Readers are encouraged to send us questions, comments, or opinions by email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll try to cover them here several times a week.

You can access Lufthansa here.

Email From the Reader:

I recently flew SIN-FRA on a Lufthansa 747-8. I had pre-selected the seat when I booked the ticket. During check-in at the airport, I was given the selected seat with no mentioning of any problems.

I boarded the plane, found my seat and that’s when I realized that the seat was defect. It was not possible to recline or change the seating configuration in any way. A sticker with the word “INOP” had been placed on the control panel of the seat. The sticket was starting to wear off and I suspect this seat had been defect for some time already. The headphones were dirty and had the ear-cover of a previous passenger still mounted to them.

The crew informed me that this was a full flight and neither relocation nor upgrading was possible. So I took my seat and flew the 13+ hour flight on it.

In my opinion, this was worse than flying in economy. At least the economy seat reclines a little bit.

So I contacted Lufthansa to request a compensation or partial refund. Their first response was a very standard and impersonal apology with no mention of any compensation. So I wrote them back:

Reader’s Follow-Up Email to Lufthansa:

Thank you for your quick response and for taking action to hopefully have the seat repaired, avoiding future passengers’ discomfort.

I understand that the full flight made it impossible to change or upgrade my seat, and the crew did their best to minimize the damage.

But this does not change the fact that I had to sit in a defect Business Class seat on a 13 hour flight, causing a substantial discomfort that does not live up to the standard of the travel class I had paid for.

For this reason, I request adequate compensation (for example: an upgrade voucher, the equivalent value in Miles & More award miles, or a partial refund) and would appreciate if you honor the high standard that your passengers are promised.

Thank you very much for your consdideration.

Lufthansa’s Response:

Thank you for your email dated January 13, 2023.

We are very sorry that your journey did not operate as per schedule. We understand your frustration with this occurrence, as we are aware of how stressful every change to your journey can be. You rightly expect to be kept fully informed when a flight does not operate as planned. Therefore, we want to offer our sincere apologies for the same

However, as per our records, we will not be able to comply with your request of compensation. Please accept our sincere apologize for the same.

In spite of the unfortunate experience you had, we would be pleased to welcome you on board a Lufthansa flight in the near future.

Reader’s Thoughts:

Do I have any options, or should I just bite the sour apple and move on?

Side note: this was my very first Lufthansa business class experience and the first impression is: never again!

Lufthansa knew that the seat was inoperable and should not have been sold or assigned to paying passengers using cash or miles. The reader could have perhaps asked the crew to see if there were any nonrev passengers (airline employees) in the cabin whose seats could be reassigned.

The reader had three options:

1. Fly in the operable business seat

2. Request to be involuntarily downgraded with adequate compensation

3. Request to be rebooked in another airline in business

I know that options 2 and 3 are difficult, especially 3 because they will likely lead you to arrive at your destination with a significant delay.

The reader now has three options:

1. Do nothing and let it go

2. Open a case with Soep in Germany

3. Hire a lawyer and take Lufthansa to court

Opening a case with Soep likely gets Lufthansa’s attention, but I am unsure if it yields an acceptable level of compensation. It is almost surely something other than those two “sorry emails” from customer service.

If the reader, however, is German, Austrian, or Swiss, as their name suggests, they should hire an attorney and go to court. I would consider this inoperable seat a downgrade where Lufthansa is required to refund 75% of the segment value.

The reader took a photo showing that the seat was clearly marked as inoperable, and thus, it should not have been used. This was negligence and bad faith on Lufthansa’s part that the lawyer needed to argue in court.

Conclusion

Lufthansa’s current business-class product is very dated compared to other airlines and should be avoided unless there are no other direct options or the price is very competitive.

The main selling point of a business class is to have proper sleep on board in a lie-flat seat. The reader was denied this when Lufthansa decided to sell this seat even when it knew it was broken.

I am not sure if the person replying to the Lufthansa consumer complaints understood the issue, as it looked like a standard copy/paste reply from an outsourced shop.

Engaging Lufthansa through Soep and/or a lawyer will get attention to their team in Germany and will lead to a better outcome than this: “We are sorry.”

Source

Readers are encouraged to send us questions, comments, or opinions by email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll try to cover them here several times a week.

You can access Lufthansa here.

Reader’s Email:

The airline lost our luggage and we have dealt with scores of people who have done nothing to Help since November 30. We have filed the lost baggage claim reimbursement for the items we’ve had to replace during our 17 day trip.

I have sentimental items like everyone on my suitcase. My boyfriend lost his wife and it was carrying some of her ashes to scatter throughout Europe. The ashes are in his loss luggage. He has a tag and I do not believe the bags have moved since November 30 out of terminal two where they lost them.

We have been on a Norwegian cruise for 14,days.  And different days we were assured that the luggage was found only to be told the next day the luggage was lost. The concierge just called Everyday for us as well, and been given a different story.

His children are adults, but we don’t want them further, distressed by the thought of their mother’s ashes, sitting in a suitcase never to be found.

