Credit Cards » Credit Card Reviews » Miles & More World Elite Mastercard Review (2023)
Advertiser Disclosure

This website is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This website does not include all card companies or all card offers available in the marketplace. This website may use other proprietary factors to impact card offer listings on the website such as consumer selection or the likelihood of the applicant’s credit approval.

This allows us to maintain a full-time, editorial staff and work with finance experts you know and trust. The compensation we receive from advertisers does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides in our articles or otherwise impacts any of the editorial content on The Smart Investor. While we work hard to provide accurate and up to date information that we think you will find relevant, The Smart Investor does not and cannot guarantee that any information provided is complete and makes no representations or warranties in connection thereto, nor to the accuracy or applicability thereof.

Learn more about how we review products and read our advertiser disclosure for how we make money. All products are presented without warranty.

Miles & More World Elite Mastercard Review (2023)

The Miles & More Mastercard offers some surprising perks, such as Lufthansa business lounge access, companion ticket, and even 0% intro APR.
Author: Lorraine Smithills
Lorraine Smithills

Writer, Contributor

Experience

Lorraine is a freelance finance writer with years of experience in the banking sector and after a successful career in one of the largest retail and commercial financial services providers. She has a passion for helping people with less financial confidence to get control of their money through budgeting, saving, and responsible credit practices.

Review & Fact Check: Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Financial Expert, The Smart Investor CEO

Experience

Baruch Mann (Silvermann) is a financial expert and founder of The Smart Investor. Above all, he is passionate about teaching people how to manage their money and helping millions on their journey to a better financial future.
Author: Lorraine Smithills
Lorraine Smithills

Writer, Contributor

Experience

Lorraine is a freelance finance writer with years of experience in the banking sector and after a successful career in one of the largest retail and commercial financial services providers. She has a passion for helping people with less financial confidence to get control of their money through budgeting, saving, and responsible credit practices.

Review & Fact Check: Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Financial Expert, The Smart Investor CEO

Experience

Baruch Mann (Silvermann) is a financial expert and founder of The Smart Investor. Above all, he is passionate about teaching people how to manage their money and helping millions on their journey to a better financial future.

We earn a commission from our partner links on this page. It doesn't affect the integrity of our unbiased, independent editorial staff. Transparency is a core value for us, read our advertiser disclosure and how we make money.

Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®

Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®

Rewards Plan

1x – 2x 2 miles per dollar spent on tickets directly purchased via the Miles & More integrated airline partner network. 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases

Welcome Bonus

60,000 miles 60,000 miles if you spend $3,000 and pay your annual fee within 90 days of opening the account

Credit Rating

Good – Excellent

0% Intro

15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening

Annual Fee

$89

APR

20.99% – 29.99%
Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®

Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®

Rewards Plan

1x – 2x 2 miles per dollar spent on tickets directly purchased via the Miles & More integrated airline partner network. 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases

Welcome Bonus

60,000 miles 60,000 miles if you spend $3,000 and pay your annual fee within 90 days of opening the account

0% Intro

15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening

PROS

CONS

APR

20.99% - 29.99%

Annual Fee

$89

Balance Transfer Fee

$5 or 5%, whichever is greater

Credit Requirements

Good - Excellent

If you enjoy flying Lufthansa, but don’t want a card that carries a high annual fee, the Miles & More World Elite Mastercard could be a good option for you. Rather untypically for a card with such a reasonable annual fee, you can receive a companion ticket and lounge access, but the standard rewards are a little less generous compared to many other cards on the market. You can also receive a generous 15 months at 0% APR on balance transfers made within 45 days of opening your account.

On the other hand, if the maximum potential rewards are a priority for you, there are more generous cards on the market. These include options which allow you to use your accumulated rewards to purchase travel via the issuer’s portal, but you can earn decent rewards on everyday purchases.

So, you will need to think carefully about what is important to you to determine if the Miles & More card would be the right choice for you.

