Marriott & Lufthansa launch partnership; earn bonus status points and/or get a status match

Marriott and Lufthansa launched a reciprocal partnership a few days ago which can help you earn status in each other’s loyalty programs. What’s on offer is of limited value, but it could be worth linking your accounts nonetheless.

The Deal

• Register for a reciprocal partnership between Marriott and Lufthansa.
• Direct link to registration.

Quick Thoughts

This Marriott and Lufthansa partnership is on the less exciting end of the hotel/airline reciprocal scale. That’s because, as things stand right now, there are no bonus points or miles on offer through the partnership.

Instead, it’s simply an ability to earn status more quickly with Lufthansa and a status match to non-meaningful Marriott status for members of the top two tiers of Lufthansa’s Miles & More loyalty program.

If you have HON Circle or Senator status with Lufthansa, you’ll be matched to Marriott Bonvoy Gold status. That doesn’t include complimentary breakfast, suite upgrades, etc., but I guess at least you’ll earn a few more bonus Marriott Bonvoy points on paid stays, gain eligibility for a 2pm late checked (subject to availability), etc.

For those with Frequent Traveller status with Lufthansa or no status at all, you’ll receive Silver status with Marriott, but only if you also have the Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card issued by Deutsche Bank AG. Lufthansa does have a credit card available for US residents, but that’s issued by Barclays and so it presumably won’t make you eligible. If you do have the card issued by Deutsche Bank (e.g. expats in Germany), in addition to the complimentary Silver status, you’ll be eligible for a fast track to Marriott Gold status. I haven’t been able to ascertain how that fast track will work though, as the registration page and other linked pages don’t seem to provide any detail on how that’ll work.

On the other side of things, those who’ve linked their Bonvoy and Miles & More accounts will earn 40 Miles & More Points per qualifying stay, with a limit of 120 Points per calendar year. Qualifying stays are paid stays of at least two nights, so that’s not helpful if you only tend to stay one night at a time at Marriott properties.

Note that you’re not earning redeemable miles in the Miles & More program. Instead, the 40 Points count towards earning elite status in Lufthansa’s program. You’re not going to earn any kind of status with them without a bunch of additional qualifying activity though.

If you’re a base level member in the Miles & More program, to reach the first rung of status – Frequent Traveller – you have to earn 650 Points as well as 325 Qualifying Points. Seeing as the maximum number of Points you can earn each year from Marriott stays is 120, that’s not even getting you 20% of the way to one half of the status requirements. Senator status requires 2,000 Points and 1,000 Qualifying Points, so earning 120 Points will only get you 6% of the way there for one half of the requirements. This Marriott partnership is therefore mostly only useful for those who are already significantly invested in Lufthansa’s frequent flyer program.

That said, it could be worth linking your accounts now just in case Marriott and Lufthansa enhance the relationship in the future and/or offer some other kind of targeted campaign offering bonus miles and/or points on stays/flights.

h/t OMAAT

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