In November 2019, Lufthansa announced major changes to its Miles & More frequent flyer program. The changes were initially supposed to kick in as of 2021, though logically enough they were postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic.
We now have an update on this — Lufthansa intends to implement Miles & More program changes as of January 1, 2024, and this has just been communicated to members. Interestingly some further changes have been made compared to the initially announced changes. Let’s go over all the details of the new program.
All of this is in addition to Lufthansa Miles & More going revenue based in 2018, and also devaluing its award chart in 2019.
In this post:
Lufthansa’s letter to Miles & More members
To start, let me share the letter that Lufthansa sent to Miles & More members in November 2019, describing the changes:
As our guest you are at the heart of our thoughts and actions. We want to make traveling as personal, simple and pleasant as possible for you, so every one of your journeys becomes a positive experience. That is our aspiration for our new, modern premium concept.
Our status programme only met this requirement to a limited extent in recent years. Your wishes for simplification also reached us more and more frequently. We have therefore set out to revise our frequent flyer programme for you. In future, you will not have to spend a lot of time figuring out rules or asking yourself how to achieve your status. You will be able to concentrate solely on what is important to you and enjoy your journey.
Today, we would like to take this opportunity to share the initial details about our frequent flyer programme with you. Here are the most important new features you can expect:
* How to achieve status will become more transparent – a comprehensible points system will replace the status miles.
* Your trust in us will pay off – status will primarily be achieved through flights with our airlines.
* Loyalty will be rewarded – there will be lifetime Frequent Traveller and Senator status for loyalty over many years.
* The period of validity will be changed – your status will be active for at least one year in future.
* The structure will become clearer – we will say goodbye to complicated elements such as Status Stars.We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
There is some ridiculous spin in this letter — “you will not have to spend a lot of time figuring out rules or asking yourself how to achieve status,” but rather “you will be able to concentrate solely on what is important to you and enjoy your journey.”
The new Lufthansa Miles & More program
As you can probably tell, the above doesn’t actually tell us much about what is changing. Fortunately Lufthansa has published all of the details of the new program. Lufthansa’s head of marketing has made two promises about the new program:
- It will be a lot easier for everyone
- Anyone flying with Lufthansa Group’s airlines will be rewarded more
Those sure are some promises…
Lufthansa will award status points rather than miles
As of January 1, 2024, you’ll no longer earn status based on a multiplier of the distance flown, but rather you’ll earn status based on earning a certain number of points. Note that this doesn’t change how you earn award miles, but rather this only impacts earning status.
The points earned will vary based on the cabin you’re flying, and whether you’re flying a continental or intercontinental flight:
- In economy you’ll earn 20 qualifying points for continental and 60 qualifying points for intercontinental
- In premium economy you’ll earn 20 qualifying points for continental and 80 qualifying points for intercontinental
- In business class you’ll earn 40 qualifying points for continental and 200 qualifying points for intercontinental
- In first class you’ll earn 40 qualifying points for continental and 300 qualifying points for intercontinental
It’s quite surprising that the most discounted fare in a cabin will earn the same number of points as the most expensive fare. This presents some interesting potential mileage run opportunities. Note that only qualifying points in first and business class count as HON Circle points, while points earned in economy and premium economy don’t count toward that.
Continental vs. intercontinental flights
The definition of continental and intercontinental isn’t quite as straightforward as you’d expect:
- A continental flight is a segment for which the arrival and departure airport are on the same continent
- An intercontinental flight is a segment for which the arrival and departure airport are on different continents
- Miles & More is counting North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia) as being part of Europe, in order to avoid a sweet spot mileage run opportunity (as this would have otherwise been a very easy way to earn status)
Points vs. qualifying points
Under the new program, Miles & More will have both “points” and “qualifying points.”
If you’re flying one of the following airlines you’ll earn “qualifying points” (these are either Lufthansa Group airlines, or airlines that use Miles & More as their frequent flyer program):
- Austrian Airlines
- Lufthansa
- SWISS
- Brussels Airlines
- Eurowings
- Air Dolomiti
- Croatia Airlines
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Luxair
Meanwhile travel on other airlines will just accrue points (and not “qualifying points”). While “regular” points can still count toward status, you need to earn a minimum number of qualifying points to earn status.