  • Introductory APR
  • Lounge Access
  • Companion Ticket
  • Accelerated Miles & More Status
  • No Miles Expiry
  • World Elite Mastercard Benefits
  • Low Rewards for Non Airline Purchases
  • Limited Perks
  • Fairly High Spend Requirement

How do I redeem rewards?

Miles & More has an award chart where you can see the number of miles needed for particular redemptions. If you decide you would like to book an award flight, you will need to log into your account, search for a flight and book as normal. The only difference is that you will select miles as your payment method.

When it may not be a good idea?

This card is not a good idea for those looking to earn miles or rewards on their everyday purchases. Non Lufthansa purchases only offer one mile per dollar, which is less than many other cards on the market. In this case, you may be better considering alternative reward cards.

Does the card provide travel insurance?

Unfortunately, the Miles & More card does not provide travel insurance, but via the World Elite Mastercard benefits, you can access emergency assistance at any time in any language if you run into problems while you’re away.

In this Review

Simulation: How Much Rewards You Can Earn?

Take a look at the table below to see how many points you can get by using the Miles & More Mastercard. The table shows an estimate of the points you could earn based on your usual spending in different categories.

Remember that this table is just an approximation, and the points you actually earn may be different due to your spending habits and other factors. However, it gives you a good idea of the potential advantages of this card.

Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®

Spend Per Category
Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®
$10,000 – U.S Supermarkets
10,000 points
$3,000 – Restaurants
6,000 points
$5,000 – Airline
10,000 points
$4,000 – Hotels
8,000 points
$4,000 – Gas
4,000 points
Estimated Annual Points
38,000 Miles

Pros and Cons

Just like any other credit card, the Miles & More credit card has some advantages and disadvantages:

Pros
Cons
Introductory APR
Low Rewards for Non Airline Purchases
Lounge Access
Limited Perks
Companion Ticket
Fairly High Spend Requirement
Accelerated Miles & More Status
No Miles Expiry
World Elite Mastercard Benefits

Barclays offers a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers that are made within 45 days of opening your account.

Balance transfer fees still apply and the transfer must have been applied to your account before the 45 day period is up to qualify. 

After each account anniversary, you will receive two Lufthansa Business Lounge Vouchers as a complimentary perk.

In the Business Lounge, you can enjoy the VIP treatment, in addition to office space, WiFi, light meals and beverages, comfy chairs, entertainment options and reading materials.

Also on each account anniversary, you will receive a companion ticket. This allows you to bring someone with you on international itineraries, just paying the taxes and fees.

You can convert the award miles that you earn on your purchases into status miles to achieve Miles & More status more quickly. Once per calendar year, the program allows you to convert miles at a 5 to 1 ratio up to a maximum of 25,000 miles.

This means that 5,000 award miles will convert into 1,000 status miles, providing a maximum boost of 5,000 status miles per year.

Provided that you make at least one qualifying purchase with your card each month and you hold the card for a minimum of three months, your award miles will not expire. This means that you can accumulate them for more elaborate travel plans without worrying about an expiration date

The maximum two miles per dollar is only available on Miles & more integrated flights.

This means that if you intend to use this card for travel and everyday purchases, you’re likely to end up feeling rather frustrated about the level of rewards.

While getting a companion pass and complimentary lounge passes are excellent perks, these are essentially the extent of the benefits package with this card.

There are no free checked bags or other airline perks that are typically offered with this level of co-branded card.

Although the welcome bonus is a generous 60,000 miles, it does require spending of at least $3,000 in the first 90 days. 

You also need to have paid the annual fee within this time to qualify.

Since this is a World Elite Mastercard, holders of the Miles & More card can access the benefits package. 

The perks of World Elite Mastercard include subscription discounts and trials, access to Priceless Experiences and the 24/7 complimentary World Elite concierge services.

Who May Consider The Miles & More World Elite Card?

Since this is a co-branded card, it is best suited to those who are brand loyal to Lufthansa, but may not be confident that they will be able to offset a higher annual fee. Since this card has a reasonable annual fee, provided that you make regular purchases with the card, you can simply accumulate rewards for your travel plans.

