Best Ways to Spend Lufthansa Miles & More
- Adam Garrett
- Oct 29, 2023
- 1 min read
Perhaps the most valuable sign-up bonus on a US-based credit card at the moment with a low spend requirement is that of the Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card by Barclays, offering 100k miles after $3k spent in 3 months from opening & incurring an annual fee of $89. I felt that a supplementary article would be in order on how to use those points effectively in ways that are unique to the miles rather than focusing on max value regardless of superior alternatives (which is the typical approach with these sorts of blogs from others).
Image courtesy Barclays
About Lufthansa
Basics: Highly rated, Many Routes, Especially in & around Europe, w/ over 20 US Destinations
In case you're unfamiliar with Lufthansa, it's a highly-rated airline based out of Germany. In 2023, it's ranked #21, right behind Delta at #20 (the top-ranked US-based carrier), overall by Skytrax.
Lufthansa is one of the biggest airlines in the world, with plenty of options flying on Lufthansa from the US to the Eastern Hemisphere, especially Europe & close to Europe:
Image courtesy Skytrax
Lufthansa's Partners
Lufthansa's partner network, where you can also use their miles on 40 airlines, is extensive, including but not limited to Star Alliance, the biggest airline alliance in the world, with carriers like United, Air Canada, Avianca (based out of Columbia), ANA (based out of Japan), Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, & Turkish Air.
Lufthansa Miles & More
Lufthansa Miles & More Standard Award Chart
How Best to Redeem Your Miles: Introduction
While it's certainly possible for US based travelers to redeem Lufthansa Miles & More on United Airlines, which many can readily take advantage of, the value per point will typically be low in those cases, and there are much better ways to accomplish those same flights, such as 15k Turkish Air Miles & Smiles on round trip flights that would cost 30k Lufthansa Miles & More Miles. the best ways to redeem your 100k Lufthansa Miles & More Miles is typically going to be on promo award travel, such as Lufthansa's recurring Mileage Bargain awards, their ongoing Early Bird flight awards, and ongoing last-minute deals with Fly Smart.
Excellent Points Usage: Bargain awards available (50% off or more) are on Lufthansa & Lufthansa partners (i.e. 30k round trip West Coast to Europe in Economy Class & 55k Business Class)
The bargain awards available (50% off or more) are on Lufthansa & Lufthansa partners. Flights available & carriers available differ depending on the month, but it's typically hundreds of offers to cities around the world (149 total cities internationally for departures from 8 total US cities at the moment w/ 3 carrier options at the moment), primarily in Europe. The cities in the US, in Europe, & elsewhere aren't always the same, & not all cities/carriers are eligible at once. Examples of their bargain awards for travel from select cities in the US to select cities in Europe include:
1. 30k miles instead of 60k for round-trip travel to Europe from the US (typically) using Lufthansa Miles & More
Bargain Awards compared to Other Points Currencies' Standard Pricing
1. 30k miles instead of 60k for round-trip travel to Europe from the US (typically) using Lufthansa Miles & More
While it's not typical for flights to be that low in miles cost from other currencies from the West Coast to Europe, Lufthansa isn't alone.
Virgin Atlantic has some strong points options from the US to Europe as long as you can swallow the fees, especially during their standard season, that avoids these dates:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
1 way superior example option if flying DC-Dublin:
Image courtesy Avios.com
1 way examples during standard season below that are a match in points cost with typically easier acquisition methods than Lufthansa:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
That said, when going to Germany, Lufthansa Miles & More would take less miles in off season, though admittedly with higher fees than Virgin:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
Another example of lower potential cost to many destinations in Europe is with Iberia miles flying Iberia (from Los Angels to Madrid below). In 2023 ratings by Skytrax, they're better rated than Lufthansa, flying exclusively on off peak dates:
Image courtesy Iberia
Also once you add in connections to destinations like Germany, factoring in increased fees as well, you might say that things favor Lufthansa Miles & More, depending on the itinerary:
Image courtesy Iberia
Additional examples of low miles to Europe from the US include British Airways & Aer Lingus, but the fees can be pretty hefty with many airlines (Lufthansa included) to fly in and out of the UK. Flying Blue is also a viable option to Europe, especially during their own promo awards, though recent changes to the program were a mixed bag.
2. 40k instead of 80k in premium economy round trip using Lufthansa Miles & More
That's less than a Virgin Atlantic miles Premium economy class ticket to London from the West Coast during standard season:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
That's more than the premium economy cost from the East Coast to London during standard season:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
It's less than options to mainland Europe during standard season:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
Lufthansa is inferior to Iberia even in peak season when flying directly to Madrid from Los Angeles in premium economy, but Lufthansa's premium economy product is better rated by Skytrax than Iberia's & Iberia's pricing is higher when you add in connections to other parts of Europe.
3. 55k instead of 112k in business class round trip using Lufthansa Miles & More - here you'll find a lot of the highest value per point uses, and no points option I'm aware of to get to Europe in business class for less flying Star Alliance. Virgin Atlantic doesn't come close from LAX-FRA, i.e. these 1 way prices:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
Even their 1 way pricing from the West Coast to London is more for the 1 way than for a round trip in business class:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
A 1 way East Coast to Paris is still around double the points flying with Virgin miles:
Image courtesy Virgin Atlantic
One close example flying Star Alliance I can think of in business class from the US to Europe would be a star Alliance 88k round trip award from ANA miles (1:1 Amex transfer partner).
