After a couple of failures, I’m curious if anyone has any good ideas that I’m missing…
In this post:
I’m hoping to fly SWISS Senses first class!
SWISS recently launched its new SWISS Senses cabins, available initially on newly delivered Airbus A350-900s. While I’ve reviewed the SWISS Senses A350 business class, I’d now like to check out the carrier’s A350 first class.
Now, admittedly SWISS Senses first class is basically a direct replica of Lufthansa Allegris first class, which I recently reviewed. That being said, I do try to stay on top of having tried the latest first class on all of the world’s top airlines, and that includes trying SWISS Senses.
I also want to update my list of the world’s top first class airlines, and trying the new SWISS first class is needed to do that, in my opinion. I’m pretty resourceful when it comes to miles & points, though unfortunately SWISS Senses poses a unique challenge. The airline isn’t allowing award redemptions in first class, so that means the only two options are to pay outright with cash, or to upgrade with cash.
What’s the best way to book SWISS Senses first class?
Let me share what I’ve tried up until now. I’ve written in the past about how SWISS business class tickets can be upgraded to first class with cash starting at online check-in. This includes award tickets booked with points belonging to partner frequent flyer programs.
For example, a couple of years ago I shared my experience upgrading to SWISS first class, as my partner award ticket was eligible for a cash upgrade as soon as online check-in opened. However, it seems the policy on that has changed in recent times, and I believe it’s not even specific to planes with SWISS Senses cabins.
For example, a few weeks ago I booked a SWISS business class ticket using partner points, and at online check-in I wasn’t given any option to upgrade with cash, despite all three first class seats being available.
When I called SWISS, I was told the ticket couldn’t be upgraded at online check-in because it was issued through another airline. Then just last week, I decided to redeem Miles & More miles for a SWISS business class ticket from Frankfurt (FRA) to Zurich (ZRH) to Boston (BOS), since I figured maybe that would allow an upgrade in advance.
Well, once again I wasn’t offered an upgrade, despite two seats being available during online check-in. When I called, I was told that only revenue tickets issued by Lufthansa Group are eligible for upgrades at online check-in, and not award tickets, even through Miles & More. Grrr! That’s why I ended up canceling that ticket, and instead booking Lufthansa first class using partner miles (which at least allowed me to experience the new FOX soft product).
Now, it’s my understanding that all tickets are still eligible for upgrades at the airport (or more specifically, at the departure gate), but that’s a bit too risky for me:
- With just three first class seats, a majority of flights have full first class cabins
- If I can’t get first class on the flight I’d rather not take this route again, since I’ve reviewed it before
- I live in neither Boston nor Zurich, so just being on “standby” at the airport waiting for an upgrade opportunity isn’t really practical
That leaves the other option, which is… to just pay for a ticket. Bleh, what’s the fun in that? 😉 I’m trying to find the best fare for SWISS first class or business class, particularly on the Boston route, though I’m also open to Seoul Incheon (ICN), the other current SWISS Senses destination.
SWISS does allow confirmed upgrades from business to first class on revenue tickets at the time of booking, assuming the the “A” fare class is available.
Just as an example, one could book a roundtrip from Copenhagen (CPH) to Boston with the outbound in business class and the return in economy for around $2,283.
That could then immediately be upgraded to first class on the outbound at the cost of around $2,700. So in the end, I’d be paying around $5,000 for a one-way first class ticket. As someone who likes to maximize value, that’s more than I’d like to spend!
Surely there must be a better option for maximizing value, and ideally one that doesn’t involve Cairo (CAI). 😉
My other strategy (more jokingly) is just to gamble on Lufthansa having another strike soon, booking a Lufthansa first class award from Boston to somewhere in Europe at the very last minute, and then hoping to be changed to SWISS first class. Admittedly that requires amazing timing and luck, including for the need for there to still be empty seats in first class on the SWISS A350. But hey, given the frequency of strikes at Lufthansa, maybe it’s not that unrealistic. 😉 
Bottom line
I’m hoping to try the new SWISS Senses first class product, though I’m struggling to find any sort of decent value. It seems there’s new restrictions on SWISS cash upgrades, where award tickets can only be upgraded at the departure airport, which isn’t ideal if you’re trying to book a flight just to experience a specific product.
