Finding Availabilities for Miles&More Award Flights – Here’s How!

The frequent flyer program of the Lufthansa Group, Miles&More, offers numerous options to reach your desired destination. However, one common issue during booking is that you can’t find availabilities – at least not via the Miles&More search. In this article, we’ll show you how to solve this problem.

Which (Partner-)Airlines can be Booked via Miles&More?

To book flights, you first need to be aware of which airlines can be booked with Miles&More miles. Here’s a brief overview of possible redemption partners, all of which can be combined with each other.

In addition to the limitation to 35 airlines, there are certain rules to keep in mind when booking an award ticket through Miles&More. These apply to all tickets, except for Mileage Bargains (Meilenschnäppchen) or Fly Smart award tickets:

• 3 segments per direction (4 segments for 3-zone awards)
• 1 stopover per direction when booking a round trip
• Return flight must start from the farthest point from the origin
• Backtracking is only allowed within one region

Once you’ve internalised all this information, you’re almost ready to dive into booking award flights.

Searching via the Miles&More Website

The simplest way seems to be the Miles&More website. Especially for Lufthansa Group airlines, as well as LOT, Croatia Airlines, and Luxair, there tends to be the most availability. However, there are some limitations and tricks when searching for awards, which we’ll explore below.

The Miles&More award search is quite limited in terms of combination possibilities. While mixed-cabin awards can now be booked online, many actually bookable options with additional stopovers are not shown at all.

Also, some partner availabilities cannot be found online, mainly flights with Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, and Cathay Pacific. For these, you either need to call the hotline (asking for each date/route individually) or use alternative search tools.

Star Alliance Partner Searches

Besides the Miles&More award search, there are other frequent flyer programs from Star Alliance partners that you can use to search for award availability within the alliance. Two programs stand out for being particularly user-friendly and displaying the most availability.

Important: Generally, availabilities for other Star Alliance airlines should be the same across programs. However, this does not apply to flights on the home airline of a given program. Deeper partnerships may also result in more availability for certain airlines. Additionally, the airline must cooperate with Miles&More for you to actually book the award there.

Air Canada Aeroplan

The first alternative is Air Canada Aeroplan’s search. It’s integrated into the regular Air Canada flight search – just select “Book with Aeroplan points.” You’ll need to log in, and then you can search your desired route.

While Aeroplan shows significantly more booking combinations, it’s advisable to search individual long-haul segments. Be cautious of mixed-cabin awards, especially when only the short-haul is in business class and the long-haul is in economy.

Also note that Aeroplan routings don’t always match Miles&More’s routing rules. Routes that touch three regions (e.g., with Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Air India) may be priced as 3-zone awards with Miles&More.

For booking via the Miles&More hotline, note flight numbers, dates, and times to make it easier for the agent to find the flights. Air Canada’s own availability does not correspond to what’s bookable via Miles&More!

United MileagePlus

Another option is United MileagePlus. You don’t need an account, which makes it convenient for quick searches. Use United.com, select “Book with miles,” and search your desired route/class.

After clicking “Search,” a login prompt appears but can be closed. You’ll see results, and by enabling “Flexible dates” or using the “30-day calendar,” you can view a monthly availability overview with the cheapest options highlighted.

Like Aeroplan, United sometimes displays mixed-cabin awards. You can filter these out, and also apply filters for aircraft types or connections. Start with minimal filters to avoid missing viable options.

Again, keep in mind that routings/pricing may not align with Miles&More rules. United-specific availability is not representative either, due to dynamic pricing. Only flights entirely in booking classes X, I, and O are reliably bookable via Miles&More.

External Tools for Award Availability Searches

United and Air Canada’s award flight searches are not the only options for finding available flights more quickly and clearly than with Miles&More. There are three particular websites that specialise in award availability searches in general. These platforms display availability across various airlines and alliances, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, especially regarding Star Alliance partner airlines.

Only for Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Flights: Google Flights

We’ve seen a reasonable correlation between cash prices and award prices under Miles&More’s new dynamically priced flights. While this method isn’t guaranteed to work, and is limited to flights operated by Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines, it’s still among the most convenient. Just use Google Flights to find the cheapest dates, and more often than not, award flight availability will be very similar. Since the tool is very easy to use and beginner-friendly, you will have an easy time using this method.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say that you want to fly from Amsterdam to Beijing. Lufthansa offers this route via Munich. If you now set the airline filter to Lufthansa, the connecting airport filter to Munich, and – just to be sure that no codeshare flights get included – also filter for the exact departure times, you’ll have a calendar that only displays the prices for that specific connection:

And as you can see, the award flights are, indeed, available on those dates:

Overall, we’ve noticed that the green dates usually correlate with the award flight availability. It’s not a 100% guarantee, but it can give you a good orientation of when you may find a flight and when you most probably won’t.

Seats.aero

The first and by far most comprehensive tool for finding award availability bookable through Miles&More is Seats.aero—an American website originally focused on credit card transfer partners. Now, it also shows award space on Lufthansa, Swiss, and Austrian Airlines via Miles&More, including their expanded seat availability. Just like with Air Canada and United, it also lists availability from other Star Alliance carriers, bookable through Miles&More.

Seats.aero has a free and a paid version, with the Pro version ($9.99/month) offering added features.