See, the program is so easy? 😉
New Miles & More status requirements
With the new program:
- Frequent Traveler status will require 650 points, and half of those need to be qualifying points
- Senator status will require 2,000 points, and half of those need to be qualifying points
- HON Circle status will require 6,000 points, all of which need to be qualifying points
Status will only be valid for a year
Historically Lufthansa status has been valid for two years, though with the new program it will only be valid for one year. I’d say that’s a pretty big devaluation.
Lufthansa introducing lifetime status
Lufthansa will be introducing lifetime status for the first time:
- Lifetime Frequent Traveler status can be achieved with 30,000 qualifying points
- Lifetime Senator status can be achieved with 40,000 qualifying points plus 10 years of Senator or HON Circle status
In both cases, only qualifying points will count toward lifetime status, so travel on most Star Alliance airlines wouldn’t qualify. If you’ve been loyal to Miles & More up until now, you can earn lifetime status based on your past activity.
Status threshold rewards tied to qualifying points
With the new Miles & More program, you’ll receive additional elite benefits based on how many qualifying points you earn, with no need to request them.
For Frequent Traveller members:
- Earn 800 qualifying points, get access to the mileage exchange feature
For Senator members:
- Earn 2,500 qualifying points, receive two eVouchers
- Earn 3,500 qualifying points, receive 15,000 award miles
- Earn 5,000 qualifying points, receive a Frequent Traveller partner card
For HON Circle members:
- Earn 7,000 qualifying points, receive two eVouchers
- Earn 8,500 qualifying points, receive 30,000 award miles
- Earn 10,000 qualifying points, receive two eVouchers
- Earn 11,500 qualifying points, receive a Frequent Traveller partner card
- Earn 13,000 qualifying points, receive a Senator partner card
Bottom line
Major changes were announced to the Lufthansa Miles & More program back in November 2019. Due to the pandemic they were postponed, but they’re now expected to go live as of the beginning of 2024.
Some people may be surprised to hear this, but I don’t actually think the new program is necessarily negative. Every program has pros and cons, and this of course represents a significant change.
I’d say it’s very bad news that status is now only valid for a year, while the good news is that lifetime status is being introduced. Other than that, I’d say the changes aren’t necessarily bad. Of course everyone has different travel patterns and preferences.
It’s interesting that Lufthansa has made several negative changes to the new program since first announcing it in 2019. For example, Lufthansa is considering North Africa to be Europe for the purposes of earning points, and economy travel won’t count toward HON Circle status (while previously the plan was that it would count).
What do you make of these Lufthansa Miles & More changes?
I always have world around tickets and now the united flight are not generating points nor qualifying points. On most of my connections there is no Lufthansa or Swiss flights available.
That is a huge disadvantage.
Bad news all round especially if, like me, you often fly intercontinental using ANA or Singapore (as well as LH and Swiss). This makes maintaining status very difficult in just one year. I’ll probably switch to another group for my next trip to Japan later this year.
What a disaster Lufthansa!? Are you trying to get rid of your clients ? Obviously rich people (flying short haul business often) are way more privileged with the new system. Meaning that they will loose many passengers over the next years to low cost and other airlines! Such a disaster can be seen only in Deutsche bahn!
Hello all, If I again requalified in 2023 for Sen can I assume that means I have two years of SEN status? Hope so as it was obtained under the 2023 rules. Anyone know the answer?
Please help me get clarity: I’ve been a Senator since 2013 (10 years) and before that a FF -for about 5 years. When I started (around 2006) the Stars program didn’t exist. As of today I have two Stars (10k + star points).
According to the LH website, I don’t qualify for a lifetime status yet (neither FF or SEN) . Besides this, I have well over 100k award and select miles and I...
Please help me get clarity: I’ve been a Senator since 2013 (10 years) and before that a FF -for about 5 years. When I started (around 2006) the Stars program didn’t exist. As of today I have two Stars (10k + star points).
According to the LH website, I don’t qualify for a lifetime status yet (neither FF or SEN) . Besides this, I have well over 100k award and select miles and I just renewed my SEN status until February of 2026.
But In the text above it says that 10 years in the programme (among other things) enables one to qualify for lifetime status (SEN? FF?).
I have written to M&M and LH asking for clarification, but their answers are yet to come, if!
Can the author or anyone help? Thanks so much in advance.
