Update: 5/8/18: I originally posted this at the end of April to report on Lufthansa First Class award space open specifically between San Francisco and Munich, but it looks like there is now plenty of space on various other routes as well!

Last year I opened an Asiana Visa Signature Card for a very specific reason: to fly flat bed Business Class to "Latin America 2" (Southern South America) for 35,000 miles. I spent $3,000 on the card to unlock the 30k Asiana mile bonus, earned 3k points for the spending it took to get there, and then spent a final $2k on the card to reach a balance of 35,000 Asiana miles.

Let's start your week off with a little travel inspiration to help fight the Monday blues.

Below are three destinations with astounding beauty I can attest to as I've personally traveled to all of them.

Let's run through the best airline transfer options while the Starwood Preferred Guest personal and business credit cards from American Express come with 35,000 bonus Starpoints for spending $5,000 and $8,000 respectively in the first six months of cardmembership.

Next month I want to fly Lufthansa First Class from the United States to Europe, like I did a few years ago, because I love the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt, the luxury of sitting in the nose of a 747-8, and the onboard food and drinks.

But I want to do it smartly. Instead of paying 110,000 United miles one way, I want to pay 40,000 Starpoints.

Last week my friend flew 24 hours of Lufthansa First Class and had a 3.5 hour layover in the famous Lufthansa First Class Terminal, which he booked for 125,000 United miles and $58.

Forget paying 110,000 United miles one way for Lufthansa First Class. You can book the same flight for 40,000 points + $203 (and there is even a way to avoid the $203.)

Lufthansa First Class flying from Europe to the United States is a fantastic product.

The onboard First Class product is solid--a step above American carriers and a step below Asian and Middle Eastern carriers.

And the ground experience in Frankfurt is my favorite in the world.

You can book yourself a tour around the Caribbean and South America stopping in three places for only 64,500 miles total with half the trip in a flat bed. By stopping in three places, I am referring to actual destinations, not connections that have to be under 24 hours.

This incredible deal relies on piecing together four sweet spots awards into one big trip.

Updated 1/29/16 to reflect new Aeroplan award prices effective for awards booked 12/15/15 or later.
Updated 10/6/15 to reflect new ANA award prices effective for awards booked 10/15/15 or later.

In the last few weeks, I have published some comparative charts of Star Alliance award charts. I'm putting all of those charts into this post for easier reference.

You can use any type of Star Alliance miles to book almost any Star Alliance flight. (Swiss, Lufthansa, and Singapore hold back some premium cabin award space for their own members.

I just booked myself an award from Los Angeles to Santiago, Chile in Business Class for 35,000 Asiana miles + $24. United would have charged 55,000 miles for the same flights!

Why Asiana Miles
Asiana has really cheap awards to Europe and South America and really expensive awards elsewhere.