Originally Posted by
RTNJ12
Am I doing this right?
Not necessary.
1. UA frequently has fare sales for European cities. While it may be too early to book a revenue ticket for next year, the lowest fare I can see so far for EWR-LHR is $510 ai (or 51K UR if you don't want to pay cash) in November.
2. There is no nonstop *A flight operating between London and Paris. In other word, to have a stopover in London with the final destination as Paris, you will force to transit, at the minimum, in Germany. easyjet or Eurostar (for the experience) may be a better option.
3. EWR-LHR in Y is tolerable, as it is about 1 hour more than SFO/LAX-EWR.
Originally Posted by
RTNJ12
Finally, I just received an offer from Chase for 100,000 points if I were to get the Marriott card. Is this a good deal? We'd like to pay for as much as we can with points and I stay with Marriott for work multiple times a year, so it doesn't seem like a bad idea.
Make a dummy booking and see how many nights that 100K can help.
Hotels in Europe are generally expensive unless you stay away from Central area. That 100K won't be much help.
Originally Posted by
StartinSanDiego
It's just as easy, or easier, to take the Eurostar from Paris to London as it is to fly, so that leg could be your open jaw. Also, transiting LHR can result in higher departure taxes than other places.
+1
Originally Posted by
StartinSanDiego
Check the hotel forums for Marriott redemption information.
+1
Originally Posted by
DCJoe1
The other thing to consider is that the flight TO Europe will almost certainly be overnight, and therefore the flat bed in business class has more value then.
Not true.
1. There is a day flight. However, it will be costly as you have to pay for 1 more night of hotel.
2. Again - EWR-LHR is only 1 hour more than SFO/LAX-EWR. Based on your same logic, the value will be much bigger for SFO/LAX-EWR.
So the best balance may be to try and find business class on the way over and pay more miles for that, and then economy on the way back for the daytime flight.[/QUOTE]