Lufthansa Miles & More Loyalty Program: The Ultimate Guide To Maximizing Miles

As Europe’s second-largest airline, Lufthansa is a powerhouse in the aviation industry. With more than 700 aircraft and dozens of partners, the airline can get you almost anywhere in the world, including in its highly regarded business class. But if you're hoping to rack up points and fly for free, is the Lufthansa Miles & More loyalty program loyalty program your best option?

Here’s a sharper look at how to earn and redeem Lufthansa miles, plus the benefits — and significant drawbacks — of the Lufthansa Miles & More program.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

Joining Lufthansa’s Miles & More loyalty program won't cost you anything aside from handing over your name and a few other personal details such as your email address.

Once you're signed up, you can begin collecting miles.

And because Lufthansa is also part of the Star Alliance (which includes major airlines like United Airlines), you can earn and redeem miles through other Star Alliance members for Lufthansa flights or on those partner airlines too. Some elite status benefits also carry over.

Flying Lufthansa

Once you join Miles & More, you’ll earn miles every time you fly Lufthansa or one of its partners. But how many miles you earn can be complicated, depending on your booking method.

Earning Rates: If you book directly through Lufthansa’s website, you’ll earn miles based on the amount you paid for your ticket. Alternatively, if you booked through a third party, miles may be based on flight distance and class. The best way to calculate your earnings is by using the animated calculator on Lufthansa’s website. Though annoyingly for most non-German speakers, it’s in German.

Flying with Lufthansa partners

You can also earn Lufthansa miles by flying any of its nearly 40 partner airlines, including all 26 Star Alliance members like United, ANA, Turkish Airlines, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Egyptair.

To earn Lufthansa miles when flying a partner, provide your Lufthansa Miles & More member number when you're booking. Lufthansa calls your member number a “service number.” Access this ID via your digital service card in the Miles & More App.

If you forget to enter your Miles & More membership number when you book your partner flight, you can also show your digital service card during check-in at the airport to get credited with Lufthansa miles.

» Learn more: Your guide to the Star Alliance

Booking hotels and rental cars

Lufthansa's hotel partners include Hilton Honors, Best Western, IHG and Marriott.

You can earn miles by booking through the Miles & More website. Select “Earn miles” then navigate to “Hotels.”

Some offers apply to specific hotel groups, like a chance to earn 2 miles per dollar at Holiday Inns or 1,500 miles when staying at Best Westerns.

You can also earn Lufthansa miles by booking rental cars with partners like Hertz and Europcar.

Spending on a Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card

One of the fastest ways to build up Lufthansa miles is with the Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®, issued by Barclays. The card offers a welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 miles if you spend $3,000 in purchases and pay the annual fee, both within the first 90 days. After that, you’ll earn 2 miles per dollar for every purchase from Lufthansa or affiliated airlines and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.

After your first purchase with the card, you’ll get a companion ticket that covers the price of airfare (less taxes and fees) for another person accompanying you on an economy class flight on Lufthansa. Then, every account anniversary, you’ll get two passes to Lufthansa Business Lounges, plus another companion ticket.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

Other easy (albeit less-impactful) ways to earn Lufthansa miles

Download the Miles & More app for a one-time welcome of 500 bonus miles.

Earn miles with books & subscriptions such as The Economist.

Major drawbacks of Lufthansa Miles & More

While the program has a few good earning opportunities, it’s marred by several serious limitations:

No other points or miles transfer to Lufthansa. Unlike other airlines, you can’t transfer points from popular programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, or hotel programs like Marriott Bonvoy into Lufthansa miles. This lack of flexibility severely limits your ability to build miles without flying frequently.

Many other airlines partner with American Express, Chase or Citi — or with a hotel group like Marriott or Hilton — to let you convert their points into miles or vice versa. No such luck if you’re looking to convert points into Lufthansa miles.

You can’t buy Miles & More miles. If you’re short on miles for an award flight, you can’t simply buy more like with most other airlines. This creates a huge barrier if you don’t fly enough or don’t hold the credit card.

Fly Lufthansa

Lufthansa’s award flights can be searched using the airline’s online award calculator. Select “Spend miles” then enter your trip details.

