Best Ways to Book Lufthansa Business Class with Points and Miles

Headquartered in Cologne, Germany, Lufthansa is the flag carrier of Germany, and Lufthansa Group is the second-largest airline group in Europe by number of passengers carried. The airline is known by many U.S.-based travelers as a great way to fly across the Atlantic in comfort and style, as Lufthansa is known for providing an excellent in-flight experience in all cabins. In particular, Lufthansa’ new Allegris Business Class product (available only on long-haul flights) includes excellent in-flight amenities, such as a 27-inch 4K personal entertainment monitor, “seat shells” for maximum privacy, wireless chargers for your device and more.

Unfortunately, purchasing Lufthansa business-class flights across the Atlantic Ocean with cash can be rather expensive. Luckily, since Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance, there are several frequent flyer programs through which you can book Lufthansa business-class award flights with points or miles at a very low out-of-pocket cost. That way, you can experience Lufthansa’s business-class product no matter what kind of budget you’re on.

In this article, we’ll identify the best frequent flyer programs through which to search for and book a Lufthansa business-class flight. We’ll also cover what kind of amenities you can expect in business class on each of the different aircraft types in the Lufthansa fleet.

What to Expect in Lufthansa Business Class

There are several different aircraft types in the Lufthansa fleet, and each aircraft type offers a slightly different business-class product. In general, long-haul Lufthansa flights offer a more luxurious experience in business class, whereas business-class cabins on short- and medium-haul flights are more basic.

Unfortunately, Lufthansa didn’t rank in the top 10 business-class airlines, according to Skytrax, in 2024. This is likely because Lufthansa still operated some long-haul flights that didn’t have lie-flat seats in business class, which has become a relatively standard business-class feature in the industry. For example, Singapore Airlines, ANA and several other Star Alliance airlines offer lie-flat seats on most long-haul business-class flights.

Nonetheless, there’s still a lot to love about Lufthansa business class. And, most Lufthansa aircraft do offer lie-flat seats in business class at this point. The best business-class product in the Lufthansa fleet is found on aircraft that are equipped with the airline’s new Allegris service, which can currently be found only on Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft. Lufthansa also plans to purchase new Boeing 777 aircraft that are designed for Allegris service. Boeing 747 aircraft will also be retrofitted for Allegris in the upcoming years.

The Allegris update includes all cabin classes. But, in business class, aircraft with Allegris service will include a private suite for business-class passengers with a sliding door for maximum privacy, a personal 4K entertainment monitor of up to 27 inches, lie-flat seats that extend into a 2.2-meter-long bed, wireless charging for your device, noise-canceling headphones, Bluetooth connectivity, tablet-size touchscreen control panels and more. All in all, this is a fantastic business-class product by industry standards.

This updated Allegris service is clearly an effort by Lufthansa to keep up with the pace set by the rest of the airline industry. Unfortunately, at the current time in early 2025, Lufthansa only has nine aircraft fitted for Allegris service, which are used on routes between Munich (MUC) and the following destinations:

• Bengaluru (BLR)
• Cape Town (CPT)
• Charlotte (CLT)
• Chicago (ORD)
• New York (JFK)
• San Diego (SAN)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Shanghai (PVG)

When flying on a Lufthansa Airbus A350 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner that’s not outfitted for Allegris, you’ll still get the “New Business Class” product, which includes a lie-flat seat of almost two meters when fully extended, a personal entertainment monitor, large overhead baggage compartments, a lighting system that adjusts to your biorhythms to reduce jet lag and more.

Passengers in “New Business Class” will also receive Lufthansa’s updated amenity kit, which includes hand and body cream, face cream, a toothbrush, toothpaste, socks and a peppermint, all contained in a stylish tote bag from Porsche Design.

Lufthansa also uses several other aircraft types to operate long-haul flights, including Airbus A380, Airbus A340, Airbus A330 and Boeing 747. On these aircraft, you’ll typically get a slightly less luxurious business-class product. However, you should still have a personal entertainment monitor, plenty of storage space, charging ports and more.

Lufthansa also offers business class on its short- and medium-haul flights, which are operated using Airbus 321, Airbus A321neo, Airbus 320, Airbus A320neo, Airbus 319, Embraer 195, Embraer 190 and Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft. The business-class cabins on each of these aircraft types will differ slightly. But, on these flights, you’ll enjoy spacious seating as well as lounge access, priority treatment and dining options that come with all business-class tickets.

No matter what kind of aircraft you’re flying on or the length of your flight, all Lufthansa business-class passengers will receive priority check-in at the airport and priority boarding, as well as access to the Lufthansa business-class airport lounge (if available). You’ll also be able to access any Star Alliance partner lounge with your Lufthansa business-class ticket.

Lufthansa business-class passengers on flights of two hours or more will be served a hot main course meal of their choice. Meals will be served on fine china and designed by culinary professionals. Special meals to accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions are available upon request.

Best Programs Through Which to Book Lufthansa Business Class

Because Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance, Lufthansa business-class award flights can be found through several partner frequent flyer programs as well as through the Lufthansa Miles & More program. However, each of these programs prices award flights differently, so the same award flight may require fewer miles through one program than through another.

Likewise, it’s much easier to earn miles with some frequent flyer programs than others. This is because some programs allow you to transfer in points from credit card rewards programs at a 1:1 ratio.

