Lufthansa's Miles & More is one of the largest frequent flyer programs in Europe, used exclusively by eight airlines, including Austrian, SWISS, LOT Polish, and other Lufthansa Group carriers. The program boasts over 36.5 million members around the globe, with bases in Europe's biggest airports, such as Frankfurt, Munich, and Warsaw.

A founding member of the Star Alliance, Lufthansa's Miles & More points can be used across any of the 26 carriers, and redemptions are easily found, one of the many perks. Before digging into earning and spending miles, reaching elite status, and hidden benefits, here are the key pros and cons of the program.

The pros

There are a lot of good parts of moving your earnings to Miles & More instead of other airlines in the Star Alliance, namely:

• Status lasts two years: One of the few schemes out there, Miles & More status runs for two years from when you earn it and doesn't reset in just 12 months. This gives you more than enough time to requalify and enjoy your benefits.
• Silver status is valuable: Despite Star Alliance Silver usually coming with negligible benefits, Miles & More Frequent Traveller (Silver) gives you business class lounge access at European hubs and priority handling, a great perk.
• High taxes but plenty of redemptions: While Lufthansa does add surcharges to award tickets, there is plenty of availability thanks to its eight member airlines and the wider Star Alliance. With a useful booking tool (critical to any top-tier program), there are great redemption opportunities.
• Fixed award chart: Lufthansa has stuck to the fixed, region-based award chart, meaning you know exactly what you're paying for any route. While availability varies, there are some great sweet spots, which we go into detail in our spending segment below.

The cons

However, it's not all good news with Miles & More, and we highlight the key facts below:

• Hard to achieve status: While there are some great benefits when you reach Frequent Traveller, Senator, or HON Circle, getting there is a pricey journey. While changes are on their way in 2024, status is currently achieved based on distance or euros spent, meaning bargain deals won't help propel you to status.
• High fuel surcharges: The double-edged sword of high availability is pricey redemptions, especially in business and first class. There's no way to offset the fees with miles either, so you're stuck spending hundreds of dollars on every reward ticket.

With the basics covered, you can now read more about the specifics of Miles & More, especially if you're interested in joining and quickly making it to the top of the program!