Lufthansa adds Maldives and Mauritius – interesting options for Star Alliance miles
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Many long-haul ‘island’ holiday resorts are geared up to serving guests from particular countries. The British dominate the tourist scene in Barbados, for instance, because of the long-term historical ties between the two countries.
This makes it difficult if you need to look for a sideways route to these places as a frequent flyer redemption. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both fly to Barbados, for example, but you won’t get much joy from Air France / KLM (if you have SkyTeam miles) or Lufthansa (if you have Star Alliance miles).
The good news is that Lufthansa has just announced a shift towards the ‘island’ market. From December 2015 it is launching new services to Mauritius and The Maldives, as well as Cancun in Mexico. An earlier announcement signalled the launch of flights to Tampa in Florida.
These routes will only be flow for four months over the 2015/6 Winter season, from December 8th to April 11th.
Services are also infrequent. There will be two flights per week to each destination, all departing from Frankfurt.
The services will use an Airbus A340 with a three class configuration, so there will be no First Class offering. The Business class cabin will be tiny with just 18 seats. Premium Economy will be restricted to 19 seats.
Legally the flights will be operated by ‘Jump’, a separate subsidiary of Lufthansa which will be hiring its own dedicated low-cost crew to focus on tourist markets. The seating will be the same as that found on mainline Lufthansa aircraft.
It is still early for seats to be made available for Miles & More redemption bookings so we will need to wait a few weeks to see how many reward seats open up. If you have a pile of Miles & More miles to use, this could offer an interesting option. Cash tickets will be bookable as usual via lufthansa.com.
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How to earn Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards (April 2025)
None of the Star Alliance airlines currently have a UK credit card.
There is, however, still a way to earn Star Alliance miles from a UK credit card.
The route is via Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty points convert to over 40 airlines at the rate of 3:1.
The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is via the official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card. It comes with 20,000 points for signing up and 2 points for every £1 you spend. At 2 Bonvoy points per £1, you are earning (at 3:1) 0.66 airline miles per £1 spent on the card.
There is a preferential conversion rate to United Airlines – which is a Star Alliance member – of 2 : 1 if you convert 60,000 Bonvoy points at once.
The Star Alliance members which are Marriott Bonvoy transfer partners are: Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.
You can apply here.
Marriott Bonvoy American Express
20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review
