Need advice re: LH miles & more upgrade.
 

First I'd like to say that I'm new to FT (2 months) and have enjoyed reading and learning from the posts. I have never flown using ff miles and I have never flown first class.

I'll be going to europe alone in November to meet a friend and celebrate my birthday.

I have enough LH miles for a coach seat but thought treating myself to an upgrade would be more fitting for birthday travel, especially on such a long flight (MIA-FRA). This is my 7th trip abroad and that long flight in coach is always the worst part of a great trip.

Here's the problem:

I called Lufthansa miles & more customer service and they told me that I had to book and pay for a 'W' class coach ticket first, THEN use my miles to upgrade which may not be available. I said "how would I know if it's not available before I purchase?" She said "you wouldn't".
If I'm going to end up flying coach anyway, I'd rather do it with all miles but at that point it would be too late.

Does this sound right?

Welcome to FT. Yes, it sounds right, but you can find out immediately before purchasing the ticket if upgrade space is available, and then have it upgraded right after ticketing. Theoretically, the upgrade space may disappear, but unlikely within a few minutes. I don't know the specific LH rules, but if you ticket it from a source that has some immediate right of refund (ie, a travel agency could void out a ticket after issuance within a very narrow time window if you are willing to pay a service fee), you could have some "extra insurance". Just a few thoughts. Rudi is our resident expert on LH issues.

this always worked for me.

this has worked for me also [doing it all on the same phone call]. i try to have a few days flexability in scheduling if i can.

it works - yes.

And you can upgrade, using LH miles&more miles (or vouchers) any fully paid fare (as long as the flight is LH# and LH-metal).

On the other hand, LH 'releases' seats, in business-class for awards and upgrades, often only 2-3 weeks before the flight. MIA, being more a touristic than a business destinations for Europeans, I would be very optimistic in getting an upgraded seat later.

Welcome, caja1, to Flyertalk, Please report back your experience with LH on this issue after you booked your travel, it's always interesting.

May I remind you that there is a special Lufthansa forum here on FT. Just scroll down a bit on the FT Miles webpage and you'll easily find it. It's a very active board with great people and good information.

So here is how I do it usually:

1. Call M&M Cust Service and ask for upgradeable seats for the scheduled dates (they will tell you how many upgrades are possible on which flight)
2. Call my TA and buy the ticket, telling him/her to issue the ticket immediately (sometimes TAs only book your flight, but do not issue the ticket immediately. Without an issued ticket, you will not be able to upgrade.)
3. Call M&M again and book the upgrade.

Always worked for me.

Welcome Caja to Flyertalk. I will be moving this thread to the Lufthansa forum so frequent users of that airline can chip in, and future readers will have a better chance of finding the same information you are inquiring about.

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Craig6z
Buzz & United Moderator
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