Due to my employer’s generous paternity leave policy, my wife and I anticipated having a two-month break in the summer of 2023. With this in mind, we began planning a trip to Asia in November 2022. Our boys were four years, three years, and 11 months at the time of our travel. While this was undeniably an ambitious undertaking, we had taken steps in previous years to prepare for such adventures. Trips to Hawaii and Alaska with our older two boys helped us test various strategies to prepare them for long flights. With each excursion, we witnessed their growth, maturity, and enthusiasm for travel, giving us a cautiously optimistic outlook for a lengthy flight to Japan. Past experiences also taught us the unpredictability of traveling with toddlers and infants. Despite meticulous itinerary planning, we recognized that unforeseen needs could arise. Accepting this reality lessened potential disappointments if we couldn’t check off every item on our agenda. For weeks, my wife and I debated whether to opt for closer destinations like Europe or Central America or fully commit to Asia. The recurring question in our discussions was, ‘If not now, when?’ Planning an itinerary covering multiple countries on the other side of the globe required more than the typical 14 consecutive days off I usually receive. With a blessed two months off, the opportunity was now or potentially far into the future. While cautiously optimistic, we acknowledged the trip’s potential to become a disaster. Uncomfortable kids in unfamiliar settings, failed attempts to address their discomfort, difficulties overcoming jet lag, and the worst-case scenario of a child falling ill were all factors we considered. We hoped our kids would acclimate to different social norms in a foreign country and gain an appreciation for a world beyond America. It became clear that, for an extended trip, including kid-friendly activities in the itinerary was crucial. Although my wife and I love historical sites and museums, understanding that presenting an ancient temple after a 13-to-14-hour flight might be challenging for the kids, we prioritized activities that excited them. Planning around places and experiences that captured their enthusiasm ensured a more enjoyable trip, as their behavior ultimately determined the quality of our adventure.
After wrapping up our journey in Bali, we took the roughly 2-hour-45-minute flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We flew a low-cost carrier, Batik Air, and our experience was awful. Their operations are pretty chaotic; they don’t communicate well during delays, and sadly, their flight attendants are left to answer questions they may not have answers to. I chose this flight because its schedule aligned well with our check-out time. We arrived in Kuala Lumpur about three hours later than our scheduled arrival time, forcing us to cancel some of our plans for the day. While in Kuala Lumpur, we stayed at the beautiful Mandarin Oriental in downtown. We applied my American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts $200 credit toward the booking cost, which allowed us to have a bargain price for this five-star hotel. This hotel is located adjacent to Suria Mall and the Petronas Towers complex. It is also a short walk from Kuala Lumpur City Centre Park, a beautiful 50-acre park with a two-acre children’s playground and splash area. Once we checked in and settled, we grabbed dinner and called it a night.
I transferred 140k Chase Ultimate Rewards into United for a recent trip to Portugal. I booked two business class tickets to Lisbon via Frankfurt, Germany, on their Star Alliance partner, Lufthansa Airlines. Usually, I don’t redeem points for business class even though it’s a better value than redeeming for economy class. I would instead use fewer points and have enough left over for another trip rather than burn twice the amount on luxury and comfort. However, there were a couple of factors at play this time around. First, the wife was pregnant, and this was our babymoon, so her comfort was a high priority. Secondly, United had saver-level awards for business class but no saver-level awards for the economy (30k miles per ticket) on the day we wanted to depart. So my choices were 70k miles per person in business class or 70k points per person in economy (lol). This was the most no-brainer of no-brainers. Neither of us had ever experienced an international long-haul business class flight, and we now understand why business class redemptions provide much better value than economy class redemptions. Here is a screen-shot of the price we would have to pay for each ticket in business class if we were using cash:
A combined $14,400! Instead, we used 140,000 United miles plus $40 tax per ticket. We got a fantastic 10 cents per mile value on this award ticket. This was the most value we have ever extracted from a miles/point redemption. Generally, getting 2.5-3 cents per point on redemption is considered pretty good. In addition to the in-flight service, we both got access to the Polaris Lounge in Chicago and Lufthansa Business Class Lounge in Frankfurt. Our flight from Frankfurt to Lisbon was also business class; I’ll have a separate review. You can read about my Polaris Lounge experience here.
Check-in
Checking in was very straightforward. We used the designated business class check-in counter to skip the line usually seen in economy class.
