JFK to Paris - Barcelona to JFK

As a novice international flyer I could use some help!

Taking a rivercruise with a pre-stay in Paris and extended post stay in Barcelona. I have only used Delta across the pond prior. I have enough ff for 1 business class in my American Express account but before transferring, I'd like to see what other airlines this group could recommend. Prefer non stop if possible and JFK is not firm, but I could visit my son in NYC☺️ I live in SC but found ff miles higher and cost of stickers higher. Many thanks to the pros!

As a novice international flyer I could use some help!

 

Taking a rivercruise with a pre-stay in Paris and extended post stay in Barcelona. I have only used Delta across the pond prior. I have enough ff for 1 business class in my American Express account but before transferring, I'd like to see what other airlines this group could recommend. Prefer non stop if possible and JFK is not firm, but I could visit my son in NYC☺️ I live in SC but found ff miles higher and cost of stickers higher. Many thanks to the pros!

I think the first thing to look at is how many AMEX points you have exactly, same number of points for a SC flight to Europe as for one departing NYC.as you may get more value transferring them to another partner than to Delta. Especially considering the second part that I bolded, as many FF programs are zone-based and would charge the same number of points for a flight from SC to Europe as for one departing NYC.

What does 'cost of stickers' mean? :confused:

I think the first thing to look at is how many AMEX points you have exactly, same number of points for a SC flight to Europe as for one departing NYC.as you may get more value transferring them to another partner than to Delta. Especially considering the second part that I bolded, as many FF programs are zone-based and would charge the same number of points for a flight from SC to Europe as for one departing NYC.

 

What does 'cost of stickers' mean? :confused:

Ok will start investigating other airports in SC. Cost of "tickets"! Guess the mind had it and the fingers didn't! Thanks again.

The U.S. airways Envoy class is perhaps the best US carrier business class for transAtlantic flights. Typically you would fly from CLT or PHL. I don't believe any airport in SC is an international gateway to Europe. Delta will possibly route you through ATL as opposed to JFK.

The U.S. airways Envoy class is perhaps the best US carrier business class for transAtlantic flights. Typically you would fly from CLT or PHL. I don't believe any airport in SC is an international gateway to Europe. Delta will possibly route you through ATL as opposed to JFK.

Yes, Delta wants to route me through Atlanta which ends up being more ff points than from JFK and more $$ for my DH ticket. I can get a free flight R/t for us both to JFK and get to see my son in NYC for a day:):). Thanks for your recommendation.

I don't believe any airport in SC is an international gateway to Europe. Delta will possibly route you through ATL as opposed to JFK.

Correct, you cannot get directly to Europe from SC. And it just depends on where you're going. Heading to Europe from SC I've been routed through both ATL and JFK on Delta, and seasonally even Boston is sometimes an option. If one can fly US/American, Charlotte is very viable option from SC, as it is right on the Carolinas' border.

Yes, Delta wants to route me through Atlanta which ends up being more ff points than from JFK and more $$ for my DH ticket.

I can get a free flight R/t for us both to JFK and get to see my son in NYC for a day:):). Thanks for your recommendation.

Two thoughts....first, by routing this way be sure that what you "save" in terms of the JFK-Europe flight isn't eaten up by the cost of getting to NYC. Second, be sure that even though you can get the "free flight", it is a worthwhile use of your miles. I've seen too many folks "waste" them on very inexpensive tickets where they are getting less than a penny a mile of value.

We live in Georgia and Delta is our airline of choice. We have flown direct from Atlanta to Venice, Barcelona and Paris.

I do my best to avoid flying through JFK. I check Delta and or Kayak regularly for my flight of choice. I have found that if you are a little flexible (use the plus or minus 3 day search option) more options are available. I have always found a direct flight from Atlanta to Europe.

I am now looking for RT flights to Lisbon in May. When I checked flights earlier in year (not for May since it was more than 330 days) there were many direct flights from Atlanta to Madrid, then on to Lisbon.

Now, I am seeing the JFK flights and will keep checking until I can avoid that choice.

Look at BOS as a gateway city to Lisbon. I can't recall which carrier (TAP?) often has very reasonable fares between those cities.

Look at BOS as a gateway city to Lisbon. I can't recall which carrier (TAP?) often has very reasonable fares between those cities.

I was scouting flights for October 2016; using Oct 2015 as a general guide I saw that SATA had cheap flights from BOS. I know nothing about their quality of service.

We have flown direct from Atlanta to Venice, Barcelona and Paris.

 

I do my best to avoid flying through JFK.... I have always found a direct flight from Atlanta to Europe.

 

I am now looking for RT flights to Lisbon in May. When I checked flights earlier in year (not for May since it was more than 330 days) there were many direct flights from Atlanta to Madrid, then on to Lisbon.

 

Now, I am seeing the JFK flights and will keep checking until I can avoid that choice.

Not surprising that you've always found a nonstop flight, since your destination cities were Venice, Barcelona and Paris...all very major European cities. Compared to the cities you've flown to, Lisbon is a city with less demand by air travelers and to my knowledge Delta does not fly there nonstop from ATL. I believe we connected in Paris when we went.

By the way, "nonstop" is not the same as "direct." ;)

There is no SkyTeam service to LIS that is either "non-stop" or "direct". Having flown in/out of LIS in the past, the usual SkyTeam routing is via CDG, with five flights daily between those cities, IIRC. There is less service via AMS. You could do a multi-city connection option with AirEuropa, but CDG usually works best.