FCF’s treasure map shows where to get $13,753 tickets for $3,404
Updated for April 2024
First Class deals to Europe are harder to find than a pair of long trousers in a lederhosen haystack.
First off, there are only a few airlines that offer a First Class cabin to Europe and it’s nearly impossible to find flash fares like you can for Business Class, apart from the odd British Airways deals. Similarly, First Class mileage awards are often hard to find on the few airlines that offer them, especially if you don’t know where to look.
So in December 2022, we clinked our steins when we reported that you could get First Class tickets for $1,722 each way with Lufthansa’s new buy-miles program launch thanks to a discount that was good for 60 days.
And then we slapped our knees, feet, and each other when the airline brought the sale back and had four buy miles promos in 2023 offering a range from 20% to 60% bonus miles – from 1.25 cents to 1.52 cents per mile.
In March 2023, we did a deeper dive into how you could use the strategy to get connections from all over the U.S. to all over Europe. And in November we showed you how use FCF’s Upgrade Strategy to get Lufthansa First Class to Europe for Just $1,480 Each way.
Und Now the Sale Is Back
So far, this is the second promo of 2024; the most recent one ended on March 31 and had a 30% bonus. But here we are in April already and the sale is back – with a 50% bonus at 1.39 cents a mile through April 30, which results in First Class tickets that go for as much as $13,753+, for just $3,404.
You can join Lufthansa’s Miles and More program in less than five minutes and buy miles in another five. And that goes for anyone.
Lufthansa’s Bundle&Go deal lets you purchase award miles in three increments of 10,000, 50,000, and 100,000 miles with a juicy 50% bonus coming on top of that right now. If you max out one account, with the bonus, you can get 350,000 miles for $3,404, or about 1.39 cents a mile. Members can purchase one bundle per transaction, and bonus miles do not count towards the annual limit of 250,000. That’s tremendous value given the ways you can redeem the miles. If you need even more miles, remember FCF’s special strategy to get all the miles you want!
Note that Lufthsansa’s fine print indicates it could take up to five days for the miles to post. However, when we did it, they were credited almost instantly, minus one occasion it took about 48 hours.
Real or Poltergeist?
The success of this play depends on whether Lufthansa makes their First Class seats available when you search for them online, right? The problem is that there are always routes with deals; it’s just that where they are is always changing. (Always keep in mind positioning flights.)
The routes and months below had First Class available at time of publication. So, check with the airline for the most up-to-date information before buying any miles, unless you know you’ll be able to use them eventually, like me, and just buy them when on sale so they are at the ready.
Routes with Up to Four Award Seats
From Chicago to Frankfurt, you can find more than a handful of days with four seats available for outbound travel from December to March. On the return, more than a handful of days with four seats are available for travel in January and February.
From Los Angeles to Munich, you can find a handful of days with four seats available for travel both outbound and return in April.
Routes to/from frankfurt with Up to Two Award Seats
From Boston to Frankfurt, you can find more than a handful of days with two seats available for both outbound and return travel from November through March.
From Houston to Frankfurt, seats are plentiful, you can find more than a handful of days with two seats available for both outbound and return travel from October through March.
From New York to Frankfurt, you can find more than a handful of days with two seats available for both outbound and return travel in January and a handful of days for both outbound and return travel in December and February.
From Washington, DC to Frankfurt, you can find more than a handful of days with two seats available for outbound travel in January and February. On the return, more than a handful of days with two seats are available for travel in July, August, January, and February.
Routes to/from Munich with Up to Two Award Seats
From Boston to Munich, you can find more than a handful of days with two seats available for travel outbound in July, and in June on the return. There are also a handful of days for both outbound and return travel in April, August, and October.
From Chicago to Munich, there are a handful of days for both outbound and return travel in August and September.
From New York to Munich, you can find more than a handful of days with two seats available for both outbound and return travel in July.
From Washington, DC to Munich, you can find more than a handful of days with two seats available for outbound travel in July and August. On the return, there are more than a handful of days with two seats available for travel in May, June, August, and September.
FCF's Visual Treasure Map
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Not flying to Frankfurt or Munich? Or from Miami or New York? Remember you can get connections from all over the U.S. to all over Europe all on the same ticket.
See you up front.