UPDATE: Article has been updated to reflect price changes.

Welcome to a new series of articles that many readers have asked me to pay attention to. This series will be called Best Ways to Redeem Your Miles…

These articles will be a mirror image of another series How to access… If there we are talking about which miles are the most profitable way to purchase an award ticket for a specific product of a specific airline, then here we will discuss various options for using miles of a specific loyalty program.

I hope that one series of articles will organically complement another.

So, we'll start with one of the most popular and most controversial loyalty programs in the world.

Miles&More

Miles&More is a loyalty program for several European airlines at once: Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, LOT, Adria and Croatia Airlines. In addition to these airlines, which are the "founders" of the program, and other carriers included in the Star Alliance, the partners of the program are Condor, Eurowings, Luxair, Air Astana, Air Malta.

Based on the number of passengers registered with Miles&More, this is the most popular loyalty program in the world.

Miles&More can be treated differently. On the one hand, there are thousands (&more) ways to earn miles in this program, including - and importantly for Russians - co-branded cards.

On the other hand, inexperienced users who have accumulated a fair amount of miles find themselves in a daze when they see how the astronomical fuel surcharges charged on the purchase of award tickets make the use of these same miles impractical.

The truth, as is often the case, lies somewhere in the middle. Miles&More has a lot of interesting use cases, but before you make it the main program in your portfolio, you need to be clear about its limitations.

So, let's first discuss briefly the general conditions regarding award tickets and then see what purposes Miles&More miles are best suited for.

Fares and conditions for Miles&More award tickets

A full description of the terms of the program is beyond the scope of this article, but here are the highlights.

This is how the pricing table for award tickets looks like, regardless of whether we are talking about the Lufthansa Group or alliance partners.

Prices in the table are for round-trip flights. A one-way flight costs exactly half as much. Moreover, Miles&More uses price rounding to the nearest thousand in favor of the passenger. For example, a flight from Europe to Central America in business class will cost not 127,000 / 2 = 63,500 miles, but only 63,000 miles. Generously!

Before booking a return flight worth an odd number of miles, try splitting it into two one-way flights to save 1,000 miles.

The above table has some nuances.

Flights within one country are calculated at special rates Domestic. So, for example, a flight within the USA / within Switzerland is considered at the rate Domestic and not according to the tariff North America—North America/Europe-Europe.

Tariffs 3 regions are valid if your route crosses the third region. And this is not about a transplant that you have laid down for maximization purposes, but even about forced transit. For example, a flight from the USA to Southeast Asia via Europe will be calculated not according to the main table, but according to the table 3 regions.

Miles&More limits the number of flight segments. It depends on how many regions the award ticket includes:

• 1 region: 2 one-way segments, 4 round-trip segments
• 2 regions: 3 one-way segments, 6 round-trip segments
• 3 regions: 4 one-way segments, 8 round-trip segments

You can book flights online with almost all partner airlines. Exceptions: Air India, Cathay Pacific, Air Astana.

So, now that we have clarified the main points on which award tickets work, let's actually discuss the best ways to use miles.

Lufthansa first class

Classics of the genre! This is the best way to use your Miles&More miles. Many people think that it is the only one. As we will see later, this is not the case at all. But if you take into account not mathematics, but the use of miles for inspirational purposes on a special occasion, then this is really almost the only option 🙂

Why is this the best investment for Miles&More miles?

• Miles&More is the only program to make Lufthansa First Class tickets available up to 2 weeks before departure
• High fuel surcharges justify themselves in the first place when purchasing such expensive flights
• I haven't talked about it yet, but Lufthansa first class is creepy horror

How much will it cost to fly Lufthansa first class from Europe ( one way)?

• North America: 91,000 miles
• South America: 111,000 miles
• Middle East: 65,000 miles
• India: 91,000 miles
• South Africa: 91,000 miles
• Southeast Asia and the Far East: 111,000 miles

In some other programs, we see slightly lower prices for similar routes, but Miles&More prices are generally adequate, especially given the ability to plan a flight more than two weeks before the desired departure date.

Before making a decision, of course, it is worth bearing in mind the Miles&More fuel surcharges and the cost of accumulating these miles and partner miles. However, this is more of a topic of discussion for the article " How to access Lufthansa First Class» 🙂

All of the above applies to first class Swiss; except that only status members of Miles & More - Senator and HON Circle can purchase it for miles.

Fly Smart

Fly Smart premium rates apply to flights within Europe booked no earlier than two weeks and no later than two days before departure.

Those who can make a decision in this period of time can save a lot.

A round-trip flight in economy class will cost 20,000 miles, and in business class - 30,000 miles.

This may represent a good value in the case of expensive flights to rare destinations or during the high season.

The good news is that taxes and fees can also be paid with miles. They cost 15,000 miles - for both economy and business.

Fly Smart tickets can only be booked online.

Meilenschnappchen

Every month Miles&More puts on sale some of the itineraries at discounted prices.

So, for example, round-trip flights in business class between Europe and the USA cost 55,000 miles instead of the traditional 112,000, and between Europe and Asia - 70,000 instead of 142,000. Solid savings! It's nice that the Meilenschnäppchen prices haven't changed since the standard price increase a few months ago.

However, again, high fuel surcharges should be kept in mind. As a general rule, Meilenschnäppchen make sense for exotic and expensive destinations. But if flights with Eurowings and LOT flights are on the sale list, then the fees for them are much lower!

Sometimes intra-European destinations for flights in economy class with insignificant fuel surcharges are on the Meilenschnäppchen list. Most often we are talking about LOT flights.

In addition to fuel surcharges, the Meilenschnäppchen problem is that the travel period is far in the future, and flights one way not allowed. However, in certain circumstances, these suggestions may make sense.

LOT business class

If you want to avoid astronomical fuel surcharges, the solution is LOT!

The Polish airline does not charge unreasonable fees when purchasing award tickets.

So, a flight from Warsaw to Beijing on a LOT flight costs 71,000 miles + 294 PLN (68 €).

A flight on the same route via Germany aboard Lufthansa costs 71,000 miles + 1198 PLN (277 €).

We can also safely say that the LOT business class product is at least as good as the Lufthansa business class, if not better. So in this case, saving does not mean a product of lower quality.

Premium Class departing from Hong Kong and Brazil

This history as old as the world is valid not only in the Miles&More program. Brazil and Hong Kong are the only two countries to legally prohibit fuel surcharges on award tickets.

Therefore, with departures from Brazil and Hong Kong, flights with Lufthansa make sense not only in first class, but also in business, and even in premium economy.

If you want to minimize fees, choose direct flights, with no transfers in Europe.

So, the flight from Sao Paulo to Zurich has the lowest fees in case of choosing Swiss.

Similarly, a direct flight from Hong Kong to Frankfurt with Lufthansa will cost you less than Austrian via Vienna, Swiss via Zurich or Lufthansa via Munich.

This rule applies to all Star Alliance Partners. In the same way, you can fly cheaply from Brazil, for example, with TAP or Turkish Airlines flights.

Another good option to use this trick is Flight from Sao Paulo to Johannesburg South African Airways. In business class, it costs just 56,000 miles plus about €30 in taxes.

United flights within the USA

With 15,000 miles in Economy Class and 20,000 in United Business Class across the US, Miles&More miles are the perfect use.

According to the geographical definition, the US region does not include Hawaii... otherwise it would be too good 😉 But Alaska is included.

United has a vast geography of flights within the country, including all sorts of exotic and expensive destinations.

When it comes to business class, on flights between New York and San Francisco/Los Angeles, United uses planes with a full bed. 20,000 miles for such a product is more than adequate price.

Even better, taxes and fees on such tickets are literally going to zero. Expect to pay an amount within $10.

United flights from USA to Hawaii

While Hawaii isn't considered part of the US on the Miles&More table, United's fares are reasonable: 20,000 miles in economy class, 35,000 miles in business.

Again, you can enjoy minimal taxes and fees up to $10.

Flights between Hawaii and Australia, New Zealand and Asia

If zoning the Hawaiian Islands increases the cost of flying there from the continental United States, Miles&More zoning makes it possible to travel economically between Hawaii and Australia, New Zealand, Oceania and Asia.

One way flight between Hawaii and regions and Central Asia/Far East worth just 20,000 miles in economy class and 35,000 miles in business!

The only catch is that there are very few airlines serving these destinations, and finding affordable seats is a difficult task.

Specifically, we are talking about flights

• United: Honolulu-Guam, Honolulu-Tokyo
• Air New Zealand: Honolulu - Auckland
• Air China: Honolulu - Beijing
• China Airlines: Honolulu-Taipei, Honolulu-Tokyo (NRT)
• ANA: Honolulu-Tokyo (HND, NRT)
• Asiana: Honolulu - Seoul

Good luck finding places!

Flights within Africa and the Middle East and between these regions

The more exotic the destinations, the higher the prices are usually. The use of miles in such cases suggests itself!

Within the region Middle East/Caucasus/North/Central Africa we will have to turn to the services of Ethiopian and Egypt Air. Unfortunately, Southern Africa allocated to a separate region ...

A one-way flight in economy costs only 17,000 miles, and in business class 30,000 miles.

How much will it cost for a short flight between Addis Ababa and Zanzibar, and a longer journey between Dakar and Dubai.

Flights between Central and South America

These trips can be very expensive!

Star Alliance airlines such as Copa Airlines and Avianca will come to our aid.

Mexico is part of Central America at Miles&More, so you can fly from there to any destination South America cost only 17,000 miles in economy and 30,000 miles in business.

Copa and Avianca charge fuel surcharges, but they range from $100-$150.

Remember to compare rates across other programs such as LifeMiles and ConnectMiles. On short flights within Latin America, they often offer lower prices and better availability.

Flights within Oceania

Here we will take advantage of the vast geography of the region Australia/New Zealand/Oceania. We take the remote point of Australia and the remote point of Oceania. We get, for example, a flight from Perth to Fiji aboard Air New Zealand for 17,000 miles in economy class and 30,000 miles in business.

Taxes and fees fluctuate around $50.

As is the case with exotic destinations served by just one airline, finding affordable seats will be a challenge…

Eurowing flights

With Eurowings the situation is a bit confusing.

For short and medium haul flights, Eurowings has its own table, as Eurowings uses its own fare system.

Standard Miles&More rates apply for long-haul flights. In the table on the Eurowings website you will see another table applicable to Cologne departures/arrivals to Cologne. But, as far as I understand, this is no longer relevant, since Eurowings does not have any long-distance routes left from Cologne.

Not only the mileage rates are attractive, but also the modest taxes and fees. Within Europe, expect to pay around €50 for a one-way flight, and up to €100 for long-haul flights.

Eurowings flies to exotic places- for example, Reykjavik, Marrakech, Funchal, Punta Cana.

You can book tickets as on the Eurowings website by logging in with your Miles&More credentials and on the Miles&More website.

As I wrote above, if Eurowings destinations are on the Meilenschnäppchen list, then this is a real freebie!

Outcome

Well, I hope this list will serve as proof that Miles&More miles are a valuable currency, applicable not only to purchase obvious first class flights by Lufthansa itself.

Let's discuss other options and nuances in the comments!

Lufthansa's Miles and More frequent flyer program is the largest in Europe. It includes more than 40 partner airlines. Of these, 28 airlines are members of the Star Alliance aviation alliance. In 2011, Miles and More had 20 million members.

You can earn miles as early as 2 years of age. However, you need to remember that all accounts are strictly individual. Even members of the same family will not help unite and have one card. You can become a member of the Miles and More program by registering on the website, as well as during registration at the Lufthansa counter.

After filling in all the necessary information about yourself, you will receive a temporary program participant card in paper form. A PIN code is not issued for such a card. You can enter the program on the site by typing the username and password that you specified during registration. If at least 1 mile has not been credited to your account within 6 months, the temporary card will be cancelled.

Once your account has been credited with miles (no matter how many), you will be sent a plastic Miles and More membership card along with a PIN code.

What are the statuses of a Miles and More cardholder?

Miles and More members can not only earn awards, but also enjoy various privileges at airports around the world and during flights. By accumulating a certain number of so-called status miles (more about them below), you can travel in greater comfort. Lufthansa has comfortable lounges of various classes at many airports around the world. The holder of a status card can enjoy benefits at check-in (separate counters), privileges when transporting luggage (including sports equipment), receive even more free miles (executive bonus) or take them in advance, etc. The higher the status, the more privileges. We will not describe the privileges for each status; this information can be found on the airline's website.

The Executive bonus is a 25% bonus offered by selected airline partners to Frequent Traveler, Senator and HON Circle Members. All information about the possibility of crediting the Executive Bonus can be obtained on your personal page.

There are three types of Miles and More statuses:

FREQUENT TRAVELER. To obtain this status, you must accumulate 35,000 status miles (status miles, not award miles) within one calendar year. That is, if you issued a card on October 15, 2012, then status miles will be canceled on December 31, 2012. How to get status miles read below. The FREQUENT TRAVELER status is valid for two years.

SENATOR. You can become a Senator by accumulating 100,000 miles in one calendar year. The status is valid for two years.

hon circle. The highest status is achieved by accumulating 600,000 HON Circle miles within two calendar years.

A few months before the status expires, the cardholder will receive an email (and HON Circle members a home email) that will include, among other things, the number of miles needed to renew the status.

What are miles?

Status miles

Status miles are required to become a Frequent Traveler or Senator. They are credited for air travel with Adria Airways, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines Group, bmi, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Regional, Luxair, SWISS and other Star Alliance partners. Upon accumulating 35,000 status miles, you will be assigned the status of a Frequent Traveler. Upon accumulating 100,000 status miles, you will become a Senator. The status is valid for 2 years. If within one year you have not reached the required number of miles to receive the status, the status miles will expire. Moreover, miles are written off on December 31 of each year, that is, regardless of when the account was opened.

The validity of status miles is not limited.

Award miles

Award miles are those miles that can be exchanged for an award (free air travel, etc.). They are earned for flights on flights of Star Alliance member airlines and other partner airlines, for the services of partner companies for car rental, hotel accommodation, for the use of co-branded cards, participation in various promotions, etc. Do not confuse status and award miles! You can buy anything only for premium!

A co-branded card is a joint card of a bank and a partner, which allows you to receive discounts and bonuses on goods and services of a partner when using the card. In this case, for transactions with a co-branded card, you receive a certain number of award miles to your account.

Miles HON Circle

HON Circle is the highest status of a member of the Miles and More loyalty program. To become a NON Circle, you need to earn 600,000 miles. This can be done within 2 years from the date of issue of the card. You can earn NON Circle miles by flying with Adria Airways, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, bmi, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Regional, Lufthansa Private Jet, Luxair and SWISS. In addition, NON Circle Miles will be earned on AIRail in Germany and Airtrain in Switzerland (up to a maximum of 100,000 miles).

How do I earn miles with Miles and More?

Air travel

The Miles and More program cooperates with 43 airlines worldwide. You can earn miles by flying with all 43 airlines. Some airline provides award miles, some status and award miles, somewhere you can also get HON Circle miles and multiply your savings along with the Executive bonus program.

For example, Singapore Airlines gives both award and status miles. Jet Airways is only premium, and LOT Polish Airlines, in addition to all this, gives you the opportunity to earn HON Circle miles and take advantage of the Executive Bonus.

For more information on what miles and privileges you can get when purchasing a ticket for a flight of this company, see.

Accommodation in hotels

The Miles and More program includes over 23,000 hotels worldwide. Choose the one that suits you and earn an average of 500 miles per stay. Some hotels provide even more bonuses. For example, for every dollar or euro spent at the hotel, 1 mile is credited to your card.

Car rent

Lufthansa cooperates with leading car leasing companies worldwide. Need a car for rent? Check out the list of Miles and More partner companies and earn even more miles!

Credit cards

With a Citibank credit card from Miles and More, you can earn money simply by paying for purchases and services. You get 1 mile for every 30 rubles spent from the card. In addition, so-called "welcome" miles will be credited to your account when you apply for a credit card.

Other

With Miles and More, you can earn free miles anywhere and anytime, for example:

• talking on a mobile phone while roaming, if you use the services of a Beeline mobile operator.
• shopping at DutyFree and select airports around the world
• shopping at Chic Outlet Shopping malls

The entire list of stores, airports and other program partners can be seen on the airline's website. Don't forget to check b for special offers from Miles and More partners: Miles are often doubled.

Miles earning opportunities expanded! Club Mnogo.ru has launched a joint long-term project with the Miles and More program. Now members of the club and the program have the opportunity to exchange accumulated bonuses for award miles. 10 bonuses=1 mile. Now you can also earn miles by making purchases from club partners or by collecting bonuses with a Mnogo.ru card.

How to spend miles?

Air travel

We have already said that Lufthansa cooperates with 43 airlines, but you can purchase award flights for miles on flights of 38 airlines. A complete list is given.

Fly Smart is a nice addition to the Miles and More bonus program. By booking flights from two weeks to two working days before departure, you give away much fewer miles (up to 42% of the ticket price). This works for the following airlines: Adria Airways, Austrian Airlines Group, Brussels Airlines, Condor, Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS.

An award ticket can be issued not for you, but, for example, for your friends. Only in this case, your personal presence is required during registration.

The cost of an award ticket for a child from 2 to 11 years old will be 75% of the number of award miles required to pay for the ticket.

In general, the number of miles indicated on the site for paying for an air ticket is taken from the calculation of the round-trip trip. If you are flying one way, you will need 50% of your award miles.

It is possible to return the ticket or change the date subject to the payment of a fine of 50 euros.

For passengers with a higher status, there are privileges, for example, the ability to book an award ticket for a third party via the Internet, and even with a 50% discount.

You can calculate the cost of a trip in miles using the miles calculator. Just enter the airport of departure and destination and the booking class - the service will give you all the necessary information.

Upgrade

Instead of purchasing a ticket for award miles, you can upgrade your service class. Three are generally recognized: the first, business and economic. First class passengers are waiting for the highest level of comfort: an exquisite menu and alcoholic drinks on board, the most comfortable and wide seats, a separate check-in desk, etc. Business class also provides an increased level of comfort on board the aircraft and while waiting for the flight. In both cases, there are privileges for boarding and disembarking.

You can upgrade the service class on the flights of the following airlines with the numbers JP, AC, CA, NH, NZ, OZ, OS, DE, CO, OU, LO, LH, LG, LX, SK, SN, SQ, JJ, TP, TG, TK, US and UA: Adria Airways, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines Group, Brussels Airlines, Condor, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Luxair, SWISS, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAM, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines, US Airways and United.

Miles are not credited for an award ticket flight, but if you use the accumulated miles to upgrade the service class, you will receive award miles for the ticket at the fare that you paid.

Hotels and car rental

You can also spend your miles on hotel stays. It is a pity that their choice is rather poor. You can pay with miles by renting a car.

Other

Award miles may be useful to you in some stores. For example, in DutyFree Domodedovo (330 miles = 1 euro), in Munich airport shops (Burberry, Hugo Boss, Max Mara, etc.). Shopping on board is a reality with Lufthansa Inflight Shopping. Travel goods, cosmetics and perfumes, toys, gifts, jewelry and much more from world famous brands are presented in the Inflight Shopping magazine. At the end of the flight, miles will be debited automatically. You can arrange online shopping and pay with miles directly from home at www.worldshop.eu. A complete list of opportunities to spend your miles can be found.

Charity

Sometimes you don't know where to spend your earned miles. No trips are foreseen in the near future, or there are far fewer miles than are required to purchase an award ticket. Or maybe you are not interested in any offer from Miles and More partners. To make sure miles don't go to waste, Lufthansa offers to donate them to charitable causes. For example, by sending them to the Help Alliance fund, which finances the construction of orphanages, schools and hospitals in third world countries. Or by donating miles to Living Lakes for our planet's water resources.

Miles validity period

Like most airline miles, Lufthansa miles do not expire. They "live" 3 years from the date of enrollment. Holders of status cards do not have to worry about their miles - they will not burn out while the status is valid.

There is an exit! Miles & More allows Lufthansa Miles & More credit card holders to make their savings perpetual. To do this, you need to issue a card and make purchases with it at least once a month.

What to do if there are not enough miles?

Lufthansa offers to buy the missing miles. This is very convenient when, for example, an award ticket is missing quite a bit before buying. Unfortunately, not all airlines provide such services, which gives rise to the development of the “shadow market for miles”, which we have already discussed. With Lufthansa, miles can even be gifted.

However, it is not possible to transfer your miles to another person according to the rules of the program.

If miles are not credited

This happens quite often. To avoid problems and disappointments, ALWAYS keep your original boarding pass and a copy of your itinerary receipt! Store receipts, hotel bills, and car rentals, too, should be kept until you're sure the miles are credited. In general, miles are credited to the account within 10 days. At this time, there is no need to worry. After this period, follow the link and fill out the form. You can do this within six months from the date of the transaction.

Miles & More is the world's largest airline loyalty program. Her story began in 1993. Then, year after year, new partners joined it, new rewards appeared, and so on. More than 40 airlines worldwide and 25 million air passengers are now members of Miles & More.

In order to register with the Miles & More program and start earning miles, all you have to do is fill out a simple form. You can do this on the official website of the program, or through a mobile application.

Also, Miles & More members automatically become those passengers who have registered in the bonus program of any of the air carriers that are members of the Star Alliance.

Which airlines participate in the Miles & More program

Airlines that recognize Miles and More points (which allow them to be earned or spent on their services) are divided into two types: fully integrated airlines and partners.

Airlines fully integrated into the program:

• All air carriers belonging to the Lufthansa Group (including Eurowings and SWISS);
• LOT - Polish Airlines;
• Adria Airways;
• condor;
• Luxair.

Program partners:

• All members ;
• Air Astana;
• Air Malta;
• Air Dolomites
• Jet Airways.

How to earn Miles & More miles

The more miles, the more profitable it is to participate in the program. The first and most obvious way to replenish your bonus balance is to fly frequently with airlines that participate in the bonus program. The rules for earning miles differ from carrier to carrier, but on average they look like this:

• Flights within Europe earn a fixed number of miles;
• For flights around the world, a number of miles is credited equal to the actual distance between the airport of departure and the airport of arrival;
• For international flights, miles are credited with a certain coefficient - usually from 0.25x (for the cheapest tickets) to 2x (in business and first class).

That is, a passenger flying in economy class on the cheapest ticket is credited only with a number of points for the flight, which is only a quarter of the actual distance in miles, while a passenger who has chosen a flight in first or business class can receive a number of miles on the bonus balance twice the distance actually covered.

There are different types of miles: award, status, HON Circle and bonus.

Details and up-to-date information on how miles are credited with a particular carrier can be found in detailed reviews of airlines participating in the bonus program. This information can also be found on the official Miles & More website or on the Reward Program mobile app.

We also note other ways to earn miles:

• Book a room in a hotel partner of the program;
• Rent a car from a rental company - a partner of the program;
• Make a purchase in a partner store.

The latter method is more relevant for Europe, or rather, for Germany, since most of the partner stores are located in German airports.

You can also earn miles by using certain banking products (credit cards) and telecommunications services.

In Russia, you can earn miles using three credit cards:

• Austrian Airlines card (issuer - Raiffeisenbank);
• Miles & More cards (issued by Russian Standard Bank and Citibank).

Russian Standard Bank also offers debit cards with the possibility of accumulating program points.

