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Home  >  Award Bookings • SWISS • United Airlines  >  SWISS First Class Awards Bookable With United Airlines MileagePlus
Award BookingsSWISSUnited Airlines

SWISS First Class Awards Bookable With United Airlines MileagePlus

Matthew Klint Posted onJanuary 5, 2023January 5, 2023 30 Comments

UPDATE: Since late December 2022, SWISS first class awards have been bookable once again, though only as married segments and only with United MileagePlus or Lufthansa Miles & More, not any other Star Alliance currencies.

For example, I have not seen Los Angeles – Zurich alone available, but I have seen Los Angeles – Zurich – Frankfurt with the LAX-ZRH segment booking into SWISS First (“O” class).

I’ve ticketed several reservations, so this is not phantom space. Space generally opens 2-3 days before travel.

Only time will tell if this is a permanent policy change, but it certainly would be great if SWISS First Class was again available at the last-minute on a regular basis using United miles.

My original story, from August 22, 2022, appears below. At that time, the space only appeared for one day. This time, it has appeared for nearly a week. I do not believe this is a mistake or a glitch.


For the first time in many years, I am seeing longhaul SWISS flights available in first class using United Airlines MileagePlus miles.

United Airlines MileagePlus Swiss First Class Award Availablity

Just moments ago I verified space was available from Newark to Zurich tonight–

and from Boston to Zurich–

and even from Newark or Boston all the way to Singapore with both segments in first class–

(I’d love 11 hours in the SWISS First Class E Gates Lounge)

For years, SWISS First Class award space has been restricted to Senator or HON Circle members of the Lufthansa Group’s Miles & More program. Might we finally be seeing a thaw?

The “O” class space does show up on ExpertFlyer, but that space is traditionally scraped from Miles & More sources and not an accurate indicator of Star Alliance alliance wide partner (so-called “StarNet”) availability.

This first class award space is not showing up on Aeroplan: 

or Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer website:

or on Avianca LifeMiles:

CONCLUSION

We saw recently that SWISS has begun making its Fifth Freedom flight between Sao Paulo (GRU) and Buenos Aires (EZE) available with miles…this is the first time we’ve seen a longhaul SWISS First Class flight available with United miles in many years.

In my searches, I see nothing beyond tonight…perhaps this will be for same-day bookings only? Even if it were just that, it would be a huge value-add to MileagePlus.

You can read my first class SWISS reviews here:

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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30 Comments

  1. Debit Reply
    August 22, 2022 at 9:00 pm

    It would make sense to release same day booking. What do they have to lose at that point?

    • Dave Reply
      August 22, 2022 at 9:03 pm

      The exclusivity of the product when value-maximizing “av-geeks” enter the cabin and try drinking all the champagne.

      • Gregg Reply
        August 22, 2022 at 11:05 pm

        Vs. others in the cabin drinking it all??? I guess people using miles are not worthy?

        • jordan Reply
          August 25, 2022 at 11:56 am

          Well it’s not about the champagne being consumed, it’s about the way people using miles often behave. They often have this joy of “flying for free” and feel like they have to exhaust every offering and service to the max. Drink as much as you can, order as much food as you can, possibly even film the flight or make a VLOG “I FLEW $8,000 SWISS FIRST CLASS FOR ONLY $5.60”.

          Of course there’s nothing wrong with taking full advantage of the first class experience, I am just saying that having these things going on on board can deter those who actually pay for the seats from booking.

          Why do you think SWISS and AF only release awards in First to top-tier elites? I think it’s a form of gatekeeping.

          • Matthew Klint
            August 25, 2022 at 12:42 pm

            Indeed it is and the space has all dried up…was nice while it lasted (for a few hours).

    • Joseph Story Reply
      August 23, 2022 at 3:33 am

      Agree. Very few people can do a same day booking for vacation.

    • John doe Reply
      August 24, 2022 at 8:08 pm

      Honest question: why would you fly United at all? I would rather stab myself in the eye with a pen. It is really that bad….

      • Matthew Klint Reply
        August 24, 2022 at 8:13 pm

        Despite the bad food, I still think UA offers a better overall product than LH or LX in business class.

