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Lufthansa is Germany's flag carrier and a member of the Lufthansa Group, which also includes Eurowings, Discover Airlines, SWISS, Edelweiss Air, Brussels Airlines, and Austrian Airlines. Lufthansa partners with Star Alliance and grants members of its Miles & More loyalty program access to flights worldwide.
Let’s take a look at Lufthansa’s Miles & More program, how to earn elite status, and the best ways to redeem your miles.
Overview of Lufthansa Miles & More
Lufthansa Miles & More is the name of Lufthansa’s loyalty program. It’s a full-fledged program that offers the opportunity to earn miles on flights with Lufthansa and its partners via shopping and other means. These miles can, in turn, be redeemed for all kinds of perks, including award flights.
Along with bonus miles, members of Lufthansa Miles & More can earn elite status. Miles & More is free to join and its elite status program has three tiers of membership. The higher your tier, the more benefits you’ll receive.
Note that Lufthansa isn’t the only airline to use Miles & More as its loyalty program. The airlines that rely on Miles & More include:
Air Dolomiti
Austrian Airlines
Brussels Airlines
Croatia Airlines
Discover Airlines
Eurowings
LOT Polish Airlines
Lufthansa
Lufthansa City
Luxair Swiss
Credit card transfer partners of Lufthansa Miles & More
Unfortunately, there are no U.S. credit cards with points that transfer to Lufthansa Miles & More.
Airline partners of Lufthansa Miles & More
As a member of Star Alliance, you can book flights with all 25 participating airlines using your Lufthansa miles. These include:
Aegean
Air Canada
Air China
Air India
Air New Zealand
ANA
Asiana Airlines
Austrian
Avianca
Brussels Airlines
Copa Airlines
Croatia Airlines
Egyptair
Ethiopian
EVA Air
LOT
Shenzen Airlines
Singapore Air
South African Airways
Swiss
TAP Air Portugal
Thai
Turkish Airlines
United
Lufthansa also partners with several non-Star alliance airlines. These include:
Air Astana
Air Dolomiti
Air Malta
Cathay Pacific
Discover Airlines
Eurowings
LATAM
Luxair
Olympic Airlines
SAS
Thai Smile Airways
Vistara
What we love about Lufthansa Miles & More
Lufthansa Miles & More can offer particularly good deals on award redemptions, especially when you take a look at its rotating mileage bargains. These often allow you to fly to Europe in business class for just 55,000 miles round trip – that’s a deal you won’t find anywhere else.
Another great feature of Lufthansa Miles & More is that you can change or cancel most award flights for just 50 euros, which is cheaper than many other airlines.
Finally, Lufthansa has tons of partners from which to choose, making it possible to fly nearly anywhere around the world using your miles.
What we don’t love about Lufthansa Miles & More
There are two big downsides to using Lufthansa Miles & More. The first is that you can’t transfer any points over to Lufthansa Miles & More, which makes them relatively difficult to earn. And while Lufthansa does have a co-branded credit card, it’s not great.
Lufthansa’s other biggest flaw is the high surcharges it charges for award redemptions. On premium flights, these can cost over $1,000, making them unaffordable for many.
Lufthansa elite status tiers and how to earn them
Lufthansa has three elite status tiers for Miles & More members. The benefits you’ll receive will depend on your tier level and include airport lounge access, priority check-in, free checked luggage, and more.
Frequent Traveller
Frequent Traveller status is earned after acquiring 650 Points and 325 Qualifying Points in a calendar year.
Benefits of Frequent Traveller status include:
Up to 50% bonus on earned miles
Third-highest waiting list priority
Business lounge access
Priority check-in
One free checked bag
One free checked golf bag
Senator
Senator status is earned after acquiring 2,000 Points and 1,000 Qualifying Points in a calendar year.
Benefits of Senator status include:
Second-highest waiting list priority
Two eVouchers for upgrades
48-hour booking guarantee for eligible flights
Companion Award
Free advanced seat reservations
Access to Senator and Star Alliance Gold lounges
First class check-in
Fast lane access
Priority boarding
2 free checked golf bags
HON Circle Member
HON Circle Member is Lufthansa’s highest elite status tier. It’s earned after acquiring 6,000 HON Circle points in a calendar year.