Hello, like Roberto I have a similar situation. I joined up way back in 1996 timeframe, was a Sen for over 90% of the time. Only a short time as a FF, then up to SEN and have been for 9.5 years. I feel I should have had 5 stars years ago... Are they only looking back 10years? I have been Sen since approx 96... with two very short FF periods. Also, i requalified in 2023 with 113000 miles, so I assume I am a Sen for the next two years.. Any comments for me?
So if I read it right you need to have 1500 European economy flights for lifetime FTL :D Given after covid a really frequent traveler does ~40 segments (20 weeks outside of home) they are basically saying do it for 38 years! Year over year 38 years. Nobody survives that long with such travel ;)
If you fly business (which is useless on short-haul) you can enjoy it after almost 20 years. Also if you...
So if I read it right you need to have 1500 European economy flights for lifetime FTL :D Given after covid a really frequent traveler does ~40 segments (20 weeks outside of home) they are basically saying do it for 38 years! Year over year 38 years. Nobody survives that long with such travel ;)
If you fly business (which is useless on short-haul) you can enjoy it after almost 20 years. Also if you fly business you don't really need a status as it provides ZERO benefits over the business ticket.
They really might have skipped this option as it doesn't add any value.
Definitely a devaluation. I’m a senator for
6-7 years now! Let’s say I want to requalify, need 2.000 points, x10 intercontinental flights would bring me the points needed. Flight prices have soared through the roof. So let’s take a really low business class flight for 2.000€
which makes 20.000€ for x10 flights.
For what in exchange ;
Priority check in ! Already included in the business ticket.
Business Lounge, already...
Definitely a devaluation. I’m a senator for
6-7 years now! Let’s say I want to requalify, need 2.000 points, x10 intercontinental flights would bring me the points needed. Flight prices have soared through the roof. So let’s take a really low business class flight for 2.000€
which makes 20.000€ for x10 flights.
For what in exchange ;
Priority check in ! Already included in the business ticket.
Business Lounge, already in my Business Class ticket purchase!
Extra baggage weight, already have x2
32kilos included in my business ticket.
Hotline , everything is going online.
Long haul flights I only travel business so
my Senator status is simply irrelevant.
And on top that’s every year! For me it’s more or less brain dead. Nobody gives something for nothing and I don’t feel like I’m being rewarded for anything.
So, instead of spending at least 20.000€ a year just to have Senator printed on my forehead and sometimes watching the economy check in faster than the priority groups I deceided to spend just 750€ yearly on a Amex Platinum Business card which gives me a FREE priority pass for over a thousand lounges worldwide regardless of which class you are flying,plus one free guest can join in on the fun, plus
the membership rewards can be used for booking flights.
And I choose my airlines.
Worth checking out.
Crap. I do 16 Long-haul and 16 short-haul yearly,
Before COVID this amount got me Frequent Traveller LH (silver), Gold Aeroflot and Gold Hainan Airlines.
If I allocate all of this to LH+Group (my preferred choice), I will hit 1200 Qualifing point (double the requirement for Silver, above the 1000 qualifying for Senator (Gold) but be stuck mid-way to Sentaor because another 800 points on an non-Miles&More is needed?
Also, doing 16x...
Crap. I do 16 Long-haul and 16 short-haul yearly,
Before COVID this amount got me Frequent Traveller LH (silver), Gold Aeroflot and Gold Hainan Airlines.
If I allocate all of this to LH+Group (my preferred choice), I will hit 1200 Qualifing point (double the requirement for Silver, above the 1000 qualifying for Senator (Gold) but be stuck mid-way to Sentaor because another 800 points on an non-Miles&More is needed?
Also, doing 16x longhaul and 16x shorthaul annually gets me the lifetime Frequent Flyer (silver) ..... after what - 25 years! That's the end-of-the lifetime my dears.
hate the changes.
This is a stupid question probably - but is a flight one segment, or the whole round trip?
Passengers using the Economy & Premium Economy look to me the most penalized. I am living in Asia and flying back to Europe 3 times/year (pandemic period excluded of course). This year till now I made 2 going and back trips. Of 4 long segments I made 3 in Premium Economy and 1 in Economy, the 4 short segments in Europe all in Economy. I got 28.878 status miles. With the next trip to Europe...
