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Exciting news for award travelers—Roame now searches Lufthansa Miles & More!
Lufthansa Miles & More is the largest frequent flyer program in Europe, with strong redemption opportunities on Lufthansa First Class, Business Class, and Star Alliance partners. While award availability can be tough to find and surcharges are often higher than other programs, Miles & More has a few sweet spots that make it worth considering.
While miles can be hard to come by, there are good award booking opportunities for Europe-based travelers or those that frequently fly to Europe on Lufthansa or another Lufthansa Group airline. We'll walk you through the Miles & More program, good redemption sweet spots, and whether it makes sense to earn Miles & More miles rather than miles with another Star Alliance partner.
Lufthansa Miles & More Overview
Miles & More is the loyalty program for Lufthansa Group, which includes:
- Lufthansa
- SWISS
- Austrian Airlines
- Brussels Airlines
- Air Dolomiti
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- Eurowings
- Discover Airlines
- Edelweiss Air
What Alliance is Qatar Airways Part Of?
As a Star Alliance member, Lufthansa Miles & More miles can also be used to book flights on United, Air Canada, ANA, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and more.
Key things to know about Miles & More:
- Lufthansa First Class is only available to partners within 14 days of departure, but Miles & More members can book up to a year in advance.
- Dynamic pricing means awards fluctuate, especially for Lufthansa Group flights.
- Surcharges are high, particularly for long-haul premium cabins.
- Miles & More offers round-trip award discounts, making it cheaper to book round-trips than one-ways in many cases.
If you're looking for Lufthansa First Class availability, premium Star Alliance redemptions, or rarely seen Lufthansa award space, using Roame to search for Miles & More awards makes the process much easier.
How to Earn Miles & More Miles
Unlike other airline programs, Miles & More has limited transfer partners and is harder to accumulate for U.S.-based travelers.
1. Earn Miles by Flying Lufthansa & Partners
Miles & More is a revenue-based program, meaning you earn miles based on how much you spend, not the distance flown.
For flights on Lufthansa Group airlines:
- Base members: Earn 4-6x miles per €1 spent (fare-dependent)
- Frequent Travelers & Senators: Earn 6-8x miles per €1 spent
For Star Alliance partners, earning rates vary by fare class—always check the Miles & More earning calculator before booking.
2. U.S. Credit Card Options
Unlike United, Aeroplan, or Turkish Miles & Smiles, Miles & More does NOT partner with Amex, Chase, Citi, or Capital One.
However, the Barclays Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card is available in the U.S., offering:
- Welcome bonus: Currently 60,000 miles after $3,000 spend in 90 days
- 2x miles on Lufthansa purchases
- 1x miles on everything else
- A companion ticket after each account anniversary
Since there are no major bank transfer partners, the Miles & More credit card is the main way to earn miles in the U.S..
3. Other Ways to Earn Miles & More Miles
- Hotel stays: Transfer points from Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 ratio)
- Car rentals: Earn miles with Avis, Hertz, and Sixt
- Shopping & Dining: Lufthansa has a Miles & More shopping portal, though it’s mainly geared toward European members.
Since earning miles is more difficult than other programs, using Roame to maximize your miles on the best redemptions is even more important.
Redeeming Miles & More Miles for Award Flights
Lufthansa Miles & More uses a fixed award chart, meaning flights are priced by zone and class of service rather than fluctuating dynamically. You can redeem Miles & More miles for flights on Lufthansa Group airlines and Star Alliance partners, including United, Air Canada, ANA, Turkish Airlines, and Singapore Airlines.
You can find the full Miles & More award chart on the website here (note: the award chart shows roundtrip prices, so divide by 2 for one-way costs).
Lufthansa Miles & More Award Pricing
Award rates for transatlantic flights are surprisingly reasonable, especially for business class redemptions:
- Economy Class – 30,000 miles one-way
- Premium Economy Class – 40,000 miles one-way
- Business Class – 56,000 miles one-way
- First Class – 91,000 miles one-way
You can view the award chart above for the full list of award pricing across regions.
Beware of High Fuel Surcharges
While award pricing is competitive, Miles & More adds significant fuel surcharges to most redemptions—especially on Lufthansa and SWISS premium cabins.
- Intercontinental first-class round-trip tickets often have $850+ in surcharges.
- Business-class awards also have high fees, sometimes exceeding $600 round-trip.
- Flights on Air Canada within North America and United Airlines within North America, South America, and Oceania do NOT have these extra fees
Searching Miles & More Awards – The Roame Advantage
Traditionally, booking Miles & More awards requires searching directly through Lufthansa’s website, but there’s a major frustration:
You must have at least 7,000 miles in your account just to search for award space.