If you can provide any assistance or let me know if there is a lawyer in Germany, or somewhere that is handled or dealt with the airline. I promised him I would do everything I remotely could think of to help secure our luggage.

We have covered delayed luggage several times here on LoyaltyLobby, and I have documented two delayed cases I have had with Air France and the claim process:

Compensation Clinic: Air France Delayed Luggage HEL-CDG-HND

Compensation Clinic: Air France Delayed Luggage

+ the most recent case was pilferage from delayed and checked luggage with Avianca & Copa:

Compensation Clinic: Pilferage From Delayed Luggage (Avianca & Copa)

Lufthansa is in disarray when it comes to delayed luggage, and at a point in the fall, they had tens of thousands of delayed bags waiting to be sorted and delivered (read more here), and it seems that they have another total breakdown taking place.

The good news is that every passenger who checks bag(s) and if they are delayed is eligible for a 1,288 SDR maximum compensation if the baggage is completely lost OR you need to make essential purchases (clothes, personal hygiene, and other items) while waiting to be reunited with the bags.

1,288 SDRs are worth roughly $1,700.

The reader seems to have the Property Irregularity Report (PIR) number you get when you file for a delayed luggage report at the airport (your final destination). You can track the delayed luggage on the Lufthansa page here.

If the baggage is delayed more than 21 days, Lufthansa considers it lost, and you need to open a file to get the compensation for each passenger.

I am not sure if contacting a lawyer at this point would help. You probably need to schedule another trip to Europe after the luggage has been found to scatter the ashes.

Conclusion

My checked luggage has been delayed a dozen+ times but never completely lost.

You need to pay attention to filing the PIR report at the airport, keeping copies of receipts of items you purchased, and the filing deadlines.

I am still 99% sure that the reader will be unified with their checked bags, but this may take weeks, unfortunately.

Source

Munich Airport is closed today until noon (December 5, 2023), and there will likely be minimal operations after it reopens, possibly for days. There are thousands of passengers whose travel has been disrupted, and many are waiting for Lufthansa’s (dummy) chatbot to process rebookings.

Munich Airport’s Announcement:

⚠️Announced freezing rain during the night: air traffic will be suspended until 12 noon on Tuesday, December 5
On Tuesday, 5.12. there will be no take-offs and landings from the start of operations at 6 a.m. until 12 noon. pic.twitter.com/R8SvSeNqJD

— Munich Airport (@MUC_Airport) December 4, 2023

UPDATE: Lufthansa’s Travel Waiver Until December 9:

Lufthansa has issued a new travel waiver for flights to/from Munich that is valid until December 9. Passengers can rebook or refund their tickets without any charge.

Regular flight operations at Munich airport are still not possible after the snowfall at the weekend and flight operations at other airports in Germany are also restricted due to the weather.

Handling capacities are massively limited, for example due to frozen airport equipment or vehicles covered in snow.

Unfortunately, not all flights can take off and land as planned. There may also be flight cancellations and delays in Munich and subsequently at other airports in the coming days.

If you have a flight ticket to and/or from Munich between December 4th and 9th, you can cancel your trip free of charge.

The waiting times on the service hotline are currently longer than usual. We apologize for this.

Please be sure to check the status of your flight on Lufthansa.com or in the app before you arrive at the airport. We still recommend only arriving at the airport if you have a confirmed flight.

EC 261/2004 Duty to Care:

The European Union Air Passenger Rights (EC 261/2004) also apply in case of irregular operations beyond the airlines’ control.

Airlines are required to provide Duty to Care (accommodation & meals) in case of long delays. However, the compensation for flight cancellations and delays does not apply here.

Passengers can opt for a refund if their flight is canceled or significantly delayed (some flights have been postponed by 20+ hours), even if their fare is nonrefundable.

Airlines must rebook affected passengers to their final destinations at the earliest convenience, even when this means moving them to competing airlines and avoiding Munich Airport altogether in case of connecting itineraries.

Conclusion

This debacle with Munich Airport has been ongoing since late last week, and it will likely be days before the airport is fully operational and planes and crews are at their usual rotations.

If you have been affected by this, remember to keep those receipts, as the European Airlines and if your travel is from the EU/EEA area, are required to provide Duty to Care even in a situation such as this, meaning paying for accommodation and meals.

If Lufthansa or any other airline refuses to rebook you expediently for flights ex-EU/EEA and community carrier flights from elsewhere, you can always buy the replacement ticket and go after the airline later for the expenses. Just remember to document the refusal.

Good luck to everyone experiencing this lovely snowmageddon in Germany.

Source

Munich Airport was closed for one and a half days, and Frankfurt saw reduced ability to handle air traffic as well, which had a catastrophic effect on Lufthansa’s operations as both of these airports serve as the primary hub of the Lufthansa Group.

Naturally, with almost all operations flatlined, Lufthansa had to cancel thousands of connections with tens of thousands of passengers trying to reach the airline in order to service their reservations for either rebooking, cancellation, or other necessary adjustments.

