14 Best Ways To Earn Lots of Lufthansa Miles & More Miles [2023]

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!

Table of contents

Earn Points With the Lufthansa Credit Card
Earn Miles Through Travel
Special Offers
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

Earn Points With the Lufthansa Credit Card
Earn Miles Through Travel
Special Offers
Final Thoughts

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:

Award Miles
Status Miles
Executive Bonus Miles
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.

Germany Domestic Flights

Travel Class	Booking Class	Miles
Business Class	C, D, J	1,500
Business Class	Z	1,000
Business Class	P	500
Economy Class	B, Y	1,000
Economy Class	H, M, U	500
Economy Class	Q, S, V, W	250
Economy Class	K, L, T	125

International European Flights

Travel Class	Booking Class	Miles
Business Class	C, D, J	2,000
Business Class	Z	1,250
Business Class	P	750
Economy Class	B, M, Y	1,250
Economy Class	H, Q, U, V	750
Economy Class	S, W	500
Economy Class	K, L, T	125

Worldwide Flights

Travel Class	Booking Class	Miles
First Class	A, F	3x distance; at least 1,500 miles
Business Class	C, D, J	2 x distance; at least 1,000 miles
Business Class	Z	1.5x distance; at least 750 miles
Business Class	P	1x distance; at least 500 miles
Premium Economy Class	E, G	1.5x distance; at least 750 miles
Premium Economy Class	N	1x distance; at least 500 miles
Economy Class	B, Y	1.5 x distance; at least 750 miles
Economy Class	H, M, U	1x distance; at least 500 miles
Economy Class	Q, S, V, W	0.5x distance; at least 250 miles
Economy Class	K, L, T	0.25x distance; at least 250 miles

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

Miles and More Elite Status Tiers — Miles & More Elite Status tiers. Image Credit: Miles & More

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!

Status	Qualify for Select Award	Example of a Select Award
Frequent Traveller	50,000 Select Miles	Business Lounge voucher
Senator	125,000 Select Miles	2 Upgrade eVouchers
HON Circle*	650,000 (Circle Miles)	Additional Senator Partner Card

*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.

Airline
Aegean Airlines	Asiana Airlines	Eurowings	Singapore Airlines
Air Astana	Austrian Airlines	Eurowings Discover	South African Airways
Air Canada	Avianca	EVA Air	Swiss International Air Lines
Air China	Brussels Airlines	LATAM	TAP Portugal
Air Dolomiti	Cathay Pacific	LOT Polish Airlines	THAI
Air India	Copa Airlines	Luxair	Thai Smile
Air Malta	Croatia Airlines	Olympic Air	Turkish Airlines
Air New Zealand	EgyptAir	SAS	United
ANA	Ethiopian Airlines	Shenzhen Airlines	Vistara

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.

Hotel	Miles/Stay	Hotel	Miles/Stay
Althoff COLLECTION	500 miles per stay	Marriott Bonvoy	Up to 2 miles per $1
Best Western	Up to 1,000 miles per stay	Rocco Forte Hotels	500 miles per stay
Hyatt	500 miles per stay	WorldHotels	500 miles per stay
IHG	Up to 2 miles per $1	Wyndham	Up to 2 miles per $1
Leonardo Hotels	1 mile per €1 spent

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

Miles & More Car Rental — Image Credit: Miles & More

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.

Car Rental Agency	Earned Miles/Rental	Car Rental Agency	Earned Miles/Rental
Avis	3 miles per €1 (minimum 750 miles)	Hertz Trucks	500 miles
Avis Prestige	2,000 miles	SIXT	500 miles
Avis Van	500 miles	SIXT Luxury Cars	2,000 miles
Budget	500 miles	SIXT Ride	3 miles per €1
Europcar	500 miles	Thrifty	500 miles
Hertz	500 miles

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.

Travel Partner	Earning Structure
ASMALLWORLD	Up to 250,000 miles
GetYourGuide	4 miles per €1 spent
kreuzfahrten.de	1 mile per €1 spent
Musement	4 miles per €1 spent

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:

Subscription Package	Duration	Earned Award Miles
Print + Digital Package	1 year	4,000 award miles
Digital	1 year	3,000 award miles

12. Miles & More App

13. Special Offers and Current Promotions

Miles & More All Offers — Image Credit: Miles & More

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.

