Yes, the upcoming shift of Miles & More to dynamic pricing for award redemptions is bad news, but what’s arguably even worse is the shameful way Lufthansa gaslights its loyal customers by describing this devaluation as “exciting” and “flexible” when the reality appears to be just the opposite.
Miles & More Dynamic Pricing Coming In June 2025
I don’t mean to be overdramatic, but how dumb does Lufthansa think we are? Yesterday, I received the following email from Miles & More, the loyalty program of the Lufthansa Group, with the subject line “Exciting changes to your Award Flights from June 2025:”
First, what can we expect? From June 3, 2025, Miles & More will abandon its award chart on Austrian, Lufthansa (including Lufthansa City), and SWISS, instead charging variable rates correlated with the price of the route and cabin you choose. Lufthansa promises economy class awards will be cheaper but will offer fare choices in bundles like Light, Basic, Basic Plus, and Flex, just like when purchasing revenue tickets. In a sense, that means that your ticket may be cheaper, but it won’t include baggage, seat assignments, or flexibility.
Miles & More defends this by saying, “The current Award Flight chart hasn’t changed since 2019. For bookings from 3 June 2025, we’ll be adjusting the fixed mileage amounts in line with current price trends.”
While I appreciate that Lufthansa is letting us know a few months in advance of what I expect to be a bloodbath in terms of higher pricing for longhaul premium cabin flights, why does Lufthansa try to cast these changes as positive? They are not. It would be one thing if Lufthansa promised award availability on every flight (no matter what the flight), but it does not even do that…it appears that prices are going to go way up and space will still be capacity-controlled with the same X (economy), I (business), and O (first class) buckets as before.
There are still many unknown factors, most importantly what miles will be worth. For example, if a first class revenue fare is $10,000 and Lufthansa sets a value of 1.2 cents per point, will a first class redemption now cost 833,333 points? Or 1,000,000 points if the points are only worth 1 cent each? I cannot imagine it will be that bad…but we are given no insight as to how Miles & More will calculate prices other than promising a correlation to the revenue price of the ticket. See below for the only clues Miles & More has provided.
Redemptions on other Lufthansa Group carriers like Brussels Airlines as well as other partners will be still be set at a fixed price, though the award chart will be devalued. You can view the new award chart here.
Examples Of New Pricing
Let’s look at what Lufthansa says in its own words:
In [the] future, you’ll need fewer miles in Economy Class within Europe and up to 10,000 miles less for Award Flights on many long-haul routes. A slight increase in mileage amounts will only apply to flights to the Middle East, North and Central Africa, the Caucasus, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
But as I alluded to above, those new cheaper fares will not come with seats, baggage, or flexibility…so it is debatable whether you are saving anything…
In Central America, the Caribbean, South America, North and Central Africa, the Middle East and the Caucasus, mileage amounts will remain the same in Premium Economy Class. For other regions, you’ll need 5,000 miles more for an Award Flight.
5,000 points more doesn’t sound like a variable award chart…it makes little sense why Lufthansa is being so cryptic about pricing.
On European routes, mileage amounts will remain the same in Business Class. Outside Europe, the amounts will increase depending on the destination and distance. For example, the mileage amounts for flights to the Middle East and Africa will only increase slightly by 5,000 miles, while you may need significantly more miles for longer routes, such as flights to South East Asia.
Wow, “significantly” more miles on longhaul business class flights…and there goes the value of the program for anyone who likes to use their miles for longhaul
First Class Award Flights are exclusive offers that are only available with a few airline partners. Due to the exclusive nature of these offers, you’ll need to redeem more miles.
Translation: forget about it.
No Boycott, But Disappointment
Unlike the recent Lifemiles devaluation, I’m not calling for a boycott here. Why? Because Lufthansa did not break the cardinal rule: at least it provided notice of these changes, as unsavory and nebulous as they are.
My prediction is pricing like Delta SkyMiles (and increasingly United MileagePlus). Something like 250-300K points each way for travel between the USA and Germany in business class, with the occasional “saver” ticket available for about 100K one-way. I predict first class tickets will run about 500K miles one-way and no more Lufthansa First Class space will be released to partners. Economy tickets will be cheaper when booked in advance, but forget about last-minute “saver” deals in any cabin (my biggest problem with the changes at Virgin Atlantic).
