Estimated reading time: 17 minutes
How much does buying a last minute international flight cost? A lot, if using cash. However, airlines often open up the ability to book at their lowest points rate if the flight isn’t full.
With my parents in Berlin over Easter Weekend and me back in the States, I thought maybe I could pull off a spontaneous trip while my work was slow. A quick search and I can fly United’s Polaris business class for 80k to Berlin and 40k back on economy – both direct! Better than paying $2,000+ for the same direct flights, in economy, or $1,000 for a 1-stop routing. Later on, a premium economy seat opened up for an extra 10k points on the return so I ended up changing my return flight to that.
How I searched and booked.
I needed to fly out of Newark or Philadelphia. Using my knowledge and Google Flights, I knew United flies a direct flight between Newark and Berlin daily (you can figure this out using Google Flights and using their filters or Flight Connections.
A quick search on United’s site showed me award space in business class for 80k points one way on their own metal on Friday and also a flight back on Tuesday in economy for 40k points. Had to be back for work! and yes you can book these flights for slightly cheaper on some partners like Avianca Lifemiles or Air Canada (not business class anymore, sad!) but you earn United PQPs to qualify for status if booking direct with UA and I’m trying to renew United Gold status for that sweet sweet Star Alliance Gold.
Tip: Using points for last-minute flights can save you a lot vs. the expensive cash fares. There is generally an inverse relationship between using cash and points for last-minute flights. Cash costs are generally higher due to fare rules forcing you to book in a more expensive fare class. However, if there are open seats, airlines often release their “saver” lowest-cost awards that can be booked with points. Using points can help with those with a lot of travel flexibility or needing to book last-minute emergency trips.
Total trip cost.
130k points and $1,690 for 4 nights, transportation, museums, and food/drink.
- Flights: 130k Chase points (transferred to United) + $127 in taxes/fees r/t in business there and PE back
- Hotel: $950 for 4 nights at a hotel ($1,150 – $200 AMEX Platinum FHR credit)
- $150 Ubers to and from airport/train station
- $33 Amtrak
- $30 for Berlin public transit pass for 48 hours
- Food: $300 for 3 people
- Entertainment: $100 for museums + boat ride for 3
This trip started in Philadelphia, required a bus from Allentown to Newark, flew across the pond to Berlin, then flew back to Newark, and running to catch an Amtrak back to Philadelphia.
Starting from Allentown
My journey started in Philadelphia, but a quick 1 hour drive up to my girlfriend’s parents house in the Lehigh Valley area that morning for a brief visit before heading off to Lehigh Valley International (ABE). United and American operate busses from ABE to EWR and PHL respectively, with United operating the bus landside and American running theirs airside. I waited just a few minutes before United’s charter bus showed up, right by where the Trans-Bridge buses pick people up for NYC. The bus was maybe 80% full and had WiFi, although it wasn’t very reliable during the trip. It’s about an hour and 15 min ride with no traffic and you are dropped off at Terminal C at EWR.
Newark, not so bad!
No traffic and a little over an hour later, we pull up to Terminal C at Newark. As usual, Clear + Precheck took longer than just using Precheck but I’m through within 10 minutes. Apparently there is a touchless PreCheck line somewhere and that is not very well known and the fastest option with zero. The gentlemen behind me who got out of line beat me through security and made sure to rub it in but told me the secret, so thank you!
Now off to the Polaris Lounge, which I surprisingly was my first time! United’s Polaris Lounges require flying United Polaris (long-haul international) or a Star Alliance business or first class to enter. The major difference between a Polaris Lounge and a United Club is the restaurant and bar. The hot and cold buffet honestly was pretty similar to what a newer United Club (think EWR, ORD, DEN) offers. I got fairly lucky and didn’t have to wait for a table at the restaurant. I went with a cocktail, some sort of asparagus and cheese appetizer, the Polaris burger, and the cookie skillet. Food and drink including at the restaurant and bar is complimentary – but I left a small tip at the restaurant and saw other passengers do the same.
Uneventful flight
United’s Polaris cabin is a very consistent hard product as all long-haul flights now have the Polaris pods either in a 1-2-1 or 1-1-1 arrangement. My flight was on a 767-400ER with 34 seats in a 1-1-1 format and I was lucky to snag a window seat that is closer to the windows. Generally, the odd-numbered rows have seats that are more private, as seen below. Thanks Aerolopa for the detailed seat maps! Wifi was decent and I paid $8 for the full flight, what a steal! Another major US airline can charge $30+ for domestic flights… anyways Starlink is coming for us so it won’t matter soon.
However, one thing that seems to also be consistent with United is the inconsistently of meal qualities. I pre-ordered the seared Asian short ribs and it was just ok. The meat was a bit tough and also came with 2 mysterious patty shaped items that I couldn’t figure out what they were unless I checked the menu. Any guesses?
After tasting the non-descript patties, I cleansed my palate with sugar and got the works from the sundae cart. Dinner service started a bit later than I thought and took longer than I expected, eating into 2 hours of sleep time. I slept through breakfast to try to maximize sleep and knew that I could eat at the hotel in just a few hours.
