How to cash out of small quantities of Lufthansa Miles & More miles

Here is one of those odd little quirks that few people know about.

It may be that you have a small number of Lufthansa Miles & More miles languishing.  Unlike British Airways, there is very little that the average flyer can do with a small amount of Miles & More miles – there is no cash and miles option, unlike Avios, and European redemptions are laughably expensive.

A short haul European flight that would cost 9,000 Avios points plus £35 in taxes will cost you a shocking 30,000 Miles & More miles plus over £100 in taxes! Even a domestic return economy flight inside Germany would cost 25,000 miles plus a lot of taxes.

How to cash out small amounts of Miles & More miles via Heathrow Rewards

You can, though, cash out Miles & More miles via the Heathrow Rewards shopping programme (you need to log-in and go to the redemption page to see this offer).

You need to redeem a minimum of 7,500 Miles & More miles, which gets you a £20 shopping voucher valid at Heathrow.  Each addition 1,875 miles gets you an additional £5 voucher.

Is this a great deal?  No, of course not.  Is it a useful way of disposing of a small quantity of Miles & More miles, especially ones which are close to their expiry date?  Yes.

PS.  I am not saying that Miles & More miles are totally useless.  There are good long-haul deals in there, especially as Miles & More members can access redemption seats that are blocked to other Star Alliance airlines.    However, if you only have a small number of them and don’t see yourself getting to a large number before they expire, you could have a problem and this could be the answer.

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How to earn Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards (April 2025)

None of the Star Alliance airlines currently have a UK credit card.

There is, however, still a way to earn Star Alliance miles from a UK credit card. 

The route is via Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty points convert to over 40 airlines at the rate of 3:1.

The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is via the official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card. It comes with 20,000 points for signing up and 2 points for every £1 you spend. At 2 Bonvoy points per £1, you are earning (at 3:1) 0.66 airline miles per £1 spent on the card.

There is a preferential conversion rate to United Airlines – which is a Star Alliance member – of 2 : 1 if you convert 60,000 Bonvoy points at once.

The Star Alliance members which are Marriott Bonvoy transfer partners are: Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review