Passengers using the Economy & Premium Economy look to me the most penalized. I am living in Asia and flying back to Europe 3 times/year (pandemic period excluded of course). This year till now I made 2 going and back trips. Of 4 long segments I made 3 in Premium Economy and 1 in Economy, the 4 short segments in Europe all in Economy. I got 28.878 status miles. With the next trip to Europe in December it is enough the combination Premium+Economy in the first 2 segments to reach the Frequent Traveller status (I can get 6.745 status miles).
With the new rules I will need for sure to make 3 flights/year always in Premium Economy for the long segment and even with this I can't reach the points needed to guarantee the status: I would have 600 points and 600 qualifying points. To keep the frequent traveller status I will need to take at least 3 internal segment flights in Asia with Star Alliance airlines to get the 50 point missing.
Clearly, those changes are invariably against the passengers. It's not simpler and it's harder to reach status levels. Incidentally, they also made changes to the program 7-8 years ago, which again don't benefit the passengers.
I've been a loyal customer of the Lufthansa group for over 20 years, during ten of which I had a Senator status (upended by the pandemic.) With the introduction of the new program, I'll shop around and won't necessarily...
Clearly, those changes are invariably against the passengers. It's not simpler and it's harder to reach status levels. Incidentally, they also made changes to the program 7-8 years ago, which again don't benefit the passengers.
I've been a loyal customer of the Lufthansa group for over 20 years, during ten of which I had a Senator status (upended by the pandemic.) With the introduction of the new program, I'll shop around and won't necessarily have to feel "loyal" anymore. What a shame.
Fully agree with you
This is a serious devaluation for economy and premium economy flyers. I have been a M&M Senator for several years. Really enjoying the perks. Seems like that's going to be bye bye when my status expires in 2 years. With the new system I will barely reach Frequent Flyer status (Lufthansa provides this handy tool with which you can calculate how much more you will have to fly from next year on). As status matching...
This is a serious devaluation for economy and premium economy flyers. I have been a M&M Senator for several years. Really enjoying the perks. Seems like that's going to be bye bye when my status expires in 2 years. With the new system I will barely reach Frequent Flyer status (Lufthansa provides this handy tool with which you can calculate how much more you will have to fly from next year on). As status matching within Star Alliance is almost impossible, I'll have to start looking for an opening with Sky team or OneWorld.
I went to the FAQ from the email I received from them and found this as the last Question.
It would appear that if you got your miles through a credit card bonus or spend on a CC, you cannot redeem your miles. This also mean that if you credit your flight to United or AC instead of Lufthansa, you would have no 'paid' service with them.
Am I reading this correct?
"What does it...
I went to the FAQ from the email I received from them and found this as the last Question.
It would appear that if you got your miles through a credit card bonus or spend on a CC, you cannot redeem your miles. This also mean that if you credit your flight to United or AC instead of Lufthansa, you would have no 'paid' service with them.
Am I reading this correct?
"What does it mean that a paid service is required to redeem miles? Why has this been introduced?"
"This rule means that members can only redeem miles if they have been credited automatically at least once for a paid service (e.g. for a flight). In other words, members who have only received miles by signing up to a newsletter or making a mileage request, for example, cannot redeem miles."
No sense. Too many bad changes. In particular the fact that neither the current status nor the paid rate doesn’t imply anything in the calculation
10+ years of loyalty with Lufthansa but will definitely switch to another airline/alliance.
For North Africa flights, the new program is NOT only negative it is CATASTROPHIC… how come it is counted as Europe !!! This is totally unfair… & shows clear bias & distinguish … I am a Senior member & with intensive travel between Germany & Egypt… at the current program I could reach the Senator status within only 6 months of my current travel pattern on economy class … I discussed this issue with other...
For North Africa flights, the new program is NOT only negative it is CATASTROPHIC… how come it is counted as Europe !!! This is totally unfair… & shows clear bias & distinguish … I am a Senior member & with intensive travel between Germany & Egypt… at the current program I could reach the Senator status within only 6 months of my current travel pattern on economy class … I discussed this issue with other Senators here from Egypt & we all agreed & decided that if the new program will count Egypt as such unfair/ non logical way , we will regrettably stop dealing with / leave miles&more … & will go for other options like miles&simles, … etc . I do believe that Definitely, Lufthansa will lose many loyal travelers if they reconsider this bias & unfair approach towards North Africa / Egypt
I think this is very negative, so if I book a business class ticket via Lufthansa a flight from Frankfurt to San Francisco and the actual airline flying is United Airlines. Does that mean I won't receive qualifying points. I spent over 37nights sleeping on star alliance aircraft flying worldwide. This limits the Airlines I can actually fly with to keep my status which is ridiculous and the sole purpose for Star Alliance is "Star...
