Lufthansa Miles Can Book Singapore Business Class & How to Book Lufthansa First Class with No Fuel Surcharges

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Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.

Update 12/17/13: The 50k mile offer is dead. All Lufthansa card links in this post go to the following offer:

• Earn up to 35,000 award miles with qualifying transactions
• Earn 20,000 award miles after your first purchase or balance transfer
• Earn up to 15,000 award miles with balance transfers (1 mile per $1 transferred) within 30 days of account opening
• Earn 2 award miles per $1 on ticket purchases directly from Miles & More integrated airline partners
• Earn 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases
• Complimentary Companion Ticket after first purchase, then annually thereafter
• No foreign transaction fees
• $79 Annual Fee, waived for SEN and HON Circle Members

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Lufthansa Miles & More Miles can be used to book longhaul Singapore Business Class awards! This is huge news because United and US Airways miles cannot book longhaul business class awards on Singapore, and Singapore Business Class is widely considered one of the best products in the world.

There’s also one route where you can book Lufthansa First Class with no fuel surcharges.

A few weeks ago I got the The Premier Miles & More World MasterCard with 50,000 bonus miles after spending $5k in the first three months.

Since getting the card, I’ve learned a lot about the Miles & More program and written up what I’ve found:

• Lufthansa Primer, Six Best Uses for the Sign Up Bonus and Two Bad Uses
• Lufthansa Miles & More Card Offer to Expire June 30

I found out two new things Friday while pricing out awards:

1. Lufthansa miles can book Singapore Business Class. This is huge news because Singapore has great award space from the US to Asia and from the US to Europe. And because United and US Airways can’t book Business Class on these flights.
2. There is a Lufthansa First Class route with no fuel surcharges.

How can you fly Lufthansa Business or First Class without fuel surcharges? How can you book Singapore Business Class?

Friday I spent some time on the phone with Lufthansa Miles & More pricing out some awards and I tested out Singapore’s routes from the US to Europe.

Singapore flies New York to Frankfurt and Houston to Moscow. Both planes continuing to Singapore, but you can also just fly the US to Europe portion.

I went to singaporeair.com to find availability on these flights in Business, First, and Suites Classes and found that both flights had availability in all cabins on January 23.

I called Lufthansa at 800-581-6400 to see if the same space was bookable with Lufthansa Miles.

Houston to Moscow (IAH-DME)

Houston to Moscow is operated by a 777, which means the premium cabins are called Business and First. I asked the Lufthansa agent if there was space on January 23 on the route in business class. He said there was and priced the award at 52k miles + $194.52.

I asked the agent if there was space in First Class. Again he said there was at a price of 85k miles + $194.52.

But I doubted him. I double checked with a rep today, and Lufthansa miles cannot be used to book Singapore First Class. (That agent did confirm Singapore Business Class is bookable with Lufthansa miles.)

New York to Frankfurt (JFK-FRA)

New York to Frankfurt is operated by an A380, meaning the premium cabins are called Business and Suites. It was a longshot, but I wanted to see if maybe Lufthansa had access to Suites Class.

I asked the agent about Suites Class space on January 23, and he said the price was 85k miles + $430.50. I was very excited, but I was confused by the fuel surcharge. That’s the fuel charge on a one way Lufthansa flight from JFK to Frankfurt. I asked for the flight time, and it didn’t match the Singapore flight time. He was quoting the price for a Lufthansa First Class seat earlier in the day.

I asked again about the Singapore flight, and he said there was no award space. That tells me Lufthansa does not have access to Singapore Suites space.

United Doesn’t Have Access to the Singapore Business or First Space

United and US Airways miles don’t have access to longhaul Singapore Business Class. Here’s the same day on united.com:

Lufthansa First Class without Fuel Surcharges

It’s well-known by now that flights originating in Brazil don’t have fuel surcharges (usually–British Airways collects fuel surcharges when I price out GRU-LHR.)

Lufthansa flies from Sao Paulo to Frankfurt daily. The award is pricey at 67k each way in Business Class and 105k each way in First Class, but at least there are no fuel surcharges. The total cash component of the award is only $36.48 out of pocket.

Singapore Business without Fuel Surcharges

Singapore Airlines flies from Sao Paulo to Barcelona and on to Singapore. Singapore doesn’t collect fuel surcharges on this flight out of Brazil, so awards booked with Lufthansa miles shouldn’t either.

The Awards I’ve Priced

In the last few weeks, I’ve priced out awards to Asia, Australia, Europe, Hawaii, South America, and the Caribbean by calling the Lufthansa service center at 800-581-6400 between 8 AM and 8 PM ET. These prices are all in and include all taxes, fees, and fuel surcharges. There is no fee for booking awards by phone with Lufthansa miles.

Europe

• LAX to Zurich in Swiss First: 85,000 miles + $430.50
• Washington-Dulles to Frankfurt in Lufthansa First: 85,000 miles + $430.50.
• Newark to Frankfurt in United Global First: 85,000 miles + $260.50.
• Philadelphia to London in US Airways Envoy Suites (business): 52,000 miles + $2.50
• Chicago to Warsaw in LOT Business (flat bed on a Dreamliner): 52,000 miles + $2.50
• Sao Paulo to Frankfurt in Lufthansa Business: 67,000 miles + $36.48
• Sao Paulo to Frankfurt in Lufthansa First: 105,000 miles + $36.48
• Houston to Moscow in Singapore Business: 52,000 miles + $194.52

Domestic

• LAX to JFK in United Business (flat bed on p.s. flight): 17,000 miles + $2.50
• Philadelphia to Phoenix in US Airways First: 25,000 miles + $2.50
• Island Hopper from Honolulu to Guam in economy: 20k miles + $298.50

Asia

• Beijing to San Francisco in United Global First: 92,000 miles + $32.17
• Tokyo to Honolulu in United BusinessFirst (business): 35,000 miles + $203.13
• Tokyo to Honolulu in United Global First (first): 62,000 miles + $203.13

South America

• Sao Paulo to Frankfurt in Lufthansa Business: 65,000 miles + $36.48
• Houston to Buenos Aires in United BusinessFirst: 52,000 miles + $2.50
• Houston to Buenos Aires roundtrip in economy: 60,000 miles + $77.32

Hawaii and Caribbean

• Tokyo to Honolulu in United BusinessFirst (business): 35,000 miles + $195.14
• Island Hopper from Honolulu to Guam in economy: 20k miles + $298.50
• Newark to Nassau roundtrip in economy: 35k miles + $112

Australia

• San Francisco to Sydney in United BusinessFirst (business): 67k + $26.42

Recap

The great uses for Lufthansa miles are piling up and now include longhaul Singapore First and Business Class awards and Lufthansa First Class awards without fuel surcharges. If you want to take advantage of theses uses, don’t forget that the Lufthansa 50k bonus mile offer expires in one week–June 30–and it will probably drop to a 20k offer.

The Premier Miles & More World MasterCard® with 50,000 bonus Lufthansa miles.

• Earn up to 35,000 award miles with qualifying transactions
• Earn 20,000 award miles after your first purchase or balance transfer
• Earn up to 15,000 award miles with balance transfers (1 mile per $1 transferred) within 30 days of account opening
• Earn 2 award miles per $1 on ticket purchases directly from Miles & More integrated airline partners
• Earn 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases
• Complimentary Companion Ticket after first purchase, then annually thereafter
• No foreign transaction fees
• $79 Annual Fee, waived for SEN and HON Circle Members

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Application Link: The Premier Miles & More World MasterCard