Are you a frequent traveler? 5 reasons why you ABSOLUTELY must have ITA Airways elite status by the end of 2025
Italian frequent flyers are on the eve of a momentous change, not just a token on cards [...]
Star Alliance
SkyTeam
Italian frequent flyers are on the eve of a momentous change, this is not just a little symbol on boarding passes and fuselages, but an epochal transition that Will modify the routes, the rules of the game and especially the frequent flyer privileges. It does not matter whether you are a PMO/SUF commuter or a frequent traveler to JFK or Haneda, things will change for everyone.
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While it is clear that, as announced by Lufthansa Group CEO, Flying will be incorporated into Miles&More, Until the end of the year, the two programs will remain active and independent, albeit with a close collaboration that however still non is a status match and therefore it is impossible to accumulate on one card and take advantage of the other card's status. So here are Barbone's tips for making the most of this situation and preparing as best as possible for the switch off.
With Volare you accumulate an extra river of reward points
This game is based on points, sure as of today, we still do not know what the conversion rate will be between Flying points and Miles&More points, but it is evident numbers in hand that as I have written several times, no frequent flyer program in the world remunerates its passengers so much. Between base points and multipliers related to cabin, class and route with Volare you get no less than three times as many points as with Miles&More.
A Senator LH Who flies from Frankfurt to New York in business spending, excluding taxes, 2,000 euros has an X6 multiplier to which a bonus of 25% can be added, so he puts approximately 15,000 M&M miles in his pocket.
A member Executive Volare who takes a similar route by spending the same amount of money gets a multiplier on spending of x13 to which add a bonus of 20% on route, 50% on cabin and up to 30% on class, meaning that net of any special promotions and multipliers the same expenditure comes to generate no less than 55k Flying points.
Here, then Accumulating as many points as possible with Flying is a strategy that can pay off big time When there is a transition from one program to another.
With Volare, it is absolutely easier to obtain the status
Starting with the same example given above, the passenger who wanted to scale the Miles&More loyalty program to renew the Senator level, with the FRA/JFK route would have accumulated 400 Qualifying Miles&More points, the 20% of those needed to renew the card.
Looking at the counterpart ITA Airways traveler with his flight to Rome, without even having paid for the ticket with the ITA Airways American Express Gold Card would come within a handful of points of the premium level, and with a similar second leg he would be able to renew Executive status without any problem.
Here, then, is where securing peace of mind through 2026 by obtaining status with Volare during 2025 when the company joins Star Alliance is really very important.
With the Volare card, the doors of so many status matches will open
There is then a very practical and opportunistic issue, a real hunt for ITA Airways frequent flyer will break out in the next 4 months, we have seen it with the exit of SAS from Eurobonus and we will see it even more when ITA Airwsays time comes.
Having an Elite Volare card will open the door to many more cards in both Skyteam and oneWordl, because this happened in late 2024 and will happen again during 2025. They will FIorish status matches all over the place and for those who plan to jump the queue. and start directly from the Top tier now is the time to act.
With the Premium Volare card, everyone is a Senator
This is no small difference. Miles&More as I have explained in several articles has only one really premium level, the Senator.
This status is equivalent to Gold Star Alliance, but at Volare already Premium is comparable since it opens up Skyteam Elite Plus benefits. This means that not only is it easier to become Premium than Executive, but that Premium sometimes only takes one intercontinental flight to become Premium, stuff that M&M members dream about.
Miles&More has no shortcuts, Flying YES
Last but not least, we are at the pivotal point. Miles&More has its own active credit card in the Italian market. Is the Miles&More Gold Mastercard, but this card has no accelerator toward status, and there are no products in Germany that give away status either.
In the Italian market, however, there is the ITA Airways American Express Platinum Card, ready away you have premium status as soon as you get the card, thanks to multipliers you get qualifying points for every euro you spend, and right now there is also a welcome bonus of 120 thousand Volare points for new cardholders.
In conclusion
The transition from Volare to Miles&More will not be painless, but if one equips oneself in time one can really maximize a situation and secure serene flights, savings and benefits far beyond January 2026.
Paradoxically, not only with ITA and Lufthansa, but with virtually all the world's airlines excluding those not participating in an alliance such as Emirates, but even in this respect there could be some interesting surprises.