When flying beyond the bounds of Star Alliance, Iberia business class can have some similar pricing, with flexibility for using points vs $ as well, & in this case, it's actually better rated than Lufthansa's business class. Iberia Business Class is ranked #20 by Skytrax, while Lufthansa isn't in the top 20 for 2023. Below includes both peak & off peak dates:
Image courtesy Iberia
Aer Lingus Business Class can also have relatively similar pricing from the US to Ireland, w flexible points options as well based on the fees (1 way pricing below):
Image courtesy Avios.com
Sometimes Great Points Usage: Upgrade Awards on Many Carriers
Upgrade awards are another viable option to use Lufthansa Miles & More,i.e. United Airlines upgrades starting at 5k Lufthansa Miles & More.
With the only US based Star Alliance carrier, United, upgrade awards are only good on United flights. There are fantastic options using those upgrade awards on United flights, i.e. 39.5 cents per point in value, but again, it's only when flying United, not when upgrading with their partners. With Lufthansa, there are award charts for upgrade awards with 27 airlines.
Here's the chart for 1 way upgrades from the US to Europe flying Lufthansa in Business Class, which doesn't seem that appealing compared to bargain awards, but don't let that stop you from exploring a wide variety of viable upgrade awards:
Image courtesy Lufthansa
Also, keep in mind that 1 way business class flying Lufthansa can cost in excess of $7k from the US to Europe if paying in $.
Here's an example demonstrating the massive difference between economy & business class:
Good Points Usage Example savings 33%: Early Bird Out of Boston, New York, Charlotte, & Some International Destinations to Frankfurt & Munich
Lufthansa's up to 65% off Early Bird flight awards on Lufthansa, Swiss, or Austrian are possible when booking >30 days before departure.
"-The minimum stay is four days and the earliest possible return flight is on the first Sunday after commencement of travel.
-...only available for non-stop flights...
-...available from Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Geneva or Vienna.
-The outbound and return flights must be booked with the same airline.
-Cannot be combined with other flight award products.
-Rebookings and cancellations are not possible.
-The maximum stay is limited to three months."
Here's the Early Bird Pricing on Lufthansa:
Decent Savings on Points Usage: Lufthansa's 16.7% off last-minute deals US-Europe are with Fly Smart
Lufthansa's 16.7% off last-minute deals are with Fly Smart on Eurowings, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines. For flights from or to Europe from North America, Southern Africa and India, it's 50k miles instead of 60k miles round trip, so only around 16.7% off. Elsewhere, it's up to 50% off supposedly, but I could only find up to 42.9% off, and those often wouldn't be great redemptions anyways. Many of those flights could be for less or the same amount of points with other airlines miles that are easier to acquire. For instance, on short itineraries, such as Paris to Berlin, Prague, Edinburgh, Venice, or Barcelona, flights can be had for as little as 9k RT in economy or 18k in business class using Virgin Atlantic miles, which are easier to acquire than Lufthansa Miles & More. For longer itineraries, 15k round trip within Europe 1 (Eastern Europe) or 20k within Europe 2 (Western Europe) using Turkish Air Miles & Smiles that are easy to acquire is a viable option. "Choose your flight in Economy or Business Class with participating airlines no earlier than 14 and no later than two days before departure."
More Good Use Examples
For more ideas on good use cases, though I would disagree in a number of cases due to alternate superior options for the same or similar awards using points currencies where effective acquisition cost (via purchase or CC spend) is less, go to Upgraded Points' article on the best ways to redeem Lufthansa Miles & More here.
Problem w/ Fuel Surcharges (i.e. half the cost of a flight in economy)
With many airlines that you use Lufthansa Miles & More miles on, there will be hefty taxes & fuel surcharges if you use the low points option. Here are some examples, per Upgraded Points & MileValue.com:
Image courtesy Upgraded Points
Per that article, the following fuel surcharges are assessed on flights between the U.S. and Germany when flying Lufthansa:
Long Quote Below:
Round-trip first class: ~$1,800
Round-trip business class: ~$1,700
Round-trip premium economy: $600
Round-trip economy: $320
Total taxes and fees for round-trip first class are ~$1,996, while business class is ~$1,896, premium economy is ~$796, and economy is $516.
The key to minimizing fuel surcharges here will either be to use a Star Alliance frequent flyer program that doesn’t pass on fuel surcharges or to fly between countries with regulations that limit or prohibit fuel surcharges... Lot Polish doesn't charge as much as most of their European partners, but you're still looking at around $200 each way."
How to Get Around Fuel Surcharges w/ Positioning Runs to Mexico
Per Upgraded Points, "Here are the countries that ban or regulate fuel surcharges:
Argentina
Australia
Hong Kong
Mexico
Maldives
New Zealand
Philippines
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Vietnam
As long as your flights originate in one of these countries, your fuel surcharges will be significantly less than what you’d normally pay compared to a flight departing from the U.S."
For those in the Southern or Western US, a positioning run to Mexico is a viable option in some cases, whether flying on Lufthansa or another carrier:
If doing a positioning run, just be sure to leave plenty of time in the event of a delay between flights that aren't connected w/ the airline(s) so that you don't get left behind.
Even better in some cases are going to be flights with partners like United Airlines due to a much higher volume of destinations within Mexico (i.e. Monterey-MTY that's a 2 hr drive from Texas)
If you find United saver award availability and the Lufthansa online availability doesn't match, call Lufthansa to see if a phone booking for the United saver available flight can be booked.
Image courtesy United
Image courtesy Lufthansa Miles & More
How to Get Around Fuel Surcharges w/ More Miles
While not available with every booking, a typical booking w/ Lufthansa Miles & More will include the option to use more miles to do away with fuel surcharges. Because recent history has provided the ability to buy miles for as low as 1.4 cents each, I generally recommend taking advantage of this method if the additional miles would be worth more than 1.4 cents each.
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