14 Best Ways To Earn Lots of Lufthansa Miles & More Miles [2024]

Key Takeaways

• Lufthansa Miles & More miles can be earned through flights on Lufthansa, Star Alliance partners, and Miles & More airlines.
• The Miles & More^® World Elite Mastercard^® has a welcome bonus of around 50,000 miles.
• Select hotel and car rentals, such as Hyatt, IHG, Avis, and Hertz, will earn miles for bookings.

Lufthansa is the largest European airline, carrying more passengers than any other. It operates 15,200 connections to 205 destinations as of summer 2023.

It also has the largest European frequent flyer program called Miles & More. In addition to being partners with other Miles & More airlines, Lufthansa is a member of the Star Alliance.

By the time you finish this post, you will know tons of ways to earn Lufthansa Miles & More miles so you can redeem them for travel… and more!

Earn Points With the Lufthansa Credit Card

1. Enroll in Miles & More

Enroll in the free Lufthansa Miles & More loyalty program to get started earning miles right away, with or without an affiliated credit card.

At first, you can print out a temporary card. The regular plastic card will be mailed as soon as you have earned 1 award mile with Lufthansa or another Miles & More partner.

2. Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus

The Miles & More^® World Elite Mastercard^® is affiliated with Lufthansa. Generally, there’s a decent welcome bonus of around 50,000 Miles & More miles.

3. Card Bonus Categories

Use the Lufthansa Miles & More card to earn 2 miles per $1 for purchases from integrated airline partners (AirDolomiti, Austrian Airlines Group, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Eurowings, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Luxair, and SWISS). All other purchases earn 1 mile per $1 spent.

Just like with other airline credit cards, the more you use the Miles & More card, the more miles you will earn. Build up your Miles & More balance quickly by using it for both monthly and unexpected expenses!

Earn Miles Through Travel

4. Book Lufthansa and Airline Partner Flights

There are 4 types of miles earned by flying Lufthansa and its partner airlines:

1. Award Miles
2. Status Miles
3. Executive Bonus Miles
4. HON Circle Miles

In this section, we are going to focus on Award Miles, but we’ll cover all of the types of miles later on.

Mileage for flights booked directly with Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Eurowings, and Brussels Airlines are now based on ticket price: 4 miles per €1.

Elite status holders receive a 25% (Senator) or 50% (HON Circle) bonus on Austrian Airways, Lufthansa, SWISS, Air Canada, Air Dolomiti, All Nippon Airways, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, or United Airlines.

Elite status holders receive a 25% bonus (Senator or HON Circle) on Aegean Airlines, Air Astana, Air China, Air India, Air Malta, Air New Zealand, Asiana Airlines, Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Condor, Copa Airlines, Egyptair, EVA Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Eurowings, LATAM, Luxair, Olympic Air, SAS, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, and all other partner airlines not listed here.

Tickets booked through travel agents can also have this formula applied. Look to see if your ticket number starts with the following: 220 (Lufthansa), 724 (SWISS), 257 (Austrian Airlines), 082 (Brussels Airlines), or if it is from Eurowings.

Bookings through other airlines or third-party channels where the ticket number starts with other numbers earn based on fare class and flight distance.

Bookings through third-party channels or flying other airlines are earned based on the ticket number.

You’ll earn fixed mileage award miles for European flights based on each booking class. For international flights, mileage is determined by the booking class and miles traveled.

The table below shows how many miles you can earn for flights within Germany. See a complete list of miles earned for all Lufthansa flights.

Hot Tip: Looking to figure out a cost-effective way to earn Lufthansa miles? Consider short-haul international European flights. These are usually cheap tickets that can get you closer to earning miles!

5. Elite Status Bonuses

Status Miles

Status miles determine your Elite Status level: Member, Frequent Traveller, Senator, and HON Circle Member. Each status is valid for 2 years.

Earn status miles on scheduled flights operated by Adria Airways, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Eurowings, Germanwings, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Private Jet, Luxair, SWISS, and all Star Alliance partners.

