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Lufthansa Miles&More loyalty program has released a promotional award sale to a select number of destinations. If you haven’t heard of the program here in the U.S., don’t worry. It’s not as well known as many. It is, however, the largest airline loyalty program in Europe. Miles&More is the loyalty program of not only Germany’s flag carrier, but also of SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings (all Lufthansa Group airlines).

The award sale is good for bookings through the end of the month, and there are some great deals available. If you find yourself in need of Miles&More, you can transfer Marriott Rewards points to the program at 3:1, with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred (i.e. 60,000 Marriott Reards points -> 25,000 Miles&More). Alternatively, Barclays bank issues a Miles&More credit card.

Round-trip long-haul business starting at 55,000 miles

Here is the list of long-haul destinations in North American and Asia at reduced prices:

  • U.S. cities of San Francisco, Miami, NYC – Newark, Boston and Washington – Dulles to Europe in business class for 55,000 miles round-trip
  • Montreal to Europe in business class for 55,000 miles round-trip
  • Tokyo/Osaka to Europe in business class for 70,000 miles round-trip
  • Economy between U.S. cities and Europe for 30,000 miles round-trip

Here are the medium-haul deals available:

  • Jordan, Ethiopia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to Europe for 40,000 miles in business class round-trip
  • Same routes for 25,000 miles round-trip in economy.

Here are the short-haul deals:

  • Lots within Europe. I’m not going to even try to list them. Given the number of low cost carriers, though, I’m not sure intra-Europe awards will be at a decent price point.

The big catch with booking these deals

The one issue I have with the Miles&More program (and the reason I’ve really never looked into accruing their miles) is the fact they levy serious fuel surcharges on most awards. If you’re flying a carrier that doesn’t have fuel surcharges, such as United or Avianca, then there’s no harm. But Miles & More levies them on flights on carriers in their own program, as well as others, and they are substantial.

Since all these promotional awards are on Lufthansa, they are subject to very high fuel surcharges. If you’re looking to fly business and don’t mind shelling out some cash, this sale is for you. But for others (like myself) who would hardly spend $500 on a cash ticket to Europe in economy, I would never consider spending that plus miles for a ticket in the back of the bus. Nor would I be willing to shell out ~$1,000 in surcharges for a business class ticket. A mere 55,000 miles plus $1,000 is definitely a business class deal. Just not for me.

Conclusion

This Miles&More award sale offers some incredible prices to select destinations if you’re willing to swallow the surcharges. You have through September 30 to book, and the deal is valid for travel between January 1 and February 15, 2019 on Lufthansa.


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