United Flights Now Bookable Online With Lufthansa Miles & More
While often overlooked by points and miles enthusiasts, Lufthansa’s frequent flyer program, Miles and More, is on the rise. In December, the program announced that families will be able to “pool” miles together starting later this month. The program has now further improved by allowing you to book awards online on more of its airline partners including Cathay Pacific and, notably, United.
Here's a list of the previous and new airline partner awards that can be booked online:
| Previous Partners With Online Booking | New Partners With Online Booking | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Adria Airways | Adria Airways | ||
| Aegean Airlines | Aegean Airlines | ||
| Air Canada | Air Canada | ||
| Air China | Air China | ||
| Air New Zealand | Air Dolomiti | ||
| ANA | Air Malta | ||
| Austrian Airlines | Air New Zealand | ||
| Avianca | ANA | ||
| Brussels Airlines | Asiana Airlines | ||
| Condor Airlines | Austrian Airlines | ||
| Croatia Airlines | Avianca | ||
| EgyptAir | Brussels Airlines | ||
| Ethiopian | Cathay Pacific | ||
| Eurowings | Condor Airlines | ||
| EVA Air | Croatia Airlines | ||
| LOT Polish Airlines | EgyptAir | ||
| Lufthansa | Ethiopian | ||
| Luxair | Eurowings | ||
| SAS | EVA Air | ||
| Shenzhen Airlines | LOT Polish Airlines | ||
| Singapore Airlines | Lufthansa | ||
| South African Airways | Luxair | ||
| SWISS International Airlines | SAS | ||
| TAP Portugal | Shenzhen Airlines | ||
| THAI Airways | Singapore Airlines | ||
| Turkish Airlines | SWISS International Airlines | ||
| TAP Portugal | |||
| THAI Airways | |||
| Turkish Airlines | |||
| United Airlines |
This unlocks the potential for some excellent online redemptions, especially for domestic flights within the US. One-way domestic awards booked on United metal cost 12,000 miles in economy and just 17,000 in business, versus 12,500 and 25,000 respectively on most routes using United MileagePlus miles.
If you can find award space, you can also get phenomenal value on premium transcontinental business class seats on United by using Miles & More. United charges a 10,000 mile premium on business class seats between New York/Newark (EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO), meaning you'd pay 35,000 MileagePlus miles in one direction. But that same business class seat is just 17,000 Miles & More miles.
Plus, Miles and More doesn’t charge close-in booking fees on award tickets, so those last-minute United flights that carry an extra $75 cost per person can be had for the same number of miles and just the standard taxes and fees.
If you're short on Miles & More miles, Starwood Preferred Guest points can be transferred to Miles & More at a 1:1 ratio, though it may take time. Remember that if you transfer Starpoints in blocks of 20,000, you'll also get a 25% bonus, meaning you can effectively get these United business class seats for just 13,600 Starpoints by transferring and booking through Miles & More.