Originally Posted by
bioyuki
Going SFO->Paris on miles in Jan...CDG is expensive so looking at SFO-EWR-LHR and taking Eurostar the rest of the way to Paris, or SFO-IAD-GVA and taking TGV Lyria to Paris.
Layover in IAD is 1:03, EWR layover is 2:45. Will be flying in J if that matters. I'm assuming EWR is the safer choice given the longer layover, and more flight subsequent options for EWR-LHR later in the day, vs the shorter layover in IAD, and the fact that there's only one IAD-GVA flight a day?
Originally Posted by
bioyuki
SFO-CDG on UA is apparently seasonal, only AF flies it in January. Stopping on the East Coast is 60k vs 155k miles to connect somewhere in Europe (mixed cabin, but I don't care about the FRA/MUC/ZRH to CDG leg being in economy)
I would avoid EWR simply because there are much more EWR air traffic control related problems than IAD, and winter seems even worse. I have missed several connections in EWR over the past few years during winter time because all kinds snafus occur at EWR. So I actively avoid EWR connections in winter time.
Although my recollection of TGV ride ten+ years ago from Geneva - Paris was pleasant, it still took up more than half day when factoring airport to train station transfer, etc.
I see some weekdays Jan 10 week & 17 with SFO-IAD (XN)/ IAD-FRA (IN)/ FRA-CDG (I) for 63.5k -66k miles.
I even see some limited dates 1 connection SFO-FRA (IN)/ FRA-CDG (XN) for 60k !
You can cancel and redeposit miles easily (if 1k without fees) for existing award ticket with sub-optimal choices.
You can use the spacious Polaris lounge at SFO (better than the EWR or IAD Polaris Lounges) to eat before departure, since its food (especially the sit-down restaurant section with fresh cooked food to order) will be better than Polaris inflight food. You can also still use FRA *A lounge after you land, before going onto CDG.