The deal
A pretty good amount of saver business class on Lufthansa or Swiss between the major West Coast cities and Frankfurt, Munich, and Zurich. Some Austrian flights also sprinkled in throughout the year to Vienna as well. You’ll want to probably use Air Canada to book these before the upcoming devaluation on June 1. Flights will cost 5k more (70k→75k) for most of these West Coast flights.
Lufthansa is also completing the refurbishment of their A380s, bringing a modernized business class from Thompson Aerospace. That means the A380s that serve some of these routes will have a 1-2-1 layout for business class. Big win!
This deal was found using United calendar search and the assistance of Seats.Aero (affiliate link), an award search tool that helps you view thousands of available award flights all in one place.
Fly Lufthansa and Swiss business class starting at 70k points one way
Routes: LAX/FRA; LAX/MUC; LAX/ZRH; SAN/MUC; SEA/FRA; SEA/MUC; SFO/MUC; FRA/SFO; VIE/LAX
Airline: Lufthansa, Swiss
Programs to book with: Air Canada, United, Avianca LifeMiles (Swiss flights only?)
Travel timeline: January-March 2027
Cost: Starting at 70k points + around $60-200 in tax/fees one way
Transfer partners: American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Rove
Summary: Fly Lufthansa or Swiss business class for as low as 70k points one way
Why I like this deal: 1) Multiple seats (some dates have 9+), 2) rare West Coast availability, and 3) reasonable cost for business class awards
Dates with 2+ business class seats
LAX-FRA
January 2027: 19, 26
February: 1, 2, 9
FRA-LAX
January 2027: 21, 27, 28
February: 2-5, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25
March: 3, 4, 10
LAX-MUC
January 2027: 10, 17-20, 24-26, 31
February: 1, 2, 7-10, 15-17, 21, 22
March: 2
MUC-LAX
May: 24
June: 4, 5
November: 26
January 2027: 20, 21, 26-28
February: 2, 3, 5, 9-12, 16-19, 23, 24
March: 2, 3
LAX-ZRH
February 2027: 1, 2, 8
ZRH-LAX
January 2027: 28
February: 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25
March: 4
SAN-MUC (90k on Aeroplan)
May: 24-26
October: 27
December: 29
January 2027: 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 24, 26, 27, 31
February: 2, 7, 9, 16
MUC-SAN (90k on Aeroplan)
May: 24, 25, 27, 28
June: 1, 2, 4, 9
November: 25, 26
December: 2, 3
January 2027: 19, 21, 26, 28
February: 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, 23, 24
March: 2, 3, 9
SEA-FRA
May: 27
July: 22, 26
January 2027: 17, 20, 24, 26, 31
February: 2, 3, 17
FRA-SEA
May: 24, 27, 28
June: 10
September: 2
January 2027: 14, 20, 21, 26-29
February: 2-5, 10-12, 16-18, 24, 25
March: 3
SEA-MUC
May: 24, 26, 27
July: 9, 11, 12
January 2027: 10, 17, 31
February: 7
MUC-SEA
May: 24
June: 3-5, 11
August: 13, 19, 27, 28
September: 2, 3
November: 20
January 2027: 15, 20, 22, 27, 29
February: 3, 12, 17, 19, 26
SFO-MUC
May: 24, 25, 27
October: 26, 27
November: 10
December: 27-29
January 2027: 4, 5, 10-12, 17-19, 24-26, 31
February: 1, 2, 7-9, 14-16, 21, 22, 28
March: 1, 2, 8, 9
MUC-SFO
May: 24, 27
November: 26
January 2027: 21, 30
February: 4-6, 11-13, 16, 18-20, 23, 25, 26
March: 2, 4, 9, 11, 16
SFO-FRA
None
FRA-SFO
May: 24, 27, 28
August: 28
LAX-VIE
None
VIE-LAX
May: 25, 27, 28
June: 5, 8, 11
Cost breakdown
Air Canada: Starting at 70k points + $67-300 in tax/fees. Spend an extra 14-15k points to make the flight freely changeable/cancellable. Otherwise $75 CAD for changes and $150 CAD to cancel per ticket.
Transfer Partners: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Rove
Tip: Air Canada Aeroplan has a great stopover program, where you can have a stopover (in MUC in this instance) before going to your next destination. It costs 5k points per ticket to add a stopover.
Transfer bonus: Rove Miles has a 25% transfer bonus through June 6. However, the AC devaluation occurs on June 1.
Avianca: Starting at 69k points + mystery tax/fees. $150 change fee and $200 cancel fee unless you have a Lifemiles+ subscription. Taxes/fees are also likely higher but not shown until you check out. You can’t check out unless you have Lifemiles in your account already… and be aware Lifemiles customer support is not the greatest.
Transfer Partners: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Wells Fargo
Note: Seems like can only book Swiss awards online through Avianca, not Lufthansa. May have to call or chat to book LH flights.
United: 80-88k points + $6-170 in tax/fees. Free changes/cancellations.
Transfer Partners: Bilt, Chase
Note: 88k if no UA status or CC, otherwise 80k if you do.
How to search and book?
1) There’s no easy way to use a calendar view to find dates. United is a good option but it will show flights with connections.
2) For United, put in destination, # of passengers, flexible dates, business class, then click on “Find flights”.
Source: United
3) After searching, the calendar view should appear. Find dates with the 80k or 88k awards cost as those are saver awards. (80k if you have United status or if you have a United credit card).
Source: United
4) Confirm the flight details including if the number of seats you need is bookable, aircraft type, and timing. Then book with your preferred program.
Source: United
Use Lufthansa Group and Star Alliance network to fly beyond Germany and Switzerland
Use these US to FRA/MUC/ZRH flights as a gateway to Europe and connect through them to other parts of Europe. Total points costs will be fairly similar. SFO-MUC-MAD for example. You can also use Air Canada’s program to book a stopover for 5k extra points.
SFO-MUC-MAD for 80k or 88k miles on United
Lufthansa business class
Currently, the available award flights are across a variety of Lufthansa products including the A380, A350, or 747. Luckily, Lufthansa’s A380s appear to be the refurbished (1-2-1) version. This compares with Lufthansa’s 747s 2-2 upper deck or 2-2-2 lower deck arrangement for business class. Check the seat map before booking.
747 business class
Source: Aerolopa (left) and One Mile at a Time (right)
A380 with new seating
Source: Aerolopa (left) and Lufthansa (right)
A350 without Allegris
Source: Aerolopa (left) and One Mile at a Time (right)
A350 with Allegris
Source: Aerolopa (left) and One Mile at a Time (right)
Reviews + details
Allegris Business A350 YVR-MUC (One Mile at a Time)
Details on A350 non-Allegris (One Mile at a Time)
A380 new business class (Lufthansa)
747 business class review (Runway Girl Network)
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About Find Flights for Me.
I started the idea of Find Flights for Me back in 2023 to help educate and inspire people to use their credit card points more effectively, with a focus on using points to fly business and first class flights.
When I’m not working on Wall Street or searching for flight deals, you can find me planning for my upcoming wedding, enjoying local restaurants, helping my parents book their next trip, traveling internationally, or visiting friends/family in NYC, Philadelphia, or DC.