Miles&More: Up to 40% Miles Devaluation, Non-Refundable Light Fares & Dynamic Pricing from June

Speculation has been ongoing for a while, and now it’s confirmed: Miles&More will adjust its award chart on June 3, 2025. With this move, Lufthansa’s frequent flyer program aligns with Flying Blue, Aeroplan, and LifeMiles. The last program devaluation had been in 2019 and was relatively moderate.

In recent years, multiple frequent flyer programs have implemented changes devaluations to their award charts. In addition to the three mentioned above, United MileagePlus, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, British Airways Executive Club, and Qatar Airways Privilege Club have also seen similar adjustments.

As expected with Lufthansa and Miles&More, the changes are neither simple nor intuitive. The program will introduce partial dynamic pricing for certain airlines within the Lufthansa Group (Austrian, City Airlines, Lufthansa, and Swiss), while partner airlines will follow a newly adjusted award chart.

Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic pricing is now widespread among frequent flyer programs. Major U.S. airlines, Air Canada, Etihad, and Air France/KLM already price their own and some partner airline tickets dynamically. These programs usually start from a base price, which fluctuates dynamically.

Miles&More, however, is taking a different approach: From June 3 onward, mileage prices will be tied directly to the real ticket price. The exact formula remains unclear and is likely a closely guarded secret. The main idea behind this change is to increase availability and encourage early bookings. The mileage cost will correlate with the cash price and booking class of the paid ticket.

New Fare Classes

Miles&More is introducing fare classes for award tickets, mirroring those of paid tickets:

• Economy (continental flights): Light, Classic, and Flex
• Business (continental flights): Saver and Flex
• Intercontinental flights: Light, Basic, Basic Plus, and Flex

These fares come with the same seat selection, baggage, rebooking, and cancellation conditions as their paid ticket counterparts.

Economy (Continental)	Light	Classic	Flex
Rebooking	Not possible	€70 + fare difference	Fare difference
Refund	Not possible	Not possible	€70
Seat Selection	Extra fee	Standard seat	Preferred + Standard seats
Baggage	Extra fee	1×23 kg	1×23 kg

Business (Continental)	Saver	Flex
Rebooking	Not possible	Fare difference
Refund	Not possible	Free
Seat Selection	Included	Included
Baggage	2×32 kg	2×32 kg

Intercontinental	Light*	Basic Eco/Premium/Biz/First	Basic Plus Eco/Premium/Biz/First	Flex
Rebooking (in EUR)	Not possible	150/200/250/410 + fare difference	150/200/250/410 + fare difference	Fare difference
Refund (in EUR)	Not possible	Not possible	200/200/250/410	Free
Free Seat Selection	No	No/No/Yes	No/No/Yes	Yes/Yes/Yes
Baggage (in kg)	Extra fee	1×23/2×23/2×32/3×32	1×23/2×23/2×32/3×32	1×23/2×23/2×32/3×32

Pricing Changes

How Austrian, City Airlines, Lufthansa, and Swiss flights will be priced remains unclear. The general principle is that mileage costs will rise as cash fares increase, particularly as departure dates approach and seat availability decreases.

Miles&More claims this change rewards early bookings. Previously, flights were available for redemption 360 days in advance, with 3–4 seats in business class typically released. This availability will still exist, but the lowest price will no longer be guaranteed at that time.

Key impacts:

• No more “Mileage Bargains” for dynamically priced airlines (Austrian, City Airlines, Lufthansa, and Swiss). Instead, irregular sales will be introduced, sometimes aligned with cash ticket sales.
• International redemption pricing may not be cheaper than from Germany, despite logic suggesting otherwise.
• One-way tickets will still cost half of a round-trip, which contradicts the supposed logic behind dynamic pricing.
• Taxes and surcharges remain high and will match those of paid tickets. Miles&More will calculate the required mileage as the cash ticket price minus surcharges, multiplied by an undisclosed factor.

In extreme cases, a one-way business class ticket from the U.S. could cost 150,000 miles plus $1,000 in surcharges. The high mileage requirements may eventually allow redemptions for Lufthansa’s Allegris First Class, but at prices similar to Air France La Première—making it unattainable for most.

Partner Award Chart

Now to the already known numbers: the Partner Award Chart. This applies to all airlines where Miles&More miles can be redeemed, except for the ones mentioned above (Austrian, City Airlines, Lufthansa, and Swiss). The increases in mileage values have primarily targeted premium travel classes. While economy redemptions have mostly been reduced, business and first-class awards have seen surcharges of up to 40%. Unfortunately, these are the redemptions that provide the best value.

Unlike the four dynamically priced airlines, award tickets with partner airlines can be cancelled or rebooked for €50. Additionally, taxes and fees imposed by airlines, countries, and airports apply. The only two exceptions are the “Meilenschnäppchen” (mileage bargains) from Air Dolomiti, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Discover Airlines, Eurowings, LOT Polish Airlines, and Luxair, as well as the “Fly Smart” awards from Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Eurowings, and LOT Polish Airlines.

