Originally Posted by
glob99
Does the government require you to fly a US airline?
No...but I believe flying over certain areas are probably not a good choice (e.g.; Any Russian airlines, etc.).
Originally Posted by
Tchiowa
You're not getting anywhere near business class on that budget. Upgrade? Yes. Depending on the Coach fare you get you can use miles and dollars to upgrade. SFO/BKK it's 30,000 miles plus $600 each way on UA. But since UA doesn't go all the way to BKK not sure if that still works. Probably a tad higher from NYC.
I never imagined that budget would be sufficient for business class, but was looking to perhaps spend $1500 on the ticket and then use 100-150K miles to upgrade both legs of the trip?