Terms & Conditions - Miles & More Terms & Conditions

Persons eligible for membership are limited to those natural persons who are at least two years of age and who are residents in a country in which Miles & More is offered. The residence is deemed the actual physical home (domicile: e.g. principal residence) of the member. Details of the person and the residence must be submitted accurately and truthfully and upon request proof must be provided to one of the operators. A legal claim to participation in Miles & More does not exist. The operators may refuse admission to Miles & More without giving a reason.

Membership starts when an individual mileage account is opened at the customer’s request. If the applicant is already a member of Miles & More, a new application for opening another personal mileage account is invalid, i.e. only one account can be opened and maintained per person. New members will receive a temporary Miles & More card number as confirmation that the account has been opened.

The temporary Miles & More card number entitles the holder to earn miles for a period of six months. The application to open the mileage account must be fully completed by the customer within this time period. Mileage accounts with missing or incomplete personal data will be considered “temporary accounts” and will be closed within six months of the first miles credited to the preliminary card number.

Once the member has collected a minimum of one award mile, he/she will receive a Miles & More card with a permanent Miles & More card number. The card remains the property of the operators and must be surrendered to an operator at the request of one of the operators.

Members will receive a PIN for personal identification, e. g. when requesting awards and checking their online account. The member shall be responsible for avoiding misuse by ensuring that no unauthorized third party has access to the PIN. In cases of suspected misuse of the PIN, the Miles & More Service Team must be notified immediately by using one of the numbers given in the Miles & More communication media (for example, at www.miles-and-more.com). The operators or a joint operator are/is only liable for loss or damage incurred up until the time of receipt of the notification as a result of a culpable failure to notify or delayed notification within the scope stated in Section 4.1 of these Terms & Conditions. 

As part of Miles & More, various types of Miles & More cards will be distributed which define the frequent flyer status of the member (such as Frequent Traveller, Senator or HON Circle Member). The respective status is generally governed by the number of earned status miles or HON Circle miles within a specified time period. After the expiration of the specified time period, the count of status miles or HON Circle miles starts from the beginning of the calendar year. Depending on the promotion, different requirements may apply for obtaining a status (such as the number of flight segments flown in a specified period). Different benefits are associated with each status. More information on the qualification criteria, the duration of a status and its associated benefits are presented in the Miles & More communication media. Benefits associated with a status can also be offered by the Miles & More partner companies. The nature, extent and duration of these benefits will be published in the Miles & More communication media and can be viewed there.

The basis of calculation for the Miles & More programme is miles that are credited to the member’s mileage account. Miles can be used only for the purposes expressly specified in the Terms & Conditions, additional programme documents or the Miles & More communication media.

There are different types of miles which a member can earn in Miles & More. The different categories are award miles, status miles, select miles and HON Circle miles. Awards can be obtained in Miles & More with award miles. Status miles and HON Circle miles determine the status card type within Miles & More. Select miles are counted per calendar year, can be collected as part of a frequent flyer status and entitle the member to acquire additional benefits. Other types of miles will be published where appropriate in the Miles & More communication media.

“Miles” in the context of these Terms & Conditions are all types of Miles & More miles, unless specifically indicated otherwise. 

Bonus points, bonus miles or other units of account from other programmes cannot be converted into miles unless the operators have reached an agreement with the respective operator of the other programme and has correspondingly communicated this in the Miles & More communication media. The same applies to the conversion of miles to bonus points, bonus miles or other units of account from other programmes.

Miles and mileage accounts cannot be transferred to a third party. The sale, exchange, offer for auction or any other transfer of miles to a third party is prohibited. Also prohibited are negotiations for the purchase or sale of miles and the purchase of miles from members or a third party, as well as the unauthorized use of miles.

Deviating provisions shall be explicitly specified in the Miles & More communication media.

Members can check the current balance in their mileage account via their personal online mileage account by entering their Miles & More card number and PIN. In addition, members who actively use Miles & More to a certain extent shall receive regular information on their current account balance, provided the member has signed up to receive Miles & More online newsletter communications. Shipping a printed version may be omitted if Miles & More generally provides access to the account overviews online in the online mileage account. The duplication or replacement of account statements is not possible.

Members can start earning miles after membership commences. Miles can only be credited to the member’s individual mileage account for services the member personally utilized. When using the services of the Miles & More partner companies, the beneficiary of the Miles & More must be a cardholder to ensure that the miles can be credited. The billing recipient is irrelevant here.

