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Can I get United miles if I book with Lufthansa?

MileagePlus members can earn award miles and Premier qualifying credits on eligible Lufthansa flights. To receive mileage credit, present your MileagePlus number when you make reservations and make sure that it appears on your boarding pass at check-in.



Yes, you can earn United MileagePlus miles when booking with Lufthansa, as both airlines are founding members of the Star Alliance. To ensure your miles are credited, you must enter your United MileagePlus number during the booking process or at check-in. In 2026, the number of miles you earn depends on how the ticket was issued: if you book a "United-marketed" flight (ticket number starting with 016) operated by Lufthansa, you earn miles based on the fare price. However, if you book directly through Lufthansa (ticket number starting with 220), you earn miles based on the flight distance and the specific "Fare Class" (e.g., Y, B, M). It is important to check the "Earning Chart" on United's website, as "Deep Discount Economy" classes (like K, L, or T) may only earn 25% to 50% of the miles flown. For 2026 elite status seekers, these flights also count toward your Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) and Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) requirements.

Yes, you can earn United MileagePlus miles on Lufthansa flights because both airlines are members of the Star Alliance. To ensure you get the miles, you must enter your United MileagePlus number during the booking process or at check-in with Lufthansa. In 2026, the number of miles you earn depends on how you booked: if you bought the ticket through United (ticket number starts with 016), you earn miles based on the ticket price. If you bought it through Lufthansa (ticket number starts with 220), you earn miles based on the flight distance and the "Fare Class" of your ticket. Be careful with "Basic Economy" or "Deep Discount" fare classes (like K, L, or T), as these sometimes earn 0% to 25% of the distance. It is a "pro-tip" to check the United partner earning chart before you buy to ensure your specific fare code is eligible for Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) if you are chasing elite status.

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The primary way of earning PQP is by flying United, United Express, and any of United's airline partners. These consist of all Star Alliance members, plus some unique partners like Brazil's Azul, Hawaiian Airlines, Emirates, JSX, and Virgin Australia.

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You're automatically eligible for a Complimentary Premier Upgrade as long as you are a Premier member (the higher your status, the earlier you become eligible for Complimentary Premier Upgrades and are flying on an eligible ticket on any eligible United-operated flight.

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Miles & More is an airline loyalty and frequent flyer program owned and operated by the Lufthansa Group.

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Earn up to 3,000 PQP: The United MileagePlus® Select Card earn 500 PQP for every $12,000 in card spend, up to 3,000 PQP in a calendar year. Earn up to 6,000 PQP: The United QuestSM Card earns 500 PQP for every $12,000 in card spend, up to 6,000 PQP in a calendar year.

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For most people, it probably won't be worth going very far out of your way to chase airline elite status. You can easily replicate many of the perks that a low- or even mid-tier elite traveler would enjoy by holding the right credit cards and buying the occasional upgrade to first class.

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A codeshare occurs when one airline markets a flight operated by another airline. This may mean that you buy a ticket from United Airlines to Munich with a stopover in Frankfurt. While the first leg of your flight is operated by United, the second leg is flown by Lufthansa.

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If Lufthansa has to change your advance seat reservation, e.g. because of a late change in the aircraft type used, Lufthansa will do its best to reserve an equivalent new seat for you. In such cases, priority is first given to seating passengers who are travelling together, e.g. families, next to each other again.

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Lufthansa is Certified as a 4-Star Airline for the quality of its airport and onboard product and staff service.

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Most frequent flyer programs only allow you to credit mileage to the account of the person flying. Inputting the same frequent flyer number for two different passengers wouldn't work, because the name on the account has to match the name on the ticket.

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