How to book Lufthansa first-class with points

Good morning and welcome to the 150th Daily Drop!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we’re going to do what we do every day: help you travel the world for free using miles and points.

Here’s what we have cooking in the DD kitchen today:

• ✈️ First-class Friday: Booking Lufthansa first class with points

• 🛳️ Cruise news: this cruise ship is traveling to 135 countries

• 📸 Travel photo: snuggling with meerkats in Yokohama

✈️ First-class Friday: Booking Lufthansa First Class with points

If you follow our friends Kara & Nate on the Youtube, you’ve probably seen some content about their recent experience flying on the ultra-luxurious Lufthansa First Class.

Many of you probably thought, “Wow, I wish I could experience that level of luxury on a plane, but I could never afford that.”

Then you start to cry as you look at photos of the amazing seat you’ll never sit in.

So to get ahead of that thought process, I’m here to tell you that you are WRONG.

Don’t worry, I’m not just going to shame you for being wrong, I’m also going to tell you how to book the same exact experience for a reasonable number of points, and how you can earn those points in the first place.

While there are a handful of ways to book Lufthansa First, there are only two ways that are feasible for most people, so we’re going to cover those.

Method #1: Avianca LifeMiles

If you’ve never heard of Avianca, it’s probably because they are a South American airline based in Bogota, Colombia.

But make no mistake; their points program, Avianca LifeMiles, has some of the best points sweet spots in the world. Since they are a member of Star Alliance, you can use their miles to book flights on United, Singapore, Air Canada, and… you guessed it… Lufthansa.

What makes this method so appealing is the insanely low rates they charge compared with other programs.

For example, you can book Lufthansa first class between the U.S. and Europe for only 87,000 miles one-way.

If we compare that to United where you’d pay a hefty 120,000 points or more for the same flight, you can see what a bargain you’re getting.

You can get Avianca miles pretty easily by transferring points from American Express, Citi, or Capital One, which you earn by spending on credit cards like these ones.

Method #2: Air Canada Aeroplan

This is actually the way that Kara and Nate booked their Lufthansa flight.

Aeroplan uses a distance-based award chart, so the cost of the flight will vary. If you were traveling between New York and Frankfurt, you’d pay 90,000 points to fly in first class, since the distance is under 4,000 miles.

That is slightly more expensive than Avianca, but Aeroplan has some added benefits that make the extra 3,000 points worth it.

Specifically, Aeroplan has a variety of airline partners as well as the ability to add in a stopover for only 5,000 extra points.

For example, you could book a ticket that combines one flight from New York to Frankfurt on Lufthansa first class, add a stopover in Frankfurt for a week, then fly from Frankfurt to Muscat, Oman on Oman Air first class.

Since the total distance flown is 7,000 miles, you’d pay 130,000 points for the first-class flights (see the chart I showed you earlier) and only 5,000 extra points for a week-long stopover.

Considering you’re spending close to 15 hours in two of the world’s best first-class seats, that’s not too shabby.

Additionally, Aeroplan partners with more banks than Avianca does, so you have the ability to transfer points from Chase, American Express, Citi, Capital One, and Bilt.

Most cards on our Top Travel Cards list could earn you the right type of points for one of these amazing trips.

So now that you know how to do it, go search for some Lufthansa First-Class flights so the rest of us can live vicariously through you.

Oh, and stay tuned for next week’s First-class Friday where I’ll show you how to book another one of the best business-class seats in the sky - ANA’s “The Room.” 😉

🛳️ Cruise News: Travel to 135 countries… on one cruise

I have a crazy idea… 😏

This idea is comparable to how airports constantly underestimate how many coffee shops they need… it’s just absolutely bonkers.

But the CRAZIEST part about this whole idea is it’s an actual, existing, real-life thing. And I haven’t even told you what it is yet.

So… would you embark on a three-year-long cruise that stopped in 135 countries across all seven continents?! 😱

You read that right, y’all. Life at Sea Cruises just announced a new ‘round-the-world itinerary that will depart from Istanbul this November.

That ship right there is the MV Gemini, a 1,074-passenger cruiser that would be your “home at sea” if you chose to sign up for this sensational sailing experience. Plus, its interiors and amenities look niiice 👌

Life at Sea’s big draw is to create a space for remote workers to essentially do their jobs from anywhere in the world while seeing the world at the same time… isn’t that the dream! 🥹

They just launched a sale with pricing starting at $29,999 per year. And honestly, that’s probably around how much many of us are paying in rent or a mortgage annually.

Here are some highlights:

• Travel over 130,000 miles to 375 destinations and six equator crossings to reach 135 countries on all seven continents

• Spend up to seven days in larger ports that stretch from Cape Town to Shanghai, Singapore, and even Antarctica

• Choose from inclusive food, accommodation, and activity options

• Have guaranteed blazing-fast WiFi (because, you know, remote workers)

This seriously sounds epic. If you’ve ever thought about being a resident of the… oceans (?) this could be your chance!

And I dunno, if I didn’t have my cat holding me back (thanks Tilly 🙄) I might just consider it. Their policy says no dogs allowed, but it technically doesn’t say no cats…

Would you live and work on a cruise ship to fulfill an ultimate bucket-list trip?

🌱 Sponsored by AG1®

You guys, it’s officially March! There’s just something about emerging from a cold, dark winter into brighter and happier days ahead that just makes me smile 🥹

I can finally see glorious spring on the horizon, but just because we’re edging out of winter doesn’t mean our bodies are exempt from catching any pesky colds (I would know 🙄).

Thankfully, we’ve still got our BFFs, AG1, who are here to help support our immunity and overall health.

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Aaaand you can get that scoop in the form of an easy, breezy travel packet, or you can dish it out yourself from a big ole’ bag that sits pretty on your kitchen counter.

💚 Here’s our spring treat for you all. If you order AG1 today, you’ll get:

• A free welcome kit

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If you want to look and feel as happy as Kara does in that picture, then we suggest trying out AG1 for yourself!

📸 Travel Photo (snuggling with Meerkats)

This newsletter is long enough already, and I already shared a dank meme with you yesterday. So today I thought I’d share a photo from a recent activity from my current trip to Japan.

Specifically, snuggling with meerkats in a hedgehog cafe (which, as you may have deduced, has more than just hedgehogs).

You’d be surprised by how many animal cafes there are here… I’m talkin’ hedgehogs, ferrets, otters, meerkats, owls, cats, and WAY more…

So here’s some inspiration for your next trip to Tokyo 😉

And with that, we conclude another week of travel-hacking fun times. I hope you all learned something new this week and are able to hop on some of these points and miles deals.

Have you used points and miles recently to book a flight, hotel, or cruise? If so, I’d love to hear about it - so let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.

Cheers,

35.6762° N, 139.6503° E