I think this is very negative, so if I book a business class ticket via Lufthansa a flight from Frankfurt to San Francisco and the actual airline flying is United Airlines. Does that mean I won't receive qualifying points. I spent over 37nights sleeping on star alliance aircraft flying worldwide. This limits the Airlines I can actually fly with to keep my status which is ridiculous and the sole purpose for Star Alliance is "Star Alliance". This just defeats the purpose of Star Alliance and I will be looking at a different program going forward. Instead of increasing service and opportunities they are just getting cheaper. Business class seats on Lufthansa are uncomfortable and narrow, I'd chose Singapore Airlines, Eva Airlines or Turkish Airlines any day over Lufthansa. I love the original Miles & More program and their catalog but this is going to alienate a lot of very frequent flyers....
Hi, yes, I called them on the qualifying topic, you must fly with a LH, SWISS, Austrian, machine.. even if you buy the ticket from LH.. if you do not board one of the above.. guess what .. NO Q points.. totally defeats the entire philosophy of the "alliance"!
Is Bogota to Panama considered intercontinental flight in this system?
How woll this reflect on status earned this year? Will this be valid for two years or already only one year?
Also one question I never got answered on my own: can I use bonus flights to earn segments for the 30 segments frequent flyer threshhold (in the old/current system)?
Hello, you stated that "If you’ve been loyal to Miles & More up until now, you can earn lifetime status based on your past activity". Can you elaborate on that? will they look at all my past flights?
Biggest negative to me is that the whole alliance component of star alliance is now devalued. Relatively little value in anything other than Lufthansa group flights.
Some really cheap qualifying points come in mind: LIN-BRU-TLV on Brussels business will give you 480 qualifying points for little over 1k €
Combined with a LH business flight with feeder flight to BOG gives you another 480 qualifying points.
And finally for cheap points just use Copa business between North and South America.. like BOG-PTY-UIO for 2k USD and 800 Points ✌️
Some points here and there with a budget of a couple thousands...
Some really cheap qualifying points come in mind: LIN-BRU-TLV on Brussels business will give you 480 qualifying points for little over 1k €
Combined with a LH business flight with feeder flight to BOG gives you another 480 qualifying points.
And finally for cheap points just use Copa business between North and South America.. like BOG-PTY-UIO for 2k USD and 800 Points ✌️
Some points here and there with a budget of a couple thousands Senator is doable and less expensive than before.
Premium Economy just lost a lot of value, for an already overpriced product.
Agree, I used to be able to maintain SEN status with 4x premium eco intercontinental flights a year while under the new program you need 10. It's a clear message that I (and all the other premium eco flyers with me) am no longer welcome in the Senator lounge after 11 years of SEN status. I guess I'll start dealing with the morning departure times of SQ on the EU-SIN leg.
This is hugely bad news for me. I qualify for status through intercontinental business class flights and have silver/FTL with 2 return flights (even in LH/LX's booking class P!!) in 1 of the 2 year qualification period, i.e. 1 return flight per year on average. With the changes, I will need 1½ return flights per year, which is a 50% increase and I will have to plan some trips carefully so that the outward flight...
This is hugely bad news for me. I qualify for status through intercontinental business class flights and have silver/FTL with 2 return flights (even in LH/LX's booking class P!!) in 1 of the 2 year qualification period, i.e. 1 return flight per year on average. With the changes, I will need 1½ return flights per year, which is a 50% increase and I will have to plan some trips carefully so that the outward flight is in 1 calendar year and the return flight is in the next calendar year. What a headache!
AF/KLM Flying Blue requires 1 return flight per year for silver. Thereafter, they require 2 return flights per year for gold whereas M&M will require 4½ return flights per year for gold/Senator with the same headache for me as above. Also, excess Flying Blue XPs roll-over, excess M&M points do not. So for me, it is bye-bye M&M, hello Flying Blue.
Is Persian Gulf considered Europe? Flights to UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait etc?