Lufthansa shares pictures from Munich Airport, and from the looks of it, any attempt of operation was absolutely impossible due to the heavy snowfall, no matter what airline we’re talking about here:

Such weather doesn’t just affect the airport itself but also the surrounding infrastructure and with passengers unable to travel to/from the airport the decision to close operations altogether for the better part of two days was probably wise under these circumstances.

Now, the airport continues to reel from snow and cold weather, providing an update just two hours ago that there continue to be heavy impairments based on the winter weather and passengers should take this into account:

⚠️ Update 9 Uhr
Flugbetrieb weiter stark eingeschränkt
Es gibt weiterhin starke Einschränkungen im Luftverkehr. Durch die Annullierungen der Airlines ist der Flugplan stark reduziert. pic.twitter.com/WZ0Npa5UCV

— Munich Airport (@MUC_Airport) December 4, 2023

The same goes for Frankfurt Airport, which isn’t impacted as much but still bad enough:

Due to today’s expected weather conditions, flight disruptions and cancellations may occur at FRA.

Pls check the status of your flight before traveling to the airport and allow extra time for your journey. We also recommend that you check in as early as possible for your flight. pic.twitter.com/BJi0MRWvam

— Frankfurt Airport (@Airport_FRA) December 4, 2023

Now, that’s where the airlines enter the picture again, and Lufthansa is taking heavy criticism online for not being accessible either by phone, at airport counters, or via the chatbot.

We at Lufthansa are now doing our very best to restart operations in Munich for tomorrow 💪. However, only limited flight operations will be possible. Please make sure to check your flight status on https://t.co/MY8hWjB53h or the Lufthansa App.

— Lufthansa (@lufthansa) December 2, 2023

This isn’t any more fun for the airlines than it is for passengers or the airport employees but the systems available at this point are simply overwhelmed with the amount of requests.

Even trying to reach the Senator hotline results in hour-long wait periods and the regular reservations hotline doesn’t accept calls at all anymore, simply giving a message to try again later as the hotlines are exhausted.

Customers are venting their frustrations in social media comments and posts such as the one above on Twitter.

The chatbot abilities are VERY limited, and even the willingness of airline staff to rebook onto other airlines and skip Munich/Frankfurt airport altogether isn’t exactly there. It is likely at the behest of Lufthansa to save money and not rebook passengers to other airlines even if they ask for it.

Of course, that is illegal behavior, and against EC261/2004 Regulation, and while agents at the airport are more liberal in dealing with this, over the phone and alone online, it’s almost impossible to come to a resolution.

Based on EU laws and regulations, airlines have a duty of care, which includes accommodation and rebookings during irregular operations such as delays and cancellations. Now, as I have mentioned many times before is similar situations, that’s easier said than done.

For one, you need capacity and ability to actually help the passenger out, meaning availability on planes and in hotels, which is difficult enough (especially with MUC being closed entirely). The customer also has to be able to reach the airline in the first place, which appears to be the biggest obstacle right now.

If no resolution with the airline can be found, passengers should try to make arrangements on their own. Document their attempts to reach the carrier, cancel and rebook tickets, and find alternatives themselves. Keep the receipts and then claim the costs with the airline or your travel insurance later. Mind you, not every airline offers the same legal protections as EU carriers, especially on inbound flights.

No airline can prepare and have enough resources on hand to stem an entire shutdown of operations for a whole weekend, so I do cut Lufthansa some slack here as far as the reachability of their call centers is concerned.

The IT solutions, however, are a disgrace and have been for a very long time. This chatbot is a ridiculous solution, especially compared to other irrop rebooking tools the competition, such as Delta, has in place. Even United has a better website that allows you to service your booking in many different ways. If your flight is canceled or delayed, then you’re given options in the reservation itself, and you can see if one of them works without jumping through hoops with some stupid chatbot.

Conclusion

Winter weather with heavy snow has gripped Germany and shut down Munich as well as Frankfurt Airport over the weekend, with operations coming back online very slowly. Lots of cancellations and heavy delays can still be expected, and even traffic to/from the airport itself can be a challenge, especially with the German Railway (Deutsche Bahn).

Obviously, Lufthansa is the carrier that’s impacted the most by this, and it proves almost impossible for customers to get a hold of the airline in order to service reservations. Overseas customers can try and reach a local reservation office or maybe even go to the airport and see if an agent there can help with a rebooking on other carriers.

The situation is bad enough, but it really doesn’t help that Lufthansa always tries to reinvent the wheel as far as their IT solutions are concerned rather than just using what has proven itself to be useful with other carriers.

Source

The airport has reopened for limited flight operations, and airlines have restarted their operations. Passengers should consult their itineraries to see if their ticketed flights are operating or have been rebooked.

