14 First Class routes for couples to burn their miles on
Are you cheating on your partner, and yourself?
Hey, wait, I don’t mean that kind of cheating.
I mean when you go on a vacation or a business trip where your partner comes along, are you making the most of your time together?
A big part of that is traveling to and from your destination in maximum comfort.
Yes, you and your partner both want nothing less than First Class.
And yet, airlines are making it harder and harder to fly in First, with the cabin disappearing before our eyes in so many cases. But they aren’t all gone.
So, in the spirit of comfort and togetherness, we found 14 First Class routes for couples (hey, it could also be business partners, or you and your mother-in-law) to burn their miles on.
14 First Class Routes
Of the First Class routes we surveyed, American Airlines has free award seats available on three First Class routes to Europe, Cathay Pacific has two available routes to Hong Kong, Etihad has free award seats on its Washington, DC-to-Abu Dhabi route, and Lufthansa has four routes to Frankfurt and four routes to Munich available.
Asia
CATHAY PACIFIC
An airline that recently surprised us with First Class mileage award seats between the U.S. and Asia is Cathay Pacific. Their Los Angeles-Hong Kong route can be hit and miss. Currently, we see seats for up to two travelers for travel in the fall. On their New York-Hong Kong route we have been seeing a handful of days with two seats, which is very rare these days.
No Miles? No Problem
Cathay Pacific’s First Class Los Angeles-Hong Kong route goes for 250,000 miles round-trip, plus $133 in taxes while their New York-Hong Kong route goes for 320,000 miles plus $133 in taxes. Cathay Pacific is a points-to-miles transfer partner with Amex, Capital One, and Citi. You can buy up to 500,000 points annually from Amex for 2.5 cents each and transfer them to Cathay Pacific. New York-Hong Kong fares go for $30,127+ for a savings of up to $21,967, or 73%. Huge!
Buy Cathay partner American Airlines miles when on sale: On Cathay’s Los Angeles-Hong Kong route the baseline fare goes for $16,391, you can buy up to 150,000 American Airlines miles for about $3,668 when they’re on sale for about 2.4 cents each, if you need to top-off, you can use cash to buy miles and save up to $12,656, or 77%, on your next trip to Hong Kong. Note that taxes with the American Airlines loyalty program generally cost $67.
We recommend that you only buy miles if you are confident there is availability that works for you or if you fly frequently. Should availability shift, you can use those miles on a future trip.
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Europe
AMERICAN
American has free award seat availability on three First Class routes to London.
No Miles? No Problem
If you're low on American miles, Amex, Capital One, and Citi members can transfer points to Cathay Pacific to get the ticket for 174,000 round-trip.
Buy American miles when on sale: Given the baseline fare is $4,220, you can buy up to 150,000 American Airlines miles for about $2,700 when on sale (if you need to top-off), and given that taxes with American Airlines loyalty program generally cost $325, you can use cash to buy miles and save up to $1,125, or 27%, on your next trip from New York to London.
Not flying from Dallas, Los Angeles, or New York and/or to London? Learn about getting free connecting flights or buying a positioning flight.
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LUFTHANSA
Lufthansa has nine First Class routes to Frankfurt and seven routes to Munich. We have found free award seats available on eight of those routes. From Boston, Chicago, New York, and Washington, DC, to Frankfurt and from Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC, to Munich.
With published First Class fares to Europe generally hovering around $10,000+, your savings can range anywhere from 63% to 71%+.
There are two award types you can book using Lufthansa miles: First Flex (requires fewer miles and more cash) and FCF’s preference, First Flex Plus (requires more miles and less cash). Depending on your itinerary and situation, there are benefits to each.
Save Up to $9,316+ / 71%+ with First Flex Plus
The round-trip mileage cost of a First Flex Plus ticket between the U.S. and Europe on Lufthansa is 230,000 miles (115,000 each way). The cost of buying those miles when on sale, plus taxes of about $200 on round-trip tickets between the U.S. and Europe, comes to a total of $3,767.