One thing that is not covered here is whether FT or Sen status gets you a 25% boost on status miles earned on flights with Lufthansa group airlines, as is the case with the current program. Does anyone know the answer to this?
No more boost miles unfortunately...
Yes, UGC (comment dated December 15, 2022, 5:53 pm) knows the answer to this.
Is there still 25% bonus?
No…
Ben,
What is happening about spending existing miles, how are things going to change?
The change is only for status miles, nothing changes on the award miles, you can spend them as usual, existing miles included
And so with all their massive enhancements still expiring Miles ?
Aha: Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia are considered Europe.
The 20 minute flight between Nuremberg and Frankfurt will give us as many Points as flying between Frankfurt and Casablanca.
Ben,
there are a few other devaluations which are particularly annoying, at least for me:
- no Senator partner card for HON
- no Senator lifetime card after 10yrs Senator or HON, but only after 40000 Qualifying Points
- Star Points are converted to Qualifying points at a terrible rate (1:2), and Senator Lifetime card is given only to 4 stars and above (i.e after min 18 consecutive yrs HON)
I...
Ben,
there are a few other devaluations which are particularly annoying, at least for me:
- no Senator partner card for HON
- no Senator lifetime card after 10yrs Senator or HON, but only after 40000 Qualifying Points
- Star Points are converted to Qualifying points at a terrible rate (1:2), and Senator Lifetime card is given only to 4 stars and above (i.e after min 18 consecutive yrs HON)
I really can’t believe they claim they’ve simplified the system…it’s way more complex than before! Qualifying Points, Hon points, North Africa which is not Africa…
Considering that Senator is equivalent to toilet paper, for me it’s time to say “bye bye DLH”
I fully agree! Same boat. Knife in the back to those who have been lost for many years. British would have given us lifetime already.
Goodbye miles and more
Negative for high-spending travellers who do a few long haul trips per year in First - now we easily make Senator each and every year, in the future we won’t. Seems shortsighted to penalise your highest spending customers for people buying cut-rate restricted business fares…
First class passengers are the ones who are actually benefiting from this change. Previously if someone were to fly from FRA-JFK they would have needed 4 flights per year now they are just going to need 2.
Why on Earth a first-class passenger would need status anyway? What is the benefit?
Now especially with miles multipliers being revoked?
This seems like an idea for phase-out of the program.
It's very strange the threshold for the Lifetime Frequent Traveller! It's so high compared to the Senator. 30.000 for Frequent Traveller is too high if compared to 40.000 for Senator! I think that the correct one should be maximum of 20.000 for Frequent Traveller!!
Yeah, that's one of the three weird things about the FTL in the new point system to me:
- you can neither have 325 nor 650 qualifying points / points as all earnings are multiples of 20
- if you would apply the same ratio between Sen and FTL (2000 to 650 or 1000 to 325, doesn't matter...) to the 40,000 Lifetime Sen QP, you would end up at some 13k QP for...
Yeah, that's one of the three weird things about the FTL in the new point system to me:
- you can neither have 325 nor 650 qualifying points / points as all earnings are multiples of 20
- if you would apply the same ratio between Sen and FTL (2000 to 650 or 1000 to 325, doesn't matter...) to the 40,000 Lifetime Sen QP, you would end up at some 13k QP for a Lifetime FTL. The amount you actually need is about triple of that.
- Some people assume that Lifetime Sen is underrated and will even increase to 50k QP or more. However, if you are FTL at the bare minimum i.e. 650 points / 325 QP, you theoretically already need 90 years to get it. You need to have a chance to become a Lifetime member to make this status attractive.
If this is correct, then flights on Star Alliance airlines will not receive credit towards tier status. Imagine a paid Singapore Krys Suite booking from JFK to FRA to SIN receives no credit. ANA first class from the US to Japan. There's something fundamentally wrong about this. This seems to work against the basic notion of an alliance.
As I understand (someone please correct if I'm wrong), you'll still get points on those flights, but half of the points need to be on LH Group flights. For SEN you'll need 2000 points, out of which at least 1000 need to be on LH Group.
Reference: https://www.miles-and-more.com/row/en/program/status-benefits/new-statusprogramme.html
@Lee
Your analysis is wrong. Read the M&M web-page Schlappig links to in the post, the explanation of how the new system works is clearer there.
