pmanchuk

Parhaps someone can answer this for me...

Is it possible to open a new Miles & More account and get a "real" number (and card) without actually flying? From what I've read here, after your 1st 3,000 miles get posted to your account, then you get the card (to replace the temporary number). But does it have to be flown miles or could it be a mileage transfer from a credit card awards program?

The reason I'm asking is because I'd like to use miles for some award tickets on LH but have never flown them before. Obviously I can't search for award tickets on their site without a regular Miles & More number. I'm also assuming the award availability would be better if going straight through LH as opposed to a partner airline, no?

Any ideas?

Thanks

htb

Looking for awards on the LH website is mostly useless. It only lists LH awards (maybe OS and LX as well?) but none of their other partners. Of course, LH wants that most people simply use LH metal for awards, minimizing the cost to LH.

In addition, I believe you can only look for awards if you have sufficient mileage for the award.

Looking for awards can much better be done as a member of the ANA mileage club...

HTB.

MACH81

Nope any miles will do. If you need a reference and get 2k bonus miles each PM me.

pmanchuk

Thanks for the info...

Seems I may have "jumped the gun" so to speak in posting my question. Here's my dilemna... I have more miles than I know what to do with in a Diner's Club - Club Rewards account. For some reason, I thought they did direct transfers to LH, but after checking my account there, I was wrong.

The only Star Alliance members I can do a direct transfer of point to are: SK, SA, and TG... although I don't have frequent flyer accounts with any of them...

Any words of advice?

Thanks in advance.

MACH81

Open up one?You can use the miles for LH flight if that;s what you are looking for.

pmanchuk

Well out of the SK, SA, and TG programs... which would I have a better chance of getting a couple first class award on LH from? Or do all the Star Alliance members have access to the same award inventory?

Also, by any chance, does anyone know if any three of those ff programs will give you a regular number when you sign up (as opposed to a temporary one until you actually fly?)

Thanks again.

skywalkerLAX

Can you transfer to Starwood Preferred Guest for a proper ratio ?

If so, you can transfer them 1:1 to LH M&M plus you get 5k bonus for each 20k you transfer !

Cheers,

MACH81

I guess that LH members have the best availability;others might be on the same level, but I'm not too familiar with this.SA just joined and SK is a stable parnter.There were rumors of TG leaving *A. I guess SK is fine and EB (eurobonus) is not a bad program.
I'm not sure about temporary numbers, I guess LH is one of the few if not only airline doing this.

oliver2002

You can transfer DC ->SPG-> LH:

http://www.webflyer.com/programs/mil...63&miles=30000

skywalkerLAX

So just a short calculation:

Diners -> SAS 1:1 -> 110k ~ C award europe - US (scandinavian.net)

Diners-> SPG -> LH (and nearly all other programms) -> (~)3:2 30k->18k LH miles BUT with SPG mileage bonus if you transfer 80k Diners points you get about 75k LH points ^

So for one C class award US/Europe you need 90k with LH (100k Diners) vs.

With SAS you need 110k eurobonus points (110k Diners)

Go for LH/UA/AC but check before you transfer whats the current availability at these programms ! LH is a good choice and can offer you some good connections !

alex0683de

TG's redemption levels are a little high, this route would not be as attractive. I agree that Diners -> SPG -> LH is a good choice. SK may be good as well, but I suppose it will depend on the route - award levels can be different for different routes, and which program is better on any given route has to be looked at on a case-by-case basis. South African may also offer some interesting options, but I know too little about that program to give you advice for it. It would be a good idea to compare the award charts of the three programs for the flights you want before deciding which one to use.

There is anecdotal evidence that the North America-based *A frequent flyer programs have limited access to inventory on other *A carriers, simply because there has been so much inflation in the number of miles out there - there are too many miles chasing too few seats and some *A carriers have slammed on the brakes to avoid being swamped with mileage tickets from UA, US and AC. Between two non-North American carriers, these limits apparently don't apply, and you may have better luck getting the flights you want.

I recommend joining the ANA Mileage Club for access to the excellent ANA Star Alliance award availability tool. Otherwise, www.expertflyer.com may be a good solution, though this is a paid service and a bit more difficult to work with than the ANA tool.