October 4th, 2012
Aegean Airlines: 19,000 Miles And You’re Star Alliance Gold For Nearly 4 Years!
Update: The signup bonus for opening a free Aegean mileage account is now 2,000 points. That’s halfway to Star Alliance Silver and 10% of the way to Star Alliance Gold.
This article was originally posted on 02/06/12:
I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while, but finally am getting around to it…
Aegean, a Greek airline, is one of the many member airlines of the Star Alliance. They are a relatively recent entry to the alliance.
All miles earned for signing up and crediting flights to the program are elite qualifying and you get 1,000 miles for enrolling.
Here’s the cool part, they only require 4,000 miles for Blue card status (which gets you Star Alliance Silver status) and 20,000 miles for Gold card status (which gets you Star Alliance Gold status). Contrast that to the 25,000 miles required for Silver and 50,000 miles required for Gold with the US based carriers.
Even cooler, if you qualify for Gold status in 2012 it won’t expire until 12/31/15!
Not only that but according to the published terms of the program you just need to credit a single flight to Aegean in that time period and it will extend your account and the gold status for another 36 months. The thing is that nobody has actually had their Aegean gold status expire yet as the program only started in 2010, so it is possible they will add more requirements in the future to keep the status, but for now it’s really easy to attain and really easy to extend.
You have 1 year from when you signup to the program to get 3,000 more flight miles to reach Silver status at 4,000 total miles.
You then have 1 year from when you earn Blue/Silver status to credit 16,000 more flight miles to Aegean and earn Gold status until the end of the 3rd year from when you qualify.
When flying on any Star Alliance carrier just give them your Aegean frequent flyer number to get credit for the flight in Aegean miles.
Earning rates:
Aegean Mileage Earning Table Linky
This is where things get a little tricky and it’s important to note the fare class of the ticket you buy, but here are the general rules:
-All USAirways coach fares earn 100% of the flown miles when credited to Aegean. Some business fares earn 150%.
-Most United discounted fares only give 50% of the flown miles when credited to Aegean, medium fares give 100%, full Y earns 150%, all business fares earn 200% and all first class fares earn a whopping 300%.
-Some Air Canada fares don’t earn any miles at all when crediting to Aegean.
You can lookup how many miles there are between cities by using the Great Circle Mapper. For example a $550 mileage run on USAirways from NYC to Alaska can get you more than halfway to the 19,000 miles you need for gold. Or a first class ticket nonstop from Chicago to Honolulu on United will give you more than enough miles to reach gold after the 300% miles you get for flying in first.
Thus mileage runs for Aegean elite status should either be done in coach on USAirways or in business or first on United.
Elite Benefits:
-Star Alliance Silver gets you and your travel companions a free checked bag on Star Alliance carriers like Air Canada, United, and USAirways.
-Star Alliance Gold gets you and each of your travel companions 3 free checked bags on Star Alliance carriers. Some carriers (like United) even allow each bag to weigh 70 pounds each.
-When you have Star Alliance Gold status from United or USAirways you can’t access any of their lounges when traveling domestically, but when you have Star Alliance Gold status from a foreign carrier like Aegean you get free access at any of the 900+ Star Alliance lounges worldwide, even when traveling domestically in the US, for you and a companion.
-Star Alliance Gold status also gets you priority baggage, priority checkin, priority security, priority boarding, priority waitlisting, etc.
-When flying on United having Star Alliance Gold status will allow you to make the free same-day confirmed changes to your flight when done in the online check-in process.
Caveats:
-Aegean miles aren’t worth nearly as much as United or USAirways miles, so once you get the status you want you will want to switch back to earning miles from those carriers.
-You won’t get upgrades on United or USAirways like you would if you earned elite status in their programs.
-You won’t get bonus miles on United or USAirways like you would if you earned elite status in their programs.
-You won’t get expanded elite award availability on United like you would if you earned elite status in their programs.
1
February 6th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Can statuses be matched (ex: Oneworld)?
2
February 6th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
@Sammy:
You can’t match to Aegean, but you can use the Aegean status to match to other airlines, like Alaska Airlines, that will get you free bags on AA and Delta.
3
February 6th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Any way to get the mileage with purchases instead of flights?
