Welcome to FT! You're not the first with a long distance romance here and best wishes for that. Just a quick note to say that Silver is certainly worth it and will make life a lot more pleasant with lounges and seat selection. I can't help you much with WT, but can you book ahead in the sales for WT+? Even far ahead in non-sales you can get decent fares there. Finally, if you can start your journey from Europe, you'll have much cheaper fares.