Originally Posted by
Yoshi212
Your options are going to depend on where you're going in Italy & how many connections you're willing to make. For a 1 stop to Rome you're limited to AA via DFW, A DL-AZ combo of flights via JFK or ATL & BA via LHR. Depending on the ticket for any domestic legs in the US or intra-EU you may be seated in regular economy, an economy plus (generally more legroom) or a business product. Domestic US Economy Plus (or equivalent) tends to be better with legroom when compared to Intra-EU business class but intra-EU business class does have an empty seat next to you.
Take a look at who flies your route, when, with what layovers & through where and then take a look at the options that fit your needs & wants. Each product is a little different. Make sure you know the intricacies of each product.
Do you need/want 'real' Premium Economy - small, separate cabin featuring wider seats with more pitch and recline, bigger entertainment system screens, better food and wider beverage selection, amenity kit, and airport benefits like expanded baggage allowance and priority check-in that's found on AA, Alitalia, Air France, BA, Lufthansa - or is one of the extra legroom products the US airlines offer (Main Cabin Extra at AA, Comfort + at Delta, Economy plus at United good enough? The extra legroom cabin on the US carriers will give you an extra ~five inches of legroom and maybe some more recline but that's it, notable exception is AAs 777-300 and a few 777-200s where MCE also features wider seats in a 9-abreast configuration instead of the 10-abreast tightness in regular Economy.
The price difference between Economy and Premium Economy starts at about 40%, the three US carriers charge about $250- $300 per return seat for their extra legroom seating.
If you buy Premium Economy on one of the airlines offering such a cabin, keep in mind that this cabin is only offered on longhaul aircraft and you will sit in regular Economy for all connecting flights in Europe and the US. Those sectors can be pretty long if you aren't careful with your itinerary - I`d avoid connecting in NYC, for example. Especially within Europe, airlines have been squeezing customers and 30" of pitch is the norm nowadays, but flights are generally pretty short.
As others have mentioned, you cannot use Cap One rewards points for upgrades. You can use them to buy tickets (through the Cap One travel portal) with them, though and drive down the price of your tickets by partially or wholly paying with points. TPG has a good overview about redeeming them:
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/how-t...venture-miles/
The easiest airline to upgrade from ecnoomy to Premium Economy for a discounted price is BA, either in advance online through 'manage my booking' or at the airport for cash. The only way to use points for this is using BAs own points system, though - if you don't have Avios, you need to pay cash.