How Many Miles Do You Need for a Flight? 2026 Chart
How many miles does an award flight cost? Mileage chart from Economy to First for Miles & More, dynamic Lufthansa pricing, Flying Blue and taxes explained.
By David Lesnik Status:
Quick answer: A flight within Europe with Miles & More costs 28,000 miles in Economy and 50,000 miles in Business on the Star Alliance award chart, each for a round-trip. North America is 50,000 / 85,000 / 125,000 / 215,000 miles (Economy / Premium Economy / Business / First). Since 3 June 2025, Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian have priced awards dynamically: in our analysis, Business to North America ranged from about 104,000 to 144,000 miles round-trip. Taxes and fees are always added.
“How many miles do I actually need?” is the question I hear most often, usually right after someone sees their first 20,000 miles in their account. The honest answer: it depends on three things. On the route, on the cabin class, and on which airline you fly. In this article you get the concrete numbers, neatly laid out in tables. How to book afterwards is covered in the award flight guide. What a mile is worth in euros is explained in the mile value calculator.
How many miles do you need for a flight?
For a round-trip within Europe you need at least 25,000 to 28,000 miles in Economy with Miles & More (partner airlines, as of 3 March 2026). On long-haul, Economy starts at 42,000 miles (Middle East, North Africa) and 50,000 miles (North America, India, Southern Africa). Business Class on long-haul costs 75,000 to 215,000 miles, depending on the region.
These values apply to Star Alliance partners such as United, Air Canada, Turkish, Thai or ANA. For Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian there is no fixed chart anymore; you only see the price in the search. More on that below.
As a rule of thumb to get started:
- One-way usually costs half of the round-trip value in the chart
- Business costs just under 2 to 2.5 times Economy
- First costs about 3 to 4.5 times Economy
How many miles does an award flight cost with Miles & More?
The official Miles & More award chart (Award Flights chart, as of 3 March 2026) lists fixed mileage values for round-trips from Europe with Star Alliance partners. North America costs 50,000 miles in Economy and 125,000 in Business, Southeast Asia 85,000 and 200,000. The values include a connecting flight within Europe.
Miles & More Star Alliance award chart from Europe — round-trip As of: November 2026 (chart valid since 3 March 2026, source: official Miles & More Award Flights chart)
| Destination region | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic (within one country in Europe) | 25,000 | – | 40,000 | – |
| Europe | 28,000 | – | 50,000 | – |
| Middle East / Caucasus / North & Central Africa | 42,000 | 55,000 | 75,000 | 140,000 |
| North America (USA, Canada) | 50,000 | 85,000 | 125,000 | 215,000 |
| India (incl. Maldives, Sri Lanka) | 50,000 | 85,000 | 125,000 | 215,000 |
| Southern Africa | 50,000 | 85,000 | 125,000 | 215,000 |
| Central America / Caribbean (incl. Mexico) | 70,000 | 95,000 | 140,000 | 225,000 |
| South America | 75,000 | 110,000 | 160,000 | 245,000 |
| Central Asia / Far East (Japan, Korea, Hong Kong) | 75,000 | 110,000 | 170,000 | 260,000 |
| Southeast Asia (Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam) | 85,000 | 110,000 | 200,000 | 260,000 |
| Hawaii | 95,000 | – | 215,000 | 330,000 |
| Australia / New Zealand / Oceania | 95,000 | – | 215,000 | 330,000 |
Three details many people overlook:
- The regions are not always intuitive. Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, the Canary Islands and Madeira belong to the region “Middle East/Caucasus/North/Central Africa”, not to Europe. A flight to the Canary Islands therefore costs 42,000 instead of 28,000 miles on the partner chart.
- Premium Economy is, according to the chart, only available on flights operated by Austrian, Brussels, Discover, Eurowings, Lufthansa, Lufthansa City and SWISS.
- Taxes, fees and surcharges are not included in the mileage values.
