ITA and Lufthansa announce status benefits and Star Alliance integration

A lot of Head for Points readers have elite status with Italian airline ITA following its British Airways status match a couple of years ago.

Your status just gained some new benefits, although you are going to lose your SkyTeam alliance benefits very soon.

Let’s look at what was announced yesterday.

ITA has resigned from SkyTeam

This is hardly a surprise, given that Lufthansa is now a major shareholder in the airline. The final day will be 30th April. Your ITA status card should still be respected by other SkyTeam carriers until that date.

ITA is joining Star Alliance …. but not yet

ITA has begun the process of joining Star Alliance alongside the other Lufthansa Group airlines.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that it won’t happen until ‘early 2026’. ITA will not be a member of any airline alliance between May 2025 and ‘early 2026’.

Miles & More and Volare members can now earn and spend together

You don’t need to wait until 2026 to enjoy some of the benefits of this deal.

Effective immediately, Volare members can earn and redeem miles on Lufthansa Group flights. Similarly, Miles & More members can earn and redeem miles on ITA.

Bigger changes are coming for the summer season

From 30th March, when the summer flying season starts, new benefits will launch:

• ITA passengers with status or flying in business class will be able to use Lufthansa Group lounges, and vice versa

• ITA will move terminals at Frankfurt and Munich to co-locate with Lufthansa

• ITA flights will codeshare with Lufthansa, and vice versa, to allow customers of both carriers to book connecting itineraries

• Flights between the core Lufthansa Group hubs (Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna and Brussels) and ITA’s hubs in Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate will be retimed to smooth out flights throughout the day and maximise connection opportunities

The lounge benefit has no impact at Heathrow, because ITA currently concentrates its flying at London City Airport. The announcement did not make it clear if ITA elite members flying in economy on Lufthansa could access Lufthansa Group lounges or if this only applies to ITA flights.

For those readers who have top-tier ITA Volare status until February 2026, it isn’t clear if it will transition into a complimentary year of Miles & More Senator status or not ….

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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