Miles & More
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Miles & More, which is the frequent flyer program of 12 European airlines, was launched by Lufthansa (LH) in 1993. The program enables its 13 million members[1] to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles on all of the fully integrated airlines as well as all the Star Alliance members. Furthermore, all customers are able to build status, which gives them access to certain privileges. Miles & More is free of charge and everybody can sign up.
Partnership History
- 1993 - Lufthansa introduces Miles & More on January 1, 1993
- 1997 - Star Alliance is founded by Air Canada, United Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International[2]
- 2000 - Austrian Airlines (AUA) joined Miles & More
- 2003 - LOT Polish Airlines becomes a fully integrated partner
- 2006 - Swiss International Air Lines is bought by Lufthansa and its frequent flyer program, the Swiss TravelClub, is converted to Miles & More on April 1, 2006
Airline Partners of Miles & More[3]
Fully Integrated Airline Partners
Lufthansa
Air Dolomiti (partner-airline of Lufthansa Regional)
Augsburg Airways (partner-airline of Lufthansa Regional)
Contact Air (partner-airline of Lufthansa Regional)
Eurowings (partner-airline of Lufthansa Regional)
Lufthansa CityLine (partner-airline of Lufthansa Regional)
Austrian Airlines (since 2000)
LOT Polish Airlines (since 2003)
Swiss International Air Lines (since 2006)
Air One
Adria Airways
Croatia Airlines
Luxair
Star Alliance Partner Airlines
Air Canada
Air New Zealand
All Nippon Airways (ANA)
Asiana Airlines
Bmi
Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS)
Singapore Airlines
South African Airways
Spanair
TAP Portugal
Thai Airways International
United
US Airways
Star Alliance Regional Partners
Other Partners
Aegean Airlines
Air China
Air India
Cimber Air
Condor Airlines
Jat Airways
Jet Airways
Mexicana
Qatar Airways
Shanghai Airlines
Air Malta
Cimber Air
Cirrus Airlines
The Miles
On Miles & More there are 3 different sorts of miles that all have different applications within the program:
Award Miles
These are the miles that can be collected in the account of a member and later on be used to buy flights, upgrades, merchandise from the Lufthansa WorldShop and other Miles & More partners. For standard Miles & More members they retain validity for 36 months, after which they expire. For Miles & More Visa Credit Card holders issued in Germany, Frequent Travellers, Senators and Hon-Circle Card holders the miles have no expiration date. However, as soon as a customer does not hold any of these cards anymore, the expiration date of all miles is set to 36 months counting from loss of frequent flyer status or credit card expiration date.
Status Miles
Status miles can only be earned when flying on the fully integrated partner airlines or on Star Alliance members. There is no other way to earn these miles. In addition, status miles expire at the end of each calendar year. They are used to identify the frequent flyers and members are able to qualify for a higher status on the basis of the status miles that they have collected in one year.
HON Circle Miles
HON Circle miles can only be earned when flying on the fully integrated partner airlines and Air-Rail trains in Germany (up to a total of 100.000 Miles within 2 calendar years). They are necessary to attain the top-tier status on Miles & More - HON Circle. Until April 1, 2006 it was possible to also collect this type of miles on United Airlines. This option does no longer exist.[4] HON-miles are valid for 2 years. Furthermore, only Senators (with an account balance of more than 300.000 status miles over 2 years) and existing HON Circle members can see these miles on their account statement.
Earning Miles
Award miles can be earned in various ways. Status miles can only be earned when flying on either the fully integrated partner airlines of Miles & More or the Star Alliance partners. The number of status miles earned is always equivalent to the number of award miles earned on these flights (excluding promotions).
Flying
The miles that a member receives after having completed depend on a number of factors: the actual mileage flown, the class of service and the booking class. Its high class of service bonuses make Miles & More especially attractive to travellers that fly a lot in First Class and/or Business Class.
European Flights[5]
Class of Service | Booking Class | Fixed Mileage |
---|---|---|
Economy Class | E, L,T, U | 125 |
Economy Class | G, H, K, M, Q, S, V, W | 500 |
Economy Class | B, Y | 750 |
Business Class | C, D, Z | 1500 |
Class of Service | Booking Class | Fixed Mileaege |
---|---|---|
Economy Class | E, L,T, U | 125 |
Economy Class | G, H, K, M, Q, S, V, W | 750 |
Economy Class | B, Y | 1250 |
Business Class | C, D, Z | 2000 |
Intercontinental Flights[6]
Class of Service | Booking Class | Miles received | Minimum Mileage |
---|---|---|---|
Economy Class | S, W | Mileage flown x 50% | 500 |
Economy Class | G, H, K, M, Q, V | Mileage flown x 100% | 500 |
Economy Class | B, Y | Mileage flown x 150% | 750 |
Business Class | C, D, Z | Mileage flown x 200% | 1,000 |
First Class | A, F | Mileage flown x 300% | 1,250 |
Please note that these mileages do only apply for flights operated by Lufthansa and Lufthansa Regional. To check what the mileage earned on other partner airlines is please check here and click on the airline that you are interested in. In addition, to this there is the possibility to earn 10,000 miles on all flights operated by the Lufthansa Private Jet.
Other Earning Opportunities
Lufthansa always has a number promotions. Most of them last for 1-2 months only. They include double mileage on new routes, extra miles for using electronic check-in and alike. Some of the promotions are restricted to residents of certain countries and others are restricted to certain customers.