This restriction makes it difficult for travelers to explore award availability unless they’ve already accumulated Miles & More miles, but you often want to see if awards are worth it before accumulating miles. Thanks to Roame, you can now search Miles & More award flights directly—without needing any miles in your account.
With Roame’s SkyView search, you can:
- See Lufthansa First & Business Class availability across multiple months
- Find Star Alliance partner flights bookable with Miles & More
- Compare award prices across different loyalty programs in one search
By using Roame, you avoid Lufthansa’s 7,000-mile search restriction and can track award availability with alerts, ensuring you never miss a good redemption opportunity.
Best Sweet Spot Redemptions with Lufthansa Miles & More Miles
With Qatar Airways now searchable on Roame, you can easily find these valuable award redemptions and book them at the best rates. Here are some of the best uses of Avios on Qatar Airways:
1. Access Lufthansa First Class Award Space Earliest – The Best Way to Fly to Europe
Lufthansa offers one of the best First Class products in the world, especially when flying out of Frankfurt (FRA) with access to the First Class Lounges & Terminal
When booking with Miles & More:
- First Class award space is available to members up to 360 days in advance (while partners like United and Aeroplan typically only get access ~5 days before departure).
- A one-way First Class award between the U.S. and Europe costs 91,000 miles + $800+ in taxes and fees.
2. Lufthansa Allegris – The New Business & First Class Experience
Lufthansa is gradually rolling out its new Allegris cabin, featuring a major overhaul of its First Class, Business Class, and Premium Economy products. The redesigned seats, improved privacy, and enhanced comfort make Allegris a great option when booking awards with Miles & More.
Currently, Lufthansa is slowly deploying Allegris on select long-haul routes, so availability is limited, but growing. If you're redeeming Miles & More miles, booking an Allegris-equipped route can significantly enhance your experience.
Routes featuring Lufthansa Allegris are all from/to Munich to airports including:
- Chicago (ORD) - LH428/LH429/LH434/LH435
- New York (JFK) - LH410/LH411
- San Diego (SAN) - LH466/LH467
- San Francisco (SFO) - LH458/LH459
- Cape Town (CPT) - LH574/LH575
- Shanghai (PVG) - LH726/LH727
3. Fly Star Alliance North America to Australia/New Zealand: 71,000 Miles in Business Class One-Way
Lufthansa groups Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tahiti (among others) into its Australia, New Zealand, Oceania region. In accordance with their award chart, 71,000 miles can book you a one-way Star Alliance business class flight from the U.S. to Australia or New Zealand. You can redeem economy flights for 40,000 miles one-way.
Taxes and fees are much more reasonable on these flights than most Miles & More redemptions. You'll typically pay around $50 for a one-way business class flight.
Examples of nonstop Star Alliance flights to Australia or New Zealand include San Francisco (SFO) – Auckland (AKL) on Air New Zealand and Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD) on United.
4. Fly Star Alliance Domestic North America – 40,000 Miles in First Class One-Way
Another sweet spot in the Miles & More program is its North America Star Alliance Business Class redemptions. You can book a one-way Business Class flight within North America for just 40,000 miles or 20,000 miles in business class, making it a great way to book premium domestic routes on United and Air Canada.
For example, you can fly Newark to San Francisco in United Polaris Business Class or Toronto to Vancouver in Air Canada Signature Class at a significantly lower mileage cost than many other programs.
An even better deal is flying to the Canadian Arctic using Miles & More. A route like Newark to Vancouver to Yellowknife in Business Class costs 20,000 miles one-way, while cash prices for this itinerary can exceed $2,000. This provides one of the best niche redemptions in the program.
Lufthansa Miles & More Award Cancellation Policy
Miles & More has a straightforward cancellation and change policy for award tickets. If you need to rebook or cancel an award ticket, you will be charged $58 per person. You can only change the date and time of the flight when you rebook. It is not possible to change the route.
Final Thoughts: Is Lufthansa Miles & More Worth Using?
While Miles & More has some solid redemption options and great expanded first class award space, it’s not for everyone due to the difficulty of obtaining miles and its high surcharges.
Miles & More is worth considering further if:
- You want early access to Lufthansa First Class.
- You fly Lufthansa Group airlines frequently.
- You find good business class or intra-Europe deals.
It may not be worth it if:
- You don’t want to pay high surcharges.
- You want to focus on flexible, transferable points programs.
With Roame now searching Lufthansa Miles & More, award searching is faster and easier than ever. Whether you’re looking for First Class, business redemptions, or cheap intra-Europe flights, Roame helps you find and book the best deals.
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