We applied for this card and haven’t heard back yet. We’re really hoping to get this and post points on time to go to Europe with them in a month. Optimistic? Okay, we might end up using AA miles. Really either way we’ll be able to avoid fuel surcharges but, Lufthansa sounds nice because 25k each way to Europe is possibly the cheapest rate to Europe year round. In off peak, AA has 20k flights and some of the distance based programs have some routes that are cheaper. But with Lufthansa 25k or 50k roundtrip gets you to from anywhere in the US to anywhere in Europe, with two stopovers and two open-jaws.
Let’s look at the pros and cons:
Pros
- 50k roundtrip to Europe
- 25k roundtrip domestic, including Alaska.
- 2 stopover and 2 open-jaws on roundtrips for two region awards
- No fuel surcharges on USA, TAM, Avianca, Air New Zealand
- 55k business class flights on LOT (as they have low fuel surcharges) with MileageBargain
- 30k economy roundtrip flight on LOT
- 80k for a roundtrip to Australia/New Zealand/Oceania
- No phone fee! So book away.
Cons
- Three Region awards are expensive – meaning anytime you touch three regions on their award chart, even layovers, you pay 100,000 for economy
- Flights on most of the European partners like Swiss and Lufthansa, have really expensive fuel surcharges
- Annual fee is not waived the first year
So if you want to have:
- Two one-ways to Europe
- One roundtrip to Europe with two stops
- Two domestic roundtrips
- Possible 30k/55k (econ/biz class) roundtrip on LOT for low fuel surcharges or Austrian and Lufthansa at a cost
Then this is the card for you. If you’re also a first class junkie, this is the best way to fly: First Class on Lufthansa or Swiss.
Of course the biggest plus of all is that you can double dip the mess out of this card. Apply, spend, cancel, repeat. Although who knows when the next 50k Lufthansa card will come around?