Munich Airport Announcement:

⚠️Update Dec 3
Flight operations resumed at 6 a.m.
There will still be restrictions. If you are flying today, please check the status of your flight with your airline before traveling to the airport: https://t.co/lrlSMQBLYe pic.twitter.com/M766D2xlLc

— Munich Airport (@MUC_Airport) December 3, 2023

EC 261/2004 Duty to Care:

The European Union Air Passenger Rights (EC 261/2004) also apply in case of irregular operations beyond the airlines’ control.

Airlines are required to provide Duty to Care (accommodation & meals) in case of long delays. The compensation for flight cancellations and delays, however, does not apply here.

Passengers can opt for a refund if their flight is canceled or significantly delayed (some flights have been merely postponed by 20+ hours), even if their fare is nonrefundable.

Airlines must rebook affected passengers to their final destinations at the earliest convenience, even when this means moving them to competing airlines and avoiding Munich Airport altogether in case of connecting itineraries.

Conclusion

It is always unexpected when there is snowfall in some parts of Europe during winter, although the weather challenges in Southern Germany have been significant this weekend.

A touch of snow in London roughly at the same time last year brought the area airports to a standstill, and a fight I was on was delayed by a day.

Source

Remember to email or message us via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with your airfare-related questions or discoveries!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

FAQ: How to Book the Airfare of the Day?

fare: LH/LX ANC9IE DUB to HKG

• Booking class: A (FRA/ZRH-HKG)/J (DUB-FRA/ZRH)
• Price: from 3,489€ (3,445€ base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: -/-.
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: reservations are required at least 120 days before departure.
• Minimum stay: 8 days.
• Maximum stay: 12 months.
• Stopovers: not permitted.
• Cancellations: ticket is non-refundable.
• Changes: charge 410.00€ for reissue/revalidation.

Routing examples

Price comparison

Booking examples

This fare can be booked on Expedia:

Accruals

Fare rules

Download (DOCX, 97KB)

Source

Airlines advise passengers not to arrive at the airport but to check their rebooking status and seek hotel accommodation.

You can access Lufthansa’s page for announcements here.

Note that this affects all airlines operating at Munich Airport, but predominantly Lufthansa, as it is its second hub.

Lufthansa’s Announcement:

Munich Airport closed for arrivals and departures

Due to heavy snowfalls, flight operations @Airport_MUC are cancelled up until tomorrow morning 6:00 am. Lufthansa kindly asks all guests not to travel to the airport and inform themselves online on lufthansa.com or on the Lufthansa App about their flight status. Limited flight operations are also to be expected tomorrow.

Due to the airport closure in Munich, many other airports in Germany, including @Airport_FRA are affected with limited flight operations. Lufthansa kindly asks all guests to inform themselves online or on the Lufthansa App about their flight status.

Thank you to all our guests for their understanding in this exceptional weather situation.

Passengers are covered by the EC 261/2004 in case of flight delays and cancellations.

If Lufthansa or any other airline has canceled your flights due to a situation at Munich Airport, you can opt for a refund even if the ticket is non-refundable.

The airlines are required to provide Duty to Care, which means accommodation and meals. You probably need to handle this by yourself and later seek reimbursement from the airline. Remember to keep those hotel and meal receipts.

This likely won’t be entirely resolved by 6 AM on Sunday when airplanes and crews are out of their usual rotations.

Conclusion

It is lovely that Southern Germany gets to enjoy some snowfall, but this has come with some consequences.

Let’s hope the airport will reopen for traffic by Sunday morning so that passengers can be taken care of.

Source

The company is also teasing upcoming reduced pricing for wifi and streaming services, which would indeed be a change as rates of such services are still much higher than they should be in this day and age.

Lufthansa isn’t exactly well known for its quality inflight entertainment or even connectivity options, although I have to say that the long haul flight flat rate pricing for T-Mobile wifi is rather reasonable at ~ $22 (can’t remember the exact amount right now).

So, the announcement of Lufthansa this week that they will go bigger on connectivity options to attract more customers was a positive.

Good news for passengers who also want to be reachable above the clouds. From mid-January 2024, Lufthansa will offer unlimited free messaging on its short- and medium-haul flights. Travellers will then be able to send and receive as many messages as they like, including photos, on their own smartphone or tablet during the flight on aircraft of the A320 family that have WLAN – all free of charge!

For all other Internet packages on board, such as streaming, the tariff will also be reduced by almost 50 per cent from mid-January.

“Lufthansa is investing around two billion euros in product and service improvements. In the process, we have implemented and planned many large, medium, and also smaller initiatives that make travelling with Lufthansa an even better experience,” says Heiko Reitz, CCO Lufthansa Airlines. “One great example is Free Messaging. I am pleased that our guests will in future be able to stay in touch with their relatives or business partners above the clouds – free of charge.”

The prerequisite for using the new free service is logging into FlyNet with a Miles & More service card number or with an e-mail address registered with the Lufthansa Group Travel ID. A new login or registration is also possible during the flight.

In my opinion, this should be rolled out for flights worldwide and not just on European routes. It’s becoming more and more standard that airlines offer complimentary texting, and some even have free wifi for the entire plane.