According to the procedure in Section 2.3.7, miles can be credited for a flight or a partner service qualifying for the earning of miles which takes place during the period between the submission of the application and the mileage account being opened. Members can also earn miles for services provided by certain Miles & More partner companies. The operators and the joint operators have no direct influence over these companies and their services. Hence neither the operators nor the respective joint operator of the programme are responsible for the availability of the services of the Miles & More partner company (such as flights, hotel stays, rental cars, the purchase of products or services) and the proper performance of contracts. Such services are governed by the General Terms & Conditions of the Miles & More partner company concerned.

For each actually flown segment of a fully paid scheduled flight operated by Lufthansa, a joint operator or a Miles & More partner company, the member’s account will be credited with miles – subject to Sections 2.3.6 and 2.3.7. In the case of flights, the type and number of miles credited are determined by the programme documents and the Miles & More communications which are valid at the time the flights are taken.

For each fully paid stay of the member at a hotel partner company at a rate declared as eligible for earning miles at the conclusion of the accommodation contract, the member’s account will be credited with award miles - subject to Sections 2.3.6 and 2.3.7. The same applies to any fully paid vehicle rental at a car rental partner company at a rate declared as eligible for earning miles at the conclusion of the rental contract.

Several consecutive overnights are considered a “stay”. The same applies in the event that the member checks in after checking out within one day at the same hotel. A “rental” is the rental and personal use of a vehicle by the member for at least one day, or of different vehicles on consecutive days in one or more branches of a car rental partner company in the same city.

When using Miles & More payment cards (such as Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card or Miles & More Credit Card), cardholders earn miles to a certain extent which will be credited to their Miles & More account. Details are described in the General Terms & Conditions of the respective Miles & More payment card.

Other temporary or permanent ways to earn miles and their Terms & Conditions will be announced separately in the Miles & More communication media or by the Miles & More partner companies themselves.

No miles can be credited for certain booking or service classes, special rates such as benefits to industry discount fares (ID, IP, AD, GE, UD, DG, PEPs etc.), for award services, free flights or services for which the member receives benefits under other bonus programmes. For certain other services, a mileage credit for the booking or purchase of the relevant service may be excluded by an announcement to this effect to the member. 

Any mileage credit is also excluded for unused, reimbursed, lapsed or unlawfully obtained documents (tickets, coupons, invoices, etc.). The same applies in other cases of non-utilization or the refund of the service qualifying for earning miles.

Miles will only be automatically credited to the member’s account if the Miles & More card number, or another customer card eligible for earning miles, is submitted at the time of utilization of the service qualifying for earning miles. Miles are credited after the service which qualifies for earning miles is used. Miles not automatically credited can be credited to the member’s account within six months of using the service. In this case, the member must provide an operator with complete documentation (original boarding pass and a copy of the passenger receipt, the original hotel or car rental invoice or the original receipt for purchasing the product or service). Letters and documents sent to the operators shall be scanned, digitally archived and destroyed after scanning. There is no entitlement to the return of the original letters and documents submitted. If a mileage credit is made despite there being a reason for exclusion under Section 2.3.6 or credit has been wrongly issued for other reasons or there has been misuse by the member, the operators reserve the right to transfer back or withhold the relevant credit.

Members may redeem their award miles for awards as soon as their mileage account has a sufficient balance. Prerequisite is the availability of the award in accordance with Section 2.4.6.

Award offers and the respectively required number of award miles will be announced in the respective current Miles & More communication media. Status miles and HON Circle miles cannot be redeemed for awards. Select miles entitle the member to acquire various benefits within the context of a frequent flyer status. The necessary number of select miles and other provisions for redeeming select miles will be announced in the respective current Miles & More communication media.

The conversion and payment of miles into cash is not possible.

Flight awards can be obtained for scheduled flights operated by eligible Miles & More airline partners as well as for selected charter flights. The number of award miles required for this depends on the mileage table currently valid at the time of booking (“flight award chart”), which will be published in the current Miles & More communication media, in particular at www.miles-and-more.com/flight-awards. If the departure airport and the final destination are located in different award zones (open jaw flight), the respective higher award zone shall apply for the miles redeemed. The award flight must be booked when requested. The deadlines for requesting the award flight ticket issue depend on the airline concerned. Members will be given this deadline at the time of booking the award ticket via the Miles & More Service Team. The General Conditions of Carriage of the operating carrier shall apply except as otherwise specified in the General Terms & Conditions for Miles & More flight awards for the flight in question claimed as a flight award. Members are responsible for paying taxes, charges, surcharges due to the airlines concerned and any service fees in addition to the miles claimed. Information about the amounts will be provided by the Miles & More Service Team.

