Miles & More is a free frequent flyer program for Lufthansa Group. That includes Lufthansa, of course, as well as Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS.
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When you join Miles & More, you’ll be able to earn and redeem Lufthansa miles and work your way toward elite status. As part of the Star Alliance, you have plenty of options when it comes time to use your miles and that is why it is regarded as one of the world’s best frequent flyer programs for earning & redeeming points/miles.
Let’s take a closer look at the Miles & More frequent flyer program below.
| Lufthansa Group | Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings & SWISS |
| Airline Alliance | Star Alliance |
| Lufthansa US Destinations | Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Washington D.C. |
| Credit Cards | Miles & More World Elite Mastercard (Barclays) |
| Redemption Options | Award flights, upgrades, airline taxes & fees, hotel stays, car rentals, gift cards, merchandise, donations |
| Average Mile Value | $0.014 |
Miles & More Elite Status
Your Miles & More benefits depend on your elite status: Frequent Traveller, Senator and HON Circle. With higher status, you’ll get to enjoy more perks like reduced mileage awards and lounge access.
To earn elite status, you’ll need to rack up enough status miles or board enough flights on Adria Airways, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Eurowings, LOT Polish Airlines, Luxair, Lufthansa, SWISS and Star Alliance partners:
TIP: To find out how many status miles you earned for a particular flight, use this calculator.
| STATUS | REQUIREMENTS |
| Frequent Traveller | 35,000 status miles OR 30 flights in 1 calendar year |
| Senator | 100,000 status miles in 1 calendar year |
| HON Circle | 600,000 status miles in 2 consecutive calendar years |
Once you qualify for elite status, you can enjoy your benefits immediately, for two years.
*Source: For updated information, click here for our source.
Below is a summary of notable status benefits:
Frequent Traveller –
- No mileage expiration
- Up to 50% more award miles
- Up to 25% more status miles
- Additional baggage allowance
- Business class lounge access
Senator –
- Frequent Traveller benefits
- 2 upgrade vouchers
- Senator and Star Gold lounge access
- More flight award availability
HON Circle –
- Senator benefits
- 6 upgrade vouchers
- First class check-in (FRA)
- Lufthansa First Class, SWISS First & Austrian HON Circle lounge access
- Limo & transfer service
For a complete list of status perks, click here.
Earning Lufthansa Miles
Although the Miles & More program encompasses many different carriers, the award miles you earn are called, “Lufthansa miles.”
There are three primary ways to collect Lufthansa miles:
- Flying Lufthansa or its partner airlines
- Spending on the co-branded Miles & More credit card
- Spending on co-branded Marriott Bonvoy credit cards
Let’s cover all the ways you can earn Lufthansa miles in more detail below:
For Lufthansa and partner flights, the miles you earn depend on the distance flown and “the factor.” The latter is based on your Miles & More status and the airline operating your flight.
TIP: Like status miles, you’ll want to use the Miles & More calculator to determine the amount of Lufthansa miles you earned for a particular flight.
Besides Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Lufthansa and SWISS, partner airlines include:
- Adria Airways
- AEGEAN Airlines
- Air Astana
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air Dolomiti
- Air India
- Air Malta
- Air New Zealand
- ANA
- Asiana Airlines
- Avianca
- Cathay Pacific
- Condor
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- EgyptAir
- Ethiopian Airlines
- EVA Air
- LATAM
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Luxair
- Olympic Air
- SAS
- Shenzehn Airlines
- Silk Air
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
It is possible to credit miles to your account for flights you’ve already taken, if you forgot to include your member number when you purchased your ticket.
U.S. residents can earn Lufthansa miles by spending with the Miles & More World Elite Mastercard, issued by Barclays.
| Welcome Bonus | 50,000 miles |
| Bonus Spend | $3,000 in your first 90 days |
| Bonus Value | $700 |
| Ongoing Rewards | 2x miles on Miles & More tickets 1x miles on all other purchases |
| Lounge Access | 2 Lufthansa Business Lounge vouchers annually |
| Other Perks | 1 Companion Ticket annually Convert award miles to status miles Up to 15% off hotels & cars |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | None |
| Annual Fee | $89 |
Earn Lufthansa miles with a variety of hotel, mobility, shopping, travel, finance, entertainment and charity partners. For a full list, along with details, click here.
Earning Miles With Marriott Bonvoy
Miles & More has only one flexible point program partner: Marriott Bonvoy.
The hotel brand’s co-branded credit cards are an excellent way to earn Marriott points, which you can then transfer to your Miles & More account.
Marriott points convert at a 3:1 ratio, with a 5,000-point bonus for every 60,000 you transfer. That means you’ll get 25,000 Lufthansa miles (instead of 20,000) when you convert 60,000 Marriott points.
The best way to rack up on Marriott Bonvoy points is by getting a Marriott co-branded credit card and qualifying for its welcome bonus.
Chase offers two personal credit cards that earn Marriott points, while American Express (AmEx) offers one personal and one business card. If you’re looking to apply for a Marriott credit card, keep in mind:
- The Chase 5/24 rule. If you opened five or more new credit cards in the past 24 months (from any bank), you won’t be approved for a new credit card from Chase.
- The Amex once-in-a-lifetime welcome bonus rule. You can only qualify for the introductory offer on each Amex personal and business card once in your lifetime.
MARRIOTT BONVOY BRILLIANT™ AMERICAN EXPRESS® CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card has an offer for 75,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. We value these 75k points at around $675.
This card earns 6 points per $1 at hotels participating in the Marriott BonvoyTM program and 3 points at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines. You’ll receive 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
You’ll get a Free Night Award (redemption level up to 50,000 points) every account anniversary year, and up to $300 in statement credits each year for eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott BonvoyTM program. Resort fees may apply. Other benefits include unlimited airport lounge visits with the Priority Pass Select membership and no foreign transaction fees.