So, with these differences in mind, we’re going to look at some of the best programs through which to book Lufthansa business-class awards.

Avianca LifeMiles

One of the best programs through which to book Lufthansa business-class awards is the Avianca LifeMiles program. This program is a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Brex, Capital One Rewards Program, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards, which means earning Avianca miles is very easy for U.S.-based travelers.

Avianca LifeMiles also uses fixed award charts to price partner award flights, which means that you can often find Lufthansa business-class awards at favorable rates. Unfortunately, while we were able to find plenty of award space on Lufthansa business-class flights going from North America to Europe, we weren’t able to find any Lufthansa business-class award space in the opposite direction.

But, you could still book a one-way Lufthansa business-class award through Avianca LifeMiles, get great value per mile and then book a flight home using cash or another frequent flyer program.

For example, we found a one-way Lufthansa business-class flight from New York (JFK) to Munich (MUC) for 69,000 miles and $91 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the same flight on the same date with cash through the Lufthansa website, it would cost you $3,623.

Thus, factoring in the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 5.1 cents per mile. Granted, this number may be slightly inflated because this example is for a one-way flight. Nonetheless, this is still an excellent rate for a Lufthansa transatlantic flight in business class.

Air Canada Aeroplan

One frequent flyer program through which you can find Lufthansa business-class award availability at great rates is Air Canada Aeroplan. Unfortunately, finding Lufthansa business-class awards on transatlantic routes is nearly impossible. However, if you want to take Lufthansa business-class flights around Europe, the Aeroplan program is a good place to look.

Since Air Canada Aeroplan uses a fixed distance-based award chart to price partner flights, you can sometimes find outsized value by redeeming Aeroplan points for Lufthansa business-class awards. Here’s the award chart for Lufthansa-operated business-class flights within the “Atlantic zone” (which includes all of Europe and Africa):

The rates listed above are for one-way flights. To get the price of a round-trip business-class award, just double the applicable rate listed above.

So, by finding short- and medium-haul flights around Europe (or between Europe and west Asia) with high cash prices, you should be able to find high value per point on Lufthansa business-class awards through Air Canada Aeroplan. However, if you’re looking to book a long-haul Lufthansa business-class award, you won’t find availability through the Aeroplan program.

Aeroplan points are fairly easy to earn for U.S. citizens, as the program is a 1:1 transfer partner of several major U.S. credit card rewards programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. Plus, there’s also an Air Canada co-branded credit card available to U.S. consumers, called the Aeroplan® Credit Card, which allows you to earn Aeroplan points on everyday purchases. Signing up for this card might be a good idea if you fly with Air Canada or use the Aeroplan program often.

Lufthansa Miles & More

Miles & More, the frequent flyer program of Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and Swiss International Air Lines, typically has the most award availability for Lufthansa business-class award flights. Unfortunately, earning miles through this program is fairly difficult for U.S.-based travelers, because Miles & More isn’t a transfer partner of any major U.s credit card rewards programs.

There is, however, a Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard® that’s available to U.S. consumers. With this card, you can earn 2X miles on any flight ticket purchased from AirDolomiti, Austrian Airlines Group, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Eurowings, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Luxair or Swiss International Air Lines as well as 1X miles on all other purchases. If you fly with one of the aforementioned airlines often, signing up for this card might be a good idea.

But, for most U.S.-based travelers, the best way to earn miles with the Miles & More program will be to credit paid Star Alliance flights. However, you’d probably be better off crediting your Star Alliance flights to another program (such as Air Canada Aeroplan or United Airlines MileagePlus).

Nonetheless, if you do happen to have a lot of miles in the Miles & More program, you can find a lot of Lufthansa business-class award availability. Unfortunately, on June 3, 2025, the Miles More program switched from using fixed award charts to a dynamic pricing model to price Lufthansa (and all other) award flights. This means it’s nearly impossible to find outsized value redemptions through this program.

So, all in all, if you happen to use the Miles & More program, then you can find lots of Lufthansa business-class awards through this program, all of which will offer about 1 cent mile in value. But, if you don’t already have miles in this program, you’re better off looking through another program where you may be able to get a better rate.

The Bottom Line

In recent years, it seems that Lufthansa has been making efforts to improve its business-class offerings. The German flag carrier has begun rolling out its “Allegris” service on some Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and has stated that it will continue bringing the service to more and more aircraft types. Allegris business class is competitive, with some of the best business-class products in the world and includes amenities such as an entertainment monitor of up to 27 inches, spacious lie-flat beds, “seat shells” that offer maximum privacy and more.

Unfortunately, a larger portion of the Lufthansa fleet still has an outdated business-class cabin, which is probably why Lufthansa didn’t rank among the top 20 business-class airlines in 2024, according to Skytrax.

Nonetheless, if you wish to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in comfort and luxury, booking a Lufthansa business-class award is often a good way to do so at a low out-of-pocket cost. And, for most U.S. travelers, the best program to check for transatlantic Lufthansa business-class awards is Avianca LifeMiles. There seems to be a decent amount of award availability for Lufthansa business-class tickets from North America to Europe through this program. However, finding Lufthansa business-class award space on flights going in the opposite direction is very difficult.

You can find plentiful Lufthansa business-class award availability through the airline’s own Miles & More frequent flyer program. However, earning miles with this program is quite difficult for U.S.-based travelers. You can also find Lufthansa business-class award space through Air Canada Aeroplan, but not on long-haul routes.