I am very unhappy and sad about these changes
status will therefore no longer recognise how much you spend or how long/how far you fly. basically europe to near east will give you as many points as 10-12-14hrs flights to far east or south america.
At same time it will no longer be based on how much you spend. discounted business will give as many points as full flex. Good for customers, but...
I am very unhappy and sad about these changes
status will therefore no longer recognise how much you spend or how long/how far you fly. basically europe to near east will give you as many points as 10-12-14hrs flights to far east or south america.
At same time it will no longer be based on how much you spend. discounted business will give as many points as full flex. Good for customers, but again strange.
And of course this one year renewal means that only the constant flyers will be getting status.
PS: last bad thing: only M&M is changing its system, meaning the lounges will still be overcrowded with star alliance gold members from SAS, United or Agean, who seem to give away status like cookies
Lifetime status is only for Senator and not possible for HON. Other airlines and hotel groups offer lifetime status for their highest status tier. Personally, I don't see much value in Miles & More's lifetime membership.
Ben, lifetime status is not new. I have been a lifetime Senator for the past 12 years having been a Senator and HON for many years starting in the late 1990’s
It was very restricted until now though, particularly since it was only available to seniors above a certain age. Someone in their 30s could fly Lufthansa on a daily basis for the last 15 years and they still wouldn't qualify.
Right. I got it as a 60th birthday present.
wonder if the 7500 qualifying points>lifetime status is through cumulative points collected overtime or within a set time.
everyone should just relax, choose an airline that you like, forget about points or whatever. Let’s be realistic, most people travelling lots are not exactly poverty-stricken - so, buy your own insurance or book a better seat or sit in another airline’s lounge. LH can bring on any programme, I could not care less.
Devalue flying with Lufthansa even more, the 2 year status was a big benefit - but now add this to the appalling customer service now, and having to constantly make mileage requests because because 50% of the time your account is not automatically credited. Unless they fix their customer service ( currently sitting on 8 complaints for lost luggage, delays, cancellations for 4 months and more) - the membership will continue to drop as regular...
Devalue flying with Lufthansa even more, the 2 year status was a big benefit - but now add this to the appalling customer service now, and having to constantly make mileage requests because because 50% of the time your account is not automatically credited. Unless they fix their customer service ( currently sitting on 8 complaints for lost luggage, delays, cancellations for 4 months and more) - the membership will continue to drop as regular travelers seek to move to the Air France and flying blue and to airlines you can trust, airlines who put the customer at the heart of what they do.
Another big devaluation (1y vs 2y) and again rules that needs so many explanations that will make things more complicated than before ( does Athenes to Tel Aviv counts as intercontinental?; what if I buy a ticket under UA code but its operated by LH: do I get points or qualifying points ?).
Not to mention the skyhigh thresholds which make Senator for life extremely hard ( imoossible even to use spare qualifying points...
Another big devaluation (1y vs 2y) and again rules that needs so many explanations that will make things more complicated than before ( does Athenes to Tel Aviv counts as intercontinental?; what if I buy a ticket under UA code but its operated by LH: do I get points or qualifying points ?).
Not to mention the skyhigh thresholds which make Senator for life extremely hard ( imoossible even to use spare qualifying points from previous years). The program is testing its elasticity too much.. I am rather keep going with flyingblue which seems more achievable and straightforward.
Really surprised at all the hate here. I prefer this new program much much more - gives a chance to those who pay for their own flights and not only corporate travellers a chance to get Senator each year, finding great P deals will be truthfully rewarding.
Nobody with a functional brain cares.
This program has been a joke for decades.
The only reason to be a Miles and more member is the insurance, not the upgrades.
There is no way to register for Miles & More program, Error appears and i had tried more than 50 times and even written to them with no reply. Highly deplorable.
I wonder what happens to the Miles accumulated up to now - I have been saving them for years
LH already has lifetime status. I have been lifetime Senator for a few years now.
So it’s Flying Blue but more complicated.
According to an earlier map published by LH, all of Turkey is considered Europe.
.....so is IST-ANK an intercontinental flight ?
Hmmm
No. IST-CAI-TLV are 2 intercontinental flights though...
If u are willing to fly IST-FRA-ANK on LH then Sure . A 45 minutes flight of 100$ (on TK ) will cost you 12 hours (with layover) and quadruple price ! Do the math and enjoy the points !
Maybe they will fix their website to allow entering a frequent flyer partner number to an existing reservation.
