u/FickleAd1150

Hi guys

I appreciate there’s countless other posts querying this but I have some quite narrow wishes for my points which I would massively appreciate any help with. I’m pretty new to Amex and flight upgrades more generally. If anyone can help me I’d be more than happy to send flowers as a thank you!

Me and my gf are planning on going to South Africa in the new year and i will be proposing to her on this holiday.

Edit. further context: Looking v quickly a London-Cape Town return flight in Jan is £700-£1k pp in economy. Premium economy c.£1.5k-£2k. Biz £3k-£4k.

In an ideal world, I’d really like to get us 2x business class seats from London to Cape Town including return as cheap as possible, ideally by just using points. 1st class would obviously be amazing but I suspect that’s a non starter!

1. What is the most efficient way of utilising points? Do I book flights economy and pay using my Amex through their system, and then use the points to upgrade direct with the airline?
2. Is there a particular airline that converts points best on this route? I’d be open to a quick economy flight to e.g. Schipol if it enables us to get the upgrade for the bulk of the journey.
3. Do I bother getting my partner to get a BA free Amex for the companion voucher? Or is it too late/incompatible with what I want.
4. Would anyone recommend using the points for economy seats but I bid for an upgrade closer to the time.
5. Does anyone have any suggestions to boost my points easily/cheaply. I’ve thought about referring her to my gold Amex to get some bonus points. I also have a limited company for any consulting I do. So could I get better referral points by referring myself or her for a gold business card? Any other ideas would be great!

Any other suggestions I really welcome, if anyone can help me I owe you big time!

Thanks