My brother-in-law and family had been collecting miles on Lufthansa Miles & More at my behest—or maybe coercion. Lufthansa’s Miles & More program underwent a major transformation in June, transitioning from a fixed award chart to a dynamic pricing model for some of its core airlines.
This meant that searching for award tickets on Lufthansa (including Lufthansa City), SWISS, and Austrian Airlines now offered the possibility of requiring significantly fewer miles than the standard amount previously dictated by geographical zones.
I was looking to spend a few days in Europe at the end of a work trip and was scouting destinations. As I looked at options, I found a route that fit perfectly with my schedule and desired locations.
I first booked a one-way award ticket from Barcelona to Luxembourg via Zurich. This cost only 3,762 miles plus taxes.
| Date | Flight | From | At | To | At | Airline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WED 17 SEP | LX 1951 | BARCELONA, ES (BCN) | 06:00 | ZURICH, CH (ZRH) | 07:40 | SWISS |
| WED 17 SEP | LX 750 | ZURICH, CH (ZRH) | 08:40 | LUXEMBOURG, LU (LUX) | 09:40 | SWISS |
Next, I booked a one-way award ticket from Luxembourg to Malaga, again via Zurich. This cost 4,987 miles plus taxes.
| Date | Flight | From | At | To | At | Airline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WED 17 SEP | LX 759 | LUXEMBOURG, LU (LUX) | 19:10 | ZURICH, CH (ZRH) | 20:05 | SWISS |
| WED 17 SEP | LX 2120 | ZURICH, CH (ZRH) | 21:30 | MALAGA, ES (AGP) | 00:10 (+1) | SWISS |
Frankly, the taxes for the award tickets were quite high—almost in the same range as a ticket price on some low-cost carriers. However, the timings of the award flights were exactly what I wanted, giving me a full day in Luxembourg before flying to Málaga. Considering the small amount of miles spent, paying the taxes was absolutely worth it for the convenience.
With that, I was all set for my day trip to Luxembourg 🔗 and then onwards to Malaga to visit Gibraltar 🔗, thanks to Lufthansa Miles & More and, of course, my brother-in-law and his family.
8749 miles | 4 segments | 1 airline