How To Redeem Miles For Lufthansa First Class

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Maybe I'm biased, but I like to buy first class products in the world. There is something I love about flying the Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 in first class and visiting the incredible First Class Terminal in Frankfurt.

The good news is that it is possible to redeem points for travel in first class, so I wanted to take a closer look at how that works.

Basics of redeeming miles for Lufthansa first class

First class is offered on a number of routes, including those operated by Boeing 747-8s and the A340-600s.

Those who redeem miles through partner airline frequent flyer programs only have access to first class award seats at most 15 days prior to departure, even though the schedule opens a year in advance. If you are flexible and patient, you can get a piece of cake.

I wanted to focus on redeeming partner airline miles for travel in first class. I'm not focusing on the redemptions of the airlines.

• These redemptions have fuel surcharges, which can cost $950 one-way in first class from the United States and Germany, which takes much of the value out of these redemptions; I’ll focus on programs without fuel surcharges
• Lufthansa Miles & More doesn’t partner with any major transferable points currencies, so even if you were fine with those fuel surcharges, most people wouldn’t have a practical way to earn those miles

Let's talk about the best programs for booking first class, and then we'll talk about how to find award availability.

Best mileage programs for booking Lufthansa first class

You can redeem miles with most Star Alliance partners for travel in the first class section of the airline. Let's take a look at how many miles you can expect to pay with some major programs for first class redemptions.

87,000 miles one-way between the United States and Europe in first class is charged by the LifeMiles program.

The Air Canada Aeroplan program charges up to 100,000 points one-way in first class for itineraries between the United States and Europe.

The United MileagePlus program charges 121,000 miles one-way between the United States and Europe in first class.

There are other programs that could make sense, but they have some drawbacks. For example:

• Aegean Miles+Bonus charges just 75,000 miles one-way, but you’re on the hook for fuel surcharges, and Aegean miles are also hard to come by
• All Nippon Airways Mileage Club charges 165,000 miles roundtrip between the United States and Europe in first class, but you have to pay fuel surcharges and one-ways aren’t allowed
• Asiana Club charges just 50,000 miles one-way, but fuel surcharges apply, and Asiana Club miles are also hard to come by

If the itinerary is too complicated or isn't showing up there, I book through Air Canada Aeroplan.

Tips for redeeming miles for Lufthansa first class

At most, the term at most is "first class award space to partner airlines at most 15 days out." This doesn't mean that every first class seat will be bookable with miles at that point.

Most of the time, you can find most first class award seats within a week of departure. The closer you are to departure, the better your odds are of space opening up.

How to gauge odds of Lufthansa opening award seats

There isn't an easy rule-of-thumb policy I can share that will always be accurate because of the complicated algorithm that Lufthansa has. There are a number of ways to determine your odds of seats opening up.

Most of the seats on the 747-8 and A340-600 are for sale. The first thing to do is to figure out how many first class seats are still available for sale. If you want to see how many first class seats are still for sale, you can use anywayanydaynywayanyday.

I would like to share a few general trends that I notice, but I want you to know that these are just trends and not rules.

• Don’t expect Lufthansa to open any first class award seats more than a week in advance if there aren’t at least four seats for sale
• Even if all eight first class seats are for sale, don’t necessarily assume this means that there will be award seats at the 15 day mark
• The most award seats will generally be made available within four days of departure, and within two days of departure you can expect that a majority of seats will be made available using miles
• Lufthansa makes award seats available until the very last minute, so don’t be surprised to see first class award seats made available on the day of departure
• Generally the last one or two first class seats for sale won’t be made available for awards
• Sometimes there are just quirks with award availability based on a variety of factors, as there are lots of other considerations as well; for example, it could be that even if there are first class seats for sale, business class is oversold, and the airline is anticipating having to bump people up, so may not make award seats available

For example, this afternoon's Boston to Frankfurt flight has all eight first class seats for sale, and they are all available for awards. If anyone has seven friends and a lot of miles.

Lufthansa uses married segment logic for awards

All cabins, including first class, have married segment logic for award tickets. Let's not explain it in great detail and make it more complicated.

Depending on whether you are connecting or not, the number of first class award seats will be different. For example:

• Lufthansa might not have first class award availability on a Chicago to Frankfurt flight if you’re simply booking a ticket between those two airports
• Meanwhile Lufthansa might have first class award availability on the Chicago to Frankfurt flight as part of a larger itinerary, like if you’re connecting to Paris on the same ticket

If you want to maximize your chances of finding a first class award, you should search for a connecting itinerary. There are more award seats released in those cases.

Bottom line

It is bookable with miles within 15 days of departure, and is an excellent first class product. It can take a bit of work to find availability, but I still think it's the best way to cross the Atlantic in first class.

Start looking within a couple of weeks of departure. The closer to departure you are, the more first class seats are still for sale.

This might be the most difficult summer for first class award availability ever. I've never seen first class cabins sold out in advance, as even at the 15 day mark, I'm seeing many flights with just one or two seats left for sale.

What was it like to redeem miles for first class?