I need to fly R/T from LAX to Toronto on set dates in early February. Traditionally I'd fly economy(plus), but due to a painful back injury I physically can't do the trip without a lie-flat seat. I have a pretty hearty number of miles with United and points with Chase Ultimate Rewards, which I'm happy to use -- but want to maximize value. I suspect Air Canada is my only option on a nonstop if I'm going to use points (either via United as a codeshare or via the Chase portal), and they do have business with lie-flat. Any advice on how to do this and optimize the combination of points/dollars? (Also, I'm re-starting travel after some time off and am a little rusty at this, if I missed any threads when I searched the forum please point me the right way!)
I don’t think you’ll have much choice. Given that you need to fly on relatively short notice, and there’s only 1 flight a day with lie-flat, you’ll be at the mercy of the airline. I’ve booked many J flights on this route using Aeroplan and have always been able to get good redemption rates but I’ve had lots of flexibility.
Air Canada is the only option here AFAIK, at least if you want to fly direct. And like the other commenter said, they are notorious for swapping widebodies for narrowbodies, though I do think that has settled a little bit more recently.