I Flew to Europe for Just 88 Miles. Here’s How.

Updated: November 14, 2026, 8:30am CST

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Table of Contents

Lufthansa Group’s 88-Mile U.S. to Europe Deal
Getting Enough Miles & More Miles To Book
The Cheapest Way To Fly on a 747 From the U.S.
Final Thoughts

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There are many ways to fly across the Atlantic for relatively cheap. You can find a deal on a legacy airline, take a low-cost carrier like Norse Atlantic, or hunt for saver-level award seats. I’ve crossed the ocean between Europe and the Americas many times, in every class of service — first, business, premium economy, and economy — and I’ve never found a deal as cheap in miles as the one that recently got me from New York to Frankfurt on Lufthansa.

The German flag carrier charged me just 88 miles and $384 in taxes and fees to fly over the ocean. That’s not a typo. As my previous record for a cheap Atlantic crossing was 12,000 Virgin Atlantic miles, this was a spectacular improvement.

Best of all, it’s not a fluke: I found the same 88-mile award on multiple dates in 2026 and 2027. Here’s how I booked it, and how you can do the same.

Lufthansa Group’s 88-Mile U.S. to Europe Deal

I found the deal while searching on Seats.aero for award tickets to Europe in late October. I was putting together a round-the-world trip centered on a visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, getting there by passing through Europe and returning via South Korea. The 88-mile figure that appeared for flights to Frankfurt (FRA) caught my eye. It had to be a mistake, right? It wasn’t.

A search for award seats on the site revealed that the deal for 88 Miles & More miles, plus fees starting at $384 one way, is real and widely available. I found it from New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Boston (BOS), and Washington Dulles (IAD) to Frankfurt (FRA) in coach class on Lufthansa or other Lufthansa Group members like SWISS on many dates this year and well into 2027, including summer.

You could also fly business class for a reasonable 75,800 miles, not as amazing a deal in relative terms, but still not bad.

Seats.aero Miles & More 88 mile deal — Find seats for just 88 Miles & More miles. Screenshot: seats.aero website

Miles & More’s own site confirmed that seats were available at the 88-mile level for my preferred departure date, October 26, from both NYC-area intercontinental airports to Frankfurt nonstop.

Lufthansa Miles & More 88 miles deal — The same fare was available on Lufthansa’s own site. Screenshot: Lufthansa website

The Miles & More loyalty program, however, is not very popular in the U.S. It’s big in Europe, since it’s used by all Lufthansa Group airlines (Lufthansa itself and its subsidiaries, plus ITA Airways, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines). Miles can also be earned and redeemed with Star Alliance carriers, including United. Americans who fly often on Star Alliance are generally better served by earning and spending in the United MileagePlus program.

I had a Miles & More account, but with zero miles. There are several ways to earn Miles & More miles, even for people based in the U.S., but they all take some time. And I wanted to book the Lufthansa flight and plan the rest of my trip now, not in weeks. What to do?

Getting Enough Miles & More Miles To Book

With most airline loyalty programs, the way to obtain a bunch of miles on the spot is to transfer points from a credit card. Miles & More doesn’t have credit card transfer partners in the U.S., though. The only points or miles that transfer to it are Rove Miles.

My Rove account had 1,500 miles, and that would have been more than enough for this redemption. But the minimum amount to transfer to Miles & More is 2,000. I needed 500 Rove miles fast, and it would have taken weeks to earn them by buying via the Rove shopping portal. Fortunately, buying gift cards to some major merchants on Rove awards miles immediately.

We needed a few bowls, plates, and glasses at home, so I bought a $125 Crate & Barrel gift card. At 4x Rove Miles per dollar, that was the amount I needed to generate exactly 500 miles, which appeared in my Rove account on the spot.

Transferring Rove Miles to Lufthansa Miles & More was almost instant. Minutes after, my Miles & More account showed 2,000 miles. I booked immediately, putting the taxes and fees on my Citi Strata Premier^® Card and earning 3x Citi ThankYou points on the purchase.

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Citi Strata Premier^® Card

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Citi Strata Premier^® Card

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Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou^® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
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Hot Tip:

There is a U.S.-issued credit card that earns Lufthansa miles: the Miles & More^® World Elite Mastercard^®. It’s good for people who fly Lufthansa or its Miles & More partners often.

The Cheapest Way To Fly on a 747 From the U.S.

That 88-mile deal was for an Economy Light fare, which is Lufthansa’s version of basic economy and doesn’t include checked luggage or seat selection. I wasn’t planning to check a bag and, on a flight taking off and landing in the dark, I didn’t need to select a window seat either. A basic fare would suit me fine for a relatively quick 7-hour trip across the Atlantic.

Lufthansa boarding groups EWR — On a 747, there’s plenty of overhead bin space. Even in group 6 on a nearly full flight, I stowed my carry-on and backpack just fine. Image credit: Alberto Riva

Luggage allowance for Economy Light fares includes a personal item and a carry-on weighing up to 18 pounds and with maximum dimensions of 21 x 15 x 9 inches, so my backpack and roller bag were covered. Checked bags start at $90 for the first one. If you want a specific seat, prices to select one start at $33.

A relevant perk of that Lufthansa cheap fare, if you’re an aviation enthusiast, is that it can get you on board a Boeing 747 for much less than other options. The legendary double-decker jet is an endangered species these days, with only a few airlines left operating it — and none charge as few miles to fly on a 747 from the U.S. as Lufthansa.

A Lufthansa Boeing 747 in front of an empty airport waiting area — The 747 that carried me across the Atlantic sitting at the gate in Frankfurt. Image credit: Alberto Riva

The flight itself was an uneventful affair. With strong tailwinds pushing our 747, we made it in just 6 hours, 26 minutes from wheels up to touchdown. Dinner and breakfast were bog-standard coach class fare, but I knew I would eat much better during my long layover — at the buffet of the Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport, an airport hotel that’s a lot better than Hilton Garden Inns in the U.S.

Final Thoughts

Granted, my 127th crossing of the Atlantic Ocean (yes, I keep track) wasn’t the one I’ll remember most. My favorite way to fly between Europe and the Americas on points remains Air France business class, and economy on a basic ticket wasn’t going to beat that.

But I am not going to complain about crossing an ocean for just 88 miles on a full-service airline. Even with tacked-on fees of almost $400, this was a deal that I would take again in a heartbeat. And even with just 1,912 Miles & More miles left in my account, at those prices, I have enough juice to do it 21 more times.