Lufthansa’s Miles and More is one of the best frequent flyer programs among European carriers. Despite some heavy fuel surcharges by Lufthansa and most of its European partners, the Miles and More program has enough sweet spots to make it very valuable, and award flights could be a true bargain under the right circumstances.
When Should You Use Miles and More Awards?
It’s best to use Miles and More awards for flights with partner airlines that don’t have fuel surcharges, such as:
- United (in the U.S.)
- Air New Zealand
- Avianca
- LATAM
The second best option is to use your awards on partner flights that have low fuel surcharges. Polish LOT has very reasonable surcharges at around $200 for a roundtrip between the US and Poland. They also fly 787 Dreamliners.
You can also get a good deal if you pay the fuel surcharges but save on miles by booking Miles and More mileage bargains for 30,000 coach and 55,000 business class roundtrip. They offer these bargains all the time.
These are just some examples of the mileage deals offered through the Miles and More program:
Partners bookable online:
- Adria Airways
- Austrian (Tyrolean) Airlines
- Brussels Airlines
- Condor
- Croatia Airlines
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Luxair
- Swiss Air
Partners bookable by phone:
- Aegean Airlines
- Air Astana
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air Dolomiti
- Air India
- Air Malta
- Air New Zealand
- ANA
- Asiana Airlines
- Avianca
- Copa Airlines
- EgyptAir
- Ethiopian Airlines
- EVA Air
- Jet Airways
- Lufthansa
- Scandinavian Airlines
- Shenzhen Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- TAM
- TAP Portugal
- Thai Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
When to Book by Phone
- Award tickets on any airline not bookable online
- Itineraries with stopovers
- Itineraries with open jaws
See below for our phone booking tips.
How to Search for Miles and More Award Seats Online
Searching for award flights is reasonably straightforward. You need to log on and enter your information.
Then pick the flight you want and click continue. You must have enough miles for the trip in order for your itinerary and all the charges to be displayed.
Phone Booking Tips
- 1-800-581-6400 (U.S. booking center)
As a norm, you won’t spend a lot of time on hold, and the Lufthansa agents are well-trained and competent. If you want to book a complex itinerary though on one of the Lufthansa Star Alliance partners with stopovers and open jaws, or if you are looking for a flight on a specific carrier to minimize or avoid fuel surcharges, you might want to find the flights you need first before calling Lufthansa.
ANA has one of the best websites to find awards flights for Star Alliance partners, but it’s a bit tricky to use. If that doesn’t work for you try searching for flights on United’s site, and if you can’t find what you need, move on to Air Canada or Avianca. Note that most airline websites will ask you to register for their frequent flyer program before you can search for an award flight.
After you find the flights you want to use, write down the flight numbers and have them ready when you call Lufthansa.
Important Award Booking Considerations
- Two stopovers and two open jaws are permitted
- Try to avoid heavy fuel surcharges
- To avoid high fuel charges, try booking with partner airlines: United for flights within the U.S., Taca, Avianca and LATAM for flights to Latin America, and LOT for flights to Europe
- Booking by phone is free and the hold time is usually short, so if you can’t find what you want online, just call and see if they can help you.