Tip: Cheap entry point in Europe: You can book Eurowings flights via Eurowings’ own award flight tool from 7,500 miles one-way; mileage bargains start at around 6,000 miles. All details: Booking Eurowings with miles.
Why is there no fixed mileage price for Lufthansa anymore?
Since 3 June 2025, Miles & More has priced award flights on Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian and Lufthansa City dynamically, and since March 2026 also on Discover Airlines and Air Dolomiti. The mileage price depends on demand and date and only appears in the flight search. Same route, different date: often a noticeably different price.
The official chart states literally that the mileage values for these airlines are “displayed directly during the booking process” “because they are calculated dynamically”. So a fixed Lufthansa award chart simply no longer exists. Anyone who still quotes you a fixed price for a Lufthansa flight today is quoting an old value.
To still give you a feel for the order of magnitude, we analyzed the prices actually displayed: more than 27,000 data points for departures from Frankfurt and Munich, travel period August 2026 to June 2027, retrieved via the seats.aero Partner API. The table shows the range from the cheapest to the expensive end (5th to 95th percentile).
Lufthansa Group dynamic (LH, SWISS, Austrian and others) from FRA/MUC — round-trip As of: November 2026 (data basis: our own analysis via seats.aero from 11 June 2026)
| Destination region | Economy | Premium Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | approx. 2,500–28,000 | – | approx. 31,000–60,000 |
| North Africa | approx. 31,000–42,000 | – | approx. 41,000–75,000 |
| Middle East | approx. 20,000–42,000 | approx. 55,000–76,000 | approx. 44,000–97,000 |
| India / South Asia | approx. 7,800–22,000 | approx. 58,000–84,000 | approx. 93,000–105,000 |
| North America | approx. 5,500–60,000 | approx. 77,000–117,000 | approx. 104,000–144,000 |
| Southeast Asia | approx. 30,000–57,000 | approx. 84,000–172,000 | approx. 139,000–158,000 |
| East Asia (Japan, Korea, China) | approx. 32,000–140,000 | approx. 71,000–151,000 | approx. 144,000–188,000 |
| South America | approx. 39,000–90,000 | approx. 80,000–125,000 | approx. 121,000 |
What the table shows:
- The ranges are huge. In Economy to North America, the cheapest value was about one tenth of the most expensive. If you are flexible, this is where you save the most.
- Business is often more expensive than on the partner chart. North America in Business costs a fixed 125,000 miles with United via the award chart; with Lufthansa the range was 104,000 to 144,000.
- First Class on Lufthansa is barely available. In the entire data set there was only a single First sample (Tokyo, around 337,000 miles round-trip). That is why First is not shown in this table.
The miles calculator works out the values for your specific route, including the equivalent in euros. How the search on miles-and-more.com works and what the new Business Light fare is all about is covered in the Lufthansa award flight guide.
How many miles do you need for Business Class?
For Business Class to North America you need 125,000 miles round-trip with Star Alliance partners on Miles & More, i.e. around 62,500 miles one-way. With Lufthansa, the dynamic price in our analysis ranged from about 104,000 to 144,000 miles round-trip. Within Europe, 50,000 miles are enough for a round-trip.
Typical Business Class destinations from Germany side by side, each one-way:
| Route (example) | M&M partner chart | Lufthansa dynamic (range) |
|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt – London / Rome | 25,000 | approx. 15,500–30,000 |
| Frankfurt – Dubai / Doha | 37,500 | approx. 22,000–48,000 |
| Frankfurt – New York | 62,500 | approx. 52,000–72,000 |
| Frankfurt – Bangkok / Singapore | 100,000 | approx. 69,000–79,000 |
| Frankfurt – Tokyo | 85,000 | approx. 72,000–94,000 |
As of: November 2026. Partner values = half of the round-trip value from the official chart. Lufthansa values = half of the range from the seats.aero analysis of 11 June 2026, rounded.
Important when reading this: the partner column shows the price when you fly with a Star Alliance airline (for example United to New York). Whether a partner seat is available on your preferred date is a question of availability. In-depth coverage of fares, saving tips and routes: Booking Business Class with miles.
