A TravelSort reader writes: “What you think my chances are of booking a Lufthansa first class award from SFO to Amsterdam (either via Frankfurt or Munich) for [dates]? I read that flights out of SFO and LAX were pretty hard to get? I thought about Singapore Suites for a return flight, but since I'm on the West coast, my positioning flight from JFK to SFO would cost an additional few hundred bucks right there, and I still have to get from Paris to Frankfurt. Any ideas?”
I often get questions about first and business class award travel to Europe. When traveling from the East Coast, it's just 2-3 hours more than a cross-country flight, so many folks are fine with a decent business class product. But from the West Coast it's a good 12 hours, which can be pretty uncomfortable all in coach or even in a recliner style business class seat.
The problem is that it can be tough to get a great first class award to Europe from the West Coast:
- Lufthansa doesn't release first class award space in advance, and award space from the West Coast has been especially hard to come by for the past couple of years
- Swiss barely releases any business class, let alone first class award space, even a few days before departure
- British Airways' distance based award chart charges more for departures from the West Coast than from the East Coast, and incurs high fuel surcharges and taxes
- Air France first class (or any SkyTeam partner first class for that matter) isn't bookable using Delta SkyMiles
That leaves you with United or American or connecting on the East Coast in order to fly, say, Singapore Suites JFK to Frankfurt. I wouldn't count on LH First opening up for a West Coast route for a specific day–it would be incredibly lucky, even for just one person.
Hence, it really boils down to how much you want to try Singapore Suites, with the two connections in JFK and FRA. If you have enough American Express Membership Rewards points I'd go for Suites for at least one way, and either biz or Suites on the way back, although the issue with the return is it's an early flight so you'd probably spend a night in Frankfurt. You could get the Mercedes Benz AMEX Platinum and use the $200 airline credit to defray the positioning flights from SFO to JFK and JFK to SFO (see Maximizing the AMEX Platinum Airline Fee Credit), then use United miles for the FRA-AMS and Paris-FRA flights on LH.
Now, you could always book Singapore Suites and, if a Lufthansa New First Class award does open up, book it and cancel and redeposit your Singapore KrisFlyer miles, which is only a $30 charge. I would go with Lufthansa if it opened up, so that you could avoid connecting in JFK and get your intra-Europe flight included as part of your award, not to mention try the Frankfurt First Class Terminal or Dusseldorf or Munich First Class Lounge. Or, if you don't mind a U.S. connection, you could look for Lufthansa First Class award space to open up from NYC, Washington DC, Detroit, Charlotte or Dallas, since that gives you a better chance at an award while saving you miles.
Have you had the choice of Lufthansa First Class or Singapore Suites to Europe, and if so, which did you pick?
Related Posts
Lufthansa New First Class Review
Singapore Suites Award Tips and FAQ
Lufthansa Award Space Booked 15 Days in Advance
Airlines and Routes with First Class and Business Class Award Availability to Europe
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