This guide to the Miles & More frequent flyer program is a in-depth tutorial on the best ways to earn and use Miles & More miles. There are many parts of the series and we cover every aspect of the Miles & More program to help you maximize your mileage earning and spending.

Miles & More is the largest and most popular frequent flyer program in Europe. This makes Miles & More miles some of the most valuable airline miles to earn for European travelers.

The most powerful ways to earn the miles are not only from flying but also taking advantage of Miles & More credit cards, and other offers. To take a look at the best current Miles & More credit card offers and other deals to earn miles go here.

PART	MILES & MORE TUTORIAL
1.	Top 15 Miles & More award flights to book
2.	Miles & More program introduction
3.	Miles & More FAQ (Everything You Need to Know)
4.	Rules, fees, mile expiration
5.	Who should earn Miles & More miles
6.	Best Ways to Earn Miles & More Miles
7.	Miles & More award pricing and charts
8.	Miles & More partners
9.	Miles & More award rules - segments, stopovers, and open-jaws
10.	How to find a book a Miles & More award
11.	One-way award flights can save 1,000 miles
12.	Top Miles & More awards within Europe
13.	Tips and tricks for maximizing Miles & More miles
14.	Avoiding fees and high fuel surcharges
15.	Maximizing 3 region Miles & More awards
16.	Miles & More mileage bargains
17.	How to get extra award seats on Lufthansa, SWISS, and more
18.	Miles & More credit card - everything you need to know

Miles & More FAQ

Miles & More Program

What airlines are in Miles & More?

Airlines in the Miles & More program include:

How do I register for Miles & More?

If you are not already a Miles & More member you can quickly sign-up for the program here on the Miles & More website.

You will receive your Miles & More account number instantly when you register, but you won’t be able to search or book a flight until you have miles in your account and you receive your PIN number. You will be sent a PIN number and membership card in the mail from Miles & More after you have miles in your account.

What is the difference between award miles and status miles?

With Miles & More you can earn both award miles and status miles. Award miles can be used to book award flights and for upgrades on paid flights. Status miles (or Tier Points) are earned separately within an airline program and can be accumulated to earn Miles & More elite status.

You will earn both award and status miles at the same time when you fly, so you don’t need to choose which to collect.

Also note that Miles & More distinguishes two types of status miles. There are standard status miles and also HON Circle miles.

Which flights and ticket fares earn status miles?

You will earn Miles & More status miles on any paid tickets on flights operated by Adria Airways, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Euro Wings, German Wings, LOT Polish Airlines, Luxair, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Private Jet, SWISS and Star Alliance partners.

Which flights and ticket fares earn HON Circle miles?

You will earn HON Cirlcle miles on paid fares in First and Business Class and Best fare on German Wings.

HON Circle miles are only earned on Miles & More partner airlines, which includes flights operated by Lufthansa, Lufthansa Private Jet, Adria Airways, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Euro Wings, German Wings, LOT Polish Airlines, Luxair and SWISS.

When do Miles & More miles expire?

Miles & More award miles expire at the end of the quarter 36 months after the date of earning them. For example, if you earn miles on January 20, 2016 then the miles will expire on March 31, 2019. Award miles do not expire if you are a cardholder of any of the Miles & More credit cards or if you have status level of Frequent Travellers, Senators, HON Circle Members and JetFriends.

Miles & More status miles are earned on calendar year basis – from January 1 to December 31 of each year. Your balance of status miles resets at the start of each year, so on January 1 of each year you will start with 0 miles again.

An exception is for HON Circle members which can earn status miles over a 2 year period. This means if you have status with Miles & More your status miles won’t expire for 2 years.

What Miles & More elite status levels are there?

The status levels and how to earn them within the Miles & More program include:

Miles & More member – automatic with Miles & More registration
Frequent Traveller – 35,000 status miles earned within a calendar year
Senator – 100,000 status miles earned within a calendar year
HON Circle Member – 600,000 status miles earned within two consecutive calendar years

You can find the full benefits of the status levels here on the Miles & More webpage.

Can I transfer miles to another person’s Miles & More account?

No, you are not allowed to transfer miles between Miles & More accounts.

Can I transfer miles from one frequent flyer programme to another?

No, it is not possible to transfer Miles & More miles to another frequent flyer program.

Earning Miles

How can I earn Miles & More Miles?

