How to fly first class to Europe

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, the newsletter that’s cheaper than therapy and twice as likely to make you book a spontaneous trip.

Here’s today’s travel therapy:

• 🥂 How to book Lufthansa first class with points

• 🍪 Tasty Travel Tidbits

• ✈️ Breeze Airways Spring Flash Sale

🥂 How to book Lufthansa first class with points

If you follow travel influencers on the social media, you probably come across people flying in Lufthansa first class - believed by many to be one of the best seats in the sky.

Many of you probably see that and think, “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.

In the past, there were a bunch of great ways to book Lufthansa first class. Sadly, most of those options have dried up in recent years… But there are still options.

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!

Until last year, you used to be able to book Lufthansa first class from the U.S. to Europe for just 87,000 LifeMiles…

Sadly, they increased that rate to 120,000 miles, which was pretty devastating…..

Still, 120k points to fly in Lufthansa first class isn’t terrible (and it’s also not the cheapest option, so don’t worry).

The benefit is that sometimes there are transfer bonuses to Avianca. Even a 25% bonus from a U.S. bank program could bring that cost down to 96,000 points - which is pretty close to what the old rate was.

You can earn Avianca miles pretty easily by transferring MR Points, ThankYou Points, Bilt Points, or Capital One miles, which you earn by spending on credit cards.

If you lock in a nice welcome offer, you could get yourself pretty close to booking this flight, which makes the price tag feel a lot less painful.

But let’s talk about the far better option…

Method #2: Air Canada Aeroplan

Aeroplan uses a distance-based award chart, so the cost of the flight will vary based on… distance. 🤓

If you were traveling between New York and Frankfurt, you’d pay 90,000 points to fly in first class, regardless of the airline, since the distance is under 4,000 miles.

That used to be an “okay” redemption…

But nowadays, it’s far and away the best option. Throw in a transfer bonus like the 20% bonus we saw just last month, and that rate comes down to just 75,000 points.

Booking through Aeroplan also has some other tangible benefits that many programs don’t offer.

Specifically, Aeroplan has more airline partners than any other program, as well as the ability to add 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, and 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 just as many banks as Avianca does, so you have the ability to transfer UR Points, MR Points, Capital One Miles, and Bilt Points.

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

The other key thing to note about Lufthansa's first class is that it usually opens up for booking just a few days before departure.

But don’t worry, you don’t have to wait until the last minute to book an important flight… you can just book a safety flight instead, and change your plans only if/when you see availability open up.

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!

🍪 Tasty Travel Tidbits

😎 Very cool: due to a partnership between Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia, there is now a way to book Qsuites using Aeroplan points… if you’re going to or from Australia.

🇩🇪/🇮🇹 It’s official - Lufthansa has officially acquired a majority stake in ITA Airways. This means that ITA will be leaving the SkyTeam alliance and joining Star Alliance.

✈️ Frontier is upping its game with new first-class seats set to launch later this year. At first glance, they actually look really nice… This could be exciting for those of you who like cheap flights but still want some added comfort.

✈️ Breeze Airways Spring Flash Sale

Breeze Airways is a nice airline that offers affordable flights to airports that are underserviced by larger airlines.

They have a TON of locations up and down the East Coast, but you’ll also find some of Breeze Airways destinations in the Midwest and Southwest 👇

And right now, you have until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, January 23rd, to get up to 50% off base fares for roundtrip flights on travel dates from January 28 through May 22, 2025.

Just be sure to use the code GONOW to get your discount, and also check for specific chunks of blackout dates in their terms and conditions here.

However, the main point to take note of here is that this sale is up to 50% off the base fare, not the total fare (which includes taxes and fees)… Womp womp.

The discount also won’t factor in extra add-ons like if you pay to pick your seat or opt for more carry-on luggage.

So the TOTAL discount will undoubtedly be less than 50% when you add it all up…

Still, if you live near a smaller airport, this could be a convenient opportunity to catch a Breeze Airways flight and avoid having to drive to a more major hub.

I mean… a sale is a sale.

OBVIOUSLY, this is no Lufthansa first class 😅 But if you’re looking to get from Point A to Point B this spring without breaking the bank, Breeze has you covered.

That’s all for today, folks! I hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter and feel inspired to unleash your inner bougie self on some first-class flights.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s newsletter and some more tasty travel tips.

Cheers,

52°22'35.4"N 52°15'17.4"W