Since early 2024, Miles & More has transitioned to using points instead of miles to determine status levels. These points are calculated based on continental regions, which mostly align with geographical continents, though there are some variations—such as Lufthansa treating North Africa as part of Europe. A flight between these defined regions earns 200 points in business class.

We’ve compiled a list of routes that earn 200 points with Miles & More while keeping your flight time under five hours. For example, a two-hour flight from Cairo to Riyadh with Egyptair earns the same 200 points as the grueling 11-hour journey from Munich to San Francisco with United Airlines.

Miles & More member airlines are particularly attractive because you can earn 200 Qualifying Points in addition to the 200 regular points. To reach Senator status, you need 2,000 points in a calendar year, half of which must be Qualifying Points (earned on Miles & More member airlines). Therefore, we list these airlines first and mark them with a ¹. Frequent Traveller status is available from 650/325 points.

Airlines:

Lufthansa¹
Eurowings¹
Austrian Airlines¹
SWISS¹
Brussels Airlines¹
LOT – Polish Airlines¹
TAP Air Portugal
Turkish Airlines
Aegean Airlines
Egyptair
Ethiopian Airlines
Air China
Singapore Airlines
Avianca
Copa Airlines
United Airlines
The Shortest Intercontinental Flight
Conclusion

Hint: Not everyone is familiar with the codes of Kazakh or Colombian regional airports. If you hover over the respective point, the full name of the airport will be displayed.

Lufthansa¹

Short international flights - Lufthansa (Source: GCMap.com)

We begin our overview with Lufthansa’s offerings. The shortest routes that cross a continental boundary are flights from Frankfurt to Amman, Beirut, and Tel Aviv. Munich also offers flights to Israel’s largest airport. Additionally, Lufthansa has several destinations on the Arabian Peninsula from Frankfurt, as well as to Iran, serviced by lie-flat business class.

Eurowings¹

Short international flights - Eurowings (Source: GCMap.com)

We regularly find deals for Eurowings BIZ-Class flights to Dubai. These may not be the most comfortable and actually take over 6 hours, but are an affordable way to earn 400 Qualifying Points. Flights depart from Berlin, Cologne/Bonn, and Stuttgart. Shorter flights include routes to Tel Aviv, Beirut, and Erbil in Northern Iraq, all accessible from various German airports.

Austrian Airlines¹

Short international flights - Austrian Airlines (Source: GCMap.com)

We continue within the Lufthansa Group, looking at potential routes with Austrian Airlines, all departing from Vienna, including Amman, Erbil, and Tel Aviv.

SWISS¹

Short international flights - Swiss (Source: GCMap.com)

Another Lufthansa Group airline, SWISS, offers medium-haul flights from its Zurich hub, earning 200 Qualifying Points each way in business class. Destinations include Beirut and Tel Aviv.

Brussels Airlines¹

Short international flights - Brussels Airlines (Source: GCMap.com)

Belgium’s Brussels Airlines, also a Miles & More member, offers 200 points for flights from its Brussels hub to Tel Aviv. If you’re open to flying over 6 hours, there are frequent deals to West Africa, such as Dakar and Senegal, where Brussels Airlines deploys lie-flat seat aircraft, unlike many European competitors.

To conclude the Lufthansa Group: Discover Airlines and Edelweiss don’t appear on this list because they only offer flights to North Africa (not intercontinental) or real long-haul routes. From March 30, 2025, Edelweiss will resume flights from Zurich to Amman. Miles & More airline Luxair has discontinued its only long-haul route to Dubai, and Croatia Airlines’ flights to Tel Aviv are currently paused.

LOT – Polish Airlines¹

Short international flights - LOT Polish Airlines (Source: GCMap.com)

The final Miles & More airline on this list is LOT – Polish Airlines. From Warsaw, you can fly to Beirut and Tel Aviv on intercontinental routes that take less than six hours. Krakow also offers nonstop flights to Israel.

TAP Air Portugal

Next, we turn to Star Alliance members with their own mileage programs. While you can earn 200 points in business class on these flights, no Qualifying Points are awarded.

Since the Portuguese-speaking but mainland-independent Cape Verde Islands are considered part of Africa, there are four routes available from Lisbon, along with three destinations in continental Africa.