There are various ways to earn Miles & More miles including

Paid tickets on Miles & More airline members
Co-branded Miles & More credits cards
Indirectly with American Express Membership Rewards credit cards,
Signing up for newspaper and magazine subscriptions
Other promotions offering free miles

Check out our top deals page to see the best current offers.

Can I earn miles for a flight I already took?

Yes, it is possible to credit miles to your account retroactively for flights. If you forget to enter your Miles & More member number on your ticket information, you can request to have these miles credited to your account for up to 6 months after the flight date.

You can request to have miles credited for past flights on Miles & More webpage. Depending on the airline you traveled on you can submit a request online or you may have to submit a paper form and send it through post.

Can I earn miles on an award flight?

No, you will only earn award miles and status miles on paid tickets. This means when you redeem award miles to book a flight you will not earn award miles on these flights.

Can I earn miles for my family on one account?

No, it’s only possible to create a personal Miles & More account. For instance, it is possible to earn miles for family members on one account with Etihad Guest, but this is not possible with Miles & More.

Can I buy Miles & More miles?

As of July 2014 it is no longer possible to purchase Miles & More miles.

You can however buy Miles & More miles indirectly buy purchasing magazine and newspaper subscriptions. If you are interested in the publication it is an added bonus, but you can often buy Miles & More miles for close to ~1 cent each through these offers.

What airlines can I earn Miles & More miles with?

You can earn Miles & More miles when you fly on flights operated by Adria Airways, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Euro Wings, German Wings, LOT Polish Airlines, Luxair, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Private Jet, SWISS and Star Alliance partners.

What is the cheapest way to earn Miles & More miles?

The cheapest ways earn Miles & More miles are by taking advantage of credit card deals and other promotions.

Can I earn miles from another person’s flight?

No, it is not possible to credit miles to your account for flights you did not fly on.

Redeeming Miles

Where can I fly on an award flight?

You can use your miles to book an award flight almost anywhere in the world. You can fly on any Miles & More partner airline and Star Alliance partner airline.

What types of award flights can I book?

You can book various award flight types using your Miles & More miles. The types of possible awards are:

Domestic award flight (within one country)
One-way awards (domestic and international)
2 region award (international)
3 region award (international)
Round the world award
Mileage Bargain awards (discount award)
Fly Smart awards (discount award)
Upgrade awards
Child awards

Can I book an award flight for someone else?

Yes, it is possible to use your miles to book an award for another person. You need to book the award through your Miles & More account and enter the passenger details for the person traveling on the flight.

How do I find out what countries are in which award region?

You can find a full list of which countries are categorized in each award region zones here.

How do I calculate how many miles I need for an award flight?

You can easily look up how many miles it will cost from one region to another using Mile & More’s award chart.

You can also use Mile & More’s online award calculator here. You can enter your departing airport and destination airport and receive a price in miles for the flight.

How can I book an award ticket?

You can book an award flights online if the travel is entirely on Miles & More airlines, including:

To book flights using miles any other airlines within Star Alliance you will need to call into the Miles & More call center at +49 69 – 209 777 777 to book the award.

You will also have to call in if you want different connections that what you find online. The online booking tool only displays specific routes which include short connections and routing options. If you want to add a stopover to your award flight you will also need to call in to make the booking.

What is the value of a Miles & More award mile?

Everyone will value their Miles & More miles differently, but a good estimated value is around 1 cent per mile. This means that you can fairly easily redeem your miles at a value of 1 cent per mile or for example for 10,000 miles you can book a flight that would cost $100.

Can I use miles to pay for part of a paid ticket?

No, it not possible to book a ticket with a combination of cash and miles.

Can I use miles to pay for the taxes and fees on an award ticket?

Yes, it is possible to pay 18,000 miles to cover the cost of taxes and fees on award flights within Europe operated by Lufthansa and Miles & More airline partners.

How much are taxes and fees on award flights?

Taxes and fees can vary greatly depending on where you are flying to and from. The most important aspect to understand is that you will also pay for airport and government taxes on award tickets.

However, Miles & More only charges fuel surcharges on some airlines. Read the section of avoiding fuel surcharges in our series to learn more.

Do I get airport lounge access when I book a Business or First Class ticket?

Yes, you generally get the same lounge access that you would when you travel on a paid First or Business Class ticket.

How far in advance can I book an award ticket?

