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Redeeming points and miles for a swanky Lufthansa First Class seat is an aspiration for many in this points and miles hobby. Part of that may come from the fact that it's not the easiest award ticket to get — and it seems that every year it becomes harder to redeem. Here's how to book Lufthansa first class using miles, plus which routes are currently operating first-class products.
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Which Aircraft Have Lufthansa First Class?
Lufthansa operates its first class on its Airbus A340-600s, Airbus A380s, and Boeing 747s. The Airbus A380 operates eight routes out of Munich, while the Airbus A340-600 and 747-8 aircraft operate solely out of Frankfurt.
In 2025, Lufthansa introduced first class into some of its Airbus A350 aircraft as part of the new Allegris seat concept. This is one of the best first-class seats in the world; however, unfortunately, this first class isn't bookable on points. For the purpose of this article, we won't be covering the Allergis first-class routes.
Additionally, the Airbus A340-600s are expected to be fully retired in early 2026. While they are still bookable with points and miles, they will no longer be an option for Lufthansa first class in just a few months.
So, which aircraft are actually flying Lufthansa first class right now and are bookable on points?
Lufthansa Airbus A380 Routes
For summer 2025, Lufthansa is operating its A380 aircraft on the following routes from Munich:
- Boston (BOS)
- Delhi (DEL)
- Denver (DEN)
- New York (JFK)
- Washington (IAD)
For winter 2025-2026, Lufthansa will operate its A380 aircraft on the following Munich routes:
- Bangkok (BKK)
- Delhi (DEL)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- San Francisco (SFO)
First class seats on Airbus A380
There are eight first class seats on the upper deck of Lufthansa's Airbus A380, and are laid out in a 1-2-1 seating arrangement.
Airbus A340-600 Routes
Lufthansa's Airbus A340-600 flies on the following routes for summer 2025.
Frankfurt to:
- Chicago (ORD)
- Hong Kong (HKG)
- Riyadh (RUH)
- Shanghai (PVG)
It will operate the following routes from Frankfurt after the summer into early 2026:
- Boston (BOS)
- New York (JFK)
- Riyadh (RUH)
First class seats on A340-600
There are 8 first-class seats on the Lufthansa A340-600 aircraft. These are found in rows 1-2 of the aircraft, arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration.
Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 Routes
Lufthansa operates its Boeing 747-8s out of Frankfurt (FRA) airport in Germany. Current routes are from Frankfurt to the following airports.
- Buenos Aires (EZE)
- Chicago (ORD)
- Houston (IAH)
- Johannesburg (JNB)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Mexico City (MEX)
- Miami (MIA)
- New York (JFK)
- Newark (EWR)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Sao Paolo (GRU)
- Shanghai (PVG)
- Tokyo Haneda (HND)
- Washington (IAD)
First class seats on B747-8
There are 8 first-class seats on this aircraft, situated in rows 1-3 in the nose of the aircraft. Due to the curvature of the plane, seats are arranged as follows:
- 1-0-1
- 1-0-1
- 1-2-1
Quirks for Booking Lufthansa First Class Using Miles
Now that we understand what routes have Lufthansa first class, let's look at using miles to get tickets. There are two major limitations you need to understand.
No advance availability to partner programs
Traditional thinking in this hobby has been that Lufthansa only releases first award space to partners 14-15 days before the flight. This can require some last-minute planning and a bit of luck to get a seat. That may be part of why people get so excited to fly Lufthansa first class using miles — the chase makes it more rewarding for many.
Back in August 2021, One Mile At a Time reported spotty availability for first-class partner awards beyond 15 days. However, it seems this has gone away. At the time of writing, I could not find any partner award availability for Lufthansa First Class beyond 15 days.
Typically, it now seems that Lufthansa releases first class availability to partners 48 or 72 hours before departure, with earlier releases occurring on if Lufthansa has many first class seats that have not sold, and later releases occurring if the airline only has a couple of first class seats available.
Lufthansa's own program is a mixed bag
Lufthansa offers its first-class seats to its own loyalty members first. Members of the Miles & More program can book Lufthansa first-class seats using their miles as soon as availability is released. As a result, it's worth examining this program.