There was no one in front of us, and after taking our check-in luggage and handing us our boarding pass, the Lufthansa representative informed us we had access to Polaris Lounge if we wished. That was the reason we got to the airport 5 hours before departure in the first place =)
Boarding and Seating
The Queen of the Skies, our plane for this trip to Europe
We boarded in the priority lane reserved for first-class and business-class travelers during the boarding process. For this trip, we would fly on the Boeing-747, the “Queen of the Skies” for this flight to Frankfurt. I had not flown on a 747 since 2005, and being able to fly on one in a premium cabin gave this award redemption added value. Upon entering the plane, we turned right into the business class cabin and were seated in 5A and 5C (these seats are adjacent). Lufthansa Business Class has fully lie-flat seats. Traveling overnight is a huge deal, as you can beat jet lag and not waste a day recovering. After finding our seats, our air hostess offered us welcome drinks before takeoff.
Business class seats in their upright position
These seats have space under the footrest area and a pullout compartment to store smaller items during the flight. The amenity kit is also located here. If you want to utilize the in-flight entertainment, Lufthansa provides Bose noise-canceling headphones in the armrest compartment.
Business Class Amenity Kit
The amenity kit provided socks, eye covers, a razor/shaving cream, lip balm, moisturizing cream, mint, a toothbrush/toothpaste, ear plugs, and headphone covers for the Bose headphones they provide.
After Takeoff
We were given salted cashews as a snack and a dinner menu shortly after takeoff.
However, the menu didn’t really apply to us as Lufthansa was able to accommodate us with a halal meal that I requested during the booking process. Just for completeness, I’ll post the menu right here. We were served scallops for the appetizer for our dinner, which was delicious.
For the main course, we received a meal both of us were very familiar with:
Butter chicken with jasmine rice and mixed vegetables cooked Indian-Pakistani style. This was also delicious and tasted like it was restaurant quality. It wouldn’t shock me if one of the restaurants on Devon Ave in Chicago was the supplier for halal requests. For dessert, we received a cup of Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream. I do wish they had something different for dessert. There is nothing wrong with Haagen-Dazs, and I am a big fan of their ice cream, but I can get this from the freezer section of my local grocery store. I suppose something more unique would have been more desirable.
Post-Dinner
After dinner, it was time to take advantage of the lie-flat seating and get some shut-eye until breakfast.
Photo credit: Ayesha
The air hostess asked my wife and I if we wanted to be woken up for breakfast, and we both said yes. This gave us about 5.5 hours to get a good night’s sleep.
If you’re wondering, we both slept very comfortably. Lufthansa gave us lovely, lush pillows and thick blankets that were hotel-caliber. The 5.5 hours of shuteye were very refreshing, and before we knew it, it was time for breakfast.
Breakfast
We received a croissant, warm turkey slices with cucumber and lettuce, fresh fruit, and orange juice for breakfast. I have no complaints, as everything tasted great. The hostess came around a second time if we wanted another beverage or coffee. She also passed around a box of chocolates, which was a nice touch.
About an hour after breakfast concluded, the descent had begun into Frankfurt International Airport. Lufthansa did have in-flight internet, but I did not purchase it, so I have no idea how the connectivity was. This was another knock on Lufthansa since passengers in premium-class cabins should have complimentary Wi-Fi. My time would be spent eating or sleeping, and that’s precisely how it went. If I had redeemed an award ticket in the economy, I would have likely purchased in-flight wifi since I sleep very poorly when sitting upright. This was a solid business class experience for my wife and me, and the fact that she could sleep well on the plane, being 2/3 into her pregnancy, made this part of our trip highly comfortable for her. I also want to acknowledge the flight attendant who was assigned to our part of the cabin. She did an excellent job and routinely asked us if we wanted anything to drink or if we wanted any snacks. The attentiveness we got in business class was not lost on us, so thanks to Lufthansa. I’m not sure if I’ll ever extract the value I did for this award redemption, but the great thing about it is we weren’t even done. We still had access to Lufthansa Business Class Lounge during our 6-hour layover in Frankfurt and another business class flight to connect to Lisbon, Portugal. To conclude, we had a fantastic experience flying in business class on Lufthansa, and we hope to be able to do so again in the future.
However, the menu didn’t really apply to us as Lufthansa was able to accommodate us with a halal meal that I requested during the booking process. Just for completeness, I’ll post the menu right here.
We were served scallops for the appetizer for our dinner, which was delicious.
Miles for places 