Never looked at upgrades because when I briefly looked at YBM fares compared to LUT, the cost differential was high.

For instance, SFO-CDG, 9/4 to 9/11 are as follows:

L $1314 all-in, on non-stop. there are slightly cheaper fares with 9-10 hour layover.

M $2956 all-in, non-stop. Fares with long layovers actually cost more.

B $4256 all-in, non-stop.

I $3824 all-in, non-stop. There are fares that go up to $8100+ all-in but those are for routes that have long layovers.

So I could try to find a 100k miles BE award or spend $2956 and 30k miles if I understand the SM charts correctly.

Or spend about $900 more and get the I fare outright.

Or spend $1600 less for the L fare.


Business class is nice but I've never spent more than $1400 on any ticket so that $2956 ticket is a hard-sell for me. I certainly have a lot of miles to use up but it's $1600 and 30k miles versus 100k miles.

Is the 70k miles delta worth $1600?