The Shortest Star Alliance Intercontinental Flights (200 Miles&More Points in Business Class)

Since the beginning of 2024, Miles&More has been using points instead of miles to determine status levels. These points are calculated based on continental regions, which largely align with geographical continents but with some variations, like Lufthansa treating North Africa as Europe. A flight between these defined regions earns 200 points in business class.

We’ve compiled a list of routes that earn 200 points with Miles&More while keeping your flight time under five hours. For instance, a two-hour flight from Cairo to Riyadh with Egyptair earns the same 200 points as the gruelling 11-hour journey from Munich to San Francisco with United Airlines.

Miles&More member airlines are particularly attractive because you can earn 200 Qualifying Points in addition to the 200 regular points. To reach Senator status, you need 2,000 points in a calendar year, half of which must be Qualifying Points (earned on Miles&More member airlines). Therefore, we list these airlines first and mark them with a ¹. Frequent Traveller status is available from 650/325 points.

More about the regions and the Miles&More points system can be found here:

2024 Miles&More Changes – It’s All About Points and Regions

Lufthansa¹

We begin our overview with Lufthansa’s offerings. The shortest routes that cross a continental boundary are flights from Frankfurt to Amman, Beirut, and Tel Aviv. Munich also offers flights to Israel’s largest airport. Additionally, Lufthansa has several destinations on the Arabian Peninsula from Frankfurt, as well as to Iran, serviced by lie-flat business class.

Eurowings¹

We regularly find deals for Eurowings BIZ-Class flights to Dubai. These may not be the most comfortable, and actually take over 6 hours, but are an affordable way to earn 400 Qualifying Points. Flights depart from Berlin, Cologne/Bonn, Hanover, and Stuttgart. Shorter flights include routes to Tel Aviv, Beirut, and Erbil in Northern Iraq, all accessible from various German airports, and even Stockholm.

Austrian Airlines¹

We continue within the Lufthansa Group, looking at potential routes with Austrian Airlines, all departing from Vienna, including Tehran, Amman, Erbil, and Tel Aviv.

SWISS¹

Another Lufthansa Group airline, SWISS, offers medium-haul flights from its Zurich hub, earning 200 Qualifying Points each way in business class. Destinations include Beirut and Tel Aviv.

Brussels Airlines¹

Belgium’s Brussels Airlines, also a Miles&More member, offers 200 points for flights from its Brussels hub to Tel Aviv. If you’re open to flying over 6 hours, there are frequent deals to West Africa, such as to Dakar and Senegal, where Brussels Airlines deploys lie-flat seat aircraft, unlike many European competitors.

To conclude the Lufthansa Group: Discover Airlines and Edelweiss don’t appear on this list because they don’t offer any intercontinental flights under 5 hours. Miles&More airline Luxair has flights to Dubai and Cape Verde, but these are also over 5 hours long, and Croatia Airlines doesn’t have any intercontinental flights of any kind.

LOT – Polish Airlines¹

The final Miles&More airline on this list is LOT – Polish Airlines. From Warsaw, you can fly to Beirut and Tel Aviv on intercontinental routes that take less than six hours. Kraków also offers nonstop flights to Israel.

TAP Air Portugal

Next, we turn to Star Alliance members with their own mileage programs. While you can earn 200 points in business class on these flights, no Qualifying Points are awarded.

Since the Portuguese-speaking but mainland-independent Cape Verde Islands are considered part of Africa, there are four routes available from Lisbon, along with three destinations in continental Africa.

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines’ hub is not only close to other continents, but the airline’s route network is extensive. Therefore, the list of short and medium-haul flights from Istanbul that are rewarding with Miles&More is particularly long.

Aegean Airlines

The last airline in Europe that Miles&More considers part of this region is Greece’s Aegean Airlines. From Athens, flights go to the frequently mentioned destinations in the eastern Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula. Flights to Tel Aviv are available from several Greek cities, as well as from Cyprus.

Egyptair

We stay in the region and look at Egyptair’s network. Egypt, like Turkey, is considered part of Europe by Miles&More. This means many connections go east and south, but none to the northwest. From Alexandria, there are flights to four Saudi Arabian cities, with even more options from Cairo.

Ethiopian Airlines

From Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Airlines offers suitable short and medium-haul flights, especially to the Arabian Peninsula. But even India and Istanbul can be reached in slightly over 5 hour.

South African Airlines, the third African Star Alliance member, does not offer short or medium-haul flights to other continental regions. The same applies to the Asian members Air India, Asiana, EVA Air, Shenzhen Airlines, Thai Airways, and All Nippon Airways. While you can still earn 200 status points on these airlines, you’ll need to take a long-haul flight.