4
February 6th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
@arch:
Nope, the 3K for Silver and 19K for Gold after the signup bonus have to come from flights on Star Alliance carriers.
5
February 6th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Is there more ezpass availability for elite members?
6
February 6th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
hi dan, which airlines go to which alliance? sorry is that a dumb question? i am getting very confused. how do i transfer my points to an “alliance” rather than to a specific airline? or do i transfer it to an airline which is apart a certain alliance? and how do i sign up and how does this really help me on regular flights (i.e. domestic or even internationally – israel)
7
February 6th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
To clarify you do get access to continental and united lounges with gold status?
8
February 6th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
@Wolf:
Continental/United elites and credit card holders have unlimited ezpass availability. That has nothing to do with Aegean Gold though.
@TZvee:
You don’t transfer points (such as AMEX MR, Chase UR, or Starpoints) to an alliance, you transfer to an airline and you are subject to their policies and rates and get travel on their partners.
You can see member airlines on the major alliances websites:
http://www.staralliance.com/en/
http://www.oneworld.com/
http://www.skyteam.com/
I wrote in the post the benefits of attaining Star Alliance Silver and Gold status through Aegean.
@David:
Correct, you get access to Continental/United and USAirways lounges even in the domestic US with Aegean Gold status, you do not get that in the domestic US with Continental/United or USAirways gold status.
9
February 6th, 2012 at 3:16 pm
Do i get access to the lounge even if i am traveling on a diff airlines?
10
February 6th, 2012 at 3:17 pm
@Rajnish:
Yes, as long as you are traveling on a Star Alliance airline departing from that airport.
11
February 6th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
@Dan: What about saverpass?
12
February 6th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
Dan- so what you are saying is that if we qualify, we get 4 years of SA Gold, but if we take one flight on Aegean while we are SA Gold, we will get our status extended for 3 more years?
So the total is 7 years of Gold?
13
February 6th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
so a bus/first tlv-ewr r/t will get me how much?
14
February 6th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
so to clarify, even though you will have Premier Gold status, you will not be eligible for free upgrades?
15
February 6th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
@Wolf:
Yes, Continental elites get better saverpass availability.
@miguel:
You never need to take a Aegean flight. And according to the terms the Gold status will never expire as long as you credit one Star Alliance flight every 3 years to your Aegean account, though that can always change if they feel like it.
So you will get nearly 4 years of Star Alliance Gold at the minimum, and possibly Star Alliance Gold for life as long as you credit any Star Alliance flight to Aegean every 3 years thereafter.
@joeb1:
Good question.
It boils down to when they consider that to be a United flight instead of a Continental flight. The Continental program ends on March 2nd, so maybe that will be the cutoff date?
At any rate if it’s a Continental flight and it’s a J, C, or D class businessfirst fare it would earn 11,384 x 125% Continental Business=14,230 miles.
If it’s a Continental flight and it’s a Z class businessfirst fare it would earn 11,384 miles.
If it’s a United flight in any class it would earn 11,384 x 200% United Business=22,768 miles.
It may matter if you purchased the ticket from Continenta or United, or it may only matter which airline operated the flight. For now though it’s quite complicated until the Continental brand name goes away and is fully merged into United.
@JAS:
You won’t have “Premier Gold” status, that is a Continental/United status level.
You will have Aegean Gold which comes with Star Alliance Gold status, but upgrades are generally only if you maintain elite status on that airline. That’s the same reason Continental/United elites don’t get upgraded on USAir and USAir elites don’t get upgraded on Continental/United.
The benefits you get with Star Alliance Gold are outlined in the post.
16
February 6th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
r u sure that you can take a free checked bag with silver status
17
February 6th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
@Sam:
Air Canada, Continental, United, and USAirways all give a free bag to Star Alliance Silver elites and each of their companions and 3 free bags to Star Alliance Gold elites and each of their companions.
18
February 6th, 2012 at 3:56 pm
so since it is not technically Premier Gold you will not be able to book exit seats and aisle seats either in advance. Is this correct?
19
February 6th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
@JAS:
Your mileage may vary on that one. By calling and giving your Star Alliance Gold number you may be able to reserve preferred seats in advance for free, though you are correct that they are not a written benefit of Star Alliance Gold status.