The card could also be a good option for those looking to pay down a credit card balance. If you make the transfer to this card within 45 days of opening your account, you can enjoy 0% APR for 15 months. Although a balance transfer fee of 5% or $5 applies, this could be an excellent way to clear a lingering credit card balance.

If you are looking for an airline card – there are some good candidates on the same level fo category. However, most of them don't include 0% intro APR.

Card
Rewards
Annual Fee

Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card Review

1X – 2X 2X miles on delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide (including take-out and delivery in the U.S) and at U.S. supermarkets, and 1x miles on all other eligible purchases
$99, $0 intro first year (Rates & Fees)

1X – 2X 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants, and 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
$99 Waived for the first 12 months

Air Lingus review

1X – 3X 3 Avios for every dollar on Aer Lingus, Iberia and British Airways, 2 Avios per dollar on direct hotel accommodations and 1 Avios for all other purchases
$95

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

1X – 3X 3X points on Southwest purchases, 2X points on Southwest’s Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, local transit and commuting (including rideshares) and internet, cable phone and select streaming services; 1X points on all other purchases
$149

JetBlue Plus

1X – 6X 6X points on JetBlue purchases, 2X points at restaurants and grocery stores and 1X points on all other purchases
$99
united explorer
1X – 2X 2x per $1 spent on United purchases, hotel accommodations, restaurants & eligible delivery services and 1x per $1 spent on all other purchases
$95 ($0 first year)

FRONTIER Airlines World Mastercard® review

1x – 5x 5x miles per dollar on purchases at flyfrontier.com, 3x miles per dollar at restaurants and 1x miles on all other purchases
$89

Tips for Using the Miles & More World Elite Mastercard

Although the Miles & More World Elite Mastercard is quite straightforward, there are a few things that you can do to maximize its value.

While it is easy to be dazzled by the companion ticket and lounge pass, you can also get some great value from the World Elite Mastercard suite of benefits.

This includes credit towards Lyft rides when you use Lyft three times per month, a free three month DashPass and free ShopRunner membership.

To ensure that your miles don’t expire, be sure to use your card at least once per month. Even if you are trying to pay down a balance, it is worth making a small purchase and paying it off in full to keep your miles active.

We’ve already discussed this, but it is important to reiterate. You need to have all balance transfers applied to your account within 45 days of opening to qualify for the 0% APR introductory rate.

So, it is a good idea to arrange all the details of your transfer as soon as you receive your new card.

FAQs

There are no official income requirements for this card, but you do need to have good to excellent credit to qualify. So, while Barclays will assess your income, it is not the only factor that will be considered when an approval decision is being made.

Barclays does not have a pre approval option on its website, but the bank may send out mailers or other promotional material to select customers offering pre approval from time to time.

You do need to have good to excellent credit to qualify for this card, but there are no other official requirements. So, if you have decent credit, you should not have any real issues getting the Miles & More World Elite Mastercard.

Lorraine Smithills

Lorraine Smithills

Lorraine is a freelance finance writer with years of experience in the banking sector and after a successful career in one of the largest retail and commercial financial services providers. She has a passion for helping people with less financial confidence to get control of their money through budgeting, saving, and responsible credit practices.

Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

Credit Card Reviews Methodology

In order to determine the best possible credit cards, we look at things like fees, interest rates and rewards. We do this with companies that are associated with us as partners as well as other offerings. From there, we make a decision about what the best card is related to different categories and needs. We focus on interest rate cost & fees, especially the cost of carrying a balance, rewards – cards accumulate rewards in different currencies—points, miles, cash back—and their values vary widely usability – cards that accept a wide range of credit profiles and offer simple solutions for things like checking your credit score or contacting. We also consider customer reviews.

We look at cards related to good or excellent credit ratings that will then provide a range of different benefits and improvements for someone who has these scores. We also look at low fees when it comes to those who have lower credit scores.