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Lufthansa Miles & More has been my primary mileage program for my whole life (literally my parents signed me up for a card when I was a toddler). It's the mileage program for Lufthansa (well - as you can see), a member of the Star Alliance. Although known for incredibly high surcharges, Lufthansa Miles & More has a mixed reputation, but it definitely has a few "sweet spots" in their system, and that is what I will show you on this post! There are some very easy ways to accrue Miles & More points, but we will leave that for another day!
1. North America - Asia in Business Class (71k one-way)
I have family that lives in the Philippines, so I know first hand the toll it takes to travel there. At it's best it takes around 21 hours, and at it's worst it can take over 30. 71k is not a bad deal for over 20 hours in luxury, and the best part about it... NO CRAZY HIGH FUEL SURCHARGES!! As Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance one can fly a number of Asian carriers to the U.S., Singapore Airlines (rarely releases any premium space), Asiana, Air China, ANA, EVA, Air Canada, and United. Out of these airlines, the two that I see the most availability to the east coast are ANA (only if you book far out from departure) and EVA. Combined, these airlines fly to a number of North America East Coast destinations (IAD, EWR, JFK, YYZ, ORD). And of course, both these airlines have award winning business class products, especially ANA's new business class which is scheduled to fly to New York in the near future.
P.S.- This is only possible if you go from Asia to North America and vise-versa with no stops in other regions (meaning you can't route through Europe on Lufthansa or Africa on Ethiopian).
ANA 777-300ER new business class (photo courtesy of The Points Guy)
2. North America-South America in Business (56k one-way)
Another business class deal? You bet! I find that Lufthansa's program has the best deals in business, especially because I feel that it is a huge waste of miles to redeem in economy (basic cent/mile calculation). Airlines that fly in between the two regions are United, Avianca, and Air Canada; and some routes can take over 10 hours to complete (example: Toronto to Buenos Aires), making 56k a great value redemption. And again, because you are avoiding Europe all-together, no high surcharges!
United 787 current/old business class
3. Lufthansa First Class
Yes - this is very controversial - you are splurging a lot of miles and spending a lot in taxes, BUT no other airline program in the world gets exclusive access to Lufthansa First awards outside the 15-day window other than Miles & More members. Costs can range from 91k from Europe to North America or 111k Europe to South America or Asia.
Av-Geeks will know that Lufthansa First is a bucket-list experience from the iconic first class terminal to the Lufthansa ducks to the iconic 747-8 (on specific routes). And it is for all these reasons that I used a majority of the now expiring miles that I have collected over the years to try out the experience this summer!
Lufthansa has a very consistent first class seat aboard all of its long-haul fleet, bearing identical seats on the A380, A340-600, and of course (my personal favorite) the 747-8. Click here for a great article on which destinations Lufthansa offers their first class product.
Lufthansa 747-8 First Class Seat (Photo courtesy of Live and Let's Fly)