Below are the individual prices for return flights from Europe. One-way flights cost half of the listed mileage, and the Flex Plus Award is no longer available for the time being.

Domestic Flights

	Economy (Europe)	Business (Europe)	Economy (Rest of World)	Business (Rest of World)
Previous	30,000 miles	40,000 miles	30,000 miles	40,000 miles
New	25,000 miles	40,000 miles	28,000 miles	40,000 miles
Difference	-16.67%	0%	-6.67%	0%

Within a Region

	Economy (Europe)	Business (Europe)	Economy (Rest of World)	Business (Rest of World)	First Class (Rest of World)
Previous	35,000 miles	50,000 miles	35,000 miles	60,000 miles	80,000 miles
New	28,000 miles	50,000 miles	35,000 miles*	60,000 miles*	80,000 miles*
Difference	-20%	0%	0%	0%	0%

Europe ↔ North America

	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First Class
Previous	60,000 miles	80,000 miles	112,000 miles	182,000 miles
New	50,000 miles	85,000 miles	125,000 miles	215,000 miles
Difference	-16.67%	6.25%	11.60%	18.13%

Europe ↔ Central America

	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First Class
Previous	70,000 miles	95,000 miles	127,000 miles	202,000 miles
New	70,000 miles	95,000 miles	140,000 miles	225,000 miles
Difference	0%	0%	10.24%	11.39%

Europe ↔ South America

	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First Class
Previous	80,000 miles	110,000 miles	142,000 miles	222,000 miles
New	75,000 miles	110,000 miles	160,000 miles	245,000 miles
Difference	-6.25%	0%	12.68%	10.36%

Europe ↔ North & Central Africa and Middle East

	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First Class
Previous	40,000 miles	55,000 miles	70,000 miles	130,000 miles
New	42,000 miles	55,000 miles	75,000 miles	140,000 miles
Difference	5%	0%	7.14%	7.69%

Europe ↔ Southern Africa & India

	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First Class
Previous	60,000 miles	80,000 miles	112,000 miles	182,000 miles
New	50,000 miles	85,000 miles	125,000 miles	215,000 miles
Difference	-16.67%	6.25%	11.60%	18.13%

Europe ↔ Southeast Asia

	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First Class
Previous	80,000 miles	110,000 miles	142,000 miles	222,000 miles
New	85,000 miles	110,000 miles	200,000 miles	260,000 miles
Difference	6.25%	0 %	40.85%	17.12%

Europe ↔ Central Asia & Far East

	Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First Class
Previous	80,000 miles	110,000 miles	142,000 miles	222,000 miles
New	75,000 miles	110,000 miles	170,000 miles	260,000 miles
Difference	-6.25%	0%	19.72%	17.12%

Europe ↔ Oceania (3-Zone Award)

	Economy	Business	First Class
Previous	100,000 miles	195,000 miles	310,000 miles
New	110,000 miles	260,000 miles	395,000 miles
Difference	10%	33.33%	27.42%

Around the World

	Economy	Business	First Class
Previous	180,000 miles	335,000 miles	500,000 miles
New	195,000 miles	400,000 miles	540,000 miles
Difference	8.33%	19.40%	8%

Summary of Pricing Changes

Economy Class flights have become cheaper in many cases, while Premium Economy remains largely unchanged. However, Business and First Class tickets have become significantly more expensive. First Class pricing is mostly irrelevant, as very few partner airline First Class flights can be booked with Miles&More miles. Lufthansa and Swiss First Class will now be dynamically priced.

You can find the full award chart here:

Routing Rules

Routing rules remain unchanged, with the following parameters:

• 3 segments per direction (4 for 3-zone awards)
• 1 stopover per direction for round-trip bookings
• Return flight must begin at the farthest point from the starting location
• Backtracking is only allowed within a region

It is still unclear how pricing will be handled when combining dynamically priced and award chart-priced airlines. It is expected that dynamic pricing will apply if the longest/long-haul segment is operated by Austrian, Lufthansa, or Swiss.

Upgrades

Upgrade pricing remains unchanged, requiring the same number of eVouchers or miles as before. However, upsells (paying the difference between two travel classes after booking an award ticket) have become more expensive, as the increased mileage values raise the cost difference.

Conclusion

Overall, these changes to Miles & More award bookings are potentially disastrous. One of the most attractive programs in terms of mileage value is now becoming one of the least appealing. High surcharges, award chart increases of up to 40%, and likely even higher dynamic pricing make collecting miles much less worthwhile.

Translated and edited by Ditmar

Cover Picture: Lufthansa A320 in Hamburg | Ditmar Lange