the lh-code share points are mute because you have no choice out of ewr to germany. all direct flights are lh operated. in the end you are still buying a ua coded ticket. what gets me about this is that the same doesn't hold true for any other *a carrier? why is an lh operated code share woth more than all the others? sounds like ua doesn't want to be bothered revenue sharing with their other partners. you gold and platinums are the ones being ripped off. especially if you go to the trouble of buying the ticket coded as ua, you should at least get the status bonus. is it your fault they don't operate direct to scandinavia, etc?