  2. Jay Reply
    August 22, 2022 at 9:29 pm

    Time for another lawsuit?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      August 22, 2022 at 9:33 pm

      😉

      • Billiken Reply
        August 22, 2022 at 10:17 pm

        Yes, did you ever disclose the outcome of that, or are you sworn to secrecy?

        • Matthew Klint Reply
          August 22, 2022 at 11:44 pm

          See above.

        • Aaron Reply
          August 23, 2022 at 8:09 am

          Sworn to secrecy or he lost.

  3. Cody Reply
    August 22, 2022 at 10:00 pm

    Great information. Thanks Matthew.

  4. Always Flying Somewhere Reply
    August 22, 2022 at 10:38 pm

    As usual, West Coast gateways receive a pile of coal.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      August 22, 2022 at 11:45 pm

      They also look to be full. This will be very interesting to monitor. I would be ecstatic if this was a new feature in which space opened on a same-day basis.

  5. Stuart Reply
    August 23, 2022 at 1:04 am

    This would be fantastic. Did you actually try to book it though to see if it goes through? Only because I know how bad AA is with things showing up but becoming phantom in the booking process.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      August 23, 2022 at 1:11 am

      As soon as I see a route that looks attractive, I will! Would have really considered doing LAX-ZRH-SIN tonight if it had opened.

    • A Reply
      August 23, 2022 at 1:36 am

      May I ask why you didn’t make a sample booking and then availed the 24 hour free cancellation to see if this was phantom space? Is it because you didn’t want to take a seat away from someone in case your cancellation didn’t go back into award inventory?

      • Matthew Klint Reply
        August 23, 2022 at 1:40 am

        Honestly, that is part of it. There was one seat left to Singapore and I did not want to disturb it. I could have tried a Boston booking, but I figured we’d just let it run its course since the GRU-EZE flights in Swiss first class have been readily bookable for months with United MileagePlus.

  6. Allen Natanel Reply
    August 23, 2022 at 9:35 am

    Very nice, hope I can snag last minute 2 seats MIA-ZRH next week. Currently flying Singapore air with a stop MIA-NY-FRA. I really don’t want the stop and can’t even find Lufthansa or Swiss business on the day I can travel (without a stop).

  7. Mike Reply
    August 23, 2022 at 10:14 am

    interesting. Will keep an eye on this for next weeks random trip.

  8. peterfox Reply
    August 23, 2022 at 4:09 pm

    Matthew any idea on how the different airlines within ie. Star Alliance charge each other for award flights ?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      August 24, 2022 at 10:29 am

      No insight. It’s an interesting question.

  9. George Reply
    August 24, 2022 at 7:07 am

    I can confirm that there isn’t any availability on Aegean’s Miles&Bonus either. Not that it would make too much of a difference if there was availability to be honest, given that these ex-USA tickets in premium cabins carry insane surcharges with them.
    Isn’t United’s FFP the one that doesn’t allow for fuel surcharges to be passed on to the customer? If so, this latest development ist huge news (and I’m kind of jealous now)! 😉

  10. Lukas Reply
    January 5, 2023 at 11:19 am

    Awesome, might have to book a throwaway trip just to try Swiss F.

  11. Mick Reply
    January 5, 2023 at 1:54 pm

    I’d consider a short trip too as I’ve always wanted to fly Swiss F even though it seems to get mixed reviews. I’d need to see availability on LifeMiles thoigh. Just so much cheaper.

  12. Christian Reply
    January 5, 2023 at 3:41 pm

    Given the dates and original article are from last August, it’s a little tougher to gauge what’s accurate for now. For example, you speak of availability for certain dates but the illustrations that accompany the statement show completely different dates with presumably somewhat different availability. This is still good news, just a bit confusing.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 5, 2023 at 3:58 pm

      Sorry, didn’t mean to confuse. I do have drag screenshots but left in the ones from August. Space is still available, even now.

  13. JvdB Reply
    January 7, 2023 at 6:31 pm

    Matthew, have you seen any of these from Europe to the US? I have recently joined “club Ambien” when I fly from the US to Europe, would love to experience this on the way back when I am actually awake!

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