The Complete Guide to Lufthansa Miles & More

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.