Originally Posted by ac617

First time poster. I'm trying to book a mid-week, week-ish long multi leg trip from Boston -> London -> Dublin ->Boston in October, and I'd like to fly Biz Class with no layovers on the transatlantic legs. I have an excess of AmEx points that I'm willing to use to get the cost down.

I don't have a preference on airline.

I'm curious if anyone has advice on the best value method to get this done: Buy an Economy ticket and upgrade with points? Use points to buy a Biz ticket outright? Book w/ Amex and use points there? Transfer points to another airline's loyalty program?

Based on my internet research, Avios seemed to be the best option, and i can currently convert AmEx points to Avios at a 40% bonus (BA and AerLingus). However, BA isn't showing any availability for the entire month of October. Is this a timing thing?

Another possible option seems to be Virigin to London and Aer Lingus to Boston, but that's also very limited availability.

I know this is a pretty precise issue and not an easy question to answer, so any solid info or advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks!