Ten-hour flights in economy are starting to win the argument against me.

I've got a trip from New York to London coming up, then onward to Paris a few days later. A few years ago, I wouldn't have thought twice about flying economy. Now I'm looking at the itinerary and already thinking about how rough the first couple of days are going to feel.

I checked British Airways first and closed the tab pretty quickly after seeing the business class fares. Then I did what most people do and started comparing options: airline direct, Google Flights, and a few other booking sources to see if there was a smarter way to do it.

I ended up looking at a couple of business-class consolidators. was one of them, and the quote they sent was noticeably lower than what I was seeing directly with the airline. I had to spend a little extra time comparing the fare rules and flexibility, but it was enough to make me seriously consider business class instead of immediately ruling it out.

The problem is that I'm still struggling with the value equation. Part of me sees a flight as nothing more than transportation. The other part remembers what it's like to land after an overnight flight, get through immigration, check into a hotel, and still be expected to function the next day.

For those of you who pay for business class out of your own pocket and aren't using company money, where did you draw the line? Was there a point where you decided the extra comfort was worth it, or do you still stick with economy whenever possible?