On scheduled flights operated by Lufthansa, joint operators and some eligible Miles & More airline partners, one-way upgrades to the next highest class can be requested as an award per “point-to-point connection” (flight segment/leg), provided that a fully paid ticket (see Sections 2.3.2 and 2.3.6) exists. The number of award miles required for this is determined by the mileage table which is valid at the time of booking and published in the relevant current Miles & More communication media, in particular at www.miles-and-more.com/flight-awards. Certain fares, booking classes and group bookings may be excluded from the upgrade. For more details, see the Terms & Conditions for Miles & More flight awards, which can be downloaded from www.miles-and-more.com/flightawards-conditions. The conditions for re-booking upgrade awards can be obtained from the Miles & More Service Team.

Other awards, the Terms & Conditions of use and other possible uses for miles will be announced separately in the respectively current Miles & More communication media.

Awards may be requested from an operator, a joint operator or a Miles & More partner company, depending on the respective award, stating the Miles & More card number and PIN. Various awards require advance booking deadlines (such as postal delivery times), which can be found in the Miles & More communication media or which can be obtained from the Miles & More Service Team. Where technically possible, an award electronic ticket may be issued up to one business day prior to departure.

The availability of awards may vary depending on date, season and destination. Individual awards may not be available at certain times. Awards cannot be combined with certain services at reduced rates (in accordance with Section 2.3.6). 

The operators or joint operator have no direct influence over the availability and quality of the awards provided by Miles & More partner companies. Hence neither the operators nor the joint operator concerned are responsible for the availability of services provided by other Miles & More partners (e. g. flights, hotel accommodation and rental cars) and the correct performance of contracts. Such services are governed by the Terms & Conditions of the Miles & More partner company concerned.

If the award requested is available, the member receives award documents (award tickets and/or certificates for other awards). Award tickets and upgrade award certificates will only be sent out as paper documents if the standard electronic transmission as an electronic ticket or eUpgrade is not possible.

In exceptional cases, award tickets and upgrade awards certificates can be requested seven working days before the departure date and can be delivered via express shipping for a service fee after consultation with the Miles & More Service Team. Outside Germany, the time period for the express request differs from the Terms & Conditions specified here.

In the member’s own interest, they should immediately check if the documentation sent is complete and correct as per their request. Award flight documents are valid for twelve months after issue.

The validity of other award documents (such as for event, car, hotel and tourism awards) can be found in the Miles & More communication media.

Award documents, especially award tickets, may only be issued to persons for their own use, to persons with which the member is personally connected through a mutual relationship, such as relatives, friends and acquaintances, and may not be exchanged for other awards or cash.

In addition, the sale, exchange, offer for auction or any other transfer of award documents to a third party is prohibited. Also prohibited are negotiations for the purchase or sale of award documents as well as the unauthorized acquisition and the unauthorized use of award documents. Miles & More coupons and eVouchers are considered award documents in the context of this Section 2.4.8.

Depending on the specific award, the return of a flight award may incur a service fee. The conditions of return as well the amount of the service fee can be found in the respectively current Miles & More communication media at the time of the return or can be obtained from the Miles & More Service Team.

Stolen or lost award documents can only be replaced upon payment of an appropriate service fee through reissue, provided that the conditions of the specific type of award, which can be obtained from the Miles & More Service Team, permit their replacement. Otherwise, the member shall be refunded the award miles less a reasonable service fee, details of which can be obtained from the Miles & More Service Team. A service fee is not applicable if the documents have been lost in the mail en route from Miles & More to the member and the member has submitted a complaint to the Miles & More Service Team about the non-receipt of the documents within 21 days of their request.

In the context of these Terms & Conditions, members are liable for misuse if they, by their actions, fulfil the provisions of Section 2.1.3 (transfer/trading of miles) or Section 2.4.8. Paragraph 2 (transfer of award documents).

