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It hasn’t been a happy 12 or so months for those who primarily accumulate miles for their travels by taking full advantage of mile-earning credit cards. Recently American Express made huge cutbacks in the sign-up bonuses they will provide to returning cardholders. And back in 2018 we saw every MBNA airline credit card disappear…

For UK collectors of miles from Lufthansa Miles & More, a replacement card was launched last autumn.

The key details of this new option are:

• a £79 annual fee
• 1.25 miles earned per £ spent on both cards (in practice you’ll leave the Diners Club in a sock drawer and just use the Mastercard)

One of the major perks of holding (and occasionally using) a co-branded credit card with Lufthansa Miles & More is the exemption it provides against your miles ever expiring. Otherwise M&M has a 3-year hard expiry policy – use ’em or lose ’em…

A Recent E-Mail from Lufthansa…

I recently received an e-mail from Lufthansa informing me that my “extended mileage protection” would end on 30 June, 2019. The fact that I was enjoying such “protection” was news to me…

But more importantly I noticed this footnote…

You earn 10,000 award miles on your Miles & More Global Traveller Cards if you make at least one card purchase that earns award miles.

As a special bonus, you will earn additional 10,000 award miles when you apply successfully for your new card until 30 June 2019 and make a purchase that earns award miles. This offer is only available once to every new customer applying for the new Miles & More Global Traveller Cards.

Please allow six (6) to eight (8) weeks for your miles to be added to your account.

When you click through to the the promotional landing page, you won’t find any mention of a 20,000 mile bonus. But the e-mail footnote seems pretty clear to me. So is the added bonus simply for those former MBNA cardholders who received the e-mail? Or is it simply atrocious drafting?  I have sent an email to request clarification…

[EDIT: and here is the answer…

Dear Mr Sowerby

 

Thank you for your enquiry.

 

Having reviewed the small print, we can understand that our intention to offer a generous 10,000 bonus miles incentive might not be as clear as it could have been.

 

10,000 bonus miles is the incentive offer. It is the incentive value set in our systems which will be applied when you successfully apply for the card and make at least one purchase before 30^th June which earns award miles. Our systems will apply 10,000 miles exclusively to the specially selected group of ex-MBNA cardholders. Please be assured this is our most generous offer and is twice that offered to the general public.

 

We trust this email offer has not caused you undue inconvenience, and we would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to clarify the incentive offer.

What do you think? After the Amex carnage, are you now considering the Miles & More credit card with a potential 20,000 mile bonus on offer? Let us know below…