Air France Economy vs. Business Class | Worth the Upgrade?

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Today we'll be flying over 10,000 miles in Air France as we travel from New York to Athens in economy before returning home to the US in Air France Business Class. Along the way, we'll compare these two very different experiences to help you decide if upgrading to business class is worth the extra points and of course, I'll share with you how I booked this $7,000 experience entirely using points and a few other helpful tips when it comes to booking Air France award seats including how I got a free three-day trip to Paris!

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0:00-Today's Adventure
0:43-Air France Economy
3:07-Economy Points Breakdown
5:31-Air France Business Class
9:16-Business Points Breakdown
11:56-Worth the Upgrade
15:08-My Final Thoughts

[DevilCruz]

I love the idea of booking the higher class of service for the return trip home! I’m gonna start doing that because it will definitely give me something to look forward to even though my vacation would be ending.

[kyleedelbrock]

Thank you for not treating economy like some sort of medieval torture. Way too many points and miles people make economy seem like a death sentence when the goal is seeing the world, not getting a better chair for 8 hours

[mark-uks]

1:00 hmm... Air France flies out of T1, the centurion and chase lounges are in T4, and the JFK AF lounge in T1 is on Priority Pass (which you get with your Amex Plat). Getting between terminals at JFK requires leaving security and taking the JFK AirTrain. It's not as seamless as you make it out to be, especially since T1 doesn't have precheck yet.

Unless you flew in to T4 and are transiting to T1, or have a lot of time to kill, it doesn't make much sense to make the detour to T4.

[Matt_Hattr]

This is super helpful as I start planning for our trip to Europe next year! Also, can we get Erin involved in more videos? It would be fun to hear her perspective on things as well! (And she's really cute)

[jennifer_u]

But the centurion lounge is in T4 and the AF terminal and lounge is T1. They do accept priority pass as well, sometimes. Key points missed here guys.

[Michelleh]

I would love to see more premium economy videos! Economy vs premium premium vs biz! Especially for families! We are going premium economy to Norway from Michigan and economy on the way home. The 50k biz seats weren’t available but still that’s 175, 000 pts for a fam of 4 with littles. Makes a difference when it’s 4 vs 1 😂😂

[christopherharris]

Awesome video as always Daily Drop Crew.

[JeffErbele]

Hi Brandon, thank you so much for this it was really informative. I have been eyeing a Turkish Air business class flight from Kathmandu to Atlanta for 100k points. Me and my player 2 have almost earned our Citi-subs for the trip, I am totally stressed that the deal is going to disappear before we get our bonuses….Anyway, the other thing that stresses me out is that the transfer is not instant. In your experience how long does it usually take? I would hate to transfer 200k points and the flight disappear from the site. The plan is to do the Everest Base Camp trek with Rick’s company, Itrek Everest. None of this would even be a possibility without the inspiration that Kara and Nate and you have given us. Keep up the great work!!

[thebudgetbackpackers]

I always love these comparison vlogs. Thanks for sharing!

[lexbraxman]

DO you know if the mileage required for flights are permanent or do they change over time? I am only seeing 60, 000 flights and am hoping for 22-30k flights. This is many months out. So i keep refreshing and checking or is it futile?

[christianbayerstein]

There was a time when Air France used to serve Champagne in Business Class on longhaul flights. And the 10 seats in a row in the 777 is just awful, when I used to fly economy class, the 777 had only 9 seats in a row.😢😢

[MusicAviTr]

Definitely worth the upgrade if you can score Paris to the west coast of the USA too! Now @dailydrop the only vid issue I see if you had row 1 - which has more legroom than the others so a bit sku'd view here on the seats, but still AF does well!

[garciatunion]

I prefer to pay less fees, Ive never paid more than 50 usd when Im using AAdvantge miles with their partners, I just booked Etihad Business Class for 40k miles and 33 usd from Abu Dhabi to Manila

[TraverseFlightReview]

I flew a similar flight but from Toronto to Paris, and while the seat was good, the service and catering quality were pretty poor...

[gunvaldsandhaland]

I Love Air France Business Class On A350 New Cabin.Great Video And Info

[danieledistioromanmendoza]

something that moves in a cycle budget time transportation house vacation time hotel economic vs business class

[LanceoftheNoe]

Have you ever done a video on how to collect points using a credit card - specifically Sapphire preferred - without going into debt? It seems like I have to go into debt to collect points. I'm sure I don't... just not sure how you collect all these points without paying stuff I don't need.

[FlyandStay-]

Was it easy traveling between T4 to T1? Last time when I travelled JFK, train was not running

[iang]

I think the "SSSS" comes when you book one way flights. I've now had it 4 times coming back to the US and I book one way tickets with miles. It has only ever taken a couple of minutes, right at the jetway so there's no impact on getting on the plane in time.

[golbez]

8:44 the business class includes second dessert/breakfast.
The experience provides hobbit-quality service!!!