This premium card comes with an Annual Fee of $450. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
MARRIOTT BONVOY BOUNDLESS® CREDIT CARD
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase has an offer for 3 Free Nights after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
New to the card, you will earn 3x Bonvoy points on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining. The card is also offering an Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status for every $5,000 spent.
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card earns 17 points for every $1 spent at over 7,000+ participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. You’ll receive 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
You’ll get a Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every account anniversary year and automatic Silver Elite Status. Additionally, you’ll receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
This card has no foreign transaction fees and the annual fee is $95.
MARRIOTT BONVOY BOLD® CREDIT CARD
The Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card has an offer for 30,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months. We value these 30k points at around $270.
This card earns 14 points per $1 at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. Other travel purchases (from airfare to taxis and trains) will earn 2 points per $1. All other purchases will earn 1 point per $1.
You’ll receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year, qualifying you for Silver Elite status.
There are no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee.
MARRIOTT BONVOY BUSINESS™ AMERICAN EXPRESS® CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card has a limited time offer for 75,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. We value these 75k points to be worth around $675.
This card earns 6 points per $1 at participating hotels in the Marriott BonvoyTM program. It’s 4 points per $1 at U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, and on U.S. purchases for shipping. And 2 points per $1 on all other purchases.
Every year after your account anniversary you’ll get 1 free night award. You can earn an additional free night award after spending $60,000 in purchases in 1 calendar year.
There are no foreign transaction fees and the annual fee is $125. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
Spending Lufthansa Miles
Lufthansa miles expire at the end of the quarter, 36 months after they were earned. For example, miles earned in November 2019 will expire on December 31, 2022.
You can extend your miles expiration if you have:
- Miles & More elite status
- The co-branded Miles & More credit card for at least 3 months and make at least 1 purchase per month
Spend your Lufthansa miles on Lufthansa and its partners, Star Alliance partners and Miles & More non-alliance partners. When pricing out an award flight, you’ll want to use both the award chart and the mileage calculator.
TIP: Miles & More requires you to have at least 7,000 Lufthansa miles in your account to search for an award flight. If you don’t have the minimum miles required, use the mileage calculator. Or for Star Alliance availability, search via United or Aeroplan instead.
You can also use your Lufthansa miles for:
- Upgrades on flights operated by Lufthansa and select partner carriers
- Cash & Miles awards
- Taxes, fees and airline surcharges
You can also spend your Lufthansa miles on hotel, car rental, gift card, and merchandise awards as well as charitable donations.
However, we don’t recommend these other award options because they won’t give you the best value for your miles. We suggest sticking to flight awards instead.
Miles & More Tips & Tricks
Adding open-jaws* and stopovers** is a great way to maximize your miles, and Miles & More has some of the most generous stopover rules in the frequent flyer world.
On roundtrip award flights, the program allows you to make two open jaws and two stopovers at no extra cost.
On one way award flights, you’re allowed two one ways to use two open jaws.
*An open-jaw is when you fly back from a different airport than where you landed. For example, you might fly to Munich from New York City, but on your return, you’ll fly from Paris.
**A stopover is where you have a layover in a city or country for more than 24 hours.
Book your flight in economy class more than 90 days in advance, and get up to 65% off the standard mileage pricing.
The following rules apply:
- Four-day minimum stay or earliest possible return flight on the first Sunday after the start of travel
- Only valid on non-stop flights with Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Air and Luxair
- Outbound and return flights must be booked with the same carrier
- Cannot be combined with other flight award products
- Rebookings and cancellations excluded
- Maximum stay of 3 months
For more information, click here.
Book your flight between two to 14 days before departure (in economy or business class) and save up to 50%.
This offer is available for all flights operated by Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS, Eurowings, Adria Airways, Brussels Airlines, Condor, Croatia Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines.
For more information, click here.
Miles & More offers monthly reduced flight awards called Mileage Bargains. Get 50% off the mileage price for certain destinations, but you must book within specific dates.
Keep in mind, you cannot add stopovers to Mileage Bargain awards. Plus, you can’t get a refund on these reduced mileage awards. That includes taxes, fees and fuel surcharges.
A great use for your Lufthansa miles is to spend them on domestic awards. Pay only 25,000 miles for a roundtrip flight in economy, and only 35,000 for a roundtrip flight in business class.
But these cheap rates come with a couple rules. You can only travel within one region, and there are no stopovers allowed.
Want a flight award that lets you use a stopover for a longer stay? Book a three-region flight award. Usually, this method requires fewer Lufthansa miles than two regular flight awards.
Below, you’ll find how many miles you’ll need for a three-region flight award:
| TRAVEL CLASS | MILES NEEDED |
| Economy | 100,000 |
| Premium Economy | 140,000 |
| Business | 195,000 |
| First Class | 310,000 |
To figure out regions, refer to the country table on page 2 of the Star Alliance award chart.
Use your Lufthansa miles to fly once around the world. Here are the rules:
- You must include one crossing of the Atlantic.
- You must include one crossing of the Pacific.
- You can include up to 10 flight segments.
- You can make up to 7 stopovers.
To book a Round the World award, you’ll need:
| TRAVEL CLASS | MILES NEEDED |
| Economy | 180,000 |
| Business | 335,000 |
| First | 500,000 |
Bottom Line
The Miles & More program is a decent frequent flyer program. It offers one co-branded card and a partnership with Marriott Bonvoy. Both of which Americans can take advantage of. With plenty of partner airlines and generous stopover rules, you could get good value for your Lufthansa miles if you’re diligent enough.
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