Originally Posted by benzemalyonnais (Post 17910741)

I'd take that flight from JFK which I pointed out earlier, even if it's only in C. Flights to Europe aren't that long - only 6 hours on the way over and 7.5-8 on the way back. I can understand needing F on a long once-in-a-lifetime trip to Bali or Shijiazhuang or whatever, but not to Paris. It's not that bad.....even in Y, between the dinner service and breakfast, two movies makes it fly by very quickly.

Originally Posted by iahphx (Post 17905796)

Do you currently have a large frequent flyer balance on one carrier?
Considering this is your first trip, I would HIGHLY recommend you leave your child with family if you can. A two year old isn't a lot of fun to travel with (as a parent of 3, I know). You will have a MUCH better time with just your wife, and it will make EVERYTHING you do in Europe so much easier.

Originally Posted by 100countrygoal (Post 17907315)

It's pretty easy to find biz/first availability on star alliance (US Air, Lufth, UA, Cont, etc.) for 100k miles for roundtrip. I suggest you go to continental.com to look for award availability. If you find what you want, have yourself and your wife sign up for the new UA Explorer card. That, along with your Sapphire cards, should give you the points you need.

Originally Posted by benzemalyonnais (Post 17911953)

Don't get me wrong here - business class REDEMPTIONS are usually worth it. That being said, often they are not. If you don't know what you're doing, and don't get a good lie-flat, it's not going to help you sleep.

I really have no respect for those who 'cannot bear Y' on a flight to Europe. I mean, it's 6 hours for me from BOS, and the meal service makes it reasonable. If I sleep for 5 of those hours in a seat in C, that doesn't cure my jetlag. I'm still arriving in Europe at 6 am ?

Originally Posted by iahphx (Post 17911215)

Yeah, biz class isn't "worth it" -- just like all luxury goods aren't worth it. But folks who travel a lot usually aren't poor and they have disposable income. Everyone likes a littile more room, better food, and the feeling of being special. In my opinion, the only biz class award that's "worth it" is US's 90K to Asia. Otherwise, I'd rather splurge when I get to my destination: $50 can buy you a much better meal or a better hotel, and it's a better deal than what it costs to "splurge" on your airfare. But everyone's different, and my values and your values are different from most folks on flyertalk. And if you generate more ff miles than you really need, why not go up front?

Originally Posted by mondog1 (Post 17912372)

I have to agree with you on this. Our son is starting to enter the "lovely" 2s. As soon as he gets tired everything is over and done with.

. . . .I'm 6'1", very large bone build and I have. bad knees. Last week we went to the theatre to see Wicked. By the end of the 1st break ~90 minutes my knees were throbbing. Does that make me a jerk for wanting more leg room? My take on you is that your shorter and average build, so you have no idea of what I have to deal with.

I'm probably not going to Europe many times so I might as well do it right the 1st time. It's all part of the experience.

Originally Posted by benzemalyonnais (Post 17910741)

OK, I've read through the responses, and I feel that any suggestion for BA is just useless because of the FEES that will be associated with the award. This is after all, an AWARD for yourself, and not the British government.

That being said, I do like the suggestion for booking a Star Alliance award through US Air, as they don't charge the crazy fees. Plus, you can surely find a routing on UA F that will get you there reasonably quickly. LH and LX have gotten a bit tricky to find in F, and you'll probably have to have 2 stops to make those work from PHL. If you're willing to take the quick ride to EWR that should make it easily possible.

The same goes for the AF tickets I was mentioning earlier. Those will be 100k each in C and will be easy as well, most notably from JFK.

You can stock up on both DL miles and US miles rather easily. In addition to CC spending, there are frequent transfer and buy bonuses. Recently I took advantage of the DL 100% transfer bonus, which for 330$ turned 30k into 60k, which is essentially a 330$ ticket to Europe in Y. NOTE: you won't read this kind of trick on the blogs because they are too good for Y. Anyways, once you've picked the airline you want - Whether it is AF, UA, LH, or whatever, you need to concentrate on that one to make sure you have enough points. It's not as hard as you think it is, and spending 200k to get 200k miles isn't the way to do it.

Personally, I enjoy flying on AF and KL a lot, and have stopped flying AA this year because they are much better for me (and I don't get 25,000 miles when my flight is delayed 1 hour). I'd take that flight from JFK which I pointed out earlier, even if it's only in C. Flights to Europe aren't that long - only 6 hours on the way over and 7.5-8 on the way back. I can understand needing F on a long once-in-a-lifetime trip to Bali or Shijiazhuang or whatever, but not to Paris. It's not that bad.....even in Y, between the dinner service and breakfast, two movies makes it fly by very quickly.

Originally Posted by AlohaDaveKennedy (Post 17917768)

Once in a life time trips? Once you get the hang of it you can go anywhere anytime you want.