Every month Lufthansa publishes discount awards for their Miles and More program. The bargains include discount travel opportunities for travel on Miles and More airlines which include Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, and LOT. Some months the program is more generous than other, but for individuals looking for Spring and Summer travel, there are current a few great opportunities from Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Chicago for travel. In my experience, most of the Miles & More bargain awards tend to be geared towards individuals who plan ahead, however from time to time, last minute awards deals are published.
Current Promotions include a saving of 30,000 miles for Economy Class and a saving of 50,000 miles on Business class awards. The promotion does require roundtrip travel, and does not allow stopovers or open jaw tickets.
Example of Current 30K miles Economy class awards:
Example of 55K miles Business Class Awards:
Notice that all of Lufthansa’s Business class awards are from Philadelphia this summer, yet current Austrian Business class awards are available from all four airports the airline serves in the United States (JFK, EWR, ORD, & IAD).
I attempted to book some of these awards and found the taxes and fees to be ridiculously high, in some instances so high that it negates the saving and would probably lead me to book a revenue ticket.
On Austrian & Lufthansa economy class fees were between $600 and $700 round trip depending on departure airport and destination! International surcharges made up the bulk of the charges averaging around $516! In Business class the fees jump to $900-$1000, which include International surcharges of $856! Although it is a lot of money in fees, I still find $1000 + 55,000 miles to be cheaper than a $5,000+ business class ticket!
For those who are looking to save, consider LOT Airlines, as the airline collects no international surcharge and the cost is just 30,000 miles and $159 for a coach class ticket!
To explore all bargain awards, visit the Miles & More Bargain website, which publishes new bargain awards each month. And remember, even if your destination is not on sale, this could provide an ideal opportunity to get you over the pound, and then you can use a low cost carrier (like Vueling that has a €10 discount promo happening) to get you to your final destination.
