I've been monitoring LAX-FRA for a July trip. Decent connections (and not thru JFK
) were around $1800-2000. The Z fare is $2273 -- I'm sold!
Plus I will have a heavy bag this trip (my Bike Friday) so not having to worry about it being 53 lbs helps.
Added: Pulled the trigger: Spent 50K Pesos to reduce the fare to $1773 (which was my price point for a Y ticket). I may regret spending the miles now as I will not earn so much next year with the new rules, but what they hey, spend it on myself for a change