Not traveling to Frankfurt or Munich? Lufthansa’s First Flex Plus awards allow for free connecting travel on Miles & More member routes that ONLY include Lufthansa, Austrian, and SWISS
Save Up to $8,939+ / 68%+ With First Flex, and a Way to Save an Extra $636
The round-trip cost for First Class between the U.S. and Europe on Lufthansa is 182,000 miles, or 91,000 each way. The cost of buying those miles when they’re on sale is $2,807 round-trip. Taxes on tickets between the U.S. and Europe are about $1,973 if you book round-trips, for a total of $4,780.
But watch this: One-way taxes are about $925 on the outbound and only $412 on the return flight. That means you could book two one-ways and save an additional $636.
Not flying from one of Luthansa’s hub cities? Lufthansa’s First Flex awards allow for partner travel between its U.S. hubs and countless other U.S. cities, so you can get free domestic connecting flights with United.
No Miles? No Problem ~The Sale Is Back~
Lufthansa is currently offering a juicy purchase bonus of 30% where you can buy miles for about 1.51 cents a mile. Lufthansa’s Bundle&Go buy miles opportunity lets you purchase award miles in three increments of 10,000, 50,000, and 100,000. Members can purchase one bundle per transaction. If you need even more miles, remember FCF’s special strategy to get all the miles you want!
Valid through March 31, anyone can get miles for as low as 1.51 cents, which results in First Class tickets that go for as much as $14,349+, for just $3,767, round-trip.
Sample Savings
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Just a small note: Their fine print indicates it could take up to five days for the miles to post, however when we bought miles through this promo, they were credited almost instantly. Maybe we got lucky, but the timing is something you should keep in mind.
Current Availability Trends
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Middle East
Etihad
Etihad has brought back its New York-to-Abu Dhabi route with service resuming on April 22 which will be served by a B787 and by its famed A380. Since you can only find free award seats using partner miles with American 14 days out, we hope to start seeing available award seats early April. If you want the experience of a lifetime it’s certainly worth checking American’s website up until departure time if you’re “upgrade open-minded,” or for the grab-em-now upgrade traveler who has their bags-packed and ready at the front door.
You can find free award seats on its Washington, DC-to-Abu Dhabi route using partner American Airlines’ miles for 115,000 miles each way. Considering American, Delta, and United charge 150,000 to 200,000 miles for Business Class each way, these prices for First Class are a free upgrade.
Smart Upgrade Play: Buy Miles to Fly Etihad
Buy Etihad partner American Airlines miles when on sale: American Airlines miles usually cost 2.8 cents per mile to buy. However, they frequently offer purchase bonuses and discount promotions for as low as 2.4 cents each (you can buy up to 150,000 per year, plus any bonuses). That amounts to a First Class flight to the Middle East for $1,864 each way — for a ticket that can cost up to $10,000. Follow our strategy here to know when to buy miles.
Etihad is a points-to-miles transfer partner with Amex, Capital One, and Citi. If you don’t have enough points, you can buy points from Amex for 2.5 cents each and transfer them to Etihad and save up to $7,172 or 66%. Huge!
Don’t live in Washington, DC?
If you don’t live in Washington, DC, you can also get connecting flights from all over the U.S. when available for the same number of miles or get connecting flights to places like Johannesburg, the Maldives, New Delhi, and Seychelles for as little as 5,000 more miles each way when available. Note that flights beyond Abu Dhabi are usually in Business Class.
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Go On, You Deserve It
Where to Look: Check FCF’s Sweet Redeems page frequently for First Class award availability for travel between the U.S. and Asia.
How to Do it: Be flexible and reflexive to get the seats. You may have to be open to alternative travel dates and be ready to pounce when flash deals become available.
When to Look: Constantly! Our Sweet Redeems are constantly updated with availability, so keep it top of mind. Even some stingy airlines have recently released award seats.
Like I often say, a great vacation starts in a great cabin, not when you exit the plane. There are still First Class options to be found, and with our ideas above, they’re very affordable. Make your next trip a special one for you and your travel buddy, and I’ll see you up front.