You can book an award ticket up to 361 days before departure.

Are there a minimum number of days before departure that an award ticket needs to be booked?

Yes, you cannot book an award ticket within 2 days of departure.

Can I change and cancel an award tickets?

Yes, you can both change or cancel of a normal award tickets for a fee of 50€ regardless of date of travel, class of travel, and airline or travel. If a normal award ticket is cancelled your miles will be redeposited into your account.

However, on reduced flight awards you cannot change or cancel a ticket. This includes Mileage Bargain and Fly Smart award tickets, so you should be certain you can travel on the flights when you book. If you cancel a reduced flight award you will not get your miles and/or taxes and fees refunded.

Can I cancel within 24 hours of booking for free?

Yes, with all award tickets, including reduced flight awards such as Mileage Bargain and Fly Smart awards, you have the option to cancel the ticket for free within 24 hours of booking. If the ticket is canceled within 24 hours of booking you will be refunded all miles and taxes and fees.

Can I hold an award flight for free?

Yes, Miles & More allows you to hold an award flight for 5 days for free. Once you hold an award flight you must complete the booking and pay all taxes and fees before the hold expires.

What are the change, cancellation, telephone booking, and close-in booking fees?

The Miles & More change, cancellations, and close-in booking fees are:

Phone booking fee: No fee
Close-in booking fee: No fee (note: you cannot book awards within 2 days of departure)

Change fee: Free within 24 hours after booking, then 50€
Cancellation fee: Free within 24 hours after booking, then 50€

Can I book a one-way award?

Yes, it is possible to book one-way awards. In fact, in some situations you can save miles by booking two one-way awards to complete roundtrip travel.

Miles & More charges 50% of the roundtrip price on awards and on one-way awards the price is rounded down to the nearest increment of 1.000 miles. For example, a domestic roundtrip award within the USA costs 25.000 miles, but if you book it as two separate one-way awards it will only cost 24.000 miles.

Can I add stopover and open-jaws to an award tickets?

Yes and adding stopovers and open-jaws is one of the best ways to maximize your miles. Miles & More has some of the most generous stopover rules out of any frequent flyer program, so it’s to your advantage to make the most of them.

What is a stopover? A stopover is when you stop in a city for more than 24 hours in route to your final destination.

What is an open-jaw? An open-jaw is when you fly back home from a different city than your original destination city.

How many stopovers and open-jaws are allowed on award tickets?

Lufthansa has very generous stopover and open-jaw rules on award tickets. In general you are allowed 2 stopovers and 2 open-jaws on a roundtrip award.

More detailed stopover and open-jaw rules include:

1 stopover per direction on roundtrip awards only
Up to 2 open-jaws on roundtrip awards
Stopovers are not allowed in the region from which you depart
Stopovers are only allowed on award tickets that include two or more regions

How many flight segments are allowed on the different award types?

Miles & More also has limits on the maximum number of flight segments you can have on an award type. This limits the routings and connections that you are allowed on certain awards. The rules are as follow:

1 region award – 2 flight segments per direction, which means 4 per roundtrip
2 region award – 3 flight segments per direction, which means 6 per roundtrip
3 region award – 4 flight segments per direction, which means 8 per roundtrip

What are the rules for Mileage Bargain award tickets?

Miles & More has reduced flight awards called Mileage Bargain awards which offer ~50% the price in miles when you book and travel within specific dates and destinations.

It’s important to note that it is not possible to get a refund on reduced flight awards, so if you cancel one of these awards you will not be recredited your miles or refunded the taxes and fees (including fuel surcharges).

When are Mileage Bargain deals updates?

New Mileage Bargain awards for selected cities are released every month. You can check here on Miles & More’s webpage for the current selected departure and destination cities.

Is it a good idea to save all of my miles or to use them?

Generally no. Over time frequent flyer programs tend to devalue their mile currency and the price of award flights increases. This happens slowly, but it’s still best to use your miles when you have an award ticket you would like to book and earn more miles in the future.

After all, you are not collecting all these airline miles just to sit in your account. Go travel!

What is the best way to use Miles & More miles?

We’ve put together some of the top uses of Miles & More miles, but the best way to use your miles is ultimately what award flights make the most sense and provide the most value to you while reaching your travel goals.

Miles & More Tutorial: Part 3 – Miles & More FAQ (Everything You Need to Know)