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Hey there,
I’m looking to treat myself to a rewards flight later this year around July or August. It’s the first time I’m off to the US and I have around 100k MR points ready to convert to Avios however I’m having a problem deciding between the following:
First class there, and premium economy return – ~94200 Avios and £851
Business there, and business back – ~100k Avios and £850
I’ve never had the chance to fly such a premium flight and I would like to treat myself, however I’ve not really found much in the way of reviews that would sway me in either direction. On one hand the idea of a VERY nice flight out and a comfy legroom flight back is fine, but is first that much more worth having a fancy flight there and back, I don’t really know what I would be missing overall from the experience outside of maybe the Concorde lounge. I never really fall asleep on planes so I don’t think the “short” 7 hours flight would be wasted hence why I want to use it here and not for a longer haul.
I have a platinum Amex so lounge access isn’t a killer decider either way too if that makes a difference.
Thanks for taking the time to read and sorry if any of this seems simple!
I would highly recommend treating yourself to F and experiencing the CCR which is so much better than the Galleries lounges. Just be aware that mixed cabins with F can mess up the cash element and end up costing more – have you done a dummy booking and gone through to the payment page to see the final amount?
PE back is fine – you’re talking about 6 hours from the east coast, if that’s where you’re going. If you can get the day flight back from JFK or BOS, even better.
I assume you’re condidering New York given the 7 hour flight time. I have never flown in First but think I’d go for that on the outbound and experience the CCR at T5 as apparently the top lounge in JFK (Chelsea I think?) Isn’t that fantastic.
On the other hand the return experience in WT+ will be quite the come down after First on the way out so I think I might be tempted to do CW return as that is pretty likely to get you Club Suite in both directions (not guaranteed) and lounge access each way. I would prefer a flat bed each way as even if you say you can’t sleep CW has more space than WT+
Not sure if there’s an Amex lounge at JFK.
No Amex or PP lounge at the terminal BA use for JFK departures sadly (as far as I’ve found!), but that shouldn’t sway your decision — F out is a great idea, as coming back is also usually shorter than the flight plan. You may fancy asking about an airport upgrade from premium economy on the day but I wouldn’t worry — just enjoy F and PE 🙂
If you get the 8 am flight back to LHR, by the time you’ve had breakfast and a couple of drinks and watched a film, you’re pretty much home! Returning from BOS a few years ago the flight attendant was most apologetic about telling me I had to put my screen away before “No Time to Die” had finished. 😂
*This was in CW, btw. I decided it absolutely wasn’t worth it, especially as they hadn’t loaded enough food and all we got was cheese croissants!
Neither, id transfer 30k MR points first of all, then do a second transaction later for 70k MR Points. Once the first 30k hits your BA account, do an avios boost for aprox £290. This should give you enough Avios to do F out and J Back for 126,200 avios and £1047.
Club suite is a really nice product and its nice to have a comfy sleep on E/B overnight TA services.
My F flight LHR-JFK was one of my favourite aviation memories, helped by the fact i got 1A on the 747 and Lana del rey was sitting 2 rows behind. Absolutely do F on the first sector.
Thanks for all the advice! I will defo look into first on the way out and PE on the way back. That idea to boost the 30k MR points sounds solid too. Lots to think about. 🙂
There’s not a huge seat difference between First and Club Suite, but I’d definitely take First for the experience. At least 2+ hours in the CCR to relax, eat and drink. The food isn’t always amazing in First, but the service is (often 1:4 staff/PAX ratio vs 1:10 in Club).
If it’s a special flight, be brazen and ask for “everything”. Extra First PJs and slippers are a great Xmas present 😉 We often ask for a quick chat in the cockpit (and photos) before take-off if my son joins us.
I am also interested in a mixed redemption using a 241 and I’ve heard about mixed F and J redemptions can have ‘odd’ results. I’ve looked in all of Rob’s articles but cannot find anything specifically related to how these work and the impact. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
It’s mentioned in Rob’s articles about the move to RFS on long haul (from Dec/Jan-ish ’22/3), and also discussed extensively in the “using the 241 to book the return thread”.
You can also try different permutations of dummy bookings to see what surcharges you’re quoted.
More significant is the reduction in surcharges when starting outside the UK in F (e.g. from DUB).
Perfect, thanks ed_fly.
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