Of course, this might have an impact on the overall usefulness of the network. If I really need wifi to work with a reliable connection, then I would rather pay $20 than have it for free with a borderline useless network.

Lufthansa should put a lot more effort into improving the passenger experience, especially after the most recent revelations that the fleet update with new premium cabins is in complete shambles:

Embarrassing – Lufthansa’s New Allegris Premium Seats Can’t Fit Into B747 Upper Deck, Delayed Until Summer 2024+

Lufthansa seems to be a little behind the curve (as always) when it comes to these things, but I guess it’s better late than never. In fairness, they are already giving 30 minutes of free messaging on the short-haul flights, but that’s running out rather quickly.

I’m definitely not paying to play around with phone messengers during the flight. A proper wifi pass to use the computer is a different matter, at least you can use that in an efficient manner.

Conclusion

Lufthansa just announced that the airline will start to provide complimentary messaging service on short and medium-haul flights starting sometime in the middle of January 2024. Longhaul flights will still offer only paid options to stay connected.

Even if messaging isn’t interesting to some passengers, the airline promised that they will also slash the cost of paid wifi access by 50%, so that’s definitely useful if you need to catch up on some things online while in the air.

Are you usually using inflight wifi/messaging, or would you pay a fair price for it?

Source

The airline also continues to ail from the late deliveries of Boeing and Airbus, which will now prevent any of the new seats from taking flight before the summer of 2024 at the earliest.

Having the deployment of the new seats delayed yet again is just one event in a series of disasters for Lufthansa, and it wouldn’t be too much to say that a lot of this is of their own making.

While the airline certainly does not influence the new aircraft delivery and certification, they were all too happy to advertise the new seats way before they would ever take flight, and now even that is in doubt.

I have previously covered when the last delay of the Allegris deployment was announced:

Lufthansa Delays Introduction Of New Allegris Business Class Once More, This Time To 2024 (At The Earliest)

But the worst and undoubtedly most embarrassing thing just happened and was reported by Aerotelegraph, among other outlets.

According to the article, Lufthansa discovered that the Allegris seats are too heavy and considered to only equip the B747-800, for example, with the new Business Class in the lower deck only. The new First Class won’t be installed at all, and the upper deck will also feature the current (OLD) Business Class product.

According to the current plans, Lufthansa’s 747-8 will operate with such a hybrid cabin for two years. This means that for the time being, the Allegris product will only be installed in the “Main Deck”, i.e. the lower passenger deck of the aircraft. In the first step, there will be a new business class, a new premium economy, and a new economy class.

But First Class in the nose of the lower deck remains the same old for the time being. So, after a whole year of touting new cabins and even creating road shows, Lufthansa will have nothing to show for.

The real cause of the issue is that the newly designed seats in the new Business and First Class are significantly heavier than the previous ones, which can cause the plane’s center of gravity to shift and too much weight to be allocated in the plane’s nose.

To prevent this, after installing the first Allegris seats, 700 kilograms of additional weight would have to be carried in the rear – in the form of a plate or a water tank. After a complete conversion, including first class and the upper deck, the problem could worsen – and no more cargo could be transported in the front area.

Lufthansa is also facing challenges to install the new Allegris First Class on the Airbus A350-900, especially those that were already delivered and are actively flying. It’s highly possible that it won’t even be conceivable for Lufthansa to install First Class on these Aircraft as originally planned.

Do you think we will see any of the new premium seats in the air in 2024?

Conclusion

Lufthansa’s plan to install the new Allegris Business and First Class products on their aircraft has turned from a prestige project into a real-life garbage fire.

It’s strange why Lufthansa tried to re-invent the wheel here rather than relying on proven seat concepts that were successfully used and installed by other airlines. And how come that something as basic as a weight-balance issue isn’t coming to the attention of the responsible engineers?

This is so typically Lufthansa (and Germany) that it’s not even funny anymore. Reminds me pretty much of the catastrophic planning of the BER Airport construction. Very little foresight, a combination of many unfortunate circumstances, and no accountability by the main actors (management).

Source

Miles&More members can earn sextuple miles (500 base + 2,500 bonus) for each eligible stay consumed between November 1 – December 31, 2023.

You can access this offer on Best Western’s website here.

READ MORE: Best Western Rewards Rate & Bonus Points And Miles Offers

Note that you must register for this offer to earn 2,000 Miles&More miles for all eligible stays during the promotional period. In addition, you must elect to earn miles instead of Best Western Rewards points for these stays.

Miles Earned Per Stay:

• 500 base miles + 1,500 bonus miles = 2,000 Miles&More miles

Your Best Western stays must be in the following countries:

• Germany
• Austria
• Switzerland
• Luxembourg
• Hungary
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Slovenia

Conclusion

This is an excellent offer for short and inexpensive stays that earn 3,000 Miles&More miles each, under this offer, at select countries in Central Europe.

You can earn bonus Miles&More miles for Best Western stays in Europe close continuously, as these offers are often ending and starting back to back, although there is sometimes a month between offers.

