Best Ways to Spend Lufthansa Miles & More

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

Lufthansa's Partners

Lufthansa Miles & More

Lufthansa Miles & More Standard Award Chart

How Best to Redeem Your Miles: Introduction

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)

Bargain Awards compared to Other Points Currencies' Standard Pricing

Sometimes Great Points Usage: Upgrade Awards on Many Carriers

Good Points Usage Example savings 33%: Early Bird Out of Boston, New York, Charlotte, & Some International Destinations to Frankfurt & Munich

Decent Savings on Points Usage: Lufthansa's 16.7% off last-minute deals US-Europe are with Fly Smart

More Good Use Examples

Problem w/ Fuel Surcharges (i.e. half the cost of a flight in economy)

How to Get Around Fuel Surcharges w/ Positioning Runs to Mexico

How to Get Around Fuel Surcharges w/ More Miles

Related:

Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card

Points Purchases