ITA Airways' first Mileage Bargains are out. And they make people want to keep their miles in their pockets

Here we go. Today, May 4, 2026, Miles&More released the first Mileage Bargains to fly with ITA Airways. A date that, on paper, could have been historic: the first real taste of "premium offers" applied to the new Italian company that has entered the Lufthansa ecosystem.

Too bad that looking at the list of destinations, rather than a debut with a bang, it looks more like a dress rehearsal done on a lunch break. No long haul, no attractive summer destinations, no destinations to trigger a rush for redemption. Only a handful of European and domestic routes that are unlikely to make those who were waiting to use their Miles&More miles to fly "discounted" with ITA dream.

What are Miles&More's Mileage Bargains.

Mileage Bargains are, historically, one of the most interesting features of Miles&More. They are basically discounted award tickets: The program puts certain routes on promotion for a limited time and allows you to book them using fewer miles than the standard price.

The concept is simple: instead of spending the full amount of miles expected for an award ticket, you can save up to 50%. Of course, taxes, surcharges and singing company remain to be paid, but for years these offers have been one of the best ways to squeeze value out of the Lufthansa Group's loyalty program.

The problem is. Mileage Bargains are not what they used to be.. Since Miles&More abandoned the old award chart for Lufthansa Group flights and switched to dynamic pricing, the really interesting routes have effectively disappeared from the radar.

The dynamic system has made the cost of premium tickets much more unpredictable on Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Brussels, and company, leaving Mileage Bargains open mostly to partners.

And indeed, today the offers continue to exist, but they often seem more like an end-of-season bargain corner than a real lever to make frequent flyers dream.

The paradox then is that flying, direct with ITA from Fiumicino on offer costs more in miles and taxes than flying, with a stopover, with Lufthansa via Munich or Frankfurt!

The First Mileage Bargain ITA Airways

What is new is that, for the first time, Mileage Bargains to fly with ITA Airways also appear.. And this, at least on paper, was the transition that so many had been waiting for after ITA entered the Miles&More world.

The offers published today are valid for travel during the period June 15 to July 31, 2026, so the middle of summer, theoretically the perfect time to come up with something interesting.

The result, however, is quite depressing.

• In Economy Class published routes depart from 12,000 miles instead of 28,000. The available destinations are: Reggio Calabria, Marseille, Genoa, Rome, Tirana, Malta, Brussel
• In Business Class, on the other hand, we talk about 25,000 miles instead of 50,000, with availability on: Brussels, Tirana, Rome, Genoa, Marseille

Now, let's be clear: a discount is still a discount. But if this was the debut of the ITA Airways Mileage Bargain, let's say the "wow" effect remained parked at the gate. To have a term of comparison, it is possible to see the offers that Flying Blue, Air France KLM's loyalty program, has just released this month.

No long haul, no dream destinations

The real disappointment is one: there is not even a long-range route. No New York, no Miami, no Los Angeles, no Tokyo, no Bangkok, no destinations capable of turning a promo into news to mark on the calendar. And this weighs, because ITA today has precisely in the long haul the most interesting part of its network.

Not only that. Also missing are the strongest summer destinations, the ones that could have made immediate sense of the promotion. No "cool" destinations, no real vacation routes, no offers that make you think, "Okay, I'll book this one now."

But if the promise was to use the miles to fly discounted with ITA in the middle of summer, this list seems more like a filler list than a promotion designed to make members happy.

Business class on short haul doesn't change the substance

Some might say: there are also business class offerings. True, but here you have to understand each other.

ITA's European Business Class, like that of many Old World airlines, is not exactly a framing product. We're talking about the classic Economy seat with the middle seat stuck, better service and some extra attention, but certainly not of an armchair that justifies opening the good bottle.

Spend 25,000 miles for a Business Class on routes such as Genoa, Marseille, Brussels or Tirana can only make sense in very specific cases: skyrocketing cash tickets, the need to travel on a certain date, the desire to splurge or the need to burn off expiring miles.

But as a great opportunity? Also not.

The problem is that Miles&More had accustomed us to quite different

The point is not just ITA. The point is. Miles&More, once upon a time, with the Mileage Bargains really managed to get the word out.. There were attractive bargains, especially on the long haul, and those who knew how to move could bring home redemptions with real value.

Then came dynamic pricing, and the music changed. Miles continue to have value, sure, but it takes a lot more care to use them well. And these early Mileage Bargain ITAs are not helping to change perceptions.

In conclusion

The debut of Mileage Bargain ITA Airways inside Miles&More was expected. Not necessarily with fireworks, but at least with a spark. Instead we are faced with a very tentative selection: only short and medium haul, no intercontinental routes, no really interesting summer destinations.

For those who have to go right to one of the cities on the list and find very high cash prices, the promo may even make sense. For everyone else, the advice is simple: watch, smile bitterly and keep your miles warm.

Because these early Mileage Bargain ITA Airways may be historic, but certainly not memorable.

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