Hello everyone! It’s me, Dominik Żmuda from BoundlessMiles and Travelling the World. I’ve already worked with many of you in helping book your dream trips using miles and points through my award booking service. Alexi and Brad have asked me to jump in and write articles specifically for the Travel Miles 101 community – so here I am! I will be sharing with you a variety of all things related to travel, including some of my favourite tips and tricks to ensure you maximise your miles and points!
My Favourite Way to Fly
My absolute favourite way to fly is Lufthansa First Class. It is one of the world’s best products with both an incredible soft and hard product, as well as phenomenal ground services to ensure you fully relax and unwind even before your flight! I’ve flown Lufthansa First Class more times than I can count, on every single Lufthansa aircraft with First Class:
My favourite Lufthansa First Class configuration is on the Boeing 747-8 aircraft, as First Class is located in the nose of the plane – exactly right below where the pilots sit. The First Class product feels extra special as it is completely partitioned off and away from Business Class. The galleys and lavatories are also located further away from the cabin – minimising noise.
Lufthansa First Class A380
Redeeming Miles for Lufthansa First Class
Lufthansa First Class is at most only bookable 14 days before departure using partner airlines’ miles and it isn’t cheap. Lufthansa imposes fuel surcharges on award tickets – which can easily range upwards of $400 USD for a one-way flight! The only Star Alliance frequent flyer programmes which do NOT impose fuel surcharges for travel on Lufthansa are Avianca LifeMiles and United Airlines MileagePlus. However, the downside is that Avianca LifeMiles are harder to collect and incredibly difficult to redeem. United MileagePlus miles are easy to collect (instant transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards), but United charges 110k miles for a one-way First Class ticket from America to Europe on Lufthansa… which is an insane amount of miles and not a great deal at all.
The Cheapest Way to Fly Lufthansa First Class
One of my favourite frequent flyer programmes is Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. The programme has a great award chart for many regions, including a few sweet spots which I love to maximise. While KrisFlyer does impose fuel surcharges on Star Alliance airlines, these can be easily minimised – even if redeeming miles for Lufthansa First Class.
My favourite sweet spot in the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer award chart is:
- First Class – Europe to Middle East/North Africa: 35k miles one-way
Europe is Lufthansa’s home, therefore you can fly Lufthansa from just about any European airport. The good news is that Lufthansa has several destinations in the Middle East/North Africa that feature a First Class cabin – including:
- Bahrain
- Dammam
- Doha
- Dubai
- Jeddah
- Kuwait City
- Riyadh
Doha and Dubai are probably the only two destinations in the Middle East that I don’t mind visiting – and I always fly Lufthansa First Class from Europe for just 35k miles.
Lufthansa First Class Lounge, Frankfurt
Earning Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles
You are in luck! You can transfer just about any major transferable points currency to KrisFlyer, making these miles really easy to collect. The following transfer to KrisFlyer at a 1:1 ratio:
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Citi ThankYou Rewards
- Starwood Preferred Guest (5k bonus for every 20k transferred)
This means that Lufthansa First Class from, say, Stockholm to Frankfurt to Dubai will cost just 35k AMEX/Chase/Citi points or just 30k SPG points one-way (5k bonus for every 20k transferred).
The taxes/fees and fuel surcharges will range depending on where you are originating your travel and will cost you around $200-$300 USD one-way (just make sure you do NOT originate in the United Kingdom as that will add another $100-$200 USD on top of the taxes/fees and fuel surcharges).
Pro Tip: Originate your travel in Scandinavia – the fuel surcharges will significantly drop.
Other Important Factors
No transferable points currency transfers instantly to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
- AMEX and Chase transfers take 12-24 hours
- Citi transfers take 24-48 hours
- SPG transfers take 7 to 14 days.
This means that the award space you found today may no longer be available for booking tomorrow (by the time the transfer posts to your KrisFlyer account).
Important: You can only book partner awards with KrisFlyer over the phone. This means that you must call KrisFlyer to book Lufthansa awards using KrisFlyer miles. Don’t worry, the agents at KrisFlyer are competent and willing to help – the process usually takes less than 15 minutes. Use United.com to locate the award space and then provide those flight numbers and dates to the KrisFlyer agent who should be able to create an itinerary exactly matching what you have found on United’s website.
Bottom Line
This is an incredibly cheap way to fly Lufthansa First Class. For just 35k points from just about any credit card, you can experience one of the world’s best First Class cabins… and the amazing Lufthansa First Class Terminal at Frankfurt Airport!
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Also, if you have any suggestions on what I should write about in the future – please comment below!
Who’s going to fly Lufthansa First Class cheaply?
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