What does the same flight cost via AMEX transfer partners?
With AMEX Membership Rewards you can reach other programs, such as Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) at a ratio of 5:4. There, Business to North America costs from around 60,000 miles one-way, which equals 75,000 Membership Rewards. Avios (British Airways, Iberia) are priced per flight segment by distance: Frankfurt–London from 4,000 Avios in Economy.
Important up front: in Germany, AMEX points cannot be sensibly transferred to Miles & More. The only route is via PAYBACK at 3:1, and it is not worth it. That is why the partner programs are the real alternative for AMEX collectors.
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) from Europe — cheapest prices found, round-trip As of: November 2026 (data basis: our own analysis of real availability via seats.aero, June 2026)
| Destination region | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | MR for Business (5:4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | from 20,000 | – | from 40,000 | 50,000 |
| Middle East | from 38,000 | from 80,000 | from 80,000 | 100,000 |
| North America | from 40,000 | from 80,000 | from 120,000 | 150,000 |
| Central America / Caribbean | from 50,000 | from 90,000 | from 140,000 | 175,000 |
| South America | from 60,000 | from 100,000 | from 160,000 | 200,000 |
| Southeast Asia | from 60,000 | from 100,000 | from 165,000 | 206,250 |
| East Asia | from 60,000 | from 100,000 | from 170,000 | 212,500 |
Flying Blue also prices dynamically. The values are “from” prices; on popular dates it gets considerably more expensive. The lever is the monthly Promo Rewards with up to 25% off; in September 2026 these included Europe–New York from 18,750 miles one-way in Economy. More in the Flying Blue guide. Flying Blue does not offer First Class to regular members.
Avios work differently: the price depends on the distance of each individual flight segment. Frankfurt–London costs from 4,000 Avios one-way in Economy and 7,750 Avios in Business (off-peak); connecting itineraries are added up segment by segment. For short European routes this is often unbeatable; for long-haul with a connection it quickly gets expensive. Details: Collecting Avios in Germany. American Express lists the current transfer ratios of all partners on its official partner page; you can find an assessment in the article on AMEX transfer partners.
You get the direct program comparison for your route in the AMEX mode of the miles calculator, which correctly prices Avios per segment.
What taxes and fees are added to the miles?
With every award flight you pay taxes, airport fees and, with many airlines, fuel or carrier surcharges. For Miles & More awards on Lufthansa flights, our estimate is around €60–180 round-trip within Europe, but around €1,300–1,550 in Business to North America. These surcharges have recently risen faster than mileage prices.
Estimated co-payment for M&M awards on Lufthansa flights — round-trip from Germany As of: November 2026 (estimates from the miles calculator, as of May 2026)
| Destination region | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | €60–130 | €100–180 | – |
| Middle East | €200–350 | €400–650 | – |
| India / South Asia | €220–380 | €450–700 | – |
| East Asia | €320–480 | €550–850 | €800–1,100 |
| North America | €280–420 | €1,300–1,550 | €1,500–1,750 |
| South America | €400–600 | €700–900 | €750–1,000 |
Why so much? Lufthansa levies high carrier surcharges on award flights, which were raised significantly again between December 2025 and the end of March 2026, especially on the North Atlantic. If, on the other hand, you book a Lufthansa flight via another Star Alliance program, the surcharges are often much lower. That is one of the reasons collectors like to book Lufthansa seats via United MileagePlus or Avianca LifeMiles.
My rule of thumb: always factor in the co-payment before getting excited about the mileage price. An Economy flight to New York for 25,000 miles plus around €200 is a completely different deal from Business for 62,500 miles plus around €700. Whether either is worth it is shown by the cents-per-mile calculation in the mile value calculator.
How many miles do you need for an upgrade?
An upgrade with miles has no fixed chart value at Miles & More; the mileage amount is displayed for the specific flight. It requires a paid ticket, so you pay taxes and the ticket price anyway. If you have enough miles for a full award flight in Business, you are usually better off with that than with an upgrade.