Maybe they will fix their website to allow entering a frequent flyer partner number to an existing reservation.
So I guess the Frankfurt-Tunis route will get a surprising increase in business class demand.
I’m finding Algiers-Frankfurt-Tunis same day round-trip for $740 in March 2023, which would be 200 points…
So basically star silver is $740 now assuming you’re based in Algiers or around $1000 if you’re based in EU and have get to Algiers to start the mileage run
Hi Jerry,
I'm afraid not. They stipulate that, as far as points are concerned, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia will be seen as continental Europe.
@te futi la cur: just shut up and get lost!
In the last 10 years Lufthansa has become a real shitty airline. I hate to fly with them if I can avoid it.
@Ben….you said “In business class you’ll earn 10 points continental and 50 points for intercontinental”…..is that one way or round trip? So is a RT Business Class trip between US-Europe 50 or 100 points?
Think of tier points on BA. Every segment earns points . . . in both directions.
Instead of ORD to IST non-stop on THY, do ORD-JFK-FRA-IST.
I can imagine people doing tier point runs under the new system.
But, in the end, does anyone actually want to be tied up with LH?
This is VERY bad for me. Will need to fly FOUR TIMES more often than I do now (even at pre-pandemic levels) just to keep my current status. Or keep track of opportunities for mindless, cheap, circular mileage runs around the Mediterranean (through Europe, Africa and Asia) just to get inter-continental qualiflying points.
I was hoping that the pandemic would have put paid to these changes permanently but I guess not. Time to junk M&M...
This is VERY bad for me. Will need to fly FOUR TIMES more often than I do now (even at pre-pandemic levels) just to keep my current status. Or keep track of opportunities for mindless, cheap, circular mileage runs around the Mediterranean (through Europe, Africa and Asia) just to get inter-continental qualiflying points.
I was hoping that the pandemic would have put paid to these changes permanently but I guess not. Time to junk M&M and LH Group, I think. Anyone with suggestions of a better *A frequent flyer programme to join?
I guess for European is sky team the others best options
These changes seem quite OK to me? It is very easy to get frequent traveler (which allows lounge access at LH group lounges) by just doing 2 US-EU return flights? In the past you needed at least 30 flights for that (or 35,000 status miles)...
Looks like so, but the flights will need to be in Business (and with connections), otherwise much less points for Economy.
Miles&More was already complicated and they made it even more complicated now.
They should also fix their website to provide actually useful information.
And who in the world thought that "points" and "qualifying points" are good choices? They are to similar and will confuse people.
Bottom line, they want people not to get statuses, so it makes sense.
Well status will be MUCH easier to get. Basically 4 flights to europe with connecting flights and you are SEN. Only good for a year, but way easier to get.
YOU may fly to Europe FOUR TIMES A YEAR, EVERY YEAR, but who else does that?
#Jones. Some of us have to do it. US to Europe 56 times in five years, plus Asia and Africa on top of that. Now I may contribute some of those upcoming trips to LH.
"YOU may fly to Europe FOUR TIMES A YEAR, EVERY YEAR, but who else does that?"
People who don't fly enough to earn status? Status isn't free. The whole point is to compel high spenders (such as someone flying overseas 4x annually) to do their spending on LH, instead of a competitor.
4 flights to Europe in Business to get SEN, right? If in Economy, seems to need 12 or more flights with connections as well, to get to 2000 points.
Haha, you're good at catching the spin masters at LHG! The love to turn s*** into gold.
FlyingBlue XP tends to be very lucrative to people who live outside their hubs since that short little european hop makes an outsized contribution to the points earned on that itinerary. Mileage runs taking advantage of cheap eurobusiness fares with a connection are also great with FB. Seems like they’ll be the case now with M&M too, so I’m actually pretty happy about these changes. It actually makes M&M a competitive program for *A earning now imo
I wish they would make it easier to get award seats even if it is at a higher mileage like SQ that shows Saver and other options
What’s the deal with TATL partners then?
United is glaringly missing , quite likely due to their partnership with Emirates
You'll earn on United and all other Star Alliance, just not qualifying points
BUT, front-of-the-bus seats from LAX to JFK or YVR to YYZ are deemed to be on "continental" flights and will earn few points. This is just like the raw deal that Flying Blue hands US and Canadian passengers. Punt.