I want to share with you one of the tricks that I have used for many years to fly on Premium Classes, for much less, with Star Alliance carriers.
I use LifeMiles to redeem on flights with ANA, Lufthansa and other Star Alliance carriers Premium Classes.
But what if you don't have miles? No problem! You can buy LifeMiles and it is significantly cheaper than most other mileage programs. LifeMiles is one of the most useful frequent flyer programs. It often sells miles with bonuses and has great award redemption rates.
Real Example of Flights using LifeMiles
Cost of buying miles and redeeming on tickets is at least 50-80% significantly cheaper than a one-way normal fare! You just need to make sure that the seat is available for redemption.
Here are some examples of the cost of using LifeMiles to fly in Premium Class using the current LifeMiles promotion. With this, you could purchase miles for as little as 1.375 cents each.
- Flying ANA First Class from Tokyo to LA would cost 90,000 Lifemiles, which cost $1,237.50 (90k * 0.01375 cost per mile)
- Flying ANA Businesss Class from Tokyo to LA would cost 64,000 Lifemiles, which cost $880 (64k * 0.01375 cost per mile)
You can also fly in mixed classes. For example, from Chicago to Dubai via Frankfurt on Lufthansa.
From Chicago to Frankfurt in B747-8 First Class, then from Frankfurt to Dubai in Business Class. This will cost 93,930 LifeMiles, which equates to about $1,290 if you buy LifeMiles with the current bonus promotion.
I did exactly this last July from LA to Dubai via Frankfurt. I was able to experience the Lufthansa B747-8 First Class at a fraction of the cost.
For those who are more price-conscious, LifeMiles also allows you to mix classes to lower the overall cost. For example, Dubai to New York with Dubai to Frankfurt in Business and Frankfurt to New York in Economy would cost just 51,030 LifeMiles or $701 (51,030 * 0.01375 per mile)
The beauty of LifeMiles is that it allows you to mix and match; they also one-way redemption, which some airline programs either do not allow or charge more than 50% of round-trip.
LifeMiles Star Alliance Award Sale
At the moment LifeMiles also is running a sale on award redemptions, where members can receive up 15 to 30% off select redemptions.
This promotion is only valid for redemptions through 11th October, 2021, though you can plan travel for any dates in the future.
Here are all the Business Class Star Alliance award discounts that we’ve seen with this deal (in all cases, discounts are available for both directions of travel):
- Tokyo Haneda to Los Angeles for 60,000 LifeMiles
- Tokyo Narita to New York for 64,000 LifeMiles
- Seoul Incheon to Los Angeles for 64,000 LifeMiles
- Taipei to Vancouver for 64,000 LifeMiles
Buy LifeMiles with 140% bonus
LifeMiles Bonus Sale
At the moment LifeMiles is offering a 140% bonus on purchased miles, which is a great deal. With this, you could purchase miles for as little as 1.375 cents each.
- Buying 30,000 LifeMiles will get you 42,000 bonus miles. Total cost for 72,000 LifeMiles is $990.
- Buying 50,000 LifeMiles will get you 70,000 bonus miles. Total cost for 120,000 LifeMiles is $1,650.
While purchasing miles through this link will support me; in the interest of transparency, LifeMiles is offering a slightly cheaper price when you purchase the miles through One Mile At A Time.
My Recommendation
Now is a great time to buy LifeMiles for intercontinental travel (especially now that US borders will re-open in November and there will be more competition for award seats). It is a great way to save considerable money to travel in Premium Classes.
I recommend checking flight availability before buying points and then using them immediately or on a short-term basis.