Here are the terms and conditions of this offer:

• The offer is valid for stays in all Best Western hotels in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hungary, Croatia, Czech Republic and Slovenia
• The offer is valid between November 1 and December 31, 2023.
• The extra award miles will be awarded for the stays in the promotional period.
• A one-time registration for the promotion is required.
• Award miles will not be credited for stays taken before registration.
• Consecutive nights in the same hotel always count as one stay, even if the nights have been booked separately. This means that for a stay of two consecutive nights in the same hotel, for example, only one credit of award miles will be made.
• Miles cannot be earned for group rates or packages, conference rates or packages, organizer rates, long-term apartments, Priceline or other auction sites, staff rates or travel agent rates, unit-based Travel Cards (AC/UC rate) or special rates for long-term stays.
• The miles can only be awarded to the Miles & More service cardholder if this individual has personally checked in to the hotel.
• Miles can only be earned in respect of the room occupied by the Miles & More member.
• Best Western Points credits already granted cannot subsequently be converted to miles.
• Best Western reserves the right to change the conditions relating to the earning of miles at any time.
• The terms and conditions of participation of Miles & More apply.

Source

The one-year extension (alternatively available for 200,000 miles or the 2k EUR cash amount) will now include two eVouchers to upgrade flights and has been a staple offer that the airline sent out on an annual basis.

Lufthansa is also revamping the Miles & More program, effective January 1st of 2024, and qualification will change from a two-year period to an annual basis.

To pay 2000 Euro for a one-year status outright without gaining any further benefits such as miles is a bit controversial, but there are some use cases where it actually makes sense considering Lufthansa’s program structure.

This is what the email reads:

Dear Sebastian,

How time flies – 2023 is almost over already. We hope the remaining weeks will bring you many treasured moments.

Looking ahead to next year, we’d love to continue having you as a Senator, which is why we’re getting in touch about your current status miles balance. As of 29.10.2023, you haven’t accrued enough status miles to renew your status. If you achieve the required 100,000 status miles by 31.12.2023, your status will be renewed automatically for two more years, i.e. to the end of February 2026.

By the way, you can earn 20% more status miles by selecting Economy Green or Business Green fares on our European routes.

There’s also another way for you to retain your status benefits this year: you can now renew your status for one year by redeeming 200,000 award miles, or by making a one-off payment of EUR 2,000. If you wish to take advantage of this offer, please click here [personalized link removed].

If you don’t wish to renew your Senator status, it will expire on 29.2.2024. You’ll then find your new digital Miles & More service card in the Miles & More app.

We look forward to having you with us again next year, and hope to see you on board soon.

So, members who are interested in this offer have to complete the payment transaction on the landing page, and the status extension will be processed automatically.

Members with the German Miles & More credit card will receive a Senator card with a Mastercard function to their mailing address.

This is what it looks like on the landing page:

Extending the status by payment used to only come with one eVoucher in the past, but according to the terms and conditions, this has now been upped to two vouchers. The reason for that is likely the changes LH will make to the program in 2024 when qualification changes from two years to one year, so it’s only fair to reflect this with the credit of the full eVouchers.

To remind readers, one eVoucher can be used to upgrade a continental flight by one class (or one Intercontinental Premium Economy Class ticket in high booking classes). For an intercontinental flight upgrade, two vouchers are required.

So, two vouchers basically mean the extension includes at least one long-haul flight upgrade, which you could value up to 1000 EUR (or more if you use it for First Class).

Should you pay for the extension, does it really make sense?

That all depends on the travel profile. Someone who has frequent flights within Germany or Europe in low Economy booking classes that neither confer any benefits nor earn significant status points would probably deem it worthwhile to pay and have the amenities for the full year.

It’s definitely a lot cheaper than doing senseless status runs in this day and age. Back in the day, you could make Senator with cheap First Class tickets on United and US Airways in the U.S. by flying routes like Ontario-Tampa for $510 (34,000 status miles) or Las Vegas-San Juan for $590 (37,000 Status miles). These times are long gone, and back when this was a possibility, my time wasn’t as valuable as today, and my body was a lot younger, too, making it easier to go on these adventures.

As such, I find 2000 Euro, including two vouchers, a pretty decent offer and will think about it. I still have the option to do the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold Challenge via ShangriLa Jade.

The free Senator Credit Card (fee waiver) means I save another 64 Euro, which is the fee for the Frequent Traveller Credit Card after the soft landing.

Remember to read about the upcoming program changes I previously wrote about:

Lufthansa Reminds Members That Miles & More Status Changes Kick In Effective January 1, 2024

As status becomes more difficult to achieve unless you’re someone with expensive tickets on Lufthansa Group stock, it makes it more attractive to consider the offer to simply pay once and have the status for another year.

Conclusion

Lufthansa once again offers Senator members with insufficient status miles the ability to extend the status for a 2000 Euro or 200,000 miles payment. This would include two eVouchers for upgrades and a one-year extension of the Senator Tier until February 2025.