In the case of an improper use for which the member is responsible, the operators or a third party authorized by the operators retains the right to terminate or withdraw the award documents, refuse to issue an award or refuse to accept the redemption of an award.

The right to terminate in accordance with Section 3 and the right to assert further claims against the member, including claims for damages, remain unaffected.

If the misuse affects an award ticket for transportation, the operators also reserves the right to recalculate the actual ticket price in euros and to bill the member responsible for misuse in accordance with Section 2.4.8. Award miles already deducted for the award ticket will be credited back to the member’s miles account after a recalculation and after payment in full.

In the event that award miles acquired by the member due to misuse are recalled (see Section 2.1.3), operators reserve the right to demand compensation for damages instead of the recall of the number of miles required for the award should the mileage account balance prove insufficient for the recall of the entire amount of improperly acquired award miles. The operators also retain this right in the event that the mileage account has a negative balance or in other cases of misuse or irregular behaviour by the member.

The member retains the right to prove that no or lesser damage has occurred in all cases.

If award miles are not redeemed for an award within 36 months of the event (date of flight, beginning of hotel stay, time of car rental etc.) from the mileage account, they shall be forfeited by the end of the next quarter unless longer expiry periods have been published in the Miles & More communication media. The date and amount of the lapsed miles shall be indicated separately in the Miles & More account information or in the member’s individual online mileage account at least one quarter before their expiration date.

All ancillary costs such as taxes, fees, surcharges due to the airlines concerned and services charges associated with the issue or use of an award shall be borne by the member and shall be billed via credit card. Information about the amount of taxes, fees, extra charges and any applicable service fees can be obtained from the Miles & More Service Team.

The member may properly terminate the contractual relationship in writing at any time without notice.

Proper termination by the operators is possible without stating reasons for doing so with a termination period of four weeks. However, proper termination by a member with frequent flyer status by the operators or a joint operator, without stating reasons for doing so, is possible by the end of the existing frequent flyer status at the earliest and with a minimum termination period of four weeks.

Regardless of the member’s frequent flyer status, extraordinary termination with no termination period may be enforced by the operators for good cause, as well as exclusion from membership in the programme in the future. Good cause is especially present in the event of a culpable serious violation by the member of the Terms & Conditions or General Conditions of Carriage of Lufthansa, a joint operator, a Miles & More partner company or against any other Miles & More rules agreed for the member. The same applies in the event of misuse in accordance with Section 2.4.10 as well as significant misrepresentation or harassing or damaging behaviour towards employees or customers (e.g. passengers) of an operator, a joint operator or a Miles & More partner company. The same applies if instructions from the respective staff are not followed, particularly on board or in lounges.

Except in the cases of § 323 Paragraph 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB), an exceptional termination is only permitted after the expiry of a certain period or after disregarding a warning.

In the cases described in Section 3.1.2, the operators may also unilaterally reject the award of a frequent flyer status or an existing status without notice, instead of exercising the right to terminate.

In addition, the operators have the right to block the member’s account in the event of the cases described in Section 3.1.2. The power to block also exists in the event of objective suspicions of the existence of good cause, and for a time period necessary in order to properly investigate the circumstances of the case. Member claims due to a block authorized under the provisions listed above do not exist.

Renewed membership in Miles & More is prohibited after a termination declared by the operators. These Terms & Conditions shall continue to apply for the conclusion of the relationship following a termination.

In the event of proper termination by the member or the operators, the award miles shall remain valid for a period of twelve months after receipt of termination, as long as the miles are not protected against expiry longer due to an existing frequent flyer status, or earlier expiry occurs in accordance with Section 2.5.

In the event that the member has over 500,000 award miles at the time of receipt of termination, the award miles shall remain valid for a period of 36 months after receipt of termination, unless the miles are not protected from expiration due to an existing frequent flyer status or an earlier expiry occurs pursuant to Section 2.5.

In case of a justified immediate extraordinary termination by the operators, the award miles shall remain valid for a period of six months after receipt of termination, unless an earlier expiry occurs pursuant to Section 2.5.

The operators reserve the right to discontinue Miles & More at any time and to properly terminate the membership contracts. Sections 3.1 and 3.2 shall apply accordingly to such terminations. The same applies in the event that Miles & More is replaced by another programme. In this case, the member also has the right to terminate in accordance with Section 3.1. The same applies if the operators of Miles & More were to change. Section 3.2 applies in both cases.

