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United Airlines has partnerships with Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn to make intermodal travel across Germany a seamless reality. United passengers flying between the United States and Frankfurt (FRA) can take advantage of Deutsche Bahn's expansive route network and connect beyond FRA to more than two dozen 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.
In 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 28 routes to and from Frankfurt (FRA) are part of the Lufthansa Express Rail, including new stations in Augsburg, Essen, Siegburg, and Wolfsburg. You can find the complete list of stations and their three-letter codes below:
| Station Code | Station |
|---|---|
| AGY | Augsburg |
| DHC | Bremen |
| DTZ | Dortmund HBF |
| ESZ | Essen |
| 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 |
| ZM | Munich HBF |
| ZMB | Hamburg HBF |
| ZPE | Osnabrueck |
| ZPY | Siegburg/Bonn |
| ZQU | Wolfsburg |
| ZVR | Hannover HBF |
| ZWS | Stuttgart HBF |
When you search for a German city as your destination, you will see available airports and train stations. Select the train station if you want a Lufthansa Express Rail ticket.
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 and select the train ride as one leg.
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 United miles on Deutsche Bahn itineraries
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 for Deutsche Bahn + flight bookings
Itineraries featuring a connection between a plane and a train aren't limited to those booked with cash. You can also redeem United MileagePlus miles for tickets that involve a Deutsche Bahn-operated transfer.
Unfortunately, the pricing is convoluted, and you'll rarely get the best deal by booking rail-connecting itineraries. For example, let's look at New York (EWR) to Cologne, Germany (CGN) in 2026. In economy class, the award prices start at 40,000 MileagePlus miles and include a connection in Malaga (AGP).
But once the destination changes to Cologne's train station, QKL, the price for the one-way award goes up to 44,000 MileagePlus miles — a 10% increase. Plus, the departure airport changes to JFK, and has a connection through Frankfurt (FRA). But here's the pricing for the trip to Cologne:
You'll run into the same issue in other cities with both an airport and a train station. For example, Seattle (SEA) to Munich (MUC) with only flights starts at 40,000 miles, while Seattle to Munich train station (ZMU) starts at 44,000 miles:
Business class itineraries
Business class itineraries fare a bit differently. United awards to Germany start as low as 88,000 MileagePlus miles. On the other hand, the cheapest business class awards that feature a Deutsche Bahn connection we could find start at 200,000 miles.
Extra stops with rail tickets
It's worth pointing out that adding a rail ticket to your itinerary can add several stops. Don't be fooled by this. Every time the train stops in a city for a minute or two counts as a stop. For instance, an itinerary from Seattle to Munich includes five stops. Three stops are only for a couple of minutes in cities the train passes through:
When to add a Lufthansa Express Rail ticket to your itinerary
It's worth shopping around to get the best price on your next award trip to Germany (or Basel, Switzerland). Perhaps don't go 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.
Adding a segment with a rail ticket to your itinerary is really useful only when traveling to a city without an airport, such as Essen, Mannheim, or Ulm. If your destination city has an airport, such as Cologne, Munich, or Basel, you're probably better off booking flights rather than a rail journey.
However, other factors can come into play, such as journey times. And don't forget that rail journeys around Europe are often stunning. Choosing the scenic rail route instead of flying can enhance your journey experience.
AwardWallet users typically redeem United miles at 1.98¢ 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.
Related: Sweet Spots with United Airlines MileagePlus Awards
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 28 destinations.
Additionally, you can earn and redeem MileagePlus on these intermodal itineraries. That's a value-add for those traveling between the United States and Germany.
The key to maximizing this partnership is knowing when to add a Deutsche Bahn rail ticket to your United Airlines itinerary. Specifically, when traveling to a city without an airport.
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