Lufthansa Miles & More launches discounted ‘Early Bird’ flight awards – with catches

Lufthansa‘s Miles & More scheme has launched ‘Early Bird’ rewards.  These are aimed at leisure travellers who are willing to book their reward flight well in advance and give up some flexibility.

I am not totally convinced so far, and for UK members they are even less useful.  Here are the rules:

• they are only valid for non-stop redemptions, eg Frankfurt to New York.  You cannot add on a connection, so you’d need to pay for this separately.
• they are only bookable as round trips and you cannot mix and match airlines, eg Lufthansa out and SWISS back

• you must stay away for four days
• you can only book in Economy
• you must book 90 days in advance
• no changes
• no refunds

The last two are particularly painful, as one of the key benefits of a redemption is the ability to make changes if needed.

And, of course, full taxes and charges are due.

A return ticket from Frankfurt to Boston, for example, is 20,000 miles return plus €423 in cash.  This is VERY high – a cash ticket won’t be much more than €423 if booked well in advance.  For our UK readers, adding in the cost of a return flight to Frankfurt to connect would add insult to injury.

Even the longer routes – Cape Town, Mauritius etc – start looking expensive at 40,000 miles return plus such high taxes.  In general, it is a decent idea ruined by Lufthansa’s failure to reduce taxes to an acceptable level.

Here are the long haul routes included:

20,000 miles

Frankfurt to Amman, Baku, Boston, Cairo, Delhi, Dubai, Montreal, Mumbai, Nairobi, New York, Tehran, Tel Aviv

Munich to Boston, Charlotte, New York

Vienna to Amman, Cairo, New York, Tehran, Tel Aviv

Geneva to New York

Zurich to Boston, Cairo, Dar es Salaam, Delhi, Dubai, Montreal, Mumbai, Muscat, Nairobi, New York, Tel Aviv

30,000 miles

Frankfurt to Austin, Bangkok, Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Male, Mauritius, Mexico City, Miami, Orlando, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Tampa, Toronto, Washington

Munich to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Chicago, San Francisco, Singapur, Québec

Vienna to Bangkok, Beijing, Chicago, Los Angeles, Male, Miami, Montreal, Shanghai, Washington

Zurich to Beijing, Chicago, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore

40,000 miles

Frankfurt to Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Cancún, Cape Town, Johannesburg, San Diego, San José, Tokyo

Vienna to Cape Town, Mauritius, Tokyo

Zurich to Bangkok, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Tokyo

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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