UpTrip, a product of Lufthansa, is a unique application that combines travel with technology. It allows passengers to turn their boarding passes into digital cards. These cards can be collected, traded, and redeemed for various rewards – enhancing the overall travel and loyalty experience. It’s available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store across many countries (that Lufthansa operates in…there is no official list, so have a quick look for your country!), with plans for further expansion and the launch of a dedicated marketplace within the app to trade cards.
Uptrip is a rather innovative application in the airline industry that was launched by Lufthansa’s New Business Team (of the Lufthansa Innovation Hub) in collaboration with Lufthansa’s loyalty program Miles & More in the spring of 2023.
The app integrates Web3 technologies into the loyalty program and incorporates new elements such as gamification to make getting additional perks more fun.
The application can only be accessed via the app on an iOS or Android device and is designed for (frequent) flyers who fly with the Lufthansa Group:
The app allows users to scan and exchange boarding passes for Non-Fungible Token (NFT) collectible cards, which they can store in their own crypto wallets. These collectible cards can be combined into various collections that can be completed for exchanging them for various kinds of rewards.
The app is free (i.e., maximize the value of your boarding passes!) and it is another fun way to get additional perks and collect miles & points. As mentioned in my previous article on the status program update of Miles & More in 2024, it is an even more valuable way to either reach elite member status or make your travel with Lufthansa more enjoyable via the rewards.
Complete collections of the above-mentioned cards can be redeemed for various rewards such as:
Furthermore, the rewards go up to even higher levels which are currently marked “coming soon” in the app: Senator Status (!) and eVouchers that can be used for flexible flight upgrades.
Currently, there are 20+ collections and each collection can only be completed once with some also being time-limited (e.g., for Halloween or Christmas). Unfortunately, for active collectors, there is less and less they can save over time. For some collections, only two collectible cards are needed, while others require up to 50 cards. In general, collections are limited and are discontinued when they are no longer available – so FCFS!
The process of using the app is straightforward. After download/installation and registration, users can scan their boarding pass (or upload a screenshot) for collectible cards to complete collections. One card always represents four types of information that you can leverage in the selection of two cards for your collections:
At the start, two older boarding passes (up to six months old) can also be scanned and redeemed. Boarding passes from all airlines within the Lufthansa Group are allowed. The “starting bonus” varies as there are always limited collections that result(ed) in 500-1500 free award miles. Currently, the limited quantity is used up – so perhaps, check again regularly and be ready to get started!
For those of you who (often) travel with the Lufthansa Group, it’s a great way to receive further perks that you can also distribute (at least partially) to family and friends. Either way, it is a free app that is fun and easy to use. Therefore, I highly recommend using it as there is only upside (with €3000+ worth of rewards per user) without any downside.
One last remark: I’d suggest using it rather sooner than later as the future development of the app is still unclear (e.g., the marketplace within the app to trade cards has been announced for some time without further updates so far). The Lufthansa Innovation Hub is continuously experimenting with new business opportunities and I have experienced some of them first-hand.
As a beta user, it was always exciting (and sometimes unfortunately also frustrating…) to see new apps or so being launched…but also being stopped. As of now, there is no statement or news on the further development of UpTrip though, so enjoy it while it lasts!
Savings are here:
