Buy Lufthansa Miles With a 60% Bonus (1.26¢ per Mile) to Fly Lufthansa First Class

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Lufthansa started selling mileage bundles called “Bundle & Go” for its Miles & More program late in 2022. The bundles come in three sizes: small, medium, and large. From now until September 30, 2023, Lufthansa is offering a 60% bonus on all three sizes of these bundles. With this bonus, members can buy Lufthansa Miles & More miles for as little as 1.26¢ each.

This is an excellent opportunity for those looking to accumulate Lufthansa miles — which are difficult to earn, due to a lack of transfer partners. Should you buy Lufthansa miles in this deal? Here's when it could make sense.

Background on Accumulating Lufthansa Miles

Lufthansa Miles & More miles are some of the hardest miles to accumulate in the points and miles ecosystem.

Back in 2019, Lufthansa suspended loyalty point transfers from partners like Marriott to its program, due to a new regulation regarding “e-money.” It also wasn't possible to buy Lufthansa miles at the time. Unless you hold the Lufthansa Miles & More^® World Elite Mastercard^® or you credit flight mileage to its program, it's not easy to earn miles with Lufthansa.

However, Lufthansa now sells miles as part of a bundle. These bundles include other perks like discounts on Priority Pass memberships and bonus miles when booking hotels and car rentals.

Buy Lufthansa Miles With a Bonus

Lufthansa now offers three bundle options to buy miles. Plus, through September 30 2023, each bundle comes with a 60% bonus. The per-mile cost decreases as you buy a larger bundle:

• Small bundle: 16,000 miles for $290 (1.81¢ per mile)
• Medium bundle: 80,000 miles for $1,150 (1.44¢ per mile)
• Large bundle: 160,000 miles for $2,010 (1.26¢ per mile)

The cost per mile depends on the bundle size. Prices are cheaper if you pay in euros instead of dollars. The cheapest rate when paying in dollars is found when you buy 160,000 Lufthansa miles for $2,010 (1.26¢ per mile).

To purchase Lufthansa miles, head to the promotion site, then follow these steps:

1. Login to your Miles & More account.
2. Select one of the bundles (Small, Medium, or Large)
3. After your purchase, you should receive an email receipt.
4. The miles could take up to five business days to appear. However, I bought some miles during a similar promotion, and mine showed up instantly — albeit in two transactions.

Buy Lufthansa miles terms & conditions

• Must be a Miles & More member
• Bonus offer is valid until September 30, 2023 (midnight CET)
• Bonus isn't applicable to prior transactions
• Bundles are non-refundable
• Only one bundle per transaction
• Miles & More members can normally buy a maximum of 250,000 miles through Bundle & Go annually, but this is increased to 500,000 from September 1 to December 30, 2023
• Bonus miles do not count toward this annual limit
• Miles will be credited within five business days
• The Hotels & Cars bonus, the Avis benefit, and Priority Pass discount are restricted to a single use per bundle

While the terms say miles will post within five days, AwardWallet user data shows they arrive in 13 hours on average.

Redeeming Lufthansa Miles & More Miles

Lufthansa Miles & More miles are worth pursuing because of just how valuable they are.

For example, Miles & More Mileage Bargains are currently offering round-trip awards to Europe for 55,000 miles in business class. Since you need at least 7,000 miles in your Miles & More account to search Lufthansa award availability, I bought the medium bundle — thinking I could use the miles for one of these redemptions.

Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck finding award availability for the routes in business class. Instead, let's take a look at how you can use this buy Lufthansa miles promotion to book Lufthansa first class.

Using Miles & More miles to book Lufthansa first class

Booking Lufthansa first class is an aspirational award redemption, due to how hard it is to book. Other airline loyalty programs charge anywhere from 87,000 (LifeMiles) to 121,000 (United) miles each way with modest fees. However, Lufthansa doesn’t typically release first-class award availability to partner airlines more than a few days before departure.

I’ve been able to fly Lufthansa first class three times. I booked via Air Canada Aeroplan twice and with Avianca LifeMiles once. I've always found availability days before departure, requiring several stressful hours on the phone.

Credit: Miguel Rueda/AwardWallet

Lufthansa allows its Miles & More members to book these first-class awards up to 360 days out. That's perfect for a big aspirational trip like a honeymoon — or just because.

The catch: Miles & More surcharges can be very high. However, there's a way you can avoid paying these fees — even when booking through Miles & More.

Book First Flex Plus to reduce Lufthansa first class surcharges

Lufthansa offers the option to avoid paying high surcharges. Paying an additional 24,000 miles on routes to/from the U.S. nearly eliminates the out-of-pocket costs.