We still book a fair number of Miles & More awards for Award Expert clients and the current system is not great, but sounds far better than what is to come.
Currently, all award space is capacity-controlled and you have two choices per cabin when you book: Flex or Flex Plus. Flex tickets cost fewer miles but have higher carrier surcharges. Flex Plus tickets require more miles, but fees are significantly less (no carrier-imposed fees, just government taxes).
It’s a decent system, especially considering Miles & More has access to more seats on Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, and Brussels than do partners.
CONCLUSION
Miles & More will shift to a variable, revenue-based redemption model for Austrian, Lufthansa, and SWISS flights starting on June 3, 2025. Other Lufthansa Group carriers nad partners will remain on a (devalued) fixed-price award chart.
I’m thankful for the advance notice (German law compels it), but sad about these changes and even the lack of transparency in communicating what these changes will look like. Most of all, though, I’m disgusted by Miles & More trying to spin this as a positive when most prices will go up, some prices will go way up, and Miles & Miles does not even promise more seats on more routes.
What do you think about the upcoming Miles & More changes?
Dem Public Relations methods attempted to image Camel-a into a rational , well-spoken , stateswoman .
Dem Public Relations methods failed when people saw the irrational , illiterate , know-nothing .
Lufthansa Public Relations did not attempt to do anything after Lufthansa herded the recognizable haredim into a banished group to be banned from their connecting flight . Yet Lufthansa PAID big bucks to each of the haredim .
All Public Relations usually fails under the most casual scrutiny .
I been gave up on them when they started charging regular economy for seat assignments, stuck with united.
The grift is over for those who gamed the system. As you said, vote with your dollars and boycott them if you don’t agree.
Or as I say, never, ever, trust anyone not born or operating outside the United States.
And I meant to say “not born in”
Well we agree on one thing. Get immigrant Elon out of the government and ship him back where he came from
They are a bunch of Nazis. Once a Nazi, always a Nazi. Dachau is ok as long as you are notified ahead of time???
What is wrong with all of you? Terrible comments.
@Matthew … Socrates was asked to die because his questioning-thinking Confused those who accepted norms . Socrates never claimed that thinking was beneficial . Yet he found thinking rouses one from somnolence and that without thinking , life can have no meaning .
China is against thinking out loud , and will impose penalties .
Best to avoid being a Big Brother enforcing comments .
The reality is that this is primarily targeted at the U.S. In Europe the miles game and mileage credit cards (outside the UK) are just not all that much a thing like here. As well, for Europeans originating there, tickets from Europe in premium cabins are priced far cheaper than from the U.S. As such, points are less important there in comparison. When you can get $2400 r/t TO the U.S. in J why would the usage of points really matter? You can even get last minute walk ups from, say, Vienna to SE Asia for around $1500 on one of the ME Big 3 or a few of the Asian carriers.
Bottom line is that they would rather sell these seats to Europeans at cheaper fares than see U.S. points gamers grabbing them up at the lower redemption rates. I don’t like it, but I can’t blame them.
Finally a constructive comment.
Few Americans have sufficient time for, and/or interest in, travel between continents outside of their own. The egregious increase in redemptions between Europe and SE Asia won’t be affecting many of them, LH could’ve doubled the miles required from/to North America and left it at that.
That might be additional evidence that Lufthansa treats Americans as suckers willing to pay more.
I once flew paid transatlantic First Class on LH. When I went to the check-in counter, the German woman insisted that Economy Class was over there (pointing). She did say sorry when I said nothimg but gave her the print out for my reservation.
@Derek: It should not have mattered, but what were you wearing?
derek may have been wearing his “thinking cap” .
Long men’s overcoat roughly similar to this. https://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=502828002&vid=1&tid=brpl005698&kwid=1&ap=7&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAlPu9BhAjEiwA5NDSA02wNv7yBgyKC2hR1boNMQv4Ul-Sn61CaHRPxYB5BvGEs0OpEO8AhBoCKZAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
No weird hair, facial hair or tattoos. Ordinary trousers.
I wonder what would need to happen in order for LOT to finally leave its competitor’s FFP and start its own one. If Aegean and Air Europa are big enough to maintain viable programmes, issue co-branded cards and so on, it can’t be that massive a task for LO.
Agreed.
Always remember. There are lies. Damn lies. And then marketing.