There are also other opportunities to collect miles when travelling. You can subscribe to the Lufthansa Miles & More VISA Credit Card and collect one mile for every Dollar/Euro spent you also receive a one-time sign-up bonus. Furthermore, miles can be earned on certain Deutsche Bundesbahn trains, when staying in certain hotels, shopping in certain shops (such as the LH Worldshop), renting cars, investing in certain funds, opening an account with certain banks, picking up a catalogue in a Bang & Olufsen store, etc. To see all the offers please refer to the Miles & More website as offers differ per country. However, all these offers do not earn any status miles. If a customer does not have enough miles for his/her award there is also the opportunity to buy 10,000 miles for €240.00.
Redeeming Miles
Once a member has collected the necessary number of miles it is possible for that member to use the miles to pay for flights, upgrades and products from the Lufthansa Worldshop.
Redeeming Miles for Flights
Miles in a member's account can be exchanged for award flights on all the fully integrated airline partners and all of the Star Alliance carriers. The number of miles that is deducted from the account depends on the origin and destination of that flight. The number of miles that is required can be checked in this file. Customers do, however, have to take into account that these award flights are subject to availability and are not available on all routes on all dates.
Redeeming Miles for Upgrades
Miles can be redeemed for upgrades on all fully integrated carriers of Miles & More and on the following Star-Alliance partners: All Nippon Airways (ANA), Asiana Airlines, Condor Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways International, United Airlines. Again the number of miles required depends on the destination of the flight. You can find the exact number on this site. Again, these upgrades are not guaranteed and the availability in the higher classes of service has to be taken into account. Passengers are only allowed to upgrade one class of service. Only certain booking classes qualify for upgrades.
Status
On Miles & More all customers can build status through collecting status miles. The status miles from 1 year only count towards status. Status is important as there are many privileges and advantages that status holders receive (such as priority check-in etc.).
There are 4 different status level on Miles & More:
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Miles & More Status
This is the normal status that everybody gets after they initially joined the program. This status does not receive any officially documented privileges. A Miles & More member initially starts with a temporary paper-card, which is usually cut out from one of the Lufthansa magazines or printed from the internet. After earning 3,000 miles Lufthansa will send these customers the Miles & More plastic card via mail.
Frequent Traveller Status
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The frequent traveller card is given to all Miles & More customers that received a total of over 35,000 status miles in one calendar year. This status remains valid for 2 years and a member can requalify in any one of those 2 years. Usually, all status cards expire in February of the second year, e.g. status earned in December 2006, status valid until February 2009.
As a frequent traveller a passenger receives a number of privileges:
- Access to LH Business Lounge with valid Star Alliance Boarding Pass for the same day and location before departure
- Access to LH Frequent Traveller Lounge with valid Star Alliance Boarding Pass for the same day and location before departure
- LH Business Class Check-In regardless of the flown class of service
- 25% Executive Bonus on award, status and HON Circle miles on all flights with Lufthansa, United Airlines, US Airways, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Air One, Air Dolomiti and Air Canada
- Waitlist Priority
- Miles retain unlimited validity
- Increased registered baggage allowance: 40 kg (when weight concept applies)
- All Star Alliance Silver Benefits
Senator Status
When having collected 100.000 Status Miles (130.000 Miles for residents of Germany) within one calendar year, Miles & More members will receive "Senator" Status with a validity of at least 2 years. . The main perks of having Senator status are:
- All advantages of LH Frequent Traveller, in addition:
- Access to LH Senator Lounges on the day and at the place of departure, on presentation of a valid boarding card
- Access to Star Gold Lounges on the day and at the place of departure, on presentation of a valid boarding card.
- Two eVouchers on achieving status and two more for every status retention, good to upgrade either two short-haul or one long-haul flight
- Booking guarantee: Up to 48 hours before departure in booking class C, or up to 72 hours in booking class Y
- LH First Class Check-In regardless of the flown class of service
- Increased registered baggage allowance: Extra 20 kilos (for weight concept) or one extra bag (for piece concept)
- Priority baggage handling: Baggage is labeled with a "Priority sticker" to ensure early delivery on the luggage belt (This perk does only work acceptably at airports with a strong presence of Star Alliance carriers)
- Miles & More companion award: When booking an award ticket with Lufthansa or integrated carriers, the ticket for an accompanying second person only costs 50% of the mileage
- Availability of an exclusive telephone service hotline
- Availability of Mileage advance: The mileage account can be overdrawn by up to 50.000 Miles. This overdraft needs to be "repaid" until the status expires or each mile will be charged 0.024 EUR.
- Senator Premium award: By using double the number of award miles Senators are able to book the very last available seat when it is no longer possible to redeem a regular Miles & More award.
HON Circle Status
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References
- ^ Neue Zürcher Zeitung of 18 March 2006
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Alliance#Membership_History
- ^ http://www.miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/de/earnmiles/miles_and_fly?l=en&nodeid=501784
- ^ http://www.miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/de/earnmiles/miles_and_fly?l=en&nodeid=1230759
- ^ http://www.miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/de/earnmiles/miles_and_fly?l=de&nodeid=1227079
- ^ http://www.miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/de/earnmiles/miles_and_fly?l=de&nodeid=1227079