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United Airlines has teamed up with Lufthansa Group and Deutsche Bahn to make intermodal travel a seamless reality. United passengers flying between the United States and Frankfurt (FRA) can now take advantage of Deutsche Bahn's expansive route network and connect beyond FRA to dozens of cities via rail — all on one single ticket.
Here's all you need to know about this unique intermodal partnership.
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United Airlines and Deutsche Bahn Partnership Overview
In 2022, United's Star Alliance partner, Lufthansa, partnered with Deutsche Bahn German Rail to offer point-to-point connections between Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) and a short list of German cities. The service is known as the Lufthansa Express.
Since its inception, Lufthansa Express has grown and added more cities. It's now even easier to connect from Frankfurt to even more German (and one Swiss) cities — all on one single ticket.
On November 21, 2023, United Airlines partnered with Deutsche Bahn and the Lufthansa Group to make these connections possible for United passengers traveling transatlantically through Frankfurt. Now, it's possible to book tickets on United's website, including plane and train connections, and redeem United MileagePlus miles for those itineraries.
How the United and Deutsche Bahn Partnership Works
United's partnership with Deutsche Bahn allows United passengers to take advantage of Lufthansa Express Rail — a program meant to seamlessly connect plane and train travel. Let's take a look at how it works.
How to book intermodal itineraries
Just like booking a flight with cash or MileagePlus miles, you'll search for your trip on United's website or in the airline's app. But instead of typing in an airport code, you'll enter a three-letter train station code.
A grand total of 24 routes to and from Frankfurt (FRA) are part of the Lufthansa Express Rail. You can find the complete list of stations and their three-letter codes below:
| Station Code | Station |
|---|---|
| DHC | Bremen |
| DTZ | Dortmund HBF |
| KJR | Karlsruhe/Baden-Bade |
| KWQ | Kassel Wilhelmshoehe |
| MHJ | Mannheim |
| MKF | Muenster |
| QDU | Duesseldorf HBF |
| QFB | Freiburg |
| QKL | Cologne/Bonn, Cologne HBF |
| QPP | Berlin HBF |
| QUL | Ulm |
| QWU | Wuerzburg |
| XHJ | Aachen HBF |
| XIR | Dresden |
| XIT | Leipzig HBF |
| XIU | Erfurt |
| ZAQ | Nuremburg |
| ZBA | Basel |
| ZEU | Goettingen |
| ZMB | Hamburg HBF |
| ZMU | Munich HBF |
| ZPE | Osnabrueck |
| ZVR | Hannover HBF |
| ZWS | Stuttgart HBF |
If you're trying to book a ticket involving a train connection, you must select the train station as your destination instead of the airport. Otherwise, you won't see results to the train station — only the airport.
It's also possible to book the Lufthansa Express Rail for just one leg of your trip. To do this, you'll need to make a multi-city booking.
Checking in and traveling
Twenty-four hours before departure, you can check in for your flight and train ride using your United confirmation number. The boarding pass you receive at check-in is good for both your United flight and your train ticket. You'll see your Lufthansa Express Rail seat assignment on your boarding pass.
No matter which direction you're traveling, you do not need to pick up your luggage once you reach Frankfurt (FRA). Instead, you'll pick up your bags at the Express Rail transit area, where you can clear them with customs before or after your flight through Frankfurt.
In the chance of a delay, you're covered by the transfer guarantee, which means you'll be rebooked onto the next flight or train.
Earning and Redeeming United Miles on Deutsche Bahn + Flight Bookings
As a benefit of the partnership, United MileagePlus members can earn and redeem miles on itineraries involving connections to and from Deutsche Bahn trains.
Earning
You'll earn MileagePlus miles on Deutsche Bahn-connecting itineraries at the same rate you earn miles on Lufthansa flights. If you purchased your ticket through United.com or another United channel, you'll earn the following if your ticket number starts with “016:”
| United MileagePlus Status | Base Miles Earned | Premier Bonus Miles Earned | Total Miles Earned (Based on Fare) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member | 5 x fare | - | 5 x fare |
| Premier Silver | 5 x fare | 2 x fare | 7 x fare |
| Premier Gold | 5 x fare | 3 x fare | 8 x fare |
| Premier Platinum | 5 x fare | 4 x fare | 9 x fare |
| Premier 1K | 5 x fare | 6 x fare | 11 x fare |
Or, if your ticket number doesn't start with “016,” you'll earn MileagePlus miles according to the table below:
And like other United- and Lufthansa-operated flights, you'll only earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) on a portion of your entire ticket. Airport taxes, security fees, and other mandatory fees don't count toward PQP earnings.
You'll also earn one Premier Qualifying Flight (PQF) for each flight you take on an itinerary with a Deutsche Bahn connection. The only exception is on basic economy tickets, which don't earn PQFs. Train segments won't count as PQFs either, unfortunately. We've reached out to United for clarification as to why not but have yet to receive a clear answer.
On an example itinerary between Newark (EWR) and Munich (ZMU), I'd earn the following on a standard economy ticket as a general MileagePlus member, based on a ticket with a $707 fare before taxes and fees:
Redeeming
Itineraries featuring a connection between a plane and a train aren't limited to those booked with cash. You also can redeem United MileagePlus miles for tickets that involve a Deutsche Bahn-operated transfer.
Unfortunately, the pricing is convoluted, and you won't always get the best deal by booking rail-connecting itineraries. For example, let's look at Newark (EWR) to Cologne, Germany on the cheapest day to fly in February 2024, according to United's calendar. In economy class, the award prices at 30,000 MileagePlus miles and features a connection in London (LHR).
But once the destination changes to Cologne's train station, QKL, the price for the one-way award jumps to 43,900 MileagePlus miles — a 46% increase! The only difference between this itinerary and the previous one is that this one connects through Frankfurt (FRA). You'll run into the same issue in other cities with an airport and a train station, such as Düsseldorf, for example. But here's the pricing for the now-inflated trip to Cologne:
Business-class itineraries fare a bit differently. Most non-saver United Airlines awards to Germany price at 155,000 MileagePlus miles — like in the examples above. In contrast to economy tickets, business-class awards that feature a Deutsche Bahn connection aren't any more expensive.
While it's worth shopping around to get the best price on your next award trip to Germany (or Basel, Switzerland), it's not worth going out of your way to book awards that feature a connection with a Deutsche Bahn train. In most cases, you'll save miles by flying to your final destination or paying for a train ticket out of pocket, separate from your United award booking. The mileage savings are likely worth the cost.
Related: Sweet Spots with United Airlines MileagePlus Awards
AwardWallet users typically redeem United miles at 1.93¢ each. But even conservatively estimating the value of United miles at 1.5¢ will make the math obvious here. Unless your train ticket from Frankfurt to your destination city costs over $210, you aren't saving money by coughing up an extra 13,900 miles for a joint flight–train award booking.
Final Thoughts
United passengers traveling through Frankfurt can take advantage of the connectivity offered by Lufthansa Express Rail. Through this partnership powered by Deutsche Bahn German Rail, it's possible to book a ticket across the Atlantic on United and seamlessly connect to a Deutsche Bahn train to one of 24 destinations. Additionally, you can earn and redeem MileagePlus on these intermodal itineraries, which is a value-add for those traveling between the United States and Germany.
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