Air China

Air China has three routes that meet our criteria. This is due to many Siberian (and by Miles&More standards, European) cities being a short flight away from northern China, and Air China flying from Hailar, China to Chita, as well as from Beijing to Irkutsk and Vladivostok.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines offers two medium-haul flights that cross a continental boundary. The first goes to Darwin in northern Australia and takes about four hours each way. The route to Perth also still qualifies as a medium-haul flight.

Air New Zealand, the other Star Alliance member in the region, is too far from continental boundaries to offer short or medium-haul flights that earn 200 points.

Avianca

On the border between North and South America, there are two Star Alliance members, Avianca and Copa Airlines. Let’s start with Avianca’s hubs in Colombia and Ecuador. Most connections depart from Bogota BOG and Medellín MDE—but you can also fly to another continent with minimal flight time from Cartagena CTG, Cali CLO, Quito UIO, and Guayaquil GYE.

However, only a few flights regularly offer business class tickets. We’ve marked them with full lines on the maps. Only economy class tickets are typically sold for other routes, which we’ve marked with dotted lines.

Copa Airlines

Copa Airlines, with its hub in Panama, is the counterpart to Avianca: With Copa, you can cross from North to South America in just minutes. Therefore, there are many short and medium-haul flights that yield good points. It’s worth noting that while Avianca generally sells tickets at a lower price, Copa offers business class on all routes.

United Airlines

United Airlines’ hub for South America is in Houston, Texas. But even from there, only two destinations in Colombia are close enough to earn 200 points in business class with a relatively short flight: Bogota and Medellín. The flight to Quito is also relatively short, taking only slightly over 5 hours.

On the other side of the world, departing from Guam, Palau, and Saipan (Oceania region), you can also rack up points quickly en route to Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The flight from Honolulu to the Marshall Islands, which lasts about 4.5 hours, also qualifies, as it’s considered a route from North America to Australia by Miles&More.

Air Canada

With Air Canada, it’s impossible to earn the maximum points in business class with a flight lasting less than five hours. However, two destinations can be reached by flying just a tiny bit longer: Iceland and Cartagena in Colombia.

The Shortest Intercontinental Flight

Five contenders vie for the title of the shortest flight crossing an intercontinental boundary. In terms of distance, the title goes to Aegean Airlines’ nonstop flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Tel Aviv. The two airports are only 340 km apart. However, since October 7, 2023, this route has been paused, with most attempts to resume it resulting in diversions or cancellations. As of today, the flights are set to resume on July 12, 2025.

Also affected by the situation in Israel is the second and fifth place on the list. Egyptair’s flights from Cairo to Tel Aviv are currently paused until March 30, 2026. And while the flights from Cairo to Amman operate regularly, avoiding Israeli airspace results in a block time of over one hour for the 473 km journey.

Thus, today, Copa Airlines wins, with its shortest routes not being paused and regularly taking less than 60 minutes, either to the Colombian island of San Andrés or to Cartagena.

Airline	From	To	Distance
Aegean	Larnaca	Tel Aviv	340 km
Egyptair	Cairo	Tel Aviv	393 km
Copa Airlines	Panama City	Cartagena	451 km
Copa Airlines	Panama City	San Andrés Island	467 km
Egyptair	Cairo	Amman	473 km

Conclusion

Unsurprisingly, airlines with hubs near continental borders make it easy to earn 200 status points. Aegean, Egyptair, Ethiopian, and Turkish Airlines stand out in Europe and Africa, along with Avianca and Copa Airlines in North and South America. It’s often possible to earn up to 800 points on a relatively affordable ticket, e.g. a flight with Avianca from Costa Rica to Miami via Bogota earns you 200 points for each of the four segments. Here’s an older compilation of such routes (including prices):

Miles&More: Sweet Spots for Cheap Status Points in 2024 (FTL from approximately €570 & Senator from €1,660)

Getting cheap Qualifying Points is, unfortunately, much harder. Tel Aviv and Beirut are both located in countries with active military conflicts. While Erbil is the only safe part of Iraq, there are certainly safer destinations for a mileage run. This leaves Amman as the only reasonable destination for such an endeavour. Alternatively, you can consider Eurowings flights to Dubai or other long-haul routes from Austrian, Lufthansa, and SWISS to the Arabian Peninsula to earn 400 points for a round trip quickly.

Cover Picture: © Copa Holdings