First time posting here, so I hope I'm in the right spot! I'm trying to plan our honeymoon in late September. We live in Denver, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to get to Paris in business class. It's proving...difficult.

I have a little over 200k Amex points and a little under 100k Chase points. We only really need business class on the way out so that we have some chance of arriving rested (plus it'll be a nice way to start the honeymoon). Definitely don't need to use Denver as the departure airport. We can get wherever it makes the most sense to depart.

Award costs for business class seats seem to be crazy (~400k points on most airlines), so I guess I have a few questions:​​​

• Does it make sense to book economy tickets and then pay for a business class upgrade on the flight out? (no clue how much that would cost)
• Am I looking in the wrong places for business class awards redemptions? Any tips there?
• Any departure city/airline recommendations?

Any info would be appreciated! Thank you!

Book an award you can live with (maybe the outbound in premium economy.) and check closer to the date for better options. Check neighboring cities (e.g.AMS, BRU, LON) that connect by train (and are worth a day or two). Travel late September or even later for better options/cheaper hotels/lighter crowds.

Megascott Welcome to posting on FT
What airline & hotel loyalty programs are you member of now?
Status & balance?
Have you looked at where the Amex & Chase points can be transferred to?
You can book via the Amex Chase portals with points (~pseudo cash)

No need to book a return. The out and back can be different origin and destination cities. The city in EU you arrive at does not need the city you depart EU from. In EU trains will get to many places.

Upgrades are *never* guaranteed. Even with top airline ffp status. Getting 2 upgrades on the same flight is 3 or 4 times harder than a single upgrade. Sometimes the cheapest fares are not eligible for upgrades (airline dependent)


Amex -->
Transfer Membership Rewards points to which airline or hotel program?

Chase -->
Ultimate Rewards - Airline and Hotel Transfer Partners, Rules, Timelines (2017-2026)
UR to United transfer is not reliably instant.
Booking Flights, Rooms, Cars, Cruises, Activities through Chase/cxLoyalty portal.

Some thoughts...

- Booking an economy ticket and paying for a business upgrade isn't going to be a very reliable way to get business. You might be able to pull that off, but those upgrade possibilities might not come until a day or two in advance.
- You might want to consider looking for cash tickets from Canada, which can be cheaper. If you're flexible on timing, I'd recommend waiting to see when fares are posted to the Premium Fares thread from the US to Europe. You may want to find a good business fare and then use your points to position to/from that fare in the US/Europe.
- The best award availability/pricing with your points would likely be with Virgin Atlantic, which offers business flights from the US to LHR for as low as 24K points per person (as an example, I'm seeing that price from MCO to LHR on 5/8). You can stop in London and then continue on to Paris using British Airways miles for relatively cheap. There's also a few hundred dollars in fees, though.

If staying at LHR by air to Paris is OK - 216 miles

But if staying in the city by EuroStar train is a good option point to point. London to Paris and a range of other EU destinations.
https://www.eurostar.com/rw-en
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel

Definitely look for 2 one-ways instead of return.
Positioning flights out of America can do wonders for availability.
FlightConnections gives a reasonable overview.

FlyingBlue minimum rate is 60.000 for anything America-Europe (even if there are layovers)
Should be doable to book in Business straight away.
Houston/chicago/iad/toronto etc.

I agree with the rest that booking a ticket to eg AMS/London/Germany/Nordics/Anywhere in Europe will make life a lot easier and intra Europe flights can be found for as little as 12k or less. If you are brave you could even book a self-connect, e.g Den London - Lon Paris and through check luggage so you don’t have to think about it.

interestingly, I just saw DEN Paris London Gatwick for 120k (base rate). If you call in, they should be able to make this into a free stopover with as many nights as you want (max is a year or so) with Air France. Something like that would make by far the most sense. Main problem is to find an agent who knows how to do this, which is notoriously difficult. I.e at least best to call when FlyingBlue itself can assist you and read the wiki on the FlyingBlue thread/their own website.

Alternatively, I have found that it can be cheaper to buy for example Air Canada miles during a promo and redeem those rather than paying for a ticket outright. Should be able to spend those also on the Lufthansa (old business means sitting together in a 2-2), Turkish and ofc Air Canada