If by business you mean Polaris, then yes jump on that asap. It’s great service and if you are connecting through a major US airport on the way back you’ll have access to the fancy lounge with restaurant, showers, bars, and plenty of space.
Usually the cost of a 1way from Europe is almost as much as a round trip, which makes split ticketing unattractive, but maybe being 11 months out or paying with miles makes it like a US domestic where the legs can be split without financial penalty.
I’m not pulling the trigger yet. I can get a great deal on premium economy too (45K vs 36K). I would have to take the 8/24 date but I would like to wait and arrange something a month later in September. It’s very tempting I admit. The flight has a 3-hr layover in O’Hare and it’s questionable how much time I would even spend in a lounge (I’ve never been in one FYI)
Def Prem over Econ, but Busn is still the best play at that price. If you check a bag you may have to retrieve and recheck it in ORD, but 3 hours, and realistically 2 with getting there and leaving early for your flight, is plenty of time to spend in the lounge. It is teh shiz.
I have always been Econ except for that trip with my dad. And the trip from O’Hare to Des Moines would not be first class. I only take one carry-on and it stays with me so there are no concerns about checking bags. I very well might select it if I can get Sept 24 (approx) instead of Aug 24. But for those same miles I could get there and back so I want everything lined up according to plan first. Getting into Florence is a slight ordeal, was tempted to pay out of pocket for that relative to the frequent flyer alternatives.
The Polaris lounge at O’hare is fantastic (based on my experience comparing about 10 other business lounges that were not even close). The lie flat seats are fantastic, although if its on your way back from Europe, you probably won’t be sleeping, and premium economy in likely sufficient. So 27K miles for 3 hours of hanging out in a fancy lounge.
I’d probably pass these days - the drinks are worth 0 to me now (although they did have a nice bourbon bar), and I think I would rather walk around the airport for an hour, grab a bite to eat wherever and get on to the gate.
I booked the 8/24 United Polaris Business Class Seats from Zurich back to OHare! Even though I have experienced Lufthansa business class to and from Paris and liked it but also thought it was a bit lost on me, I decided 75K one way was too good to pass up. Only 2 days had the 75K offer, everything else was 200K. I chose the 4.5hr layover (instead of 3) so I’ll take my first trip inside God’s gift to airport lounges (never been in any lounge before) and see if it lives up to the hype.
I haven’t booked the trip there yet but there are two good entrances (from a frequent flyer perspective): Rome and Milan. I can arrive in either for 21K on American and arrive at a favorable hour (morning). First you have to understand the plan:
?? (1)
FLORENCE (2)
BOLOGNA
VERONA
MILAN (2)
ZURICH (2)
I could fly into Rome. I’ve been there before but I thought St. Peter’s Basilica and the trip up the dome was probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and I wouldn’t hesitate to spend a 1/2 day in Rome visiting it again. Then take a 2hr evening train to Florence. Obviously there would be room for more if I stay awake.
Or I could fly into Milan. It looks like there could be a lot here, plus some stuff to the north. I can shrink Zurich down to one single day if Milan is worth 3+ days. So backtracking from Milan down to Florence only to return to Milan later would be weird but only another <2hr train ride.
It is obviously possibly to fly into Florence, but all of my frequent flyer offerings don’t arrive there directly and the layovers are unattractive. I’d rather be inconvenienced by spending more time in the city of Rome or Milan instead of more time in London Heathrow.
When we flew with United a couple of years ago we flew into Bologna as it was a lot cheaper/more convenient than Florence. It’s only about 80 minutes by train from Florence.
Yeah I certainly considered that, but neither Florence nor Bologna is attractive.
On United:
Both Florence and Bologna arrive at 2:45p for 40K miles
Milan arrive 3:10pm for 40K
Rome arrive 12:20p for 36K
On American:
Rome arrive 7:05am for 21K
Milan arrive 9:05 or 10:05 for 21K-23K
By the time I would exit the airport in Florence, I could instead arrive in Rome, see the basilica at 9am, see something else at 10:30am, have some lunch at noon, and arrive in Florence at the train station for half the miles and a 20euro train ticket.
It is hard to pass up any opportunity to visit Rome!
The first time I went, many years ago, was just on a day trip from LHR when I was living in the UK. I was just about to relocate back to Toronto and just had enough BA points for a free flight to Rome. I caught the first flight out on a Sunday morning and the last flight back late that night. A great day, notwithstanding the amount of time spent on planes.
This article by an American reminded me why I want to visit Eastern Canada next summer with my family. And he only visited Montreal and Nova Scotia. We would add New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
You’re giving me ideas for my next east coast trip.
I’m flying into Milan. For a frequent flyer trip it is very convenient: leave DSM at 1pm, less than three hour layover at PHL, into MXP at 10am the next day. My plan is to take a bus up to Lake Como and do a 1/2 day of exploring there before taking 3 hours of trains back to the “starting point” in Florence.
One thing I really do like about Brazil is how lush some areas are. Really beautiful nature. We came back to an Eco resort we stayed at the beginning of this year for some down time as my wife needed a bit of a break + the little one loves the nature around here (she is a huge fan of all the colorful bugs you can find around here). Having BK in the morning.
Burger King sure is fancy below the equator, it seems, lol. Looks like a nice place!
We stayed in an eco lodge in the Amazon rainforest some years ago and it was magical. It was accessible only via a long boat ride. Also stayed in an eco lodge in the Costa Rican mountains two years ago: my favourite type of holiday but you pay a lot for the experience.
Wait, they are paying you $100,000,000 to stay in their place???
It’s probably worth trying to book just to see what would happen…
It’s a residential listing like an Air BnB, just can’t instantly reserve but rather make an inquiry. After which I imagine the price goes up…
I’m going to Spain in November and New Orleans in December.
That could be it for rest of year, but I might also fit in a short beach trip (driving)