This offer isn’t a “one fits all” kind of deal, and if it’s worthwhile is really a personal decision that depends on one’s travel profile. I would value the eVouchers with a realistic 800-1000 Euro, and that means the cost per month is ~ 100 Euro. You have to fly frequently to make it worthwhile.

These are the Terms & Conditions for this offer:

Right of cancellation

You have the right to cancel this contract within fourteen days, without providing any reason.

The cancellation period spans fourteen days starting from the day on which the contract is concluded. In order to exercise your right of cancellation, you must inform us of your decision to cancel this contract, providing us with your telephone number and e-mail address using a clear means of declaration (e. g. in a letter sent by post or via contact form). You can make use of the attached sample cancellation form. However there is no obligation to do so. In order to maintain the right of cancellation, it is sufficient for you to send a communication relating to the exercise of your cancellation rights, before the end of the cancellation period.

Consequences of cancellation

If you cancel this contract, we are required to immediately repay to you all payments we have received from you, at the latest within fourteen days from the day we received your communication relating to the cancellation of this contract. To effect this refund, we will use the same payment method as was used for the original transaction, unless some other means have been expressly agreed with you, but under no circumstances will a cash refund be made.

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in case you missed it!

FAQ: How to Book the Airfare of the Day?

fare: Lufthansa (LH) PLX53SNC MIA to BUD

• Booking class: P
• Price: from $2,560 ($2,400 base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: from the United States permitted TUE through THU on each transatlantic sector.
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: reservations for all sectors are required at least 50 days before departure.
• Minimum stay: 3 days.
• Maximum stay: 3 months.
• Stopovers: -/-
• Cancellations: ticket is non-refundable.
• Changes: changes permitted for reissue/revalidation.

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Source

Lufthansa claims the new status. mechanism with Miles & More will be “simplified” but as so often, whenever a company says changes are an improvement it usually means negative changes.

Lufthansa Miles & More has already cut back the program substantially in the last year, first by attaching the award miles to the ticket value and then by updating their award chart, making award flights more expensive.

It all started in November 2019 when we reported on rumors that Lufthansa was mulling over the implementation of steep cuts into their established status qualification structure. These rumors have since proven to be correct and were later communicated by Lufthansa.

Lufthansa has then mailed out physical letters to their premium customers (HON Circle, Senator) outlining the changes and directing customers to a designated website for further information.

It was all said and done, ready to do until Covid hit, and Lufthansa decided to postpone the designed changes until further notice due to the grounding of flights and the temporary collapse of the aviation market.

Lufthansa still held onto these plans and eventually decided to make January 1, 2024, the date when the change would take effect. As the carrier is required by law to make changes public in advance, they scheduled a whole range of webinars that were all canceled at the last minute, and now Miles & More sent out the most recent communique about the new program structure.

Here are the details of today’s mail:

Dear Sebastian,

We’re almost there. Our new status programme will be launching in just a few weeks, and we look forward to sharing this journey with you.

You’ve probably already booked one or two flights for the coming year and want to know what changes you can expect from January 2024. Here’s a quick summary of the most important points:

▪	The earning system with which you achieve status will become simpler and more transparent and only depend on two factors: the travel class and whether it’s a continental or intercontinental flight.
▪	The status term will change to 1 year.
▪	Long-term loyalty will be rewarded with Lifetime status.
▪	There’ll be no changes to how you earn award miles.

You can find everything you need to know about the new status programme any time at www.miles-and-more.com/new-statusprogramme.

We’ll provide you with more details in the coming weeks and months:

Mid October 2023
We’ll inform you about the changes to the general terms and conditions of participation that will come with the introduction of the new status programme.

Mid November 2023
You’ll receive information about the launch of the new Lifetime status and the continued use of the existing Senator Lifetime status.

January 2024
The new status programme launches. You’ll also notice some changes in the status section, which will feature your new-look personal account at miles-and-more.com and on the Miles & More app. To get you started, we’ll show you how to navigate your way around.

Late January 2024
Still have questions about our new status programme? We’ll be answering them in our Senator webcast. You’ll receive a separate invitation to this.

We look forward to sharing this journey with you.

Best regards,

The most noteworthy change is that you’ll no longer earn status based on the distance flown. Instead, you’ll earn status points based on firm flight categories.

This doesn’t change how you earn redeemable award miles, and this only impacts earning status points.

In the future, only two criteria will be used to determine the number of Points, Qualifying Points, and HON Circle Points you earn: the travel class and whether it is a continental or intercontinental flight.

The number of Points, Qualifying Points, and HON Circle Points will be the same for all members. For example, there will be no more Executive Bonus in the new Points system. However, it will still apply to award miles.

Points and Qualifying Points and HON Circle Points

Economy Class

• 20 Points/20 Qualifying Points for each continental flight
• 60 Points/60 Qualifying Points for each intercontinental flight

Premium Economy Class

• 20 Points/20 Qualifying Points for each continental flight
• 80 Points/80 Qualifying Points for each intercontinental flight

Business Class

• 40 Points/40 Qualifying Points/40 HON Circle Points for each continental flight
• 200 Points/200 Qualifying Points/200 HON Circle Points for each intercontinental flight

First Class 

• 40 Points/40 Qualifying Points/40 HON Circle Points for each continental flight
• 300 Points/300 Qualifying Points/300 HON Circle Points for each intercontinental flight

Points, Qualifying Points, and HON Circle Points will be awarded for each flight segment.