HON Circle points are earned on business and first-class flights operated by Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Discover Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Lufthansa City, Luxair, and SWISS; as well as for BIZclass fares on Eurowings.
Benefits of HON Circle Member status include:
Four eVouchers for upgrades
24-hour booking guarantee for eligible flights
Increased flight award availability
First-class lounge access
Access to the First Class Terminal
Limousine and transfer service
Personal service
How to earn Lufthansa Miles & More miles
Lufthansa Miles & More miles can be earned in a few different ways, including:
Credit card spending: Earn miles by spending on Lufthansa’s co-branded credit card
Flights: Earn miles when flying with Lufthansa or its partners, including United
Travel: Earn miles on rental cars and hotel bookings
Shopping: Earn miles with the Lufthansa shopping portal
Redeeming miles with Lufthansa Miles & More
Redeeming miles you’ve earned with Lufthansa Miles & More is simple. You can use your miles in a variety of ways, including shopping, hotel bookings, rental cars, and more.
However, redeeming your miles for Lufthansa flights is the best way to maximize their value. Thanks to Lufthansa’s many partners, you can find yourself on flights to virtually anywhere in the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.
How much are Miles & More miles worth?
Miles & More miles can be very valuable, especially when redeemed with partners or on Mileage Bargains. You can also upgrade your flights using your miles, though the cost to do so will vary based on where you’re flying.
25,000 miles
For just 20,000 miles, you can book a one-way economy class award flight to Hawaii with Lufthansa partner United Airlines. This includes flights departing from the East Coast, which can make this an especially good deal.
50,000 miles
For 50,000 miles, you can book a one-way economy class flight from the U.S. to Southern Africa with United Airlines. United operates flights to Cape Town, which are usually prohibitively expensive, making this an attractive option.
100,000 miles
For 100,000 miles, you can travel just about anywhere in the world. This includes ultra-long flights, such as Europe to Australia, which cost 96,000 miles one-way in business class.
The best Miles & More redemptions
The best Miles & More redemptions will get you incredible value, no matter where you’re traveling. Here are our top options:
Mileage Bargains
Lufthansa’s Mileage Bargains offers some of the best ways to redeem your miles no matter what cabin class you’re traveling in. Each month, specific routes will be on sale for 50% off, with limited dates to travel. These include routes from the U.S. to Europe, flights within Europe, and more.
How cheap are we talking? A round-trip flight to Europe will cost you just 30,000 miles for economy class, 40,000 miles for premium economy, and 55,000 miles for business class. Considering most airlines charge double the price (and so does Lufthansa when it’s not on sale), Mileage Bargains are a great deal.
Lufthansa first class
Lufthansa is notoriously stingy when it comes to releasing award space for its first class product. How stingy? Well, it used to release award space to partners two weeks before departure – but that number has dropped to just three days. That makes it almost impossible for most folks to book, especially if they aren’t completely flexible.
However, Lufthansa doesn’t restrict access to first-class award space when booking with Miles & More. This means you can start looking for first class up to 360 days in advance.
Tips for using Lufthansa Miles & More miles
Search when the calendar opens
If you’re looking for a specific flight, your best bet is always to search award calendars when they open. For Lufthansa Miles & More, this happens 360 days in advance. So set an alarm and start searching for your flights when the calendar opens.
Check monthly Mileage Bargains
Lufthansa’s Mileage Bargains are some of the best deals around, and they refresh monthly. It’s a good idea to bookmark the site’s Mileage Bargain page and check it when the deals drop.
Redeem for long-haul flights
Like other European airlines, Lufthansa’s intra-Europe business class seats are awful. Rather than a premium experience, Lufthansa simply blocks out the middle seats in a row of three economy seats for its short-haul “business class” experience. Avoid this disappointment and redeem your miles for long-haul flights. You’ll get a better experience and more value for your miles.
