What is Miles & More actually?

When it comes to payment, few people think of miles. But the parallel currency is developing more and more into an interesting means of payment. Did you know that you can also pay for purchases with miles? In this guide, we want to give you an idea of why earning miles with Miles & More can be worthwhile.

Generally, you probably use cash, a girocard or your credit card for payment. You may also not have paid with miles at online retailers yet. That's why we first want to give you an insight into what Miles & More actually is. You have almost certainly heard of the term. But you are probably not yet familiar with the details. In general, Miles & More is Lufthansa's frequent flyer program. But the program has evolved over the years and is no longer just about flying. You can now earn miles in almost every situation in life. There is even a Miles & More credit card. It's also been possible to redeem them for a long time now, and not just for flights. Instead, you can also go shopping with your miles, for example.

Are miles also available from other providers?

Of course, Miles & More is by no means alone in the miles market. The parallel currency is by far the most important in Germany, but the competition is not sleeping either. The second most important frequent flyer program in Germany is airberlin topbonus. In addition, other programs such as Flying Blue or the British Airways Executive Club also play a role. However, if you want to earn and use miles in your daily life in the future, you should focus on Miles & More and topbonus. At this point, it's also worth pointing out similar programs that work with points rather than miles. By far the largest provider in this area is Payback. Another prominent name is DeutschlandCard.

The most important programs around miles and points in the US:

What is the value of miles?

In the context of payment, you are probably wondering what the value of a mile is. However, this question cannot be answered so simply. Rather, the value of miles is individual and depends first and foremost on how you collect your miles. When it comes to Miles & More miles, there are many different types of miles. The value of a mile is commonly valued between 0.5 and 5 cents. So if you have 10,000 miles in your account, you can get a value of between 50 and 500 euros from them. So that you can make the one or other good deal with the parallel currency in the future, we want to give you some tips in this guide text on the way.

How do I get the most value from my miles?

If you want to get the most out of your miles, it's best to use the points you earn on flights. Although flights don't necessarily earn you the most miles, they are the best deal for redemption. For example, for an additional payment of 500 euros, you can use 40,000 miles to book a round-trip flight to Dubai in business class as part of Lufthansa's recurring mileage bargains. If, on the other hand, you redeem your miles at the Lufthansa World Shop, for example, to make purchases, you will only get about a tenth of the equivalent value for your miles. Ideally, you should therefore always use your miles for flights to save as much money as possible.

Do my miles expire at some point?

A crucial difference to other means of payment, such as cash, can be found in the expiration of miles. With Miles & More, for example, each mile you earn is only valid for three years. This makes the parallel currency a payment method that is temporarily limited. Therefore, always remember to redeploy your miles early enough. In addition, there are ways to prevent miles from expiring. One such option is the Lufthansa Miles & More credit card. With this, you not only secure yourself some advantages, but also an unlimited mileage validity. However, you should exercise a certain amount of caution here as well: The unlimited mileage validity only lasts as long as you hold the credit card. If you cancel, your "expired" miles can expire from one day to the next.

How do I earn miles?

Before you can spend your miles, you must first earn them, of course. It is in this area that you will quickly realize: miles have become a real everyday currency. Did you know, for example, that you can convert your Payback points into Miles & More miles in no time at all? One Payback point corresponds to one mile. So you can easily earn miles at retailers such as Rewe, the dm drugstore chain or the Aral gas station. In addition, collecting miles is of course also possible in many other areas. First and foremost, flights with Lufthansa and its partner airlines. Miles can also be earned for mobile phone contracts, newspaper subscriptions, credit cards and much more.
Tip: Lufthansa also has its own credit card, which you can use to quickly and easily fill up your miles account. In the business version, you even earn one mile for every euro you spend.

What do I usually pay for a mile?

To help you assess whether earning miles with Miles & More is really worthwhile, it is now necessary to estimate the value of miles. Here, too, the first thing to note is that there are big differences. Depending on how you earn your miles, the price you pay will also vary. Generally, you earn relatively few miles per euro spent when you book flights. On the other hand, you earn significantly more miles when you generate your miles through financial products, mobile phone contracts or newspaper subscriptions. If you use the respective product or subscription in the same way or would have done so, you sometimes even get the miles for free. In principle, therefore, the same applies when collecting miles: The value of a mile is individual and always depends on the individual case. Miles for payment are therefore a currency that has a flexible value.