For business class, its often less expensive to buy airline miles than buying a cash ticket. Consider Lufthansa and their Miles & More program. You can currently buy 160k miles for $2,010 (1.26¢ per mile). A return business class flight from the West Coast to Germany is 156k miles and ~$100 in fees. The same flight is usually at least $5,000 for the cash ticket. In my experience, Miles and more tickets are superior to cash tickets, as they can be cancelled and changed for free.

There is availability from SF to Munich on the 25th for 78k miles - go enjoy Oktoberfest!