Lufthansa miles expire 36 months from the date they are earned, and you can also pool miles with family members. These two features may give you enough time to amass miles and redeem for a first-class seat — if advance booking is a priority for you and you want to purchase Lufthansa first class with miles more than three days prior to departure.
However, it is hard to accumulate Lufthansa miles because you cannot transfer points from major credit cards or hotel programs to Lufthansa Miles & More. Until 2019, you could convert Marriott Bonvoy points to Miles & More at a 3:1 ratio. Unfortunately, there are no indications that Marriott and Lufthansa will resume a transfer partnership.
This lack of transfer partners may make amassing sufficient miles for a first-class redemption difficult in Lufthansa's own program unless you buy Miles & More miles or score a large chunk of Miles & More miles via ASmallWorld membership. Add to this the fact that the current welcome offer (up to 70,000 miles) on the Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard® is nowhere near enough for a first-class award redemption.
Finally, Lufthansa tacks heavy fuel surcharges to award bookings in its program. This is another reason why, despite Lufthansa's own program offering better first-class mileage availability, it might not be worth basing a credit card strategy around Lufthansa Miles & More.
Best Programs To Book Lufthansa First Class Using Miles
When considering the “best,” I will include two factors for eligibility:
- Little or no fuel surcharges (cash portion is low)
- Multiple options to amass miles in the account
These programs are quality options for booking Lufthansa first class with low cash requirements and the ability to amass miles easily in the account you want to use.
Air Canada Aeroplan
Aeroplan charges the lowest mileage price for Lufthansa first class. Most one-way awards are priced at 100,000 miles — with slightly cheaper rates for New York and Boston due to their shorter distance:
If you click through Aeroplan, you have the option of spending more cash and fewer miles to make your redemption.
That means 60,000 Aeroplan points are technically enough to book a Lufthansa First Class seat. You might have to pay a much higher chunk of cash, but if you don't have enough points and want to avoid buying a cash ticket outright, it is a great option.
Aeroplan has the following transfer partner options:
You can gain Aeroplan points via the welcome offer on its credit card available to U.S. travelers: Aeroplan® Credit Card.
- Earn up to 100,000 bonus points
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, 25,000 bonus points after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months.
- $95 Annual Fee
- Redeem points for both international and domestic flights with the Aeroplan® Credit Card.
- Fly to another continent and travel the world with the Aeroplan® Credit Card.
- Earn 3X points for each dollar spent at grocery stores, on dining at restaurants, and Air Canada directly. Earn 1X point for each dollar spent on all other purchases.
- 500 bonus points for every $2,000 you spend in a calendar month - up to 1,500 points per month.
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 3x points directly with Air Canada
- 3x points on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- 3x points at grocery stores
- 1x point on all other purchases
And four available to residents of Canada:
- TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite
- TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege Card
- TD® Aeroplan® Visa Platinum
- TD® Aeroplan® Visa Business
Avianca LifeMiles
There have been several recent LifeMiles partner devaluations, and unfortunately, redemptions on Lufthansa first class were impacted. On routes from the U.S. to Europe, you used to need 87,000 LifeMiles to purchase the ticket. Now, it is 120,000 miles each way — a staggering increase!
Additionally, LifeMiles sometimes struggles to see Lufthansa award availability. As a result, it is no longer the best option for using miles on Lufthansa first class.
One of the reasons is just how easy it is to accumulate LifeMiles. You can transfer points to LifeMiles from the following major transferable points programs:
Just note that Marriott Bonvoy transfers to LifeMiles no longer get 5,000 bonus points for transferring 60,000 points.
United MileagePlus
Unfortunately, United MileagePlus has also increased prices on Lufthansa first-class redemptions. While United charges the highest amount for a Lufthansa first-class seat among the three programs, it also has the lowest cash requirements.
