Lufthansa Miles & More Switches to Dynamic Pricing, Devalues Most Awards

Lufthansa’s Miles & More loyalty program is switching to dynamic pricing from June 3 and will increase the price of most award flights, devaluing the program for many users.

The change will affect redemptions on Lufthansa itself plus some, not all, airlines in the Lufthansa Group: Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa City, and SWISS.

Let’s dive into the changes to the loyalty program used by the biggest airline group in Europe.

All the Miles & More Changes From June 3

The parameters for the new Miles & More dynamic pricing model will not be known until June 3, 2025, when award prices will stop using a fixed amount and will be tied to cash prices on a given route.

What we do know is that dynamic pricing will apply only to Lufthansa, Lufthansa City, Austrian Airlines, and SWISS. For all other airlines on which you can redeem Miles & More miles, prices will follow a new award chart.

Miles & More announced the changes with a page on its site and with an email to members.

Switching from award charts to dynamic pricing generally brings a devaluation, meaning that miles are worth less. That’s because you’ll likely need more of them to book a dynamically-priced award. That’s the case here too, but not in economy class, where some awards will be priced cheaper.

Miles & More said it also may make more seats available to book with miles “on some routes, for business class in particular.”

Another change is the introduction of flexible fares when booking award flights. According to Miles & More, this means “you’ll be able to decide whether you want your award flight booking to include baggage, a seat reservation or the option to rebook.” In practical terms, this means that you will be presented with different prices in miles depending on what you want your booking to include.

Miles & More will call those Light and Flex fare award flights; Light fares will likely buy only the seat and meal services. Having elite status won’t allow flyers to circumvent those limitations, either, because “your status benefits as a frequent flyer will depend on the fare you choose for your award flight.”

Another negative change is that Flex Plus bookings and the monthly Miles & More Mileage Bargains will no longer be available.

The New Miles & More Partner Award Chart

For partner airlines in Star Alliance and the Miles & More loyalty program that are not Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Lufthansa City, and Swiss, an award chart still applies. For bookings from June 3, mileage amounts will be adjusted according to a new award chart (PDF link).

In some cases, the new award chart has lower redemption costs for economy bookings. In higher classes, you’ll see higher prices.

Specifically, the changes are, according to Miles & More:

Economy

You’ll need fewer miles in economy within Europe, plus up to 10,000 fewer miles for award flights on many long-haul routes. Between North America and Europe, awards will cost 50,000 miles.

Premium Economy

You will need 85,000 miles for premium economy between North America and Europe — 5,000 more than before. Elsewhere, amounts will remain the same.

Business Class

On European routes, mileage amounts will remain the same — but business within Europe is the same seat as economy, only with blocked middle seats plus better meals.

Outside Europe, the amounts will increase depending on destination and distance. Between North America and Europe, awards will cost 125,000 miles.

First Class

On long-haul first class — available only on a few partner airlines — the amount of Miles & More miles needed will be prohibitive. For example, you’ll need 260,000 between Europe and Asia.

Final Thoughts

Lufthansa’s Miles & More is the latest among loyalty programs to switch to dynamic pricing for award redemptions. The news is, for the most part, not great since you’ll need more miles to sit in premium cabins. The exception is economy redemptions, which will cost less in some cases.