Astounding: No more distinction between cheap and high-value booking classes. Only the class of service counts, so a customer flying the cheapest economy fare that currently only earns minimal status miles will soon earn the same as someone who books a Flexible Y Full Fare.

The most baffling thing to me is their new Lifetime Status feature because it’s so completely out of whack.

Lifetime Silver (Frequent Traveler) requires 30,000 Qualifying points, while the highly valuable Lifetime Gold (Senator) is only 40,000 points. That doesn’t add up in any capacity.

Source

There are three different offers for Lufthansa Miles & More, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, and Payback program members, each valid for up to three stays during the promo period.

You can access Lufthansa offer here, Turkish Airlines one here, and Payback one here.

READ MORE: Wyndham Rewards Rate & Bonus Points Offers

Note that you must elect to earn partner points instead of Wyndham Rewards ones to earn the bonus under any of the offers

Lufthansa Miles & More

Miles & More members are eligible for double miles + an additional 2,000 miles for each of the first three stays during the offer period. These are in addition to the base miles you earn for the stay.

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

Miles&Smiles members earn triple miles for three stays during the offer period.

Payback

Payback members can earn double points during the offer period.

Conclusion

The Lufthansa Miles & More offer could make sense with the 2,000 bonus miles component, even for the least expensive qualified stays.

Terms and conditions of the Lufthansa offer:

The 2022 “Double Miles Bonus Promotion” (the “Promotion”) begins on 1 October 2023 and ends on 31 December 2023 (the “Registration Period”).To qualify for the Promotion and earn double miles, a Member must (i) choose to earn miles with the participating partner in their member profile, , (ii) book a Qualified Stay during the Registration Period at a participating hotel, with an arrival date between 1 October 2023 and 31 December 2023, and (iii) complete the Qualified Stay by 7 January 2024 (the period beginning on 1 October 2023 and ending on 31 December 2023 hereinafter referred to as the “Promotion Period”). A Qualified Stay at a participating hotel will be at a Qualifying Rate which includes most guest room rates except for most travel agents, group, wholesale, package transportation/crew and other special contract rates or free night stays. Most rates available through tour operators and travel

Websites (excluding WyndhamRewards.com and the participating hotel chain websites) such as Expedia and Travelocity are wholesale rates and therefore do not qualify to earn triple miles as part of this Promotion.

Members can earn double miles for up to three (3) separate Qualified Stays (i.e., the first, second and third Qualified Stays) booked during the Registration Period and completed during the Promotion Period with a maximum of 3 rooms for each Qualified Stay. Additional stays after the third Qualified Stay will earn miles at the member’s standard rate.

Each Qualified Stay includes all consecutive nights at the same participating hotel, regardless of check-ins or check-outs.

Members will only receive double miles on Qualifying Stays during the Promotion Period. Member stays with check-in dates before 1 October 2023 and check-out dates after 7 January 2024 will not be counted towards the Promotion.

The double miles earned will be calculated by determining the base miles earned by the Member for each Qualifying Stay according to the criteria of the partner’s loyalty program and doubling such miles.

The 2,000 fixed Miles & More award miles will be awarded on top of the Wyndham Rewards® Double Miles 2022 Bonus Promotion, for all the bookings made from 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023, and stays completed by 7 January 2024.

Members should allow six to eight weeks after completion of registration and relevant Qualified Stays for the triple miles, issued pursuant to this Promotion, to be credited to their account. Members who have elected to earn Wyndham Rewards points in their member profile will not be eligible to earn points under this Promotion.

Participating Members who have elected to earn Wyndham Rewards points in their member profile at the time of the booking will not be eligible to earn the equivalent of double Wyndham Rewards points. A Member electing to earn Wyndham Rewards points will receive the usual base value of Wyndham Rewards points for the qualifying stays, as this is a miles promotion only.

This Promotion applies to new bookings only and is not available retrospectively or to group bookings.

The Promoter reserves the right to change these Double Miles 2023 Bonus Promotion Terms and Conditions and this Promotion is subject to cancellation or change without notice. Any cancellation or change will not affect any bookings already made when such cancellation or change occurs. Void where prohibited by law.

Full Wyndham Rewards Guest Rewards Program terms and conditions apply and can be found at www.WyndhamRewards.com/terms.

Capitalized terms used but not defined in these terms and conditions shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Wyndham Rewards Guest Rewards Programme terms and conditions. See www.WyndhamRewards.com for participating hotels, brands and locations. All participating hotels are independently owned and most independently operated. The Promoter does not own any of the hotels taking part in this offer and cannot accept liability for loss or injury, howsoever caused, during the stays.

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