Short of outright paying cash for a first class fare, the only other decent option is to find a reasonable business class fare, and then upgrade it with cash for a not-cheap amount. Still, given the countless number of fare combinations SWISS files, I have to imagine there’s some market where one can get a deal here. So if anyone has any insights, I’d certainly appreciate them, as my lack of luck with checking this product off my list is starting to bug me!
Pay chash
Fly to Seoul
Depart from:
-Košice
-Cluj Napoca
-Bucarest
... somewhere around that area
If you have Amex Centurion, there is exceptional first class discounted pricing if you call in. This is a recent program. Unfortunately not for platinum, only black.
Tried this the other day and the Centurion agent knew nothing about a discount. AMEX Travel portal was the same price he had. So not sure what this special pricing is. Of note tho, SWISS cancellation penalties are insane even for first class bookings. ICN-ZRH F fare with cancellation option was about $6K. Cancellation fee was $800 if I recall. Had looked at a Swiss fare earlier this year. Fare was "discounted" to $10K (JNB-ZRH-ORD)...
Tried this the other day and the Centurion agent knew nothing about a discount. AMEX Travel portal was the same price he had. So not sure what this special pricing is. Of note tho, SWISS cancellation penalties are insane even for first class bookings. ICN-ZRH F fare with cancellation option was about $6K. Cancellation fee was $800 if I recall. Had looked at a Swiss fare earlier this year. Fare was "discounted" to $10K (JNB-ZRH-ORD) but cancellation fee was $7K. No thanks.
Tried this the other day and the Centurion agent knew nothing about a discount. AMEX Travel portal was the same price he had. So not sure what this special pricing is. Of note tho, SWISS cancellation penalties are insane even for first class bookings. ICN-ZRH F fare with cancellation option was about $5.6K. Cancellation fee was $1,700. Had looked at a Swiss fare earlier this year. Fare was "discounted" to $10K (JNB-ZRH-ORD) but cancellation fee was $7K. No thanks.
What about paying with points through the Ultimate Rewards portal? Not a great return, but at least it’s still using points. (Interesting experiment: can you pay for C with cash on the portal, and upgrade using points?)
Pay cash for the route you want and deduct it as a business expense. Stay in a Marriott and use the hotel review to convince a bunch of people to get a credit card that gets them Platinum Bonvoy status for ONLY $650. The proceeds from the credit card referrals will cover the cost of the trip.
Actually pretty easy, if you plan a bit in advance...
I have several Allegris/Senses F Tickets. All booked with points.
Lovely product.
Which currency did you use? M&M?
I'm with others who say if it can't be booked with miles then it's not of much interest to a mileage blog
Chris, that is going be because of one or a combination of these things:
No: 1. You are depriving oneself of an extremely pleasant flight experience.
No: 2. It is akin to cutting off one’s nose to spite your face.
No: 3. You actually cannot afford it, so stop making excuses for that fact …. Yes?
Realistically, apart from paying in cash, there is no reliable way to guarantee a seat.
1. SEN/HON tier members can book Swiss First Class using award points. In theory, at least. In practice, it is virtually impossible.
2. E-vouchers are not up for discussion. They are only available if you ask someone who holds one to apply it towards an upgrade or if you personally achieve the required tier through flying.
Furthermore,...
Realistically, apart from paying in cash, there is no reliable way to guarantee a seat.
1. SEN/HON tier members can book Swiss First Class using award points. In theory, at least. In practice, it is virtually impossible.
2. E-vouchers are not up for discussion. They are only available if you ask someone who holds one to apply it towards an upgrade or if you personally achieve the required tier through flying.
Furthermore, Swiss is much stricter than Lufthansa when it comes to approving vouchers. I’ve used one about three times and it was approved at the gate. (I’m an HON Circle member.)
Why not consider ICN?
I hear that Korean Air has finally opened a new first class lounge. According to local reviews, it's an improvement on the previous one.
Ben asks: “How Should I Book SWISS Senses First Class? Any Creative Ideas?”
Ben, trust me there is a very simple solution …. grow longer arms or shorten your pocket depth. By doing either of those things you should then be able to reach your credit card …. pay for the seat for once, yes? …. :-)
You asked for it …. “Creative Ideas”.
