FirstClassFlyer

The luft we all need. The upgrade we all want. Easily missed if you follow conventional wisdom. Plus much cheaper than many Biz Class seats, and why 19 is the new 14.

In keeping with the general good news vibe of this July report, we’re very happy to advise that Lufthansa First Class is back. Und how!

It had been on the back burner for the last few months (apparently there’s been a lockdown?) but now aircraft with First Class seats are back on these routes:

Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami – Frankfurt. Operating now.
Newark and New York/JFK – Frankfurt. Returns August 1.
Houston – Frankfurt. Returns September 1.

Gotta hand it to the Germans. They keep their cards close to their Brust, but unfortunately that also means availability is a bit of a mystery as Lufthansa has historically only made First Class seats available to partners 14 days prior to departure. Recently, though, FCF has discovered First Class seats available as far out as 19 days, and availability-rich with partners Air Canada (an Amex points transfer partner) and Singapore Airlines (Amex, Chase and Citi), for up to four seats a pop. Pow!

This changes the game as many of you are taking off to Europe. Here’s what you want to be thinking about, three weeks from departure until all the way up to your ride to the airport. I once changed a flight in a yellow taxi on the way to the airport in Miami. Why? Because my perfectly ideal flight just wasn’t available.

Until then.

Most of you won’t go that far to upgrade and I don’t blame you. But two minutes of research once or twice a day starting 21 days or so ahead of your trip can land you an amazing First Class seat. More on the two-step strategy here.

So you’ve already paid for your ticket. No big deal. If you find that First Class seats open up, just cancel the ticket you already purchased and use it for another trip later. Instead, use your Amex or Chase points for a First Class ticket with Lufthansa and you’re taking steps to become an upgrade ninja. Just don’t cancel your original reservation until AFTER your big score, and confirm everything like ticket numbers and seats.

If you have an award ticket with another airline, cancel it the same way you would a paid ticket, which is even less of a hassle. Get your refund, and fly First Class on Lufthansa. Need a Lufthansa carrot dangled in front of you? Look no further than this cabin shot.

Get the point of this special report?

The Golden Key(s)

As for partners:

I discovered this hole in the otherwise predictable system with Air Canada, an Amex partner and Singapore Airlines, Amex, Chase, and Citi partner, had similar availability, two seats on the outbound and four seats on the return on three times as many days as other partners All Nippon, LifeMiles and United. See the comparison chart below for more details.

All Nippon had two seats only on a couple of dates outbound. There were none on the return flight and All Nippon does not allow award bookings within 96 hours of a flight.
We found four seats a handful of days on the return only using United and LifeMiles. There was none outbound.

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FCF Treasure Map: Dates in July with First Class - Per June 30 Survey

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My Favorite Picks

Amex Points Collectors: Air Canada, because of it’s low taxes. It charges 200,000 miles and only $50 to $250 in taxes round-trip. Plus 200,000 miles isn’t bad when you consider that most (way inferior) Business Class seats run in the mid-100,000s anyway. To be clear, we’re talking about a First Class ticket that normally goes for $10,300 to $23,600.

Chase Points Collectors: Singapore Airlines still a relatively good deal at 215,000 miles, but you’re going to pay $1,224 in taxes. That’s $1,024 more in taxes for Chase than Amex. Poof... there goes the ever-alluring Chase spend category bonuses at supermarkets and gas stations. Gonzo. Fuggedaboutit. (Remember, if you are getting free advice, you are the product ; )

What About United Miles?

United, a Chase transfer partner, charges 242,000 miles plus $147 in taxes round-trip, but the airline has almost no Lufthansa First Class availability.

Let’s compare the costs, but remember the aforementioned availability levels… MUCH better with Air Canada (low taxes) and Singapore (high taxes) …

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Don’t Fall into the
First-Must-Be-Way-More-Expensive-than-Business Trap

Lufthansa’s First Class can actually be cheaper than many airlines’ Business Class seats. For example, the lowest Delta Business Class trip for New York-Frankfurt that we’ve seen recently, booking through Delta, is 570,000 miles round-trip. But First Class on Lufthansa is just 180,000 to 242,000 miles, with low-tax Amex partner, Air Canada.

Score WITH United Miles?

If you’re flexible and you find seats using United, don’t fret, Fraulein and you bought United miles when they went on sale, or transfer Chase points to United. That said, United had very little Lufthansa First Class availability, so be careful here.

