As a loyal Travel-Dealz reader, you (hopefully) usually book cheap flights. Although this saves a lot of money, it often means that you only get very few miles credited. Many of you also like to fly with the Lufthansa Group, and there are a few exceptions and alternatives that may allow you to earn more miles, so you can reach your desired status or award flight as quickly as possible.
Here, however, you have to differentiate between travel classes. Especially in economy class and business class, there are several programs where you often won’t get a single mile credited. Therefore, we will go into these two travel classes in particular.
Economy Class
At the Lufthansa Group, cheap economy class tickets are issued in booking class K. Of all the booking classes in the group, this is clearly the one that yields the fewest miles. In fact, most mileage programs give no miles at all. But there are some exceptions:
| Frequent flyer program | Lufthansa | SWISS | Austrian | Brussels Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANA Mileage Club | 30% | 30% | 30% | – |
| Miles&More | 25% 125 miles within Europe 4 award miles per EUR if the ticket is issued by the Lufthansa Group | 25% 125 miles within Europe 4 award miles per EUR if the ticket is issued by the Lufthansa Group | 25% 125 miles within Europa 4 award miles per EUR if the ticket is issued by the Lufthansa Group | 25% 125 miles within Europe 4 award miles per EUR if the ticket is issued by the Lufthansa Group |
| United MileagePlus | 25% 5 miles per USD when ticketed by United | 25% 5 miles per USD when ticketed by United | 25% 5 miles per USD when ticketed by United | 50% 5 miles per USD when ticketed by United |
| SAS EuroBonus | 25% 125 miles within Europe | 25% | – | – |
| EgyptAir Plus | – | 25% | – | – |
| Ethiopian ShebaMiles | – | 25% | – | – |
| Turkish Miles&Smiles | – | 25% | – | – |
| Asiana Club | – | – | – | 25% |
| Etihad Guest | – | – | – | 25% |
| Air Malta Flypass | – | 100% | – | – |
At Miles&More, if the ticket was issued by the Lufthansa Group, you will be credited 4 miles per euro (pure airfare) as award miles. However, if you have a status, it is 6 miles. In addition, status members receive the Executive Bonus (25% of the distance plus status miles) – a total of 50% instead of 25%. Status members also get a bonus at United Mileage Plus.
Business Class
There are also several programs in business class that do not credit a single mile for Lufthansa’s cheapest booking class (P), but the general situation is much better than in economy class:
| Frequent flyer program | Lufthansa | SWISS | Austrian | Brussels Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 125% | 125% | 125% | 100% |
| United Airlines MileagePlus | 100% 5 miles per USD when ticketed by United | 100% 5 miles per USD when ticketed by United | 100% 5 miles per USD when ticketed by United | 100% 5 miles per USD when ticketed by United |
| Miles&More | 100% 750 miles within Europe 500 miles for domestic flights 4 award miles per EUR if the ticket is issued by the Lufthansa Group | 100% 750 miles within Europe 500 miles for domestic flights 4 award miles per EUR if the ticket is issued by the Lufthansa Group | 100% 750 miles within Europe 500 miles for domestic flights 4 award miles per EUR if the ticket is issued by the Lufthansa Group | 100% 750 miles within Europe 4 award miles per EUR if the ticket is issued by the Lufthansa Group |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 100% 50% within Europe | 100% 50% within Europe | 100% 50% within Europe | 100% |
| Air China Phoenix Miles | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 100% on some routes | 100% on some routes | 100% on some routes | – |
| COPA Airlines ConnectMiles | 100% | 100% | 100% | – |
| LATAM Pass | 100% | 100% | 100% | – |
| SAS EuroBonus | 100% 750 points within Europe 500 points for domestic flights | 100% | 100% | – |
| Thai Royal Orchid Plus | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| ANA Mileage Club | 70% | 70% | 70% | 70% |
| Air India Flying Returns | – | 100% | 100% | – |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | – | 100% | 100% 750 miles within Europe 500 miles for domestic flights | – |
| Asiana Club | – | 100% | 100% | – |
| Avianca LifeMiles | – | 100% | 100% | – |
| Ethiopian ShebaMiles | – | 100% | – | – |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | – | 100% | 100% | – |
| TAP Miles&Go | – | 100% | 100% | – |
| Turkish Miles&Smiles | – | 100% | 100% | – |
| South African Airways Voyager | – | 100% | 100% | – |
Here, too, Miles&More offers 4 award miles for every euro spent, provided the ticket was also issued by the Lufthansa Group. With status, you also get 6 miles here. Of course, status members also get the Executive Bonus here, i.e. 25% (of the distance) more status miles. United Mileage-Plus and Air India Flying Returns also give a bonus to their tier members.
Others
For premium economy and first class flights, there are actually good mileage credits with every Star Alliance miles program. Although there are differences, there is actually no risk of not getting any miles here, especially with Lufthansa. There may be some issues with SWISS’ and Brussels Airlines’ premium economy class, as they are quite new and not all programs have updated their tables to include them.
We also don’t want to forget Eurowings and Eurowings Discover as part of the Lufthansa Group. However, since both airlines are not in the Star Alliance, they are probably not the most interesting option for earning miles anyway. Nevertheless, here are the programs that allow you to earn miles on Eurowings flights:
- Miles&More
- United MileagePlus
- ANA Mileage Club
- Air Canada Aeroplan
There are even fewer options available for Eurowings Discover, namely only the following 3 programmes:
- Miles&More
- United MileagePlus
- Air Canada Aeroplan
Calculate the Exact Number of Miles
Do you have a specific flight in mind? Then we no longer need to talk about abstract percentages, but can calculate the exact number of miles. The best way to do this is using our own mileage calculator:
Are you even looking to earn a frequent flyer status? Then enter your flights in our status calculator, and we will show you how many miles you need to reach a status at each Star Alliance program, or with which programs you might already get a status with your flights:
Conclusion
If you fly in the cheapest booking classes, you have to be careful, because you could easily get nothing. With SWISS flights, however, the risk is lowest among the Lufthansa Group members, especially in business class.
So if you fly regularly with Lufthansa, you shouldn’t try to get Star Alliance Gold Status with e.g. Turkish Miles&Smiles or Aegean Miles+Bonus. However, if you really want to earn your miles with one of these “0 miles programs”, then SWISS often offers an alternative. If you want to use the entire airline offer within the Lufthansa Group with complete flexibility, you must be registered at Miles&More or United MileagePlus.
Cover Picture: © Lufthansa