There, you can search routes, see how many miles you need for economy, business, or first class and even explore options for upgrading your class of service to business or first class.

Fly a partner airline

Lufthansa partners with many international airlines, and their redemption chart clearly shows how many miles you’ll need for specific routes.

For example, a round-trip economy flight between North America and India on a Star Alliance partner typically costs 100,000 miles in economy, 192,000 miles in business class or 302,000 in first class.

Paying fees for some European award flights

On European award flights, you can use 15,000 miles to cover taxes and fees. While this option sounds appealing, it’s only useful if the cash fees for your flight are particularly high.

Other Lufthansa mileage redemptions

• Hotels and rental cars: You can redeem miles for hotel stays and rental cars via the Hotels & Cars by Points website.

• Gift cards: Lufthansa miles can also be redeemed for gift cards to popular retailers like Target and Starbucks, though this isn’t a great use of your miles value-wise.

Miles & More offers three elite status levels: Frequent Traveller, Senator and HON Circle. Here’s a breakdown of each:

• Frequent Traveller: Accumulate 35,000 status miles or fly 30 segments in a year.

• Senator: Accumulate 100,000 status miles in a calendar year.

• HON Circle: Accumulate 600,000 HON Circle miles over the course of two years.

Lufthansa Frequent Traveller status

How to earn Lufthansa Frequent Traveller status: Accumulate 35,000 status miles or fly 30 segments in a year.

Top benefits:

• Business-class check-in.

• Access to the Business Lounge.

• Star Alliance Silver status.

• Higher baggage allowance.

• Higher waiting list priority.

• Miles don’t expire.

• Access to a service hotline.

Lufthansa Senator status

How to earn Lufthansa Senator status: Accumulate 100,000 status miles.

Top benefits (in addition to all of the Frequent Traveller benefits):

• First-class check-in.

• Access to Senator Lounges and Star Alliance Gold Lounges.

• Star Alliance Gold status.

• Two upgrade vouchers.

• Access to booking guarantees up to 48 hours before departure.

• Mileage advances.

• Increased flight award availability.

• Higher waiting list priority.

Lufthansa HON Circle

How to earn Lufthansa HON Circle status: Accumulate 600,000 HON Circle miles over the course of two years.

Top benefits (in addition to all of the Senator benefits):

• First-class check-in.

• Access to First Class Lounges and First Class Terminals.

• Limousine transfer service.

• Free Senator status for your spouse or partner.

• Six upgrade vouchers.

• 50% reduction on flight awards for your companion

• 24-hour service line in selected markets.

• Booking guarantees up to 24 hours before departure.

• The highest waiting-list priority.

• The best flight award availability.

Lufthansa is generally considered one of the higher-end airlines out there.

The four Lufthansa cabins

When you fly Lufthansa, you have four types of cabin options, which are:

• Lufthansa economy.

• Lufthansa premium economy.

• Lufthansa business class.

• Lufthansa first class.

Even in economy class, passengers are served a 3-course meal on long-haul flights. On those, the wide seat cushions measure over 40 cm, headrests are adjustable and seat back screens offer complimentary entertainment.

Unsurprisingly, amenities increase as you progress in fare type.

For example, things get ultra-posh when flying Lufthansa first class. Passengers get valet parking service for rental or private cars at the Frankfurt and Munich airports, a personal assistant and — depending on your flight — first class limousine service for routes boarding at Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Geneva or Vienna. Passengers in first class also get lounge access.

Lufthansa fare types

Besides selecting your service class, you'll also have to decide on a fare type.

Economy Basic: Generally speaking, this is the cheapest. While it allows you to rebook without a fee, you'll owe the fare difference if your new flight is more expensive. Refunds are not possible.

Economy Flex: This more flexible fare allows for refunds without a fee (as is common with many other airlines).

Green fares: Lufthansa's “Green Fares” cost extra, but the money contributes to sustainable aviation fuel use and climate protection projects. When you purchase these fares, you also earn 20% more miles.

When you book Economy Green and Business Green fares, you get the same exact benefits of the Economy Classic or Business Saver fare, but with more flexible rebooking options and an extra 20% status and award miles on European routes.