For damages incurred by members in connection with their membership through an operator, a joint operator or the respective vicarious agents the following applies: Liability is unlimited in the case of intent or gross negligence as well as with the existence of a guarantee. In cases of slight negligence, liability in the event of loss of life, bodily injury, or impairment of health shall also be unlimited. In the event of a slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations, liability is limited to the resultant property damage and financial loss in the amount of the foreseeable, typically occurring damage. A principal contractual obligation is an obligation that must be satisfied in order to execute the Agreement properly and upon the compliance with which the Agreement regularly does and is entitled to rely.

Any further liability for damages is excluded - with the exception of claims under the Product Liability Act.

The personal data of the member relating to the membership will be collected, processed and used for the operation of Miles & More. Further information relating to the operation of the Miles & More programme and the handling of data can be found at www.miles-and-more.com/privacy-statement.

These details especially include the data provided by the member at registration and during his membership (“Master data”), as well as data coming in to the operators, joint operators or Miles & More partner companies in connection with his membership (particularly with earning and redeeming miles) (“Programme data”). 

Personal data may be forwarded to joint operators for the administration, further development and marketing of Miles & More as their own programme, if:

• a member has registered with Miles & More via a joint operator; in this case the Master Data collected via the Miles & More card number and the member’s Programme Data relating to the joint operator’s services may be passed to the joint operator,
• if the joint operator is an airline and the member’s residence is located within the home market of this joint operator; in this case the Master Data, the Miles & More card number and the member’s Programme Data may be passed to the joint operator,
• if the joint operator is an airline and the member is using flights from this joint operator; in this case the member’s Programme Data may be passed to the joint operator in addition to the Master Data,
• if a member has gained a frequent flyer status with a joint operator; in this case the member’s status data may be passed to the joint operator in addition to the Master Data and the Programme Data related to the services provided by the joint operator.

In addition, airlines within the Lufthansa Group (as listed www.miles-and-more.com/joint-partner) have combined their customer loyalty activities. Therefore, the member’s Master Data and the status and Programme Data obtained by a Lufthansa Group airline are managed in a joint database for all Lufthansa Group airlines. In particular, this data may be processed and used in summarized form (that is, with no possibility of a particular member being identified) for analysis for the management, further development and marketing of Miles & More.

In addition to the aforementioned purposes, personal data may also be processed and used by the operators, joint operators and/or partner companies on the basis of separate consent given by a member for other purposes in addition to the purposes stated above (in particular, for sending information about Miles & More or products of the operators, joint operators or Miles & More partner companies including analyses for the preparation of such mailings).

Further information on the collection, processing and use of personal data by Miles & More can be found in the Miles & More data protection notice. This can be downloaded at www.miles-and-more.com/privacy-statement or may be requested by emailing the Lufthansa Group Data Protection Officer (datenschutz@dlh.de).

Loss, theft of, or damage to the Miles & More card must be reported to the Miles & More Service Team immediately. This will permit the issuance of a new card.

The operators reserve the right to make any changes or additions to the Terms & Conditions, the awards, the flight award chart or other processes described in the programme documents for Miles & More, provided that the member is not thereby disadvantaged in bad faith. Claims for damages by members against the operators for legally required country-specific changes are excluded.

Changes or additions to the awards, the flight award chart or other processes for Miles & More described in the programme documents processes will be published in the Miles & More communication media.

Changes or additions to these Terms & Conditions will be published in writing. The changes or additions to the Terms & Conditions shall be deemed approved if a member does not submit an objection in writing within two months of publication. The operators will refer to this consequence specifically at the time of publication. If a member rejects the change or addition, then their membership may be terminated by means of ordinary termination in accordance with Section 3.1 of the Terms & Conditions.

This agreement is exclusively covered by German law. If the member is a merchant, the place of jurisdiction is Frankfurt am Main, Federal Republic of Germany. The same applies if the member does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany and is not resident within the European Economic Area (EEA). If the member is a consumer with a residence outside Germany but within the EEA, the member has the option of filing claims in Frankfurt am Main, Federal Republic of Germany, as well as at a competent court in the country in which they are resident. In addition, the member may also be sued at their general place of jurisdiction or any other location where there is legal jurisdiction. Operators are not obliged to take part in arbitration proceedings, nor are they entitled to offer the opportunity to participate in such proceedings.