We recently flew Air France Business Class on the 777-300er from LAX-CDG and loved the experience.

We arrived to LAX two hours before our flight time and were shocked to learn that the lounge servicing this flight (the KAL lounge) was closed “due to covid”. It seemed a little odd that lounges would still be closed due to covid when all restrictions in California have been lifted. Actually, it was incredibly disappointing, especially after calling Air France 3 days prior to our flight and confirming that the lounge would be open. In the very least, they could have comp’ed some money off a meal in an airport restaurant to make up for this lack of a perk. Happily though this was the only hiccup we experienced on this flight, which otherwise had great service and incredible food!

We got settled in to our seats in row 5 and explored the cabin which features 28 Business Class seats in a 1:2:1 configuration. Air France’s hard product is good. They have a very comfortable seat, equipped with an ok selection of movies and shows, charging outlets, a cubby to place personal items with a mirror (great touch!), and noise-canceling headphones.

Resting on the ottoman was a blanket, pillow, covid kit and amenity kit. The soft pouch kit included an eye mask, pen, shoehorn, earplugs, eyeglass cloth, headphone covers, toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, Clarins hand cream and Clarins moisturizer.

Take off was smooth and they quickly came to take our dinner orders. The choice of entrees was pan-fried fillet of beef in a red wine and juniper berry sauce, poultry sausage parcel with foie gras, fricassee with sea bass, salmon and shrimp and sweet bell peppers ravioli with butternut squash cream. We chose the fricassee which might have been the best meal we’ve had on a plane ever.

In order to reduce the amount of contact due to covid, dinner service was reduced by combining the courses into just two courses with one tray. First they brought a tray consisting of the starter (which was a scallop mousseline and smoked salmon, fennel and tomato salad), and trio of desserts and cheese plate all together as one course. Then they brought the main course next and added it to the same tray.

After eating and watching a movie or two, we put back the beds and slept for a few hours. When we woke up in the middle of the night hungry, the galley bar was stocked with an assortment of alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks, and a variety of French cookies and crisps.

Breakfast was served 1.5 hours before landing and consisted of a delicious spinach and cheese omelette with grilled pepper and sausage, thick French yogurt with fresh fruit and a freshly-baked, warm croissant.

Next thing we knew we had landed in Paris! Overall, we were extremely satisfied with Air France’s Business Class product. While their entertainment options and amenity kit quality are average, they make up for it with stunning service and fabulous food!

The retail value of this flight is $13,560!

Do you think we paid that much? NO, OF COURSE NOT!! We booked these flights with our Game of Points. We transferred 212,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Air France using their Flying Blue program and paid only a little over $200 per ticket in taxes and fees! We earned these points by combining signup bonuses from both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit cards, as well as organic spending on these cards.

If you have the American Express Platinum credit card, don't forget that your current $50 Saks Fifth Avenue credit expires in just a few days on July 1. One of the perks of this card is free $50 to spend at Saks every 6 months. Don't let it go to waste!

Here are 5 ways to spend that credit:

3. Kids toys! Stock up now for an upcoming birthday present for a kid in your life. They have a large selection of unique toys, such as this 115 Piece Glow-in-the-Dark Marble Run.

4. Jewelry! Kate Spade New York has many beautiful pieces at the $50 mark for you, such as these Brilliant Statements Pave Huggie Hoop Earrings.

5. Travel kits! Our favorite is this 7-piece kit from Aesop. It includes hand wash, hand balm, facial mask, moisturizer, lip cream, mouthwash and toothpaste.

And if you don't like any of those ideas, you can always get $50 off an $88,300 Chopard watch , making it only $88,250 :-P

Let us know how you spend your credit!

Have you heard the buzz? One of our favorite credit cards for travel rewards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, has hit a magnificently high sign-up bonus! If you were ever thinking of starting the points game, now would be the time.

For years, the sign-up bonus for the CSP was 60,000 points, until a few months ago when Chase raised it to 80k points to entice new clients ready to travel after the pandemic, but now they've outdone themselves with an unbelievable 100k points sign-up bonus! 100k points can get you very, very far in the world of points; it's worth at the very least $1250 in travel, but if you play your cards right can be worth hundreds of dollars more.

​So here's how we spent our Sunday:

1. Chase does not allow two Sapphire cards owned by the same person at once, and we already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve. So we first needed to call Chase and ask them to downgrade our Chase Sapphire Reserve to a Chase Freedom Flex. (This is also known as product change).

By the way, we downgraded the CSR to the Freedom Flex because we also already have a Freedom Unlimited-- but if you don't yet have an Unlimited, that is a good choice to downgrade to also.

Additionally, keep in mind that you can only receive a signup bonus for a Sapphire card every 48+ months, so make sure you've held on to your card for at least two years before trying this downgrade hack.

2. Ask Chase to reduce your available credit with them. This is because sometimes Chase will deny your application if the amount of available credit they've offered you is already high (regardless if you use it all or not). So reduce your credit line to an amount that closer aligns with your monthly spending habits to improve the odds of being accepted for your new card.

3. Apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred using the 100k signup bonus offer link.

​Note: you might further increase your odds of getting approved if you wait 31 days from downgrading to apply for your new card.

4. After getting approved for your new card, spend $4000 on it in the first three months and collect your points. Note: it does have a $95 annual fee, but the perks will more than cover this. Besides the killer sign up bonus, you will also enjoy 5X points on Lyft rides, 2X points on dining and travel, up to $50 statement credit for grocery items (this alone offsets most of the annual fee), free DoorDash DashPass for a year and many other perks​.

5. If you benefit from the perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve including the lounge access it comes with and therefore don't want to  see it go, after qualifying for the CSP, call back Chase and ask them to upgrade your Freedom Flex or Unlimited back to the Chase Sapphire Reserve. This works because while you can't get approved for a Sapphire card when you already have one, you CAN upgrade another card to a Sapphire even if you already have another Sapphire.

​You should definitely take advantage of this offer while you can! Apply now! Happy hacking!