In late 2022, Lufthansa created a new way to top up your Miles & More balance by buying miles that come packaged in a bundle of benefits called Bundle&Go. For a limited time, Lufthansa is offering an early bird 50% bonus when you purchase one of these bundles and then a 40% bonus until the end of November 2023.
Speculatively buying miles can be an attractive way to unlock luxury award travel, especially if you are already close to a redemption threshold. And the case for buying miles is definitely stronger when a bonus or discount promotion like this one is running.
In the case of the Lufthansa Miles & More program, it’s pretty difficult to accumulate miles without actually flying on a Lufthansa Group airline, so this makes the current offer even more compelling.
What’s the deal?
Unlike many airlines, Lufthansa doesn’t simply sell miles on its own. Instead, the Miles & More program sells miles in four different-sized bundles that come packaged with a host of other discounts and the potential to earn additional bonus miles.
The four different Bundle&Go bundles are marketed as:
- Small
- Medium
- Large
- Special
You can buy these bundles in either Euros, US Dollars or Pound Sterling, depending on where your account is registered.
Between November 1 and November 7, you’ll receive a 50% bonus on miles acquired through a Bundle&Go bundle, and from November 8 through November 30, 2023, you’ll receive a 40% bonus.
Small bundle
- The small bundle costs $270 for 10,000 miles or 15,000 miles with the 50% bonus applied.
- That equates to 2.7 cents per mile without the bonus or 1.8 cents per mile with the bonus applied.
Medium bundle
- The medium bundle costs $1,090 for 50,000 miles or 75,000 miles with the 50% bonus applied.
- That equates to 2.18 cents per mile without the bonus or 1.45 cents per mile with the bonus applied.
Large bundle
- The large bundle costs $1,910 for 100,000 miles, but you’ll receive $150,000 miles with the 50% bonus applied.
- That equates to 1.91 cents per mile without the bonus or 1.27 cents per mile with the bonus applied.
Special bundle
- The special bundle costs $3,550 for 200,00 miles or 300,000 miles with the 50% bonus applied.
- That equates to 1.77 cents per mile without the bonus or just 1.18 cents per mile with the bonus applied.
What else do you get in the bundle?
Of course, the cost per point shown above isn’t a true reflection of what you are purchasing because you are buying a bundle with additional benefits – even if you are primarily trying to acquire miles.
- A bonus of between 25% and 150% on miles earned through the Miles & More hotel and car rental booking platform
- A bonus of between 25% and 100% on miles earned when you make an Avis car rental, plus the potential to earn between 1,250 and 1,750 bonus miles if you aren’t currently a member of Avis and sign up.
- A tiered discount on joining Priority Pass depending on what bundle you purchase.
There’s obviously some value to be had from these additional benefits, although the primary focus should be on purchasing miles.
Why can’t you just buy miles without the bundle?
Although Lufthansa would no doubt like to just sell miles without a bundle, German consumer law prevents them from doing so, so the Bundle&Go solution allows Lufthansa to get around that prohibition.
This is a relatively new concept for Lufthansa, as it was only introduced in late 2022, and it will be interesting to see whether the program is altered in the future and whether any more tiers might be added in the future.
How many miles can you purchase?
Lufthansa Miles & Go normally restricts members to buying 250,000 miles per calendar year through the Bundle&Go program.
However, until the end of 2023, the maximum number of miles you can purchase through a bundle has been temporarily increased to 500,000 miles.
Thankfully, bonus miles don’t count towards the annual limit.
What are the pros and cons?
- Use Miles u0026amp; More miles to book Lufthansa First Class redemptions more than 15 days in advance
- Buy miles for as little as 1.18 cents per mile with a 50% bonus applied through the Special bundle
- Achieving the best cost per mile requires a big investment
- The value of the bundle is only truly realized if you make use of the other benefits
Do Miles & More miles expire?
Unfortunately, Miles & More miles do expire, and to make matters worse, the way in which they expire is a little complicated. Essentially, miles expire 36 months from the date they were acquired, or, in other words, you need to use miles within three years of acquiring them.
There are, however, two ways to prevent your Miles & More miles from expiring:
- Achieve Frequent Traveller, Senator or HON Circle Member status (miles are safe for the duration you hold elite status)
- Hold a Miles & More credit card – available in around 20 countries, including, of course, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as the United States.
Summary
Lufthansa recently created a new way to sell miles, and this latest promotion makes the case for buying miles a lot more compelling.
That being said, the current bundles don’t offer a huge amount of flexibility, and it’s quite expensive to achieve the best cost-per-mile rate.