For example, I found a flight from Chicago (ORD) to Frankfurt (FRA) on December 31, 2023. Travelers can pay either:

• First Flex: 91,000 miles + $926.70
• First Flex Plus: 115,000 miles + only $10.10.

Redeeming an additional 24,000 miles saves you $916.60 — netting a rate of 3.8¢ per mile. That's pretty good when you can buy miles at 1.26¢ each!

The one-way cost of this flight averages $8,000, so choosing the First Flex Plus rate would yield a 7¢-per-mile redemption. The First Flex rate would yield 8¢ per mile.

Choosing which Lufthansa bundles to purchase if you buy miles

While the First Flex rate could give you more value, the true value comes in purchasing the right number of miles. That's because you can't purchase exact numbers for a redemption. It's important to buy an amount of miles you'll redeem without significant leftovers.

Let’s look at an example where you’d like to buy enough miles for either two one-way trips or one round-trip in Lufthansa first class between the U.S. and Germany:

First Flex Plus Rate: One Large + One Medium bundle

If you choose the First Flex rate, you’d only need 182,000 miles. You could buy either one large bundle and one medium bundle or one large and two small bundles to have enough miles. One large bundle and one medium would result in 58,000 leftover miles. Choosing the latter would result in 10,000 miles leftover and a savings of $570, but you'd be on the hook for over $900 in surcharges.

First Flex Rate: One Large + One Medium bundle

First Flex Rate: One Large + Two Small bundles

Let’s say you want to redeem a one-way flight. The best option is purchasing one large bundle (160k miles) for $2,010 and yielding enough miles for your ticket. The fees would depend on whether your outbound is departing from the U.S. ($10) or from Germany ($122).

Total out-of-pocket cost (round-trip)

First Flex Plus rate cash cost — One Large + One Medium bundle

Now, consider the option to pay fewer miles with higher fees.

First Flex rate cash cost – One Large Bundle + Two Small bundles

The cheapest total cost for a round-trip flight on Lufthansa first class will be $3,292.04 if you purchase a large and a medium bundle before September 30, 2023. Note that you don’t have to book your awards by that date; just buy your miles before then. Even though this is a “savings,” it's still a hefty price tag.

If you don’t take advantage of this bonus, you're looking at a cost of $4,890 without the 60% miles bonus. That’s still about a 40% discount on the cash cost of a round-trip flight from Chicago to Frankfurt. But if you’re reading this blog, I’m assuming you don’t typically pay retail for these types of flights.

SWISS first class

Another niche redemption I found searching Lufthansa’s award calendar was SWISS first class. SWISS first class is another aspirational award redemption because it's typically blocked, allowing award redemption only for its own elites.

I found routes via Zurich (ZRH) with the Zurich to U.S. segment on SWISS. This example shows a flight from Frankfurt (FRA) to New York (JFK) via Zurich (ZRH), available on December 30, 2023 for either 91,000 miles + $350 in taxes or 115,000 miles + $130 in taxes.

A nice scenario would be flying from the U.S. to Munich on Lufthansa’s new first-class product debuting next year and returning from Frankfurt (to experience Lufthansa's impressive First Class Terminal again), connecting in Zurich to check out the SWISS First Lounge, then arriving back in the States in SWISS first class.

The ground experience at the Lufthansa First Class Terminal is truly exceptional, so I'd recommend departing or connecting in Frankfurt. You won't experience this if Frankfurt is your final destination — unless you're a HON Circle Member.

New Lufthansa first class. Credit: Lufthansa

Maximize Your Purchase

Unfortunately, these purchases won't count as an airfare or travel purchase on your credit card. That's because Lufthansa sells miles through Points.com. Thus, you should use one of these credit cards to pay:

• Any credit card where you're working on a sign-up bonus. These are the best welcome offers available right now.
• Any credit card with perks you can unlock from spending, such as hotel free night awards, hotel elite status, or airline elite status.
• Your best credit card for everyday spending, such as the Citi^® Double Cash Card or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

Related: Which Credit Card Should You Use to Buy Points and Miles?

Bottom Line

Lufthansa only started selling mileage bundles recently. To continue the growing excitement around this new bundle option, Lufthansa is offering a 60% bonus if you buy miles by September 30, 2023. At that rate, members can buy Lufthansa miles for as low as 1.26¢ each.

With this promotion, you could snag a round-trip Lufthansa first-class ticket for around $3,292. Keep in mind that it's possible to book a first-class ticket on Lufthansa with fewer points and fees through other Star Alliance partners. However, booking through the Miles & More program has the added benefit of allowing you to book your trip up to 360 days in advance. This is an excellent option for those who plan their travels well in advance.

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