At the beginning of the year, the joint loyalty program of Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, Luxair and LOT will implement groundbreaking changes. From January 1, 2024, you’ll earn (status) points instead of status miles at Miles&More. After the change, the travel distance is no longer relevant if you want to earn a status. Booking classes will also become less important – it will all be about travel classes and flying between continents.
Miles & More Continents
In total, Miles&More has defined 6 continents, that more or less resemble the geographical continents. Notable exceptions are parts of North Africa, that will count towards Europe. These are the six regions:
- Europe (and North Africa)
- Africa
- Asia
- Oceania, with Australia & New Zealand
- North America with Central America and the Caribbean
- South America
Hint: You can see the countries’ names by moving your mouse on the map.
Status Points & Thresholds
With travel distance no longer being relevant, Lufthansa will henceforth differentiate between Continental and Intercontinental flights. Any flight within the same region is Continental, any flight between two regions is considered Intercontinental. Depending on your travel class, you can earn the following status points:
| Class | Continental | Intercontinental |
| Economy Class | 20 | 60 |
| Premium Economy | 20 | 80 |
| Business Class | 40 | 200 |
| First Class | 40 | 300 |
Further, Lufthansa will reward you in Points, Qualifying Points and HON Circle Points, implementing further challenges on your way to a frequent flyer tier.
- (Status) Points: Are earned on almost all Star Alliance flights.
- Qualifying Points: Are earned when flying one of the following airlines
- Lufthansa
- Swiss
- Austrian
- Brussels Airlines
- Eurowings
- Discover Airlines
- Air Dolomiti
- Croatia Airlines
- LOT
- Luxair
- HON Circle Points: Are earned on Business Class or First Class flights with the airlines above. All HON Circle points are Qualifying Points.
To gain one of Miles&More three status tiers, you will need to pass the following thresholds:
| Tier Level | Total Points | Quali. Points | HON Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent Traveller (Star Alliance Silver) | 650 | 325 | – |
| Senator (Star Alliance Gold) | 2,000 | 1,000 | – |
| HON Circle (Star Alliance Gold) | 6,000 | – | 6,000 |
These requirements don’t add up, meaning you would need to earn 650 points to gain frequent traveler status, 325 of those must be qualifying points. This also means that only Miles&More member airlines’ premium tickets count towards HON Circle status.
We have taken a more in-depth-look at the upcoming changes here:
Comments (12)
If I upgrade a Business class (D) flight to First (O) using e-vouchers, will I get qualifying points for the class flown or booked?
The flight is international with Lufthansa.
You will get points for the original booking class, so in your case D (Business Class)
Did I understood correctly.
Even tough I would fly thousand of flight with United Airline in Business Class and none of the Lufthansa group I still would not get Frequent Traveller status?
That is correct
Will travelers receive points for award tickets?
No. You only get miles for segments that will also earn at least one award mile.
This has pros and cons.
However I thank the author for cracking down the new rules, LH was not so clear.
It’s a bit sad for those in Asia: if I fly from Thailand to Japan (up to 9 hours if you head to Sapporo) the amount of received points is like flying a 1,5 hours flight between Phuket and Singapore…not really rewarding
Looking forward to a post/article with all the sweet spots! Am I right in the assumption that TLV-ATH in Aegean Business would count 200 points per segment? As soon as the political situation in Israel calms down this route could be attractive for ~400€…
Hi Johannes. Yes, that assumption is correct.
LOt and Croatia are also count as a HON miles
Hi! Thanks for the clarification, I rephrased any ambiguity.
As clever and as clear as usual. Thanks a lot!