Lufthansa 50,000 Miles + Companion Ticket Offer

As I previously discussed here, it appears to be the new norm for the airline industry to up their credit card sign-up bonuses for new members. Lufthansa offers an excellent incentive right now for those interested in obtaining their credit card, but make sure to consider all the terms and conditions.

Link to Sign-Up Application

Take advantage of a limited-time offer with the Miles & More MasterCard®:

Apply for the Miles & More Premier World(1) MasterCard by May 31, 2011 and earn up to 50,000 bonus miles(2) – enough for an Economy Class round-trip transatlantic flight award from the USA.

And that’s not all. You will receive a free companion ticket with your first card purchase as well as every year thereafter, plus enjoy many exclusive benefits.

– Welcome bonus of 20,000 bonus miles after first purchase
– Earn an additional 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,500 in the first 90 days after account opening

If I was in the market for a new credit card, I would strongly consider this card. However, there are some careful things to consider.

1) If you read the terms, it is up to Lufthansa/MasterCard as to which credit card you actually receive and qualify for on the bonus miles. If you are approved for the Premier World MasterCard, you qualify for the 50,000 mile bonus. However, if they for some reason do not think you qualify for the Premier version of the card, they will give you a Platinum MasterCard, which only gives you 5,000 bonus miles. That is one heck of a risk, and I would be extremely disappointed if I took a credit hit and only received the Platinum card.

2) The annual fee on the Premier version of the card is $79; $0 for the Platinum version. If you qualify for the Premier version, this is a small price to pay considering the value of the 52,500 (50,000 bonus + 2,500 spend) miles plus the free companion ticket. If you and your significant other were to apply and get approved for both the Premier versions of the card, you would receive two round-trip international flights each when you factor in the free companion tickets.

3) Realize that international flights via Lufthansa often will carry high tax and fee charges on your redemption flights. Therefore, you might be paying $400-500 in taxes and fees on your mileage redemption flight. There may be options to get these charges reduced through the partner Star Alliance airlines.

4) Both versions of the credit card carry a policy that you must use your card for at least one (1) purchase transaction every six (6) months (or have some type of account balance every six months). It is unclear whether this means the credit card will get closed, or whether you will lose your bonus miles.

5) Lastly, there are some more questionable terms for the expiration of miles.

No mileage expiration: all unused miles, which have been awarded to your Miles & More account and those you will earn in the future remain valid for an unlimited period of time and will no longer expire provided that you make a purchase for which miles are awarded at least once a month and have held a Miles & More MasterCard for at least three months.

This means to me that you are required to use the card at least once per month to keep your miles active; however, the terms and conditions of the card say they are valid for 36 months from accrual.

Even though this is a great offer, after reading all the terms, I think I would have to pass. While I have never flown Lufthansa before, they are part of the Star Alliance, which gives greater flexibility in redeeming the miles specifically for those interested in less than ideal domestic flights.