especially with the ground service in FRA. (That's one where I'd purposely build in a 3-4 hour layover.) Solo traveler going one-way, in my mind this is totally worth the extra miles...although availability can be difficult to find. Has to be LH metal on the long-haul out of FRA, not other Star Alliance metal.

There's a thread on the BA board about how to get to Europe using Avios without all the garbage fees - I believe one route involves Ireland. But you'd add a stop and probably be on the hook for a DUB-LON cash ticket, so maybe not worth the time and hassle to save a single one-way YQ.

You can do all of those cities on your own - no need for guided tours unless you see some sort of special-interest tour that looks like it's well-designed for you. Looks like a nice itin overall...tons of FT'ers have been to them and can provide all sorts of information on the location-specific travel boards.

Since a good bit of OP's focus is on the intra-Europe aspect of this planned itinerary, I'll move this to the Destinations->Europe forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator. TravelBuzz.

Only thing I might look for is to see if there is F on that LH flight coming back home. Assuming it's two segments, connecting in FRA, right? LH F is fantastic, especially with the ground service in FRA. (That's one where I'd purposely build in a 3-4 hour layover.) Solo traveler going one-way, in my mind this is totally worth the extra miles...although availability can be difficult to find. Has to be LH metal on the long-haul out of FRA, not other Star Alliance metal.


I know what you mean about LH First class in FRA. I flew them when I went to Kiev and was picked up by a Porsche Panamara right by the plane. It was nice. I am sure that F class will open up few days before I fly. Question is how do I upgrade. Right at the airport ask for it or by calling them? What would the charges be?

so this is my final plan:

My plan:

July 21 London
July 24 Paris (rail 2 hrs)
July 27 Amsterdam (rail 2 hrs)
July 30 Barcelona (flight 2 hrs)
Aug 2 Ibiza
Aug 5 (back to NYC)

What do you guys suggest? Anyone been to these places? Any info? What would you do different?

Nice plans! I've been to all of the above, and it's pretty much a perfect match to my favorite cities to spend time in in Europe. :) About the only thing I'd try for is more time in London -- there's just so much to see there, and even when traveling in business class it can be tough to fully enjoy your first day in. Still, I wouldn't suggest taking time from any of the other cities, and with the Olympics about to start it's probably best that you're getting out of town when you are. Plus, as an avid mile collector, I'm sure you'll make it back to London again before too long.

There's already a ton of info on these forums about most of places you're going, except perhaps for Ibiza. If you have any questions about planning that part of your trip, I'd be happy to help out if I can. I had an amazing time there a couple years ago, though since I was mostly there for the trance music I can tell you more about getting the Disco Bus (http://www.discobus.es/) than I can about the beaches (which I only saw in the late, late afternoon). :D

I know what you mean about LH First class in FRA. I flew them when I went to Kiev and was picked up by a Porsche Panamara right by the plane. It was nice. I am sure that F class will open up few days before I fly. Question is how do I upgrade. Right at the airport ask for it or by calling them? What would the charges be?

It varies by source FF program and perhaps your elite level (if any) whether there are change fees beyond the incremental miles to simply move up a cabin on the same routing.

But I'd probably get to know the typical seat release behavior for that route and then call your program right when a seat opens up. I think you're right...it's a few days, maybe a week before travel. I wouldn't count on LH being able to do a J-to-F upgrade for a FRA-JFK flight at the Barcelona ticket counter with you holding a partner award seat. You might have a better shot if LH is your source program but I honestly don't know anything about their same-day upgrade or award change rules.

Now I am thinking .... maybe cut Paris out?? That way I can add 1 more day to London and the rest to Barcelona. I am traveling alone and Paris is usually a place you go with your other half, no?

Also ... someone suggested going to Palma de Mallorca instead of Ibiza.
Any feedback on that???

Now I am thinking .... maybe cut Paris out?? That way I can add 1 more day to London and the rest to Barcelona. I am traveling alone and Paris is usually a place you go with your other half, no?


Might not be a bad idea. Personally, I prefer Paris outside of peak tourist season anyway. My wife and I like going when the weather is awful (February) and we can stay wherever we like, eat wherever we like, walk into any museum or attraction without a queue, etc.

Even going in April or September (with decent weather) is much more enjoyable than summer to me.

(Not that you have to wait until you're married to visit Paris: it's a great city either way... :))

Been to all the places except Ibiza.

Honestly, I'd add more time to London and Paris. I think you are underestimating how long it can take to visit some of the attractions. Depending on which sights you'd like to visit you could spend time in long lines just to get into a particular sight. London will host the Olympics around the time you'll be there, so you need to take that into account too.
I was in London last year just before the Royal Wedding and there was no way of escaping from the hoards of tourists in Central London. I wouldn't skip Paris, it is a must see. You're visitiing in peak tourist season, I prefer Europe outside the peak tourist season and even then some places can be too crowded.

Given your limited time in each city, I would try to book in advance for entrance to certain sights, I know it's easy to book entrance to the modernist sights in Barcelona online.

Unless the strike sitiuation in Spain has improved I'd seriously reconsider flying Ibiza - Barcelona - Frankfurt with a same day connection on two separate tickets.

I generally fly OW airlines, I've had good flights with BA in business class, I've also had some terrible flights with them in business class.

So I changed plans again as I am not feeling Barcelona for some reason.

So now it's:

My plan:

July 21 London (2.5 days)
July 24 Paris (3.5 days)
July 28 Amsterdam (2.5 days)
July 31 (back to NYC)

I was thinking about visiting Brussels but maybe it's too much. Europe is not cheap these days.

Nah...nothing in Brussels that would cause me to shortcut any of the three cities you've listed.

Your trip got a few days shorter...did award seats just tighten up on you? If there's no way to make the trip longer, I might even think about just doing 2 cities. There's just so much to do in each of those three...even for someone who likes to move fast.

I don't know the Olympic dates...when do you kind of have to get out of London to avoid that mess?

So I changed plans again as I am not feeling Barcelona for some reason.

So now it's:

My plan:

July 21 London (2.5 days)
July 24 Paris (3.5 days)
July 28 Amsterdam (2.5 days)
July 31 (back to NYC)

I was thinking about visiting Brussels but maybe it's too much. Europe is not cheap these days.

Brussels???????? Um, well maybe if it was your 8th or 9th trip to Europe, definitely skip the city on your first few trips to Europe. There are more interesting places to visit.

Given your limited time I'd just visit London and Paris, book an open jaw airline ticket and travel by Eurostar between the two places.

I wouldn't bother with Brussels personally. I didn't find much there when I went a few years ago.

It all depends on whether you can spare 1-2 more days on the trip. If the dates are now fixed, you're probably better off with your current itinerary. If you can have those extra days, you can just take a look at the TGV, Thalys or ICE rail networks and see what appeals to you. The trains are fast and have good frequencies. Pretty much anything within a 3-hour radius of Paris or Amsterdam can be seen in a day trip. 3 hours on the TGV means up to 800 km or 500 miles, so you'll have a lot to choose from. Of course, the shorter the ride, the more time to visit.

I wouldn't recommend Brussels either. If you want to check Belgium on your visited countries list, go for Bruges or even Antwerp.

Aren't you the infamous poster who started that long thread about going on a sex tourism related vacation with your "bro," you later revealed was actually your mom?

Either way, I can't say what is "wrong" with your itinerary. Not the places I would choose necessarily, but everyone has their own prefs.