Is it better to pay cash or use points?

If you have transferable credit card points, always use points. You will typically get a value of 2–5 cents per point, whereas paying cash requires high upfront capital.

Does booking 'last minute' really work?

Yes, but only if you are flexible with dates and airports. If you are locked into a specific Friday departure, you will rarely find last-minute business class award space.

Should I pay extra for premium economy?

Only if business class is completely unavailable. Premium economy offers more legroom, but the value proposition compared to economy is significantly lower than the jump from economy to business.

Booking Business Class Flights to Paris Without Overpaying

Use a combination of airline points transfer partners and flight alert services to find business class seats for 60,000 to 90,000 points one-way. Avoid booking directly through airline portals unless there is a specific flash sale.

Set your flight alerts early. Register for free on sites like Point.me or AwardHacker to track specific routes. Set alerts for your departure city to CDG or ORY at least 4-6 months before your intended departure date.
Leverage transfer partners. Transfer credit card points (Amex, Chase, Capital One) to airline partners like Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) or Virgin Atlantic. Transferring points to partners usually requires fewer miles for business class than booking through the credit card portal.
Look for 'married segment' availability. If a direct flight shows no business class availability, search for flights with a short stopover in a secondary hub like Madrid, Dublin, or Lisbon. Airlines often release business class seats for the entire journey that they won't release for just one leg.
Book at the extreme ends of the calendar. Check for seats exactly 330 days out when airlines first release inventory, or 14-21 days before departure when airlines release 'last-minute' business class seats to fill empty cabins.

Is it better to pay cash or use points?: If you have transferable credit card points, always use points. You will typically get a value of 2–5 cents per point, whereas paying cash requires high upfront capital.
Does booking 'last minute' really work?: Yes, but only if you are flexible with dates and airports. If you are locked into a specific Friday departure, you will rarely find last-minute business class award space.
Should I pay extra for premium economy?: Only if business class is completely unavailable. Premium economy offers more legroom, but the value proposition compared to economy is significantly lower than the jump from economy to business.