We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com and CardRatings. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
What are Lufthansa 1st Class Ground Services?
I recently had the unbelievable pleasure and privilege of experiencing Lufthansa 1st Class Ground Services on a trip back from Europe. It is a pretty surreal experience. The backstory is I needed a flight back from Dublin to Los Angeles and I was lucky enough to fly DUB-FRA-LAX where my Frankfurt to Los Angeles leg was in Lufthansa 1st Class. The only way I could do this was to use points. I ended up paying 80k Singapore Air Krisflyer miles and roughly $300. The cherry on top…the ground services. So what are Lufthansa 1st Class Ground Services?
Ground Services…
…are what you experience while you’re, well, on the ground. So check-in, between gates, lounge, etc, etc. When you fly 1st class things get amped up another notch. With Lufthansa in particular it is pretty amazing. In fact it’s beyond anything I’ve experience thus far. I recently wrote about American Airlines Five Star Service and basically, Lufthansa gives you this as part of your ticket whether you used points or cash.
Here’s a brief overview:
- If you are arriving by car to depart Frankfurt – you will get complimentary Valet at the First Class Terminal
- A personal assistant can be arrangeg to accompany you where you may need them.
- In the First Class lounge (whether in the First Class terminal or elsewhere) there are dining areas, top shelf alcohol, shower suites, and even private bedrooms. If you like Cigars…they have a cigar lounge too!
- A chauffeur will drive you from the lounge to the plane via the tarmac.
- If you are connecting (see below for details) you will be driven by chauffeur from your arriving plane, to the lounge, and then when your connecting flight is boarding, to the plane again.
Check out Lufthansa’s First Class site here
I’ll be writing a more in depth review of the ground services soon, but here’s a quick look at what it was like for me.
When I got off my flight from Dublin there was a guy with an umbrella and Porsche Cayenne with heated seats waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. I MEAN…
Per Lufthansa – If your intercontinental flight arrives at non-gate position (as mine was – we exited and everyone had to bus to the terminal) and you’re flying in First Class, you will be collected on the tarmac and driven to the bus stop at Terminal 1. I was on an award ticket and they still hooked this monkey up. TALK ABOUT SERVICE!!!!
We zoomed across to Terminal 1 in a Sleek, Black, Porsche Cayenne. My buns were TOASTY with the heated seats and no glare in this monkey’s eyes we had tinted windows.
I was dropped off and I made my way to the First Class lounge…where I slept in a private bedroom, showered in a spa suite, had some food until I was summoned to my plane. I didn’t have to worry about missing my flight – the staff was on it!
After hanging out for a few hours in the incredible First Class Lounge in Terminal 1, I was summoned, then whisked away in a Porsche. My 747-8i was waiting across the airport for me 😉
My 747-8i awaits. You see those first 4 windows? They were alllllll mine! How crazy!
There is a private elevator that will take you from the tarmac to the jetway. Since other passengers have been boarding for about 15 mins they actually stop traffic so 1st class passengers can board uninterrupted.
And straight to this sick seat! I’ll take my champagne now 😉 
As luck would have it – I ended up with both nose seats. A bucket list dream come true
Where do they offer the chauffeur service?
And who qualifies for the service?
Per Lufthansa’s website
I used Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You, and American Express Membership rewards to transfer into Singapore Krisflyer. Since Singapore Air is a partner of Lufthansa I was able to book this flight and enjoy all of these benefits just by using points and about $300.
This was my Lufthansa 1st Class Ground Service Mood.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.