Fairly new here and this is my first post. I am a frequent flyer (Miles & More FTL, BA Silver, Emirates Silver and Etihad Silver) and a loyal fan of both Lufthansa and Swiss my whole life (and that’s despite all the recent enhancements). I racked up 50,000 miles this year and renewed FTL for another 2 years. Yet I am now seriously questioning the real-life value of FTL versus other programs and frankly considering dumping Miles & More altogether.
The other day in FRA (while flying back to Heathrow in H), a German lady ahead of me in the cue (whom I recognized from the lounge earlier) flashed her Miles & Bonus Gold card to the staff at the gate and simply waltzed her way to the aircraft with all the other Business Class passengers and SENs (accompanied by her no status partner – yes, I peeked when he showed his boarding pass!) while I waited patiently in line with the rest of the passengers. When we got to Heathrow, her luggage was one of the first to show up (with the Star Priority tag neatly attached to it) while mine was one of the last on the belt. This really got me. With just 20,000 miles anyone can get hold of this Gold card (with a bit of effort) and enjoy unlimited lounge access in any Star Alliance Lounge, priority luggage, priority check-in and priority boarding for any Star Alliance flight. Etihad is even status-matching Gold cards from other programs at the moment. I, the loyalist, am still patiently waiting for Lufthansa and Swiss to move to Heathrow T2 so I can start using a lounge on my travels and my luggage never gets a red tag unless I fly in Business.
FTL surely somewhat enhances one’s experience when flying Lufthansa Group in Economy, but for the benefits we get the 35,000 miles threshold is a certain hand gesture from Lufthansa, particularly with the lower booking classes now earning 25% and V/W/Q earning 50%. Aegean will offer Gold benefits for just 20,000 miles (attainable on a long-haul return flight to down under). When I flew with Singapore Airlines in Y this summer my FTL meant zilch and I received no privileges whatsoever. Priority waitlist? Priority standby? Meh!
I sincerely doubt I’ll ever make to it SEN unless Lufthansa personally invites me (my highest earn rate in a calendar year was 75,000 miles so I'm definitely not on their list). If Lufthansa is unable to add a few extra perks to FTL (e.g. priority luggage, priority boarding and preferred seating – all of which would cost the airline almost nothing) and not in the very least consider offering a premium FTL (with say 50,000 miles threshold and Star Gold benefits) to match Aegean and Turkish, there really is no point pursuing FTL (unless you happen to be a German resident and flying Lufthansa in the lowest travel classes 30 legs a year OR a member of their petroleum club which I can't sign up to as I don't work in the industry). I hung on to my FTL silver card thinking I stand a better chance of getting upgrades (and it also looks good), but operational upgrades are rare and I am yet to be upgraded on any Lufthansa flight (despite having been on full flights in the past and in the highest paid Economy booking class – let’s face it: there will always be a HON/SEN on your flight). I am now also expected to pay for my favourite seats and no longer even have the privilege of booking First Class award tickets on Swiss if I ever wanted to burn my hard-earned miles. Am I missing something? FTL in the early 2000s enjoyed all of these benefits (priority boarding, priority luggage and access to all contract lounges) and the competition does a better job (BA Silver still offers free seat selection, priority boarding, lounge access etc.). Is there any real value at all to FTL nowadays for frequent travellers based outside of Germany?
Yours truly,
M