@Ben don’t bet on Lufthansa strikes b/c on the strike days they didn’t release any seats for last minute Aeroplan bookings
After reading this I think you should take this idea of yours to travel in luxury while not paying cash further. There are far too many blogs espousing luxury travel but unfortunately for most of us humans we can't do that without points and miles. Make it all about points and miles luxury travel and attainable redemptions for two. You could even sell some credit card referrals.
Otherwise, just pay the price - the review should prove interesting at any rate.
Buy the ticket with cash, Ben. You can easily afford a splurge or two ;)
Where is my comment. They always seem to be removed!
For a month flights out of SFO on LH changed to aircraft with no F. We'd paid for our ticket using miles and the airline rerouted us in F on Swiss but of course this requires figuring out which routes are likely to have this down gauge.
I upgraded 5 flights last year, but that's with 8 F seats. I used bids and was successful all 5 times. Looking at the BOS route in the next few days, its baiscally sold out one week in advance. I would buy a J ticket and just upgrade it with cash. I know in Canada I can just book a ticket and cancel for free within 24 hours so you can book and see if...
I upgraded 5 flights last year, but that's with 8 F seats. I used bids and was successful all 5 times. Looking at the BOS route in the next few days, its baiscally sold out one week in advance. I would buy a J ticket and just upgrade it with cash. I know in Canada I can just book a ticket and cancel for free within 24 hours so you can book and see if upgrades are available and at what price. Plan B would be to find someone who was miles or vouchers and upgrade your ticket. That obviously requires a bit of a leap of faith.
Pay cash for it! Given how uninspiring status is becoming on US airlines, you should start going for alliance statuses with foreign airlines. I think you already have flying blue? Would be interesting for you to get all 3 and compare how they are for US based people. You may have to start flying a bit more again though ;)
One other option is to just go on a mileage run and become a Senator with Miles & More or use one of their status match options. Then, you can easily book an award flight with Swiss in First.
cash upgrade with aeroplan pyb :)
Have you looked at an RTW fare? will get you some reviews in along the way.
You could always invest in a *A RTW fare. The cheapest ones will tend to start from Egypt, but you don't have to go to CAI as there are a fair few options from HBE, SSH and HRG. You'll still have to part with maybe €8k, but you'll get to review lots of products and can leverage sectors for positioning flights etc.
Um, did you not spend far higher amounts on previous trips? I recall you once went on a "trip of a lifetime" to Africa that was a six figure amount so what is a measly 5K?
I am senator for years and have never seen ANY availability in Swiss first class - to redeem with miles. Cash only.
I flew their 1st class due to a LH strike and there were two other passengers like me .
if you book your travel via the AMEX Centurion portal, you will get an automatic 30 percent off. Lower than a full fare ticket in Business.
If this can't be booked with miles/cc points in a reasonable way, why even bother reviewing this product? This is a points and miles blog, that explains What is achievable with miles, how to achieve it, and what the experience will be like? This is not Travel and Leisure blog where you review whatever new products are out there. Remember your readership?
Just a thought - not trying to be a d***k.
@ DMoney -- My priority is definitely airline products that can easily be booked with miles, though I'm also a bit of completionist when it comes to experiencing all first class products, and I'm also a general airline product geek.
While Ben's answer to you is fair, readers also know of Ben's long-time love affair with LH. In this case a LH sibling. It is a sentimental connection from his past. And, while some of us will poke fun at him over it, we shouldn't deny him this indulgence.
I would also say that if Ben had the opportunity to stay at some royal castle that's not even bookable by anyone, some of us would...
While Ben's answer to you is fair, readers also know of Ben's long-time love affair with LH. In this case a LH sibling. It is a sentimental connection from his past. And, while some of us will poke fun at him over it, we shouldn't deny him this indulgence.
I would also say that if Ben had the opportunity to stay at some royal castle that's not even bookable by anyone, some of us would look forward to reading a report. It's like watching an elegant Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie during the Great Depression.
In that case Lucky, I think you owe it to your readers to pay for the upgrade (the ~$5k cost).
In the end, those reading this that are more in the points game won't be able to fly this anyway - so you're ostensibly reviewing this for people who can afford to pay cash for it....
The product is very relevant to this blog as LH Group A-class fares from Europe to places like JNB and GRU can sometimes be had for less than €4k and yield a serious amount of Star Alliance miles that can help on the way to*G status and are of course useful for booking awards.
Fly with me :), just got this email from Centurion: "When you book an international SWISS First flight ticket through Centurion Member Airfares™ you can access special savings offers for Centurion Members.³ "
Can't you upgrade with miles? Before the new first class was introduced, it was possible to upgrade a paid business ticket with M&M miles if the A fare category was available. These upgrades were not limited to M&M elites. But I am not sure whether this is still possible with Swiss senses.
That‘s correct!
You can upgrade a cash business tickets with Miles and More miles and eVouchers. In contrast to a complete miles booking in First class, no SEN or HON status is required for these upgrades.
The catch is that you need to call M&M and ask for availability.
I called them recently and asked for availability on the ZRH-ICN route. Took the agent some minutes to find out there is no availabilty as a...
That‘s correct!
You can upgrade a cash business tickets with Miles and More miles and eVouchers. In contrast to a complete miles booking in First class, no SEN or HON status is required for these upgrades.
The catch is that you need to call M&M and ask for availability.
I called them recently and asked for availability on the ZRH-ICN route. Took the agent some minutes to find out there is no availabilty as a full miles ticket.
The agents cannot see upgrade availabilty without a specific booking. So you need to make a booking and then check for upgrade availabilty with miles. This is where Finnair is way better.
Swiss International Air Lines is very strict about applying vouchers.
I have had a significant number of upgrades (from C to F) approved at the gate. This means that, unless you have HON Circle status, you will not receive any ground services intended for first-class passengers, such as access to the first-class lounge.
Furthermore, as the number of first class seats has been reduced from eight to three, it is now extremely rare for...
Swiss International Air Lines is very strict about applying vouchers.
I have had a significant number of upgrades (from C to F) approved at the gate. This means that, unless you have HON Circle status, you will not receive any ground services intended for first-class passengers, such as access to the first-class lounge.
Furthermore, as the number of first class seats has been reduced from eight to three, it is now extremely rare for a first class booking on flight 359 to be approved using an e-voucher.
As long as it's disclosed, what's wrong with asking Swiss for a flight for review purposes? You obviously won't be able to credibly review the service or (arguably) the food, but in terms of the hard product, that can't really be changed just to impress you. And you have your past experience of Swiss' First food and service to grade against.
Put it this way - I'd rather you compromised on the principle of buying...
As long as it's disclosed, what's wrong with asking Swiss for a flight for review purposes? You obviously won't be able to credibly review the service or (arguably) the food, but in terms of the hard product, that can't really be changed just to impress you. And you have your past experience of Swiss' First food and service to grade against.
Put it this way - I'd rather you compromised on the principle of buying your own flights, and spent that $5000 on other reviews for more accessible products (especially obscure carriers) that we might consider booking.
Him doing this with Starlux isn't a bad idea.
You can't compromise on principles or ethics.
Your compromise tolerance ends up with quid pro quo politicians f**king up every country all around the world.
Absolutely bloody not. Ben’s blog and whole business ethos was built around the exact opposite of what you just outlined.
play around with ex-TUN F fares. TUN-BOS in J/F with two changes maybe an overnight / YYZ-LIS nonstop in Y
@ Ben -- Interesting, thank you! Out of curiosity, how are you combining F one way with Y the other? J and Y is easy since you can do it directly on SWISS' website by searching economy but then selecting business for the outbound, but I don't see the option to do that for first class.
Better to save the money by staying home . Read a book to improve your vocabulary .
Originating in Cairo obviously
CPH-ZRH-BOS biz / YYZ-LIS eco is tad cheaper ;)
Book Lufthansa first class, have it get cancelled and have Lufthansa rebook you onto Swiss first for free :)
Not a terrible idea!
Earn points via Rove and transfer to LH.
I booked Swiss First on a BA ticket recently. Their generous "Book away policy" allowed carrier, destination and origin changes for a Qatar First award (booked via BA Avios).
How do you book first class on qr routes without first class? Both icn and bos don't have qr first class