Lufthansa's Miles & More programme has returned to the UK for the first time since its credit card closed in 2021. The new Miles & More Debit Card, issued by Currensea, launches today at £180 a year and links to your existing UK current account. The welcome bonus is not the reason to look at it - two other benefits are, and neither has an equivalent anywhere else on the UK market.

The 5,000-mile launch bonus runs until 11:59am on 2 October 2026, or until 500 people have taken it - whichever comes first. On a card with this much pent-up interest, assume the cap binds long before the date does.

UK cardholders get access to Miles & More's mileage exchange, and can convert up to 25,000 miles a year into status qualifying points. Currensea says this access is exclusive to UK cardholders.

That is, in plain terms, buying status with miles. If you are sitting a few thousand points short of Frequent Traveller or Senator at the end of a qualification year, this card is a route to closing the gap that does not involve flying. Nothing else available to UK collectors does this.

It is also the benefit most likely to be quietly restricted later, so if it matters to you, it is worth understanding the terms now rather than assuming it will still be there in two years.

Miles & More miles normally expire. Escaping that has traditionally meant holding elite status or a Miles & More credit card - and the UK credit card has not existed since 2021, which left British collectors with balances they could not protect.

Cardholder miles never expire while you hold this card. If you have an orphaned Miles & More balance from a Lufthansa, Swiss or Austrian flight years ago, this is the first UK product in five years that stops the clock on it.

The 1 mile per £1 UK earn rate is not permanent. It halves to 0.5 miles per £1 on 2 September 2027.

That is a year of full earning, then a 50% cut already written into the launch terms. It does not make the card a bad deal, but it does mean the earn rate is a first-year argument rather than a permanent one - and anyone modelling this card over three or four years should use the lower number.

Miles & More miles are worth roughly 1p each in practice, though Lufthansa Group's surcharges on award tickets pull real-world value below that on many routes.

At 1p, the full first-year bonus of 15,000 miles is worth around £150 - against a £180 fee. The welcome bonus alone does not cover the cost, which is unusual for a launch offer and worth saying plainly.

What closes the gap is the rest of the package: one free Lufthansa Business Lounge voucher a year, priority check-in at the Lufthansa Business Class desk at Heathrow, six 1GB eSIMs, a one-time 15% discount at Worldshop, and the expiry protection above.

So the honest read is this:

Like the Hilton, Marriott and United debit cards Currensea already issues, this links to the UK current account you already have through Open Banking. There is no new account to open, no balance to top up, and no hard credit check.

Supported banks include Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander, Starling, Revolut, Halifax, First Direct, TSB, Virgin Money, Chase, Coutts, Wise, RBS, Bank of Scotland, AIB, Bank of Ireland, Danske and Ulster.

Note that Chase is supported here, which is worth flagging because it is excluded from the Marriott Bonvoy card.

Yes. Currensea issues all of them as separate products, and each links to your bank account independently. Holding one does not affect your eligibility for the others.

You need Miles & More Senator or HON Circle status. The refund is paid within 10 working days of your first annual subscription payment. Senator members get year one only; HON Circle members get every year refunded for as long as they hold the status.

It is capped at 500 cardholders and triggers on a single transaction of £1 or more, so it is the easiest 5,000 miles on offer - about £50. If you were going to take the card anyway, take it early.

UK earning drops from 1 mile per £1 to 0.5 miles per £1 on 2 September 2027. Foreign currency and Lufthansa Group spending are unchanged in the launch terms.

This is a significant launch - Miles & More has had no UK card for five years, and Star Alliance collectors in Britain have had almost nothing to earn on domestically.

But it is not a card that sells itself on the welcome bonus, and you should be sceptical of coverage that presents it that way. The bonus is worth less than the fee. The reasons to take it are the status exchange, the mileage expiry protection, and - if you hold Senator or HON Circle - the fact that it costs nothing.

These are the top card welcome bonuses we're tracking. Offers change frequently - see all cards.

1. Currensea Miles & More Debit Card: up to 15,000 miles, including 5,000 for the first 500 cardholders (£180/yr)

2. Currensea Marriott Bonvoy Premium Debit Card: 40,000 points after £3,000 foreign spend, until 15 September (£175/yr)

3. Amex Gold: 20,000 points after spending £3,000 in 3 months (fee waived in year one)

Looking to redeem your points? Here's what's available right now (via Award Travel Finder):

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