The advantages of this status is that it’s much easier to reach and retain and that you have access to domestic lounges, but there definitely are major advantages to earning status directly with your preferred airline.
20
February 6th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
please remove this post as i did this years ago and it’s been great if too many people do this its over
21
February 6th, 2012 at 4:30 pm
Do these Aegean miles actually have to be EARNED through flying? Or can you buy the miles, transfer Amex MR or Chase UR points to Aegean, or something of the like. And if I am understanding this correctly, is Star Alliance status a completely separate account/membership/loyalty club then the specific airlines frequent flyer programs? For example, would I need to set up an a whole new account through the Star Alliance website and a new entry to track in Award Wallet, or is it when I get the Aegean or any Star Alliance airline status that status is just automatically applied to all Star Alliance frequent flyer programs I am a part of.
22
February 6th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
@Everett:
-Earned from flying (besides for the 1K bonus for opening the account)
-When you get Aegean Gold (or Continental/United Premier Gold or USAirways Gold, etc) on that elite membership card is a Star Alliance Gold logo.
When you show that card with the Star Alliance Gold logo together with a departing boarding pass from a Star Alliance airline at any Star Alliance lounge you get free access for you and a companion.
When you supply your Aegean Gold frequent flyer number to Continental their system will recognize that you are Aegean Gold which is also Star Alliance Gold and you will get 3 free bags and priority baggage handling and priority boarding.
Again, there is no separate “Star Alliance” account. It’s just a linked benefit from having Aegean Gold elite status.
23
February 6th, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Sounds great. How long does the silver status last? Anyway to extend that the 3 years?
24
February 6th, 2012 at 5:18 pm
* Alliance Gold will give you and a guest access to Air Canada lounges when flying on any * Alliance flight
25
February 6th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Dan, if the distance of my first flight is 8k miles (to first get me to Silver @ 3k), will the extra 5k (8k-3k) miles be deducted from the 16K miles required to qualify for gold (leaving a balance of 11k) or will I have to fly a new sector and accrue 16k?
26
February 6th, 2012 at 5:50 pm
@Kelli:
The Silver status will also be good until 12/31/15 and crediting any flight to Aegean by then will extend it for another 36 months!
@Marcus:
Sure, as it works for any Star Alliance lounge.
@Jay:
It does not reset at 4K, so you will only need 11K more miles to reach Gold!
27
February 6th, 2012 at 7:44 pm
us airways changed there policie on silver status for international you have to pay 70$ for the second one
is that corect Dan ?
28
February 6th, 2012 at 7:49 pm
@Dan Thanks for the info.
Does anyone know a good resource for finding out how many miles certain flights are (aside from just Googling ‘how far is SF from NY?’) It would be great to know how far away I need to fly (I live in San Francisco) to hit the 4k, or even the 11k, and what my options are for earning it through mileage runs.
29
February 6th, 2012 at 8:20 pm
thanks for the info, dan. if i achieve gold or silver status through aegean, and then fly enough miles to get elite status on united, will united recognize both? i’d like to be in line for automatic upgrades on united or continental.
30
February 6th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
If I get Star Alliance Gold through Aegean, can I still get Gold benefits (free bags) when flying united if I use my united frequent flier number. If so, how will United know I am gold unless I use my Aegean frequent flier number. Thanks!
31
February 6th, 2012 at 9:31 pm
Dan,
Wish this offer was with a OW partner, as I only fly AA Domestic
Jason
32
February 7th, 2012 at 1:41 am
How does swiss work out with aegean? Also, why no post yet on all the new spg perks?
33
February 7th, 2012 at 2:59 am
@Dan, i’m flying jfk-tlv on austrian (“economy L” so i cant accrue miles for the flight) and was wondering if this will help get me more free luggage on the flight. if so, will i be able to get the miles/status before i fly in april?
34
February 7th, 2012 at 8:37 am
@Everett:
There is a link in the post to a site That does that.
35
February 7th, 2012 at 10:02 am
Looking at the Aegean website, I see no mention of elite qualifying miles (i.e., flown miles). It seems, therefore, that Aegean miles earