SWISS is the only major airline in the world to offer first class on all of its wide body aircraft, which includes Airbus A330s, Airbus A340s, and Boeing 777s. The airline offers a solid first class, which I rank among the 10 best first class experiences in the world.
One question that often comes up is whether it’s possible to redeem miles for SWISS first class. I wanted to address that in this post, as the answer is nuanced.
In this post:
You can’t redeem partner miles for SWISS first class
Unfortunately SWISS doesn’t allow redemptions in first class when redeeming through partner airline frequent flyer programs. So if you have miles with a program like Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, United MileagePlus, etc., SWISS first class is off limits.
This applies both in advance and close to departure, so it’s not like Lufthansa first class redemptions, where they open up to partner programs up to 15 days before departure.
There is one — and yes, exactly one — exception. SWISS operates a fifth freedom flight between Sao Paulo (GRU) and Buenos Aires (EZE), and it is possible to redeem United MileagePlus miles for first class in this market.
Oddly that’s the only program that has access to this space, and really that just gives you a “tease” of the experience. You won’t get the full, standard meal service, and you won’t be able to visit the excellent SWISS First Lounge in Zurich.
Just to take a brief trip down memory lane, back in the day SWISS first class was wide open using partner airline miles, and it was one of the easiest first class awards to snag. Ah, the good old days of roundtrip first class awards from the United States to Asia via Europe with Aeroplan, including two stopovers, for just 120,000 miles. Unfortunately that policy changed in 2014.
Select Miles & More members can redeem for SWISS first class
While most of us can’t redeem miles for SWISS first class, that’s not the case across the board. SWISS is part of Lufthansa Group, and Miles & More HON Circle and Senator members (the top and mid-tier status levels in the program) are allowed to redeem miles for SWISS first class.
Admittedly these are pretty exclusive elite tiers, and on top of that, Miles & More miles can be tough to rack up. However, if you do have that status and a sizable balance of miles, you can redeem for SWISS first class.
How you can score a SWISS first class deal
Given the size of SWISS’ first class network, the airline does often have attractive first class pricing. You’ll generally get the best deal when originating in Europe outside of a Lufthansa Group hub or focus city.
Totally randomly, I pulled up Budapest to Dubai via Zurich in SWISS first class, and that came out to ~$2,750 roundtrip. That’s not bad for an international first class itinerary, and I’m sure there are better deals out there with some effort.
Another way to potentially score a SWISS first class seat is by upgrading a business class ticket. SWISS does release a lot of business class award availability, so you could redeem partner miles for SWISS business class. Then at check-in (either online or at the airport), the airline will often sell upgrades to first class on a space available basis.
You can expect these upgrades to typically cost in the range of $1,000-2,000 one-way, give or take. I’m not suggesting that’s some amazing value, but it’s the most economical way to fly SWISS first class, aside from finding a great fare sale.
Bottom line
Nowadays it’s not possible to redeem partner airline miles for SWISS first class, aside from redeeming United MileagePlus miles for travel between Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. The only consistent option to redeem for SWISS first class is that Miles & More HON Circle and Senator members can redeem this way.
Your best bet for scoring a decent deal on SWISS first class is to find a fare sale, or to upgrade at check-in, when discounted upgrades are available.
If you’ve flown SWISS first class, how did you go about booking it?
I purchased tickets earlier this year for a Europe trip this past August with my husband. First leg was BOS-ZRH in business. The whole trip was booked on UA’s website.
We’re settled in the lounge and get paged to come to the desk. “Sir, we’ve moved you up.” I knew what she meant, and while curious, I didn’t want to ask why so I just thanked her profusely. We had the best flight of...
I purchased tickets earlier this year for a Europe trip this past August with my husband. First leg was BOS-ZRH in business. The whole trip was booked on UA’s website.
We’re settled in the lounge and get paged to come to the desk. “Sir, we’ve moved you up.” I knew what she meant, and while curious, I didn’t want to ask why so I just thanked her profusely. We had the best flight of our lives… never knew how good Swiss’ service was!
I’m still curious how we scored that upgrade. We’re only UA Gold status, it wasn’t a special fare or anything.
Did a paid upgrade on a J award at check-in for ZRH-JFK earlier this year for $1500. Thoroughly enjoyed the lounge, especially the terrace for great planespotting. Would've been nice to be on the 77W product instead of the A333, but overall a good experience for the sake of checking another one off my list.
For data point, purchased upgrade to First from Business award ticket (redeemed through LifeMiles) during online check-in for US$1900. Thoroughly pleasant 13-hour flight to NRT.
@Ben, you say you rank Swiss under the Top 10 First Class products. Just out of curiosity: how many airlines still have first class on long-haul flights?
Not sure how much but worldwide certainly more than 10.
I flew Swiss ZRH-BOS last week on an Aeroplan award ticket in J. At time of check there was an option to pay 1680 CHF to upgrade to F. I didn't take them up on the offer. I flew F back in the day using a US Airways miles award, and enjoyed the full on F experience. As much as I enjoyed it, I wasn't interested in paying for the upgrade in cash this time around.
You totally CAN redeem partner miles for Swiss F once in a while, but then Swiss will cancel the ticket.
I flew several times with Swiss First - I do like it as everything is just right - including excellent lounge in Zurich. I always paid in cash - despite being Senator for years - I haven't seen any availability for miles in First ( business class has OKish availability ). I live in London and quite often find relatively good offers to Far East and South America ( compared to other airlines including BA...
I flew several times with Swiss First - I do like it as everything is just right - including excellent lounge in Zurich. I always paid in cash - despite being Senator for years - I haven't seen any availability for miles in First ( business class has OKish availability ). I live in London and quite often find relatively good offers to Far East and South America ( compared to other airlines including BA ). If I decide to fly with Swiss ( or LH or combination of both ) to USA - usually it is ex EU ( so start my trip in continental Europe ) as flights from London have always astronomical prices ( usually £10 000+ ).
Ah, the good old days of round-trip mini-RTW F awards on US Airways, where you could get stops in Asia and Europe and Swiss F could be part of the itinerary... and you could use Grand Slam to get those miles ridiculously cheap
#iykyk
;)
I tried to book GRU-EZE last week and I was getting an error message saying the space wasn't available anymore.....
I had the opportunity to upgrade from J but chose not to (unsure of price, but the woman making the announcement did it in some of the worst German I have ever heard in my life). The main reason being (other than personal finances) I only had a 2-hour layover at ZRH and didn't think that would have given me enough time to enjoy the First Class lounge. Maybe next time.
I would love to see Lucky continue with his Kyoto/Japan trip report!
@ David -- I promise the next installment is coming by tomorrow at the latest (but hopefully today), and I'll have consistent installments from then. It has been a VERY busy couple of weeks here personally, so I haven't had the time to invest in it, but I'm working on it now!
That is good to hear. Good luck on your personal front!
True! I fly since ages (more than once a month) the ZRH-GRU-ZRH Route and always book J Class and Online or by phone I Upgrade to First with M&M Miles. Not one time I was disappointed. And that's always last minute. Not sure but I think your Status may have some influence on that.
How good is the availability with Miles & More?
You need to have a high status with Lufthansa (Senator (that their medium tier with Star Alliance Gold)) to see any availability for Swiss FC.
As a LH Silver member, I don't see any availability at all. The same is true for LH First Class advanced availability. 10 years ago that was different and it was easy to find LH First Class with LH Miles&More many months in advance.
Boy did I use the 2 stop over feature a ton to visit europe back in the day. You could build ridiculous tickets that wouldn't even have been possible to purchase. I keep telling myself they stoped giving third party access becuase of me. Must have booked 120 tickets over the course of 3-4 years bettween me and some friends and familly. I kept telling myself it was too good to be true.
thanks for contributing to such a great extent to the elimination of F rewards on LX :)
I remember United having access not too long ago on long haul. Was this a glitch or just a one off?
A glitch happened with Aeroplan a little while back that allowed for Swiss F bookings - none of them were honored and they were all canceled