Scoring business class rewards are easy. Scoring business class rewards at a higher award redemption rate is NOT easy! I always start off with a general round-trip search for the date(s) you want. I recommend using Kayak for this. It's a great search engine which provides you with visibility into which airlines are operating on the route you want. The airline chosen will also be contingent upon the amount of points one has and which airline/alliance those points are associated with. For example, if you have a ton of United miles to burn through (as I did thanks to United being a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner at a 1:1 ratio), I was able to book 2 one way tickets on United's alliance partner, Air Canada.
Booking through United's MileagePlus program is pretty easy and I really like their award availability calendar. It displays exact on which dates they have Business or First Saver Awards (these awards are usually 50% less in points than their Standard Award). Seeing the flights I wanted on United's website, I transferred the points from my Chase Ultimate Rewards account into my Unit MileagePlus account and because these transfers happen instantaneously, I was able to confirm my flights immediately!
Additional perks include flying Air Canada's new Boeing 777-300. One of my favorite aircraft's flying the skies.
Airline: Air Canada (LAX: A320; YUL: B777-300
Class of Service: Business
United Mileage points used: 70K each ticket + $5.60 in fees
Award Redemption Rate: This ticket would have cost an astounding $4874. I received a redemption rate of 7 cents per point which is fantastic!
