I travel a great deal from JFK to London in Business class, and occasionally in First. IMHO BA is hands down the best. (I don't have experience with Luftansa). VA doesn't have First. On VA in order to go to sleep ( which is the idea). You have to get out of your seat & have the stewardess help you make the bed. On BA you just get your seat into a flat position by pushing a button. If you are flying BA on a 747 try to get the seats in the upper deck. It's nice and quiet there and you'll feel very pampered. If you sit by the window in the upper deck you have a small little "locker" next to your seat where you can put small bags. I wouldnt waste points on First class with BA. The seat is just a bit wider & they give you PJ's. That's it. The difference is not worth the extra points IMHO. I hope this helped you.