Miles & More explained: award miles, points, status and redemption

If you regularly travel with Lufthansa, Swiss or Austrian, you can hardly avoid Miles & More. The program looks confusing at first glance: there are award miles, points, Qualifying Points and HON Circle Points, plus three status tiers, dozens of partner airlines and a mileage expiry rule with exceptions. This guide sorts the system out for you: how you earn, what brings status, which airlines belong to it and where your miles are worth the most. And because as a spotter you often fly yourself to reach new airports, we also look at the side that is especially interesting for you.

Miles & More: the short answer

Miles & More is the frequent flyer program of the Lufthansa Group. It launched on January 1, 1993, and is operated today by Miles & More GmbH, which was founded as an independent company in 2014 and belongs entirely to Deutsche Lufthansa AG. On flights and with partners outside aviation, you earn two kinds of balances:

• Award miles – the currency you pay with: award flights, upgrades, merchandise rewards.
• Points in three variants – they count exclusively toward your status and thus toward lounge access, priority services and further benefits.

Like all major programs, Miles & More follows the same basic principle that we describe in the overview Understanding frequent flyer programs: loyalty is rewarded, and frequent flyers are tied to an airline group through status.

Award miles: how you earn

On Lufthansa Group flights: the ticket price counts

Until March 2018, miles depended on flight distance and booking class. Since March 12, 2018, a revenue-based model has applied on Lufthansa Group flights: what matters is the ticket price, more precisely the airfare plus the airline surcharge. Without status you get roughly four award miles per euro; status members receive a higher factor. The distance flown therefore hardly matters anymore for award miles – an expensive short-haul ticket can earn more than a cheap long-haul special fare.

For you as a collector, that means: if you book cheap fares, you earn comparatively slowly. If you fly flexible fares or in premium cabins, you progress much faster.

On partner airlines: distance and booking class

For partner airlines outside the Lufthansa Group, Miles & More calculates differently. There, miles typically depend on distance, cabin and booking class, in part also on status. Very cheap economy fares earn little or no miles with some partners. It is worth looking at the airline’s earning chart before booking.

Without a flight: credit card and partners

For many members, a large share of miles does not come from the aircraft at all. Miles & More works with several hundred partners, for example in hotels, car rental, cruises, banks, insurance, telecommunications and shopping. Especially widespread are the Miles & More credit cards, with which you earn miles on everyday spending. For the Blue and Gold cards, an important exception to mileage expiry also applies, more on that below.

Points: the status model since 2024

Until the end of 2023, the status currency was called “status miles” and “HON Circle miles.” Since 2024, three kinds of points have replaced them:

• Points you earn on flights of the Miles & More airline partners and the Star Alliance.
• Qualifying Points are only available on flights of the Miles & More airline partners, that is, mainly the Lufthansa Group. They ensure that you earn part of your status with the group itself.
• HON Circle Points you earn in business and first class on the program’s partner airlines. They decide the highest tier.

All points count only within one calendar year. At year end they expire, and the collection starts over.

Status	Requirement in the calendar year	Equivalent in Star Alliance	Typical benefits (selection)
Frequent Traveller	650 points, of which 325 Qualifying Points	Star Alliance Silver	Business lounges, business check-in, priority on waitlists, bonus on miles
Senator	2,000 points, of which 1,000 Qualifying Points	Star Alliance Gold	Senator Lounges, first class check-in, upgrade vouchers
HON Circle	6,000 HON Circle Points	Star Alliance Gold	First Class Terminal Frankfurt, First Class Lounges, further upgrade vouchers, highest availability on award flights

The table shows the thresholds under the model introduced in 2024. Details on validity, special routes and the exact benefits change occasionally – the current Miles & More terms and conditions are what counts. Besides the tiers earned by flying, there is also a lifetime status for customers who have flown a great deal over many years.

Which airlines belong to it?

The program consists of two circles. In the inner circle are the airlines for which Miles & More is the home program, in the outer one the remaining Star Alliance members.

Lufthansa Group and close partners

The Lufthansa Group includes, among others, Lufthansa with Lufthansa CityLine and Lufthansa City Airlines, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Discover Airlines, Air Dolomiti and – following Lufthansa’s stake – ITA Airways. Outside the group, LOT Polish Airlines, Croatia Airlines and Luxair use Miles & More as their frequent flyer program.