Europe fares: Lufthansa also sells “Europe fares” for flights operated by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and SWISS within Europe. These fares offer three levels of economy-class fares (light, classic or flex) and are designed to allow customers to only pay for the services they want to use.

Places where Lufthansa flies

Lufthansa is Germany's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Cologne. Lufthansa serves nearly 80 countries, and within them it serves more than 200 destinations (about two dozen of which are in the U.S.).

U.S. routes: Lufthansa flies into about two dozen U.S. airports that span the entire country. Beyond New York-JFK and Los Angeles (LAX), Lufthansa serves smaller cities like Tampa (TPA) and Charlotte (CLT).

The Lufthansa app is available from the Apple App Store or Google Play, allowing you to scan your Lufthansa boarding pass (and avoid needing a paper boarding pass).

Use it to book (or adjust reservations), get real-time updates on your flight and to receive offers. Virtual check-in features can help you avoid airport lines. Plus, a digital wallet supports inflight purchases.

Lufthansa offers some of the best airport lounges — and you might be able to get in to some even with just an economy airfare (and the right credit card).

The Lufthansa lounge network is extensive, with tiers of lounges — Business, Senator and First Class — each progressing in quality.

Here’s what you need to know about gaining access to Lufthansa’s lounges.

First Class Lounges & First Class Terminal

At the top of the lounge hierarchy are Lufthansa’s First Class Lounges and the ultra-exclusive First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. These are reserved for passengers flying Lufthansa or SWISS first class or those with HON Circle status.

These lounges truly have over-the-top perks, such as:

• A la carte dining.

• Private rooms for sleeping.

• Chauffeur-driven transfer directly to your aircraft in a luxury car.

• Access to personal assistants who help with all travel logistics, from check-in to boarding.

Access is available to:

• First class passengers on Lufthansa, Swiss or other Star Alliance flights.

• Miles & More members with HON Circle status.

Lufthansa Senator Lounges

If you hold Senator status or higher within Miles & More or have Star Alliance Gold status, you’ll have access to Lufthansa’s Senator Lounges. These lounges are a significant upgrade, offering more refined food options, higher-end seating and showers for freshening up during long layovers. Access is available to:

• All of the above, plus...

• Miles & More members with Senator status or higher.

• Star Alliance Gold members traveling on a Star Alliance flight.

Lufthansa Business Lounges

These lounges offer a comfortable, quiet place to relax before your flight with perks like complimentary food and drinks, Wi-Fi and business centers. Lufthansa’s Business Lounges are available to:

• All of the above, plus...

• Business class passengers on Lufthansa and Star Alliance member flights.

• Miles & More members with Frequent Traveller status or higher.

• Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard® holders (they receive two complimentary passes annually with the credit card).

Accessing Lufthansa lounges with other credit cards

You might not need a fancy airfare to access Lufthansa lounges. Some are accessible simply through holding certain travel credit cards — even if you're just flying economy (and sometimes even if you're not even flying Lufthansa).

Some (though certainly not most) Lufthansa lounges are on the Priority Pass network. Priority Pass Select is a membership perk that comes with many premium travel credit cards. With it, you unlock access to more than 1,500 airport lounges worldwide.

Access is even more available to people who hold The Platinum Card® from American Express. If flying with a confirmed seat on a same day Lufthansa Group boarding pass, those card holders can access Lufthansa Business Lounges. That's regardless of their ticket class. Terms apply.

Plus, they can access Lufthansa Senator Lounges (though only if they're flying business class). Annoyingly though, guest access is not available at all lounge outposts. And even where it is, it's for an extra fee.

While Lufthansa’s Miles & More program has some strong points — especially for frequent Lufthansa and Star Alliance flyers — it also has serious downsides. The inability to transfer points from other programs or buy miles makes it harder to build up your balance. And for many travelers, Lufthansa’s notoriously high taxes and fees on award tickets may diminish the value of "free" flights.

If you regularly fly Lufthansa or its partners and want to achieve elite status, this program is worth exploring. But for most points collectors, the lack of flexibility and limited earning potential means you’re likely better off focusing on more versatile loyalty programs like those from United, American Express or Chase.