Lufthansa First Class Awards Available in Advance on Limited Routes
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Normally if you're trying to book Lufthansa First Class through a Star Alliance partner, you can only book 15 days in advance, as the airline reserves its most elite product for its own Lufthansa Miles and More members when booking before those 15 days. But at the moment, a few limited Lufthansa first class routes are easier to book, as some partners are showing availability far out into the calendar.
Unfortunately, this elusive space appears to be only available on one US-based route — between San Francisco (SFO) and Munich (MUC). There's also open space between Frankfurt (FRA) and Mexico City (MEX), and a few other reports have indicated there may be space between Chicago (ORD) and Frankfurt (FRA), though we were unable to confirm that particular route. However, it would appear to be worth your time to take a look around.
Popular Star Alliance programs like Air Canada's Aeroplan and United MileagePlus still seem to be blocking this space before 15 days out, so you'll have to go through partners such as Singapore KrisFlyer or Avianca LifeMiles (although it's possible that other more obscure partners are seeing space too, like SPG partner Asiana, which only requires 50,000 miles for a one-way first class seat between the US and Europe).
Avianca LifeMiles has the best redemption rates — you can book one-way for just 87,000 miles, and even have the option to use cash instead of miles for a portion of the cost. Citi ThankYou points also transfer to LifeMiles at a 1:1 ratio, as well as SPG Starpoints. Every major flexible point program allows transfers to Singapore, including Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards, but it'll cost a bit more at 95,000 miles one-way and higher fuel surcharges.
Lufthansa First Class is one of the nicer products in the sky, so being able to book more than 15 days in advance is a real win and allows travelers to be much more flexible with their travel plans. There's no telling how long the option to book so far out will be available, so it's best to book sooner rather than later.
Want to make sure you have the option to take advantage of opportunities like this when they pop up in the future? The Citi Premier® Card is offering a 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening if you're short on ThankYou points — it's likely too late to get them for this time around, but stock up now and be ready for the next time.
H/T: One Mile At A Time
