Hello everyone! It’s me, Dominik Żmuda from BoundlessMiles and Travelling the World again. A few weeks ago I showed you how it was possible to Fly Lufthansa First Class for just 35k AMEX/Chase/Citi/SPG Points from Europe to the Middle East. Today, I will show you that for just 5k more SPG points – 40k total – it is possible to fly Lufthansa First Class from America to Europe (or Europe to America). That’s right – only 40k SPG points, which is an absolute bargain if you book First Class from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Frankfurt or Munich.
Lufthansa First Class – The Best Way To Fly
Lufthansa First Class is incredible and everyone should fly it at least once – it is an experience you will never forget. From the delicious dining options at the First Class Terminal to the Porsche Transfer to the actual onboard experience – Lufthansa First Class is completely different than just regular “flying”. If you are interested in previewing the experience, here are a few of my trip reports about the fantastic product:
Lufthansa First Class
The Cheapest Way To Fly LH First Class
Lufthansa First Class is usually expensive as it costs a number of miles and also most often you’ll pay fuel surcharges (if not, you’ll pay a lot of miles – e.g. United Airlines miles). There is however a way to book LH First Class for a limited number of points plus some taxes/fees and fuel surcharges.
We need to begin with Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints, which transfer to a number of airlines at a 1:1 ratio. For every 20k Starpoints you transfer, SPG will include an additional 5k points when converting to miles. Therefore when you convert 40k Starpoints to miles, you will have 50k miles total in any frequent flyer programme that SPG transfers to at a 1:1 ratio.
The best value of booking LH First Class is using this method. You will want to transfer 40k SPG Points to Asiana Airlines Asiana Club, and you will end up with 50k Asiana Club miles. Here is the award chart:
Asiana Club Award Chart for Star Alliance
Prices in the table are round-trip, meaning one-way awards cost half of the mileage listed on the chart.
As you can see, a round-trip award between USA/Canada and Europe in First Class costs 100k miles; 50k miles one-way or just 40k Starpoints (when factoring in the SPG transfer bonus).
Lufthansa First Class Porsche Transfer
Other Important Factors
LH First Class award space is released to partner airlines at most 14 days before departure. Meaning that you will have to book closer in to departure than normally, however two weeks before departure is still plenty of time to plan a wonderful trip.
Booking Star Alliance award tickets using Asiana Airlines Asiana Club is a bit tricky, but not impossible. You do have to call Asiana Club and speak to two departments – one to create the reservation and the other to issue the ticket. Once the reservation is created, you will be transferred to a different department to issue the ticket.
It is not impossible – but it does require some patience and if necessary, to hang up and call again. The best way to locate Lufthansa First Class award space is to use Aeroplan or United’s websites and then simply give that flight information to the Asiana Club agent and they will be able to build a reservation assuming they can see the same availability you found.
Bottom Line
First Class travel does not get much better than with Lufthansa. The product is incredible and there is no other airline that provides such a consistent and amazing First Class experience like Lufthansa.
Using this method, you can easily fly from America to Europe for just 40k SPG points in some very serious style. Keep in mind you can add on connections within Europe (or America) at no additional cost – maximising your miles!
Who loves Lufthansa First Class as much as I do?
Travel Miles 101 has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Travel Miles 101 and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.