Note! Members of the bonus program who do not have a special status have miles valid for 36 months. However, if you apply for a Miles & More credit card, miles will expire indefinitely.

Miles and More member statuses

For those who fly really a lot, the Miles and More program provides three special statuses:

• FREQUENT TRAVELER (issued for accrued 35,000 status miles or 30 regular flights during the year);
• Senator (for 100 thousand status miles per year);
• HON CIRCLE MEMBER (member of the honorable circle) (for 600 thousand miles in two years).

We also provide a description of the main privileges, depending on the status of the program participant:

Those who maintain their status for several years in a row receive additional status stars. Here's what it is:

How to spend Miles & More miles

Having accumulated a sufficiently large number of bonus points, it's time to think about what to spend them on now? At first glance, the members and partners of the Miles and More program offer a fairly large number of various services and services for which the accumulated miles can be spent, but in fact, as in most bonus programs, most of them are simply useless to customers.

• service class upgrade during the flight;
• reimbursement of part of the cost of the air ticket.

If you have a lot of miles, but you don’t plan to fly, then you can look into the section with partner promotions - there are a lot of Russian companies:

• taxi services;
• food delivery services, cafes and restaurants;
• home appliances stores;
• grocery stores;
• medical centers.

Each of them has its own conditions for exchanging points - somewhere, using Miles & More miles, you can get a discount, somewhere you can compensate for part of the cost of a purchase or service, and somewhere you can purchase a gift certificate.

Is it worth joining Miles & More

We would advise you to enroll in the program if you buy a ticket on a flight with an airline that participates in it. Registration is simple, it will definitely not be superfluous. Here, as in any bonus program, it's nice when some kind of bonus accumulates. But in order to save up for a truly worthy reward, it will take a very long time to save up.

As for additional services, such as co-branded credit and debit cards, we would not recommend them. Indeed, in this case, you tie yourself to a limited circle of air carriers, while there are much more profitable offers on the market, with a similar system for accumulating miles or points, but bonuses can be spent on flights of any airline.

A separate advantage of Miles & More is a convenient mobile application that allows you to visually and conveniently track your bonus balance and be the first to know about promotions and special offers of the company.

For passengers who frequently use the services of the Lufthansa carrier, the company has created a specialized bonus program. Participation in it allows you to accumulate so-called miles for flights, in order to then exchange them for incentives, service improvements and gifts. The Miles and More program from Lufthansa does not provide for additional expenses, the participant of the bonus promotion simply uses the services of the Lufthansa air carrier that he needs and receives additional privileges. Miles and More has been holding the title of the largest rewards program for passengers in Europe for several years.

The Miles and More program is inextricably linked to the world's oldest aviation alliance, Star Alliance. The German air carrier Lufthansa is a member of the alliance, therefore, along with the others, it implements the Miles and More bonus program.

We recommend starting acquaintance with visiting the official website of the program in Russian. There, any future and current client of the airline can register in the bonus program, spending only a few minutes. A package of services has been created to encourage passengers who regularly fly on aircraft of the entire alliance in general and Lufthansa in particular.

Once upon a time, the bonus program included only flights, respectively, miles were accumulated exclusively for tickets purchased for flights.

Today, Miles and More also covers hotel bookings, shopping, lodging, car rentals, and even writing reviews for some services.

Promotional offers are regularly announced on the Miles and More website, allowing you to earn much more miles than usual. However, even without using promotions, it is quite easy to accumulate miles under the program. To do this, you just need to book and pay for services.

Miles are inextricably linked to the money spent by the passenger. True, the coefficients for converting euros into miles are used differently, depending on the status assigned to the program participant.

To register in the program, enter the basic data into a special form on the official website: full name, date of birth, place of residence, contact phone number, then select a login and password to enter your account.

At the second step of registration, the system will prompt you to select the destinations you would like to receive notifications about. For example, a client is interested in promotions related to Lufthansa's European flights - there is an opportunity to choose the priority of information.

That's it: you can now earn miles with the airline and its partners.