Shopping Partner	Earning Structure	Shopping Partner	Earning Structure
Bicester Village	1 mile per €1 spent	La Vallée Village	1 mile per €1 spent
The Bicester Collection	1 mile per €1 spent	Las Rozas Village	1 mile per €1 spent
Fidenza Village	1 mile per €1 spent	Lufthansa Inflight Shopping	1 mile per €1 spent
Heathrow Rewards	Transfer at a 1:1 ratio	Maasmechelen Village	1 mile per €1 spent
Ingolstadt Village	1 mile per €1 spent	Suzhou Village	1 mile per €1 spent
Kildare Village	1 mile per €1 spent	Wertheim Village	1 mile per €1 spent
La Roca Village	1 mile per €1 spent	WorldShop	1 mile per €1 spent

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!

The information regarding the Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to earn Lufthansa miles?

The fastest way to earn Lufthansa Miles & More miles is with the Lufthansa Miles & More card.

In addition to a sign-up bonus, you earn 2 miles per $1 for purchases from integrated airline partners and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases!

Is the Lufthansa Miles & More loyalty program free?

Yes, Lufthansa Miles & More is a free loyalty program open to all travelers. Enroll in Miles & More online.

How do I earn Miles & More Status Miles?

Earn Miles & More Status Miles with just about every flight on Lufthansa and its partner airlines. With 35,000 Status Miles, you become a Frequent Traveller; with 100,000 Status Miles you become a Senator.

Elite status tiers mean more perks and more miles!

Can I earn Lufthansa miles on United Airlines?

Yes. Enter your Lufthansa Miles & More membership number when booking a United Airlines flight or show it at check-in to receive Lufthansa miles.

On United, you can earn Award Miles, Status Miles, and a 25% bonus (for Frequent Travellers, Senators, and HON Circle Members).

How do I access the Lufthansa earn mileage calculator?

Find the Lufthansa earn mileage calculator online.

What hotels are in the Miles & More loyalty program?

There are tons of hotel partners in the Miles & More loyalty program; access a complete hotel partner list online.

Which credit cards earn Lufthansa Miles & More miles?

The Lufthansa Miles & More card helps you earn miles quickly and provides other benefits, too. Currently, there's no other way to transfer hotel or transferable points to Miles & More.

When do Mile & More miles expire?

Miles in the Lufthansa Miles & More program expire after 3 years. There's no way to extend your miles unless you have elite status or the Lufthansa Miles & More card.

9 comments

Alex November 2, 2018

Please note that your points 5 and 6 are no longer correct when booking via the official airline booking channels (Lufthansa, Swiss, …). Premiummiles now depend on the ticket price. And the Executive Bonus has changed as well. The rules for Status and HON-Circle Miels have not changed!

Alex Miller November 8, 2018
@Alex – thank for you the updated information, and for stating it much more clearly than the Lufthansa website. We have updated the post.
Reply

TIZIANO January 8, 2019

For the first time I have access to your site: very interesting. Congratulations!
For what concerns Miles and More, despite having for some years the status of Senator, I feel a degradation of the quality of the service.
For example: I recently saw myself rejecting credit for referring miles to an Avianca’s flight GRU-BOG.
Reason: Avianca does not offer miles for this flight! But no information in this sense was available at the time of purchasing the ticket!
And even more intriguing: the miles were credited to my partner, who was traveling with me on the same flight and fare class!!

JOSE ESCOBAR February 25, 2019

Abstract promotion ended Dec 31, 2018.

Stephen Au February 27, 2019
Jose,
Thanks for providing us the feedback. We’ve updated the guide to reflect this.
Reply

Rob Coutts September 25, 2019

You can no longer transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Miles and More. They have suspended all hotel transfer points for the time being while they are investigating German law regarding points and revenue.

Hector October 20, 2019

Hi,

I like your site, thank you.
Would you be able to help me out with simplicity? If I use my credit card for daily normal purchases, how many points do I acquire and what is the formula? Is it as simple as $1 (USD) = 1 Lufthansa (Barclays) point?
And can I use these types of points for any fare I book via Lufthansa (lh.com)?
Thanks.

Stephen Au October 21, 2019
Hi Hector,
Yes, it’s usually 1 point per dollar. You can’t use these points to book any fare. You need to book a fare with “availability”, which the airline releases into their online system. So, just because there are 100 seats on a plane doesn’t mean there will be 100 seats you can use points on. There may only be 10-15 seats for example. Thanks for reading.
Reply

Jean February 18, 2021

I just lost over 317,000 miles with Lufthansa at the end of December 2020. The company says they cannot reinstate those miles even if I get the Miles and More credit card. Most American loyalty programs give you a grace period.