Upgrades are mainly interesting if you are flying Economy or Premium Economy on business anyway and want to use your miles “on top”. Always compare the displayed mileage value with the price of a complete Business award flight on the same route.
How do I quickly get the miles I need?
Most collectors in Germany use two sources: credit card welcome bonuses and PAYBACK points, which can be converted 1:1 into Miles & More miles. The Miles & More Gold Business* alone brings 50,000 miles when you apply by 30 November 2026, which is enough for a Business round-trip within Europe.
The most important routes at a glance:
- Welcome bonuses: The Miles & More credit cards* currently bring 20,000 miles (Gold Private) or 50,000 miles (Gold Business), each plus 4 lounge vouchers and 40 Points (apply by 30 November 2026). For the AMEX world, the AMEX Platinum Business* offers 200,000 Membership Rewards. All bonuses compared: Credit cards with welcome bonus 2026.
- PAYBACK → Miles & More (1:1): Everyday shopping turns into miles, and with transfer bonus promotions even with a bonus on top. How the transfer works.
- Combine programs: With M&M and AMEX in parallel, you have the cheaper program at hand for every route. Why you need both.
How to deliberately collect enough miles for Business and First over the year without spending more, I show step by step in the Premium Handbook.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many miles do you need for a flight to New York?
With Star Alliance partners such as United, New York costs 50,000 miles in Economy and 125,000 miles in Business with Miles & More, each round-trip (official chart, as of 3 March 2026). With Lufthansa the price is dynamic: in our analysis, Business ranged from about 104,000 to 144,000 miles round-trip. Taxes and surcharges are added.
Is there still a Miles & More award chart for Lufthansa?
No. Since 3 June 2025, mileage prices for Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian and Lufthansa City have been dynamic, and since March 2026 also for Discover and Air Dolomiti. The official Award Flights chart now only applies to the other partner airlines. You only see the Lufthansa price in the flight search.
Does a one-way award flight cost half?
With Star Alliance partners, usually yes: the chart lists round-trip values, and a one-way usually costs half. With dynamic Lufthansa pricing, outbound and return are priced separately, so it pays to compare two one-ways with a round-trip.
How many miles do you need for a flight within Europe?
With partner airlines, 28,000 miles in Economy and 50,000 miles in Business for a round-trip; within a single country, 25,000 and 40,000 respectively. Lufthansa flights are dynamic and in our analysis were sometimes considerably cheaper in Economy. Eurowings is available via its own award tool from 7,500 miles one-way.
Why do I still have to pay money despite using miles?
Because taxes, airport fees and airline surcharges are not included in the miles. For Lufthansa award flights, we estimate them at around €1,300–1,550 round-trip in Business to North America and around €100–180 within Europe. Via other Star Alliance programs the surcharges are often lower.
Is Flying Blue cheaper than Miles & More?
On some routes, yes. Flying Blue Business to North America was available from 120,000 miles round-trip, and on top there are regular Promo Rewards with up to 25% off. You reach Flying Blue miles via AMEX Membership Rewards at a ratio of 5:4. Which program comes out ahead on your route is shown by the miles calculator.
Conclusion: The chart is the starting point, not the result
In 2026, how many miles you need for a flight can only be half read from a chart. For Star Alliance partners, the fixed value applies: 28,000 miles for Europe, 50,000 for North America in Economy, 125,000 in Business, each round-trip. For Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian, demand decides, and the range can be wide. On top come taxes and surcharges, which you should factor in from the start.
My advice: first use the miles calculator to check which program costs the least for your route, then collect in a targeted way. How to gather the miles you need faster than most people think is in the Premium Handbook.
More on this topic: Booking an award flight: complete guide | Booking a Lufthansa award flight | What is a mile worth?
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David Lesnik · Founder of MEILENKÖNIG
Expert for miles, points, and credit card strategies. Helps travelers fly business & first class for a fraction of the price.