What is Miles and More cardholder status

Miles & More is a bonus program that provides for the assignment of certain statuses to all its members. All of them are designed to motivate customers to travel as often as possible - the higher the status, the more miles and gifts you can get.

After registration, the client has a personal account, but there is no specialized card yet. To receive it, you must make at least one purchase with Miles and More partners and then credit award mile to the client account.

To upgrade to the Frequent Traveler tier, you need to earn 35,000 miles or more in a single calendar year. After entering this status, the program participant will no longer accumulate award miles, but status miles. At the same time, he will be able to spend the previously received bonus bonuses at his own discretion.

Additional privileges for Frequent Traveler status holders:

• unlimited validity of miles;
• additional promotions for award (50% more) and status (25% more) miles;
• third priority on the waiting list, check-in for flights at the business class counter;
• additional places for luggage;
• access to the business lounge;
• exclusive telephone for consultation on the provision of services;
• golf bag as part of the free baggage allowance.

Having accumulated 100,000 status miles in one year, the participant of the promotion receives a new status - Senator. In addition to the above, he also receives some additional bonuses, for example, 2 vouchers for upgraded flights. Also available are bookings up to 48 hours, second priority on the waiting list, first class check-in, 20 extra kilos of free luggage, mileage advance credit, prizes for accompanying persons and more.

The highest status in the program is HON Circle: it can be obtained by earning 600,000 or more miles in two calendar years.

The HON CIRCLE MEMBER status provides all the privileges provided by the program. The member immediately receives 6 upgrade vouchers, the highest priority on the waiting list, access to the first class lounges and the first class terminal, transfer services and car rental with a driver, a personal assistant on long-haul flights. Additionally, the spouse of the HON CIRCLE cardholder receives Senator status, regardless of the number of points.

How to earn miles with Miles and More

The Miles & More program regularly expands the list of its partners. Today, users of the bonus program accumulate miles using the services of the airline and several hundred of its partners in various fields.

As a rule, the available ways to earn miles are related to travel, but there are exceptions to the rule. It is convenient to earn miles by staying at the program's partner hotels, ordering additional services during scheduled flights on airplanes (carrying excess baggage, transporting animals, accompanying children traveling without parents, ordering in-flight meals), using mobile communications abroad, renting cars, ordering transfers. In addition, for people who want to earn miles with bank cards, Lufthansa offers to issue a plastic card with a bonus program.

In Russia, Citibank, Sberbank, Alfa-Bank and some other financial organizations cooperate with the air carrier. A mile card is used as a standard as a credit or payment card, in addition, miles are credited to the user for paying for any goods and services.

You can choose a partner company to earn miles. All options are grouped into the following categories: air travel, hotels, car rental, credit cards, telecommunications, electronics, shopping, charity.

How to spend earned miles

Lufthansa allows you to use miles not only for ordering its services, but also for purchases from its partners. Nevertheless, today the most popular areas for writing off bonuses among program participants are booking air tickets and upgrading the class of service. To learn about all the possibilities, go to your personal account on the site.

Free flights

Members of the program really have access to buying tickets for miles, it is no different from the standard booking of a seat on an airplane online. Only instead of the payment card number, the client enters the mile number, from which the “funds” are debited.

You can earn miles for past transactions if no more than six months have passed since the payment was made. At the same time, it is advisable to have boarding passes, receipts and other documents confirming the provision of a certain service.

Conclusion

Miles and More is a convenient loyalty program for those who travel with the Star Alliance and Lufthansa in particular. It allows you to receive gifts, improved service, and even fly for free.

To participate in the program, you will need to go through a short registration and pay for at least one purchase from any partner, for example, in the More miles online store. After that, the client is assigned a basic status and can enjoy all the benefits of the service.

If you issue a specialized card (they are issued by some Russian banks), you can also receive miles for purchases in your own country - miles are credited to your account for each completed transaction. With a mile card, the catalog of goods for which you can get bonuses increases significantly. In practice, each mile is equal to 20-30 rubles.

Miles & More brand: Video