United MileagePlus has the following transfer partner options:
There are a bunch of United credit cards available to U.S. residents which you can use boost your mileage balance:
- The New United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees)
- The New United Quest℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
- The New United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
- The New United℠ Business Card (Rates & Fees)
- 2X miles per $1 spent on purchases from United®
- 2X miles per $1 spent on dining and hotel stays when booked with the hotel
- 1X mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- 5 miles per $1 spent at Renowned Hotels and Resorts
- 3 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases
- 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel
- 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants
- 2 miles per $1 spent on select streaming services
- 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- 2x on United® purchases
- 2x on local transit and commuting — including train tickets, taxicabs, mass transit, tolls and ride share services
- 2x at gas stations, restaurants and office supply stores
- 1x on all other purchases
Lufthansa award pricing on non-U.S. routes
While we've generally focused on U.S. routes so far, you can also use miles to book Lufthansa first class on other routes. And sometimes this can be a much better deal. Here's an overview of some options:
| Route | Air Canada Aeroplan | Avianca LifeMiles | United MileagePlus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt (FRA) to Riyadh (RUH) | 65,000 | 69,000 | 110,000 |
| Munich (MUC) to Delhi (DEL) | 65,000 | 60,000 | 165,000 |
| Frankfurt (FRA) to Shanghai (PVG) | 100,000 | 115,000 | 220,000 |
How To Find Availability
Seats.aero
Seats.aero has a Lufthansa First Class Finder tool on their website. The tool displays all Lufthansa First Class availability within 3 days of departure, their prices, the last time Seats.aero checked the flight availability and the prices on United and Aeroplan. The Seats.aero table is also searchable, meaning that you can type in an airport code to quickly see if Lufthansa first class availability exists.
If you press on the information icon for a flight on the right side of each row and press the “First” tab, you can then press the Book button to be directed to either United or Aeroplan.
At the time of writing, Seats.aero does not support searching with Avianca. However, you can easily search for a flight returned by the Lufthansa First Class Finder tool on the Avianca website.
United Airlines search engine
United's search engine is another solid option for looking at Lufthansa first-class availability, especially if you want to look at availability with a connecting flight. Seats.aero does not currently support looking at connecting flights alongside Lufthansa first-class availability. You can use these tools alongside each other by initially finding first-class availability on Seats.aero and then searching for the complete itinerary on United.
Here are the steps:
Go to United.com and click on the “advanced search” option.
You will be taken to this screen. Ensure that you choose “Miles” for your price, “Nonstop only” under your destination, and choose “First” for the cabin.
This will show you only non-stop flights — since we should be searching just for the route with Lufthansa First Class to start. Even if you have a connection — such as starting in Vienna, going to Frankfurt, and then the first class flight to San Francisco — it's easiest to find the date with the first class flight first.
Once you find the most difficult piece (the first class flight available on miles), then you can search for the whole itinerary (with the connection.
Once you've found availability for your itinerary, you should be able to replicate it with LifeMiles or Aeroplan to compare award costs.
Bottom Line
Lufthansa is currently flying first-class products out of Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC) airports. You'll only find Lufthansa First Class that can be redeemed with points and miles on Lufthansa's Airbus A380, Airbus A340-600, and Boeing 747-8 aircraft. Allegris First seats on the Airbus A350 and other aircraft types that will be getting Allegris during refurbishments cannot be redeemed with points and miles.
Searching for Lufthansa First Class award availability using miles is significantly easier with the release of Seats.aero‘s Lufthansa First Class Finder tool. However, finding availability is not the easiest of feats, with seats on partner programs being released 2-3 days prior to flight departure. The last-second availability drops are why Lufthansa First Class is so aspirational in the points and miles world.
Lufthansa releases award availability to its own program well in advance, but partners typically have access only 15 days before the flight. Due to a lack of solid transfer partners and a lack of generous sign-up bonuses from credit cards, getting the required miles in your Miles & More account may be difficult. Then, you need to be willing to pay the costly surcharges.
Overall, the best options for “easy to accrue miles” plus “low cash costs” are Aeroplan, LifeMiles, and MileagePlus. Using these programs to book Lufthansa first class should be your best bet, but remember that you'll only have access to redemptions 15 days before the flight.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Aeroplan® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), The New United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees), The New United Quest℠ Card (Rates & Fees), The New United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees), and The New United℠ Business Card (Rates & Fees)
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