Depending on your booking class, you can receive up to 3x the number of status miles on worldwide flights in business or first class. There is an exception for flights operated by Turkish Airlines, for which you will receive 25% of earned award miles as status miles in all classes.

HON Circle Miles

There is only 1 way to reach HON Circle Member status — collecting 600,000 HON Circle Miles within 2 consecutive calendar years.

Miles & More members earn HON Circle Miles for first class, business class, and Germanwings “BEST” fares on Miles & More flights with fully integrated partner airlines. Simply put, you need to take a lot of paid premium cabin travel to even have a chance at qualifying for HON Circle. 

Select Miles

Miles & More Selections are extra perks you earn for flying Lufthansa and the following airlines: Adria Airways, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Eurowings, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Luxair, and SWISS.

Earn 1 Select Mile for each Status Mile earned, calculated yearly (at which time it resets to 0). Reach specific mileage levels to choose a Select Award!

*HON Circle Members get Select Miles based on HON Circle Miles instead of Status Miles.

Choose Select Awards in your personal status lounge under “Miles & More Selections” or call the Service Center.

6. Travel With Partners to Earn Miles & More Miles

The airlines in the following table are Lufthansa partners. Click on each partner’s name to find out which types of miles each airline offers.

7. Miles & More Hotel Partners

Here are some of the Miles & More partner hotels; some of the hotels include more than 1 hotel brand. Click on a listing for further details.

This is just a sample of the participating hotels; you can find a complete list here.

8. Miles & More Hotel Portal

Book directly through the Miles & More hotel booking portal to earn at least 1,000 miles per night (and often a lot more!) with over 300,000 partner hotels.

9. Car Rental Partners

If you book a car rental with one of the following agencies, you can earn 500 to 2,000 miles. You can find a comprehensive list online.

10. Miscellaneous Travel Partners

Outside of booking flights and accommodations, Miles & More also partners with several travel or lifestyle companies to offer miles on travel-related purchases like tour bookings.

One of the most intriguing offers is from ASMALLWORLD, a social networking service geared towards North American and European travelers who want to meet other travelers.

You can earn 250,000 Miles & More miles by subscribing to the Prestige tier, which costs €5,200! This is an interesting value proposition because you will receive elite status at many hotel brands and car rental agencies, in addition to admission to many nightlife venues and airport lounges.

Even if you set up a subscription to ASMALLWORLD and never utilize the perks, you’ll essentially be buying Miles & More miles for 2.4 cents per mile. And while we peg the value of Miles & More miles to be around 1.3 cents per mile according to our points and miles valuations, there are situations where it makes sense to buy these miles.

For example, if you want to fly Lufthansa first class using miles without having to wait until 2 weeks before departure, you’ll need to accrue Miles & More miles.

Special Offers

11. Subscribe to “The Economist” (Cannot verify. No longer available)

New subscribers to “The Economist” can earn up to 4,000 award miles.

Include your Miles & More membership number when signing up. Once payment has been received, the miles will be credited to your account!

The following subscriptions are available:

12. Miles & More App

Sign up for the Miles & More app and get 500 miles! Miles post after logging into the app for the first time.

13. Special Offers and Current Promotions

Check with Lufthansa Special Offers to earn more points than ever!

14. International Shopping Opportunities

Most Miles & More shopping opportunities require members to live in Europe, such as the Lufthansa Shopping Portal.

But if you frequently travel to Europe, you can earn miles per euros spent at Heathrow Rewards, Lufthansa WorldShop, and other Miles & More partner retailers.

Bottom Line: Although it may seem difficult to earn Miles & More miles due to the lack of transfer partners, there are still lots of great ways to earn these miles very quickly! 

Final Thoughts

Even though Lufthansa is a German airline, there are plenty of opportunities to earn points for U.S.-based Miles & More members. We hope you have found these tips helpful as you get ready to build up your Miles & More balance.

Once you’ve earned all those miles, you’re gonna want to use them! Be sure to check out our piece on the best ways to redeem your Miles & More Miles for maximum value!