Booking Lufthansa first class is as easy as booking any other airline ticket. Simply go to Lufthansa’s website, search for availability, and pay for your flight. The only issue is that most round trips in Lufthansa first class cost well over $4,000. Obviously not everyone can afford to fly Lufthansa first class by paying cash. The good news is that it’s possible and fairly easy to book a Lufthansa first class flight using credit card points or airline miles! In fact, booking Lufthansa first class with miles or points represents a fantastic value.
Why Book Lufthansa First Class?
Lufthansa first class has been around for a while now, but it’s one of my favorite products in the sky today. They offer one of the most comfortable seats in the sky and my favorite bed in the sky as well. Obviously products like Singapore Suites class are more private and roomier, but Lufthansa first class is just so darn comfortable. It’s hard to explain exactly what I mean by that because it goes beyond the physical comfort of the seat/bed. From the moment you begin your journey in Lufthansa first class you feel welcomed. As you board the aircraft the light color palate makes the cabin feel inviting. The red rose, pre-departure champagne, and soft oversized seat help make Lufthansa first class feel like a home away from home.
In addition to the wonderful hard product Lufthansa offers a consistently excellent in-flight services. Not once do you feel like you’re bothering the flight attendants. I could go on and on about how much I loved flying Lufthansa first, but that’s not the point of this. For more information on why you should fly Lufthansa feel free to check out my full review here. Also, make sure to check out my review of the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt here.
Using United MileagePlus Miles To Book Lufthansa First Class
For US based travelers the easiest way to book Lufthansa first class is with United MileagePlus miles. The only downside is that Lufthansa first class awards are typically only readily available 2 weeks prior to the departure date. If you’re hoping to use United MileagePlus miles to book Lufthansa first class you’d better be prepared to wait until the last minute.
Booking the award is as straightforward as booking any other United award booking. Simply log-on to United.com or launch the United app. Search for flights and be sure to check the “Award Booking” option. A long list of flights should appear.
As you can see, on the dates I’ve selected there are limited “Saver” level flights to the US from Europe available. Lufthansa first class saver awards cost 110,000 United miles and fees. Fees from Europe to the US are typically around $180.
You can earn United MileagePlus miles by flying United, crediting Star Alliance partner flights to United, or by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points 1:1. Another great way to earn United miles quickly is to earn a credit card sign-up bonus from one of the United co-branded credit cards. I recently opened the United MileagePlus Explorer card for that reason.
Using Asiana Miles To Book Lufthansa First Class
Although booking Lufthansa first class with United miles is easy, it’s definitely not the most affordable option. A much less expensive option is to use Asiana miles. I know it seems odd to bank miles with an airline you don’t fly, but doing so could help you get more value from points/miles in the long run.
Earning Asiana miles is just as easy as earning any other airline currency. Of course you can earn miles by flying with Asiana, but you can also credit any other Star Alliance flights to the Asiana miles program. Asiana mileage accrual tables are found here. Additionally you can transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points over to the Asiana Club program at a 1:1 rate. On top of that, for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred, you receive a bonus of 5,000 Asiana miles!
To book Lufthansa first class you’ll need at least 50,000 Asiana Club miles in your account. If you don’t already have an Asiana Club account you’ll need to open one first. After opening an account find a way to get 50,000 miles and you’re ready to book Lufthansa first class. Asiana charges 100,000 miles to fly roundtrip in first class from the US to Europe. Luckily, the airline allows you to book one way award flights for exactly half price. This means you can book a US to Europe or Europe to US first class flight for just 50,000 miles. That’s well over half of the cost of booking a Lufthansa first class award with United miles. Even better, fees associated with these award tickets are only marginally more than with United!
Using Aeroplan Miles To Book Lufthansa First Class
Another great parter program to use when trying to book Lufthansa first class is Aeroplan. Aeroplan is one of the weirder frequent flyer programs out there as it’s not exclusively tied to a single airline. Air Canada is the primary airline affiliated with Aeroplan, but Air Canada recently announced they’ll be leaving Aeroplan and founding their own frequent flyer program in the coming years. Odd, right?
Now that you have a broad understanding of what Aeroplan is, let’s dig in. As with most Star Alliance partner programs, Aeroplan members can use miles to book flights on Star Alliance partners. By now you should realize that this of course includes Lufthansa first class. Aeroplan charges somewhere between 62,500 and 72,500 miles to fly from the US to Europe (EU zone 1 and 2 respectively). In addition to the miles, you’ll also have to pay hefty fuel surcharges. Aeroplan award flights add $400+ to award tickets in the form of fuel surcharges. Obviously not the least out of pocket option around.
What makes the Aeroplan option so appealing is that the program is a transfer partner for American Express Membership Rewards. Amex points transfer to Aeroplan instantly which means you can search availability and only transfer points when needed.
Using Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles To Book Lufthansa First Class
This is probably my favorite and least favorite way to book Lufthansa first class. What makes this method so appealing is how easy it is to earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. Citi ThankYou, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and American Express Membership Reward points all transfer to the Singapore KrisFlyer program. There is typically a delay when transferring points so you’ll have to be comfortable stockpiling points with Singapore airlines to make this option work. Also, Singapore KrisFlyer miles expire based on when they are earned so you’ll want to make sure only to transfer when you’re sure you can potentially use them.
With that out of the way, booking Lufthansa first class with Singapore KrisFlyer miles is fairly straightforward. The only issue is that you must book award tickets by phone. You can’t book Lufthansa flights online. To book a Lufthansa flights, use a Star Alliance partner (United) to search for First Class Saver availability. Once you’ve located an available flight, call Singapore Airlines to book the flight using Singapore KrisFlyer miles. Currently Singapore Airlines charges 76,000 KrisFlyer miles for flights from the US to Europe or visa versa. Also, Singapore recently removed fuel surcharges from their award bookings so you’ll only have to pay a few dollars out of pocket! From New York to Frankfurt you’ll only have to pay $23 in fees.
Although booking Lufthansa first class flights with Singapore KrisFlyer miles is appealing I don’t love the option because I’d much rather use the miles to book Singapore Airlines Suites Class. You can only book Singapore Suites with KrisFlyer miles so I find it hard to book flights on partner airlines instead. Obviously if you’re goal is to fly Lufthansa first class using Singapore KrisFlyer miles is a great option.
Final Thoughts
I really wish I knew this information prior to booking my recent Lufthansa First Class flight with United miles. Obviously I had a great trip and was happy to have the opportunity, but it’s tough knowing I overpaid for my flight. I used 110,000 United Miles to book my Lufthansa first class award. Had I done my research I could have instead used just 50,000 Asiana miles. Obviously this is a costly reminder of how important it is to do your research prior to using miles!
All in all, it seem as of now the best way to book Lufthansa first class is by using Singapore KrisFlyer miles. I say this because it costs the same number of miles as Aeroplan, but does not include the same outrageous fuel surcharges. I don’t love this option because I’d rather fly Singapore Suite class. I’ve noticed you’ll have better availability flying Lufthansa first when compared to Singapore Suites which could make the decision easier. Luckily because Singapore Airlines has so many transfer partners you shouldn’t have a hard time getting more KrisFlyer miles.