Cost If Buying United Miles On Sale

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No Amex Points? No Problem.

Getting Air Canada miles is relatively simple. They’re a points-transfer partner with Amex, and transfer times are nearly instantaneous.

What’s better? You can buy up to 500,000 Amex Rewards points per year for just 2.5 cents each. Compared to the baseline First Class fare from Chicago to Frankfurt of $10,313+, if you buy 200,000 Amex Rewards Points for $5,000, and add in taxes at ~$247, you would save $5,066 — that’s 49%. That’ll buy you a lot of bratwurst.

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If you are already booked on an award ticket,
don’t forget about one-way tickets.

So what if the availability is spotty? That means you’re unlikely to find seats at the last minute for both your outbound and return flight, at the same moment. If you already have an award ticket, think about searching for availability for both directions, but settle for one-ways as they become available. Just cancel that piece of your original ticket. No problem.

See you up front.

[aside headline="Related FCF Special Reports" alignment="aligncenter" width="big" headline_size="big"]

[["Lufthansa Mileage Partners","Transfer Points \/ From","Level of Award Space"],["Air Canada","Amex","Great"],["All Nippon","Amex","Little"],["LifeMiles","Citi","Little"],["Singapore","Amex, Chase, Citi","Great"],["United","Chase","Not Great"]]

[["Mileage Program","Route","Outbound","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","1 Seat","2 Seats","1 Seat","2 Seats","4 Seats"],["Air Canada","Chicago - Frankfurt","2, 6, 13, 18, 19","3, 5, 7","","3, 8, 19","1, 6, 7, 14"],["All Nippon","#rowspan#","4","5","","",""],["LifeMiles","#rowspan#","","","1","1","1"],["Singapore","#rowspan#","2, 6, 13, 18","3, 5, 7, 19","","3, 8, 19","1, 6, 7, 14"],["United","#rowspan#","","","","7","1"],["Air Canada","Los Angeles - Frankfurt","","","5","","1, 2"],["All Nippon","#rowspan#","","","","",""],["LifeMiles","#rowspan#","","","1","",""],["Singapore","#rowspan#","","","5","","1, 2"],["United","#rowspan#","","","1","",""],["Air Canada","Miami - Frankfurt","","","6, 7, 10","","2, 3, 4, 10, 11"],["All Nippon","#rowspan#","","","","",""],["LifeMiles","#rowspan#","","","","4","2, 3"],["Singapore","#rowspan#","","","6, 7","10","2, 3 ,4, 11"],["United","#rowspan#","","","","4","2, 3"]]

[["Lufthansa First Class To\/From Frankfurt","Lufthansa","Air Canada","All Nippon","LifeMiles","Singapore","United"],["Chicago","182,000","200,000","165,000","174,000","215,000","242,000"],["Houston","#rowspan#","240,000","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#"],["Los Angeles","#rowspan#","200,000","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#"],["Miami","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#"],["Newark","#rowspan#","180,000","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#"],["New York","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#"]]

[["Lufthansa First Class To\/From Frankfurt","Cost to Buy 242,000 United Miles On Sale At ~1.8 Cents Each","Regular Published Fare","Difference \/ Savings","#colspan#"],["Chicago","$4,356 ","$10,313 ","$5,957 ","58%"],["Houston**","#rowspan#","$15,251 ","$10,895 ","71%"],["Los Angeles","#rowspan#","$11,200 ","$6,844 ","61%"],["Miami","#rowspan#","$10,313 ","$5,957 ","58%"],["Newark*","#rowspan#","$8,858 ","$4,502 ","51%"],["New York*","#rowspan#","$8,858 ","$4,502 ","51%"]]

Service expected to begin *August 1, 2021 / ** September 1, 2021.

[["Lufthansa First Class To\/From Frankfurt","Air Canada Miles Required","Cost At 2.5 Cents Per Amex Point","Regular Published Fare","Difference \/ Your Savings","#colspan#"],["Chicago","200,000","$5,000 ","$10,313 ","$5,313 ","52%"],["Houston**","215,000","$5,375 ","$15,251 ","$9,876 ","65%"],["Los Angeles","200,000","$5,000 ","$11,200 ","$6,200 ","55%"],["Miami","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$10,313 ","$5,313 ","52%"],["Newark*","180,000","$4,500 ","$8,858 ","$4,358 ","49%"],["New York*","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$8,858 ","$4,358 ","49%"]]