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United Bug Limiting Lufthansa First Class Award Bookings

May 14, 2019
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2 min read
Lufthansa First Class 747-8 FRA-JFK Review ZH
United Bug Limiting Lufthansa First Class Award Bookings
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Update: Lufthansa first class is once again available through United.com.

Lufthansa first class is easily one of the world's most sought after award redemptions. Availability is incredibly limited — Lufthansa itself doesn't make first-class seats available via partner programs until roughly two weeks before departure. But as long as you're somewhat flexible about your travel dates and/or routing, it's often possible to score one of these coveted awards. Well, most of the time, at least.

Lufthansa First Class (Photo by Zach Honig / The Points Guy)

Currently, yet another MileagePlus bug is making it very difficult to redeem United miles for Lufthansa first class. The situation isn't quite as dire as some are reporting, but there is indeed an IT malfunction at play. I reached out to United, and a spokesperson confirmed that the airline is aware of the issue and "urgently working to resolve it."

While many routes do indeed appear to be unavailable, some Lufthansa availability is popping up — albeit under the "Business Saver Award" category — such as this A340 flight between Munich (MUC) and Shanghai (PVG) for later this week.

I booked the flight to confirm that it was indeed available, and the reservation was correctly ticketed and confirmed in first class right away — reflected on Lufthansa's end as well.

While this is hardly an ideal situation, United does claim to be prioritizing a fix, and select flights are indeed bookable right now. And at 110,000 miles each way, United's first-class Star Alliance awards to Europe are priced higher than the competition. Assuming you have points to transfer and need to book Lufthansa first class right away, there are a handful of alternatives methods to consider, which may present a better award value than United can offer -- even when its booking site is working as intended.

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  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
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  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
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