Award Search in the Free Version

Even with its limited features, Seats.aero stands out because it pulls data from multiple programs at once, providing a near-complete overview of possible connections. Free users can search up to 2 months ahead, though filtering is somewhat limited (but sufficient for most use cases).

A key feature is the ability to group airports in searches (e.g., all major German or European airports), enabling broad multi-city searches in one go. An example shown includes a search from Europe’s largest airports to major Asian hubs over a 60-day window, with over 400 results displayed.

Note: Some airlines show extra availability for their own frequent flyer program. Still, flights priced in booking classes X, R, I, and O should also be bookable through Miles&More.

You can sort by category (e.g., Business Class) and click an info icon to see all routes available on a given date. For Miles&More flights, a direct booking link is available. You’ll also find detailed flight info, including lie-flat seats (green bed icon), angled seats (orange), or recliners (white). Flight numbers, layover durations, and times are also shown, making booking on Miles&More much easier.

Besides the standard search, Seats.aero offers specific tools like a Lufthansa First Class Finder (only showing space for the next 3–4 days) and an ANA First Class Finder (showing availability up to 1 year, depending on the version used).

Award Search in the Pro Version

With the $9.99/month Pro subscription, you get more advanced features like:

• Choosing specific airlines to include/exclude
• Setting a minimum number of seats
• Filtering by surcharges
• Searching up to 360 days in advance
• Extended date ranges

Exclusive tools include:

• Seatmap Viewer: View seating layout and availability directly without using Aerolopa, SeatGuru, or ExpertFlyer.
• Fare Class Viewer: Displays fare bucket availability.
• The ANA First Class Finder also supports searches 3 to 12 months ahead, and notifications can be customised or sent via SMS.

PointsYeah

A comparable alternative to Seats.aero is PointsYeah. Its layout and features are similar, with free and paid tiers ($11.99/month or $99.99/year). Let’s compare it directly with Seats.aero to highlight its strengths.

Award Search in the Free Version

The biggest difference is that PointsYeah only shows live results, i.e., flights that are actually bookable at that moment. Like Seats.aero, it focuses on US credit card transfer partners, but now also supports Miles&More.

Key features:

• Live seat maps with details like restricted view, proximity to restrooms, legroom, width, recline, etc.
• Slightly more filter options than Seats.aero, including aircraft type and “flight quality” (e.g., exclude red-eyes or connections requiring airport transfers)

Limitations in the free version:

• Search window only covers 4 days (vs. 14 on Seats.aero)
• Only one airport per search (no area codes)
• You can search 360 days ahead for free (vs. 60 days on Seats.aero)

Award Search in the Premium Version

The paid version of PointsYeah is more limited than Seats.aero Pro. You can:

• Search across 8 days (vs. 360 on Seats.aero)
• Add one extra airport per search (2 total)
• Create 32 alerts (vs. 4 in the free version)

SeatSpy

The second external tool for checking Miles&More award space is SeatSpy, but it’s not a real alternative to Seats.aero or even the airline websites.

Recently, it added support for award flights on Austrian, Brussels, Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish, Lufthansa, and Swiss.

Free Version

You can view routes for all of the supported airlines, but only for long-haul flights. In the free version, you only see Economy Class availability.

However, its calendar view is the cleanest and allows searches up to 360 days ahead, even for free. That said, you’re limited in how many routes or airports you can check.

Premium & First Class Versions

There are two paid versions, which unlock:

• Availability for Business, First, and Premium Economy
• More flexible alerts
• A tool to show which outbound/return flights are available on your chosen dates

Still, SeatSpy is limited in scope, even in paid versions.

Which Tool is Best for Which Airline or Route?

Comparing all tools for finding Miles&More award space, Seats.aero and PointsYeah clearly offer the most features. PointsYeah shines in its free plan (longer search window, live results), while Seats.aero wins with wider airport selection and better Pro features.

If budget allows, Seats.aero Pro is the best overall tool for finding award space. PointsYeah still offers excellent free tools, especially for everyday miles collectors.

SeatSpy can help you brainstorm where to go if you’re undecided, but its coverage is limited.

Miles&More’s own site works best when you already know your desired long-haul segment, especially for Air Dolomiti, Discover, Lufthansa City Airlines, and Edelweiss, which might get overlooked on United or Air Canada.

You can use Google Flights to take advantage of the correlation between cash and award prices for Austrian, Lufthansa and Swiss. However, the tool is not made to search award flights and can therefore be highly inaccurate.

United and Air Canada searches are solid for Asia, Oceania, or Africa, but both are also covered by Seats.aero. You might use them if you want some of the premium filters without paying for Seats.aero. For ITA flights, though, Miles&More is the only option, as none of the other tools show those awards.

Conclusion

There’s no single perfect tool for Miles&More award searches. But Seats.aero comes remarkably close, especially for those willing to pay for Pro access. The sheer number of tools and filters easily justifies the $9.99/month fee if you’re planning a big trip.

For casual users or those looking to save money, PointsYeah offers a solid alternative.

Meanwhile, Miles&More’s own tool is only really helpful for a few group airlines. SeatSpy is useful for calendar-based searches but lacks depth. For serious travellers, Seats.aero is your best bet.

Cover Picture: Ditmar Lange