The airlines were added step by step: Austrian joined in 2000, LOT in 2003, Croatia Airlines in 2005, Swiss in 2006, Air Dolomiti in 2008, Brussels Airlines in 2009, Eurowings in 2010 and Discover Airlines in 2021. Luxair has also been part of the program for many years.

Star Alliance

Then come the remaining Star Alliance members, such as United Airlines, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines or All Nippon Airways. On their flights you earn award miles and points, and you can book award flights with them. How the three big alliances work overall is explained in the comparison Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam. Your Miles & More status is translated into the Star Alliance tiers Silver or Gold and also applies with the partners, for example for lounge access.

Redeeming miles: where they are worth the most

You can spend award miles on a whole range of things:

• Award flights on the airlines of the group and the Star Alliance. The mileage price depends on the departure and destination region and the cabin.
• Upgrades to the next higher cabin, for example from economy to premium economy or business, or from business to first. Whether this is possible depends on booking class and airline.
• Miles & money: Since 2017, in Germany you can pay for flights partly with miles and partly with money.
• Taxes and fees on flights within Europe can likewise be paid with miles since 2008.
• Merchandise rewards, vouchers and partner services, for example through the Worldshop, at hotels or car rental.

An award flight is not free. Taxes, fees and the airline surcharge also apply on a miles ticket. On long-haul flights that can be several hundred euros – factor that in before you spend your miles.

What is a mile worth?

There is no official rate. Roughly speaking: for vouchers and merchandise rewards, a mile is worth only a fraction of a cent. For award flights in economy, the equivalent value is usually under a cent, in business class considerably above it and in first class the highest. If you want to get the maximum out of it, you save up for a flight in a premium cabin. Anyone who only collects occasionally and has to rescue miles before they expire is still better served with a merchandise reward than with nothing.

Mileage expiry: the most important rule

Award miles are generally valid for 36 months and expire after that at the end of the quarter. There are significant exceptions, though: for Frequent Travellers, Senators, HON Circle members and holders of the Miles & More credit cards Blue and Gold, award miles do not expire as long as the status or card remains. Points, on the other hand, expire regardless at the end of each calendar year, because they are intended only for status qualification.

Miles & More from a spotter’s perspective

For spotters, a frequent flyer program is more than a bargain-hunter topic. A few points that concretely help you:

• Award flights to new spots: With miles you reach airports you would never otherwise have visited. Destinations in the Star Alliance network in particular are reachable with an award ticket without being tied to a cash fare.
• Fly the types yourself: Many spotters collect not only types they have seen but also types they have flown themselves. An upgrade can make the flight on a big long-haul jet, such as the Airbus A380 or the Boeing 747-8, considerably more pleasant. Whether a particular type is used on a route can change at short notice, though.
• Understand the hubs: The Lufthansa Group concentrates its traffic at hubs such as Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport, Zurich Airport and Vienna Airport. When it is busy there is explained in the article on Hub waves and banking.
• Use your layover: If you connect at a hub, from the gate you often see aircraft that never show up at your home airport. On an award flight, feel free to plan a longer layover if the apron interests you.
• Alliance liveries: With Star Alliance partners, you will come across aircraft in the alliance livery. How to recognize them is shown in the post Alliance liveries.

And if you are not flying but standing at the fence: the spotter guides for Frankfurt and Munich show you where to photograph the Lufthansa Group fleet best, for example at the Zeppelinheim viewing platform or the Munich Airport visitors’ hill.

What to keep in mind

• Rules change. Miles & More has restructured its earning and status logic several times, most recently with the switch to points in 2024. Before any major planning, always check the current terms and conditions.
• Business trips are not always your miles. In Germany, employers can in principle claim miles earned on business travel for themselves. When in doubt, clarify what applies in your company.
• Miles are not transferable. According to the terms, miles belong to the account on which they were earned. Through a miles pool, though, two adults and up to five children can pool their award miles.
• Factor in surcharges. On an award flight, always compare the extra costs with the cash fare. Sometimes a cheap ticket plus collected miles is the better deal.
• Keep an eye on the expiry date. If you have no status and no suitable credit card, you should regularly check which miles are about to expire.

Conclusion

Miles & More cleanly separates two worlds: award miles are your balance to spend, points are the ticket to status and lounges. On Lufthansa Group flights, earning is driven mainly by the ticket price, with partners more by distance and booking class. You usually get the best value from award flights in premium cabins or upgrades, while vouchers and merchandise rewards make sense mainly when miles would otherwise expire. Anyone who understands the program reaches new airports more cheaply – and with them new spots.