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I really enjoyed taking the Eurostar from London to Paris. Note that you can actually redeem British Airways Avios for train tickets, with base awards starting at 10,000 Avios round-trip — according to our latest valuations, Avios are worth 1.5 cents each, so be sure that you’re getting a good deal before you book.
For this trip I paid full price ($429) for my Eurostar Business Premier ticket and used my Chase Sapphire Preferred card so I’d earn 2x the points on travel, earning 858 Chase Ultimate Rewards points just for this one-way trip. Thanks to my ticket option, I also received extra perks like fast-track check-in, access to a business-class lounge with free Wi-Fi and a gourmet three-course meal on the train.
Booking my one-way flight from Paris to Hanoi was pretty easy, too. Since Vietnam Airlines is a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, I had the option to redeem 80,000 Delta SkyMiles (+ $100 in taxes and fees) or 100,000 Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles (+ $275 in taxes and fees). Additionally, Delta is also a partner of American Express Membership Rewards, while Flying Blue is a partner of Citi ThankYou Rewards, so you have even more options to play with.
Unfortunately for me, there wasn’t any award availability on the day I wanted to travel, so I used my Chase Sapphire Preferred card once again to pay the $1,756 for my business-class ticket, earning 2x the points for travel and a total of 3,512 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for my one-way flight. I credited the purchase to my Delta account, earning an additional 7,142 Delta SkyMiles, 5,713 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and $1,429 in Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs). I normally would have used my Amex Premier Rewards Gold Card to score 3x the points for airfare, however Vietnam Airlines doesn’t accept American Express.
I have to say the business-class section of Vietnam Airlines’ A350 was definitely middle of the road, sporting 29 staggered seats in a 1-2-1 layout that were fairly comfy but still a bit cramped, especially for anyone who’s tall or has broad shoulders. The food service really wasn’t anything to write home about but I did enjoy the 15″ high definition in-flight entertainment system as well as the Charriol amenity kits that were offered, so overall it was a pretty good flight. For more info about the Vietnam Airlines A350 flight experience, check out my flight review of the airline’s business-class product.
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Source: thepointsguy.com