How I Flew Business Class to Barcelona (September 2025)

In September 2025, I flew solo to Barcelona in business class, and it still feels a little unreal that points covered it. Here’s how I pulled it off, so you can do it too.

The flights

I booked on August 30, 2025, just a few days before departure, and flew out on Wednesday, September 3. The first leg was Discover Airlines flight 4Y077 in business class, YYC to Frankfurt on an Airbus A330: departing Calgary at 16:50 and landing in Frankfurt at 10:15 the next morning, about 9 hours 25 minutes in the air. After a layover, I connected on Lufthansa LH1132 from Frankfurt (14:10) to Barcelona (16:15) on an A320neo. That leg was Lufthansa’s intra-Europe business class, which is typically a regular seat with the middle seat kept free, plus the nicer service. For the trip home, I flew direct home on Air Canada in economy for 30k Aeroplan points. Business on the way out, economy on the way back saved me a nice chunk of points, and I got the lie-flat experience where I wanted it most.

The points

The outbound business booking was 70,000 Aeroplan points one way, plus CA$172.87 in taxes and fees (CA$39.00 in air transport charges and CA$133.87 in taxes), which I paid with my Amex card. Paying cash for the same business itinerary on aircanada.ca would have cost about $9,000+ ($9,163 CAD).

Value check: ($9,163 cash − $172.87 taxes and fees) ÷ 70,000 points = about 12.8 cents per Aeroplan point. That’s a fantastic return for points that came from a single welcome bonus.

Where the points came from

One reason Aeroplan works so well for me: Amex Membership Rewards points transfer to Aeroplan 1:1, so 1,000 MR points become 1,000 Aeroplan points (per Amex Canada, checked October 21, 2026).

The points came from my Amex Platinum Card welcome bonus, which I transferred 1:1 to Aeroplan for this booking. If you’re building a stash from scratch, my Start Here guide covers the basics, and cards like the Amex Cobalt and Platinum Card do a lot of the heavy lifting for me.

If you’re thinking about the Platinum, you can read my full Platinum Card review, or apply through my referral link below. That welcome bonus was the backbone of this booking.

Apply with my referral link

Highlights

For me, Barcelona is all about its history and art. It’s a city where centuries of stories sit right alongside bold, creative architecture, and just wandering the streets feels like walking through a living gallery. If you love history and art like I do, it’s an easy city to fall for, and getting there on points made it even sweeter.

What I’d do differently

Honestly? I wish I had learned about this sooner. Every year I wasn’t collecting points was a trip I could have taken. Two lessons from this one:

Last-minute award space exists. I booked on August 30 for a September 3 departure, so don’t give up on a trip just because it’s only days away. Check anyway.
Splurge where it counts. I took lie-flat business on the long-haul flight out and flew economy home for 30k Aeroplan points. That stretched my points a lot further.

If you’re on the fence, start now. My Start Here guide walks you through the first steps, and your first welcome bonus could be closer to a business-class seat than you think.

Heads up: some links on this page are my personal referral links. If you are approved through one, I may earn points at no cost to you. Full disclosure.