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines’ hub is not only close to other continents, but the airline’s route network is extensive. Therefore, the list of short and medium-haul flights from Istanbul that are rewarding with Miles & More is particularly long. Some suitable routes also depart from Ankara.

Aegean Airlines

The last airline in Europe that Miles & More considers part of this region is Greece’s Aegean Airlines. From Athens, flights go to the frequently mentioned destinations in the eastern Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula. Flights to Tel Aviv are available from several Greek islands and cities, as well as from Cyprus.

Egyptair

We stay in the region and look at Egyptair’s network. Egypt, like Turkey, is considered part of Europe by Miles & More. This means many connections go east and south, but none to the northwest. From Alexandria, there are flights to four Saudi Arabian cities, with even more options from Cairo.

Ethiopian Airlines

From Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Airlines offers suitable short and medium-haul flights.

South African Airlines, the third African Star Alliance member, does not offer short or medium-haul flights to other continental regions. The same applies to the Asian members Air India, Asiana, EVA Air, Shenzhen Airlines, Thai Airways, and All Nippon Airways. While you can still earn 200 status points on these airlines, you’ll need to take a long-haul flight.

Air China

Air China has only one route that meets our criteria. Surprisingly, despite many Siberian (and by Miles & More standards, European) cities being a short flight away from northern China, the only eligible flight is from Hailar, China to Chita.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines offers two medium-haul flights that cross a continental boundary. The first goes to Darwin in northern Australia and takes about four hours each way. The route to Perth also still qualifies as a medium-haul flight.

Air New Zealand, the other Star Alliance member in the region, is too far from continental boundaries to offer short or medium-haul flights that earn 200 points.

Avianca

On the border between North and South America, there are two Star Alliance members, Avianca and Copa Airlines. Let’s start with Avianca’s hubs in Colombia and Ecuador. Most connections depart from Bogota (BOG) and Medellín (MDE)—but you can also fly to another continent with minimal flight time from Cartagena (CTG), Cali (CLO), Quito (UIO), and Guayaquil (GYE).

However, only flights from Bogota to Miami and Mexico City regularly offer business class tickets. Only economy class tickets are typically sold for other routes.

Copa Airlines

Copa Airlines, with its hub in Panama, is the counterpart to Avianca: With Copa, you can cross from North to South America in just minutes. Therefore, there are many short and medium-haul flights that yield good points. It’s worth noting that while Avianca generally sells tickets at a lower price, Copa offers business class on all routes.

United Airlines

United Airlines’ hub for South America is in Houston, Texas. But even from there, only two destinations in Colombia are close enough to earn 200 points in business class with a relatively short flight: Bogota and Medellín.

On the other side of the world, departing from Guam and Saipan (Oceania region), you can also rack up points quickly en route to Japan. The flight from Honolulu to the Marshall Islands, which lasts about 4.5 hours, also qualifies, as it’s considered a route from North America to Australia by Miles & More.

With Air Canada, it’s impossible to earn the maximum points in business class with a flight lasting less than five hours. Just over that limit is the flight from Montreal to Reykjavik in Iceland.

The Shortest Intercontinental Flight

Three contenders vie for the title of the shortest flight crossing an intercontinental boundary. In terms of distance, the title goes to Aegean Airlines’ nonstop flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Tel Aviv. The two airports are 340 km apart, and the block time is usually just over 30 minutes. However, since October 7, 2023, this route has been paused, with most attempts to resume it resulting in diversions or cancellations.

Also affected by the situation in Israel is the third place on the list. Egyptair’s flight from Cairo to Amman operates regularly, but avoiding Israeli airspace results in a block time of one hour for the 473 km journey. Thus, Copa Airlines wins, with its planes regularly taking less than 50 minutes for the 451 km route from Panama City to Cartagena, Colombia.

These flights get you just as many points as 14-hour flights from Tokyo to Frankfurt or Los Angeles to Auckland.

Conclusion

Unsurprisingly, airlines with hubs near continental borders make it easy to earn 200 status points. Aegean, Egyptair, Ethiopian, and Turkish Airlines stand out in Europe and Africa, along with Avianca and Copa Airlines in North and South America

The Shortest Star Alliance Intercontinental Flights to get a Miles&More status fast!