Das ist Berlin
It was gross and rainy when I landed but luckily cleared up by the time I got out of the airport. Anyways, what’s the deal with customs and immigration? Nearly every foreign country I visit, the people in front of me in line seem to get to play 21 questions and I only get 10 seconds of attention from the immigration officer. Yes, I understand I am fortunate! After customs and immigration, I’m out and calling an Uber. Pretty easy to find the pickup spot at BER. I would have taken the train but there was construction or something going on with the S-Bahn requiring a few transfers. Me? Didn’t want to deal with it.
So 25 minutes later and $60 poorer, it’s 8am local time (2am body time) but I’m at the Waldorf Astoria Berlin and feelin the exhaustion creeping up on me. Luckily, I did something. I booked my hotel for the night before and messaged my hotel my plans that I would be showing up early in the morning but booked the night before go guarantee my room was ready. And they did just that, plus I went to grab breakfast before taking a morning nap. My parents would be flying in from Copenhagen and arriving early in the afternoon so I had some time to catch up on sleep after breakfast.
AMEX FHR saving me money! But no upgrade.
I booked a day before and used my Amex Platinum’s Fine Hotel & Resort (FHR) $200 annual credit. Plus the Amex portal had a fourth night free and you are eligible to earn Hilton points on FHR stays even though it technically was a third-party booking. Sadly, I seem to never get an upgrade, even though the hotel seemed to have low occupancy and me asking about a potential upgrade at check-in and them acknowledging my request then not putting me in a different room. Diamond + FHR… Anyways, the base room is well-appointed and quiet. Aesop amenities and nice bath robes that were higher-quality than other luxury hotels I have stayed at and a very comfy bed.
Breakfast at the Waldorf includes a pretty good spread of hot and cold items and the ability to order something made-to-order. They also had like 30 different types of honey which was neat. I tried something new off the made-to-order menu every day including the sexually imposing sausage. Anyways, skip the sausage and get omelette, pancakes, or french toast.
A few hours later, my parents arrive and you could immediately see how ecstatic they were that I could make the last-minute trip. There’s something fun and exhilarating about meeting up in a far and foreign country and last-minute as well! I also like to think my parents like me ☺️, at least a little bit.
Anyways, we did a bunch of touristy stuff in Berlin, ate and drank a bunch of German food and beer, and had a great time!!! The ability to use points due to being flexible last-minute is a great perk of award travel.
Berlin food scene
I wish I had more time to plan, but Berlin is an incredibly diverse city with a lot of history, leading to a lot of great food options. with a lot of great food options. My Uber driver recommended a few doner kabob shops near the hotel and some Google searching led me to an old Berlin-styled restaurant, beer garden, and dessert shop.
Additionally, due to booking through Amex FHR, my parents and I each had ~$100 USD to spend as property credit. Sadly the Art Deco-inspired Lang Bar connected to the property is somehow no longer part of the property and credits can’t be used there, so the options were the spa, room service, or another restaurant connected to the hotel called Roca. My family and I spent one of the ~$100 USD room credits for lunch, then we returned in the evening for a round of drinks. The drinks were tasty and strong but the sandwiches were pretty mediocre except for the fries – those were tasty.
Getting home
I was really hoping for last-minute Lufthansa First Class to open up to get me back to EWR or IAD so I could fly on the 747. Only Boston and the A340 opened up. I ended up flying United Premium Economy (purple seats!!) on a direct flight between Berlin to Newark. Originally, I was booked in economy, booked using 40k United miles. However, a seat in Premium Economy opened up just for an extra 10k miles so I jumped on that. Another big perk of award travel is many programs have free change/cancellation policies, providing even more flexibility. Award flights through the Big 3 US carriers (AA, Delta, United) are fully refundable/changeable up until boarding.
Early morning, no problem
With my flight departing at 9:50am, I had an early morning, brought all my belongings with me and ate a quick breakfast at the Waldorf when they opened at 7am. I then took a 30 minute Uber to the airport where security was fast. They didn’t have a priority line for Star Alliance Gold, but I believe had them for business passengers (not me that day 🙁 sadly). Post-security put you into a major atrium filled with various duty-free and airport related shops. I walked about 10 minutes to the Lufthansa lounges, which you have access to if you are Star Alliance Gold from certain airlines or certain Lufthansa status, flying business or first class, have an Amex Platinum + flying Star Alliance, or have certain club cards (Air Canada & United).
My flight back was on a 767-400ER with a premium economy arrangement of 2-2-2. Although I love a window seat, I ended up picking one of the 2 seats in the middle aisle so that I didn’t have to climb over anyone to use the restroom. United’s international premium economy is a similar seat to what a domestic first class would look like and had similar food & drink options as a domestic first flight. My sweet potato tikka masala meal in PE was honesty better than my Polaris meal just a few days before.
Back in the US
We landed in the US about 30 minutes early, 12:15pm, leaving me about 3 hours until the Amtrak I booked would show up. However, with international flights putting people out at Terminal B, and me not having an onward ticket, I would not be able to get into a United Club in Terminal A or C to pass time. I frantically looked to see if there was an affordable earlier Amtrak option and surprisingly was able to book one for a 1pm departure back to PHL for only $33. This sounds crazy as I had only 45 minutes from touching down in EWR to clear customs and take the Air Train to the EWR train station. But after seeing no line to clear customs for both Global Entry and the regular line (no Mobile Passport Control available that day, so get Global Entry if you can), I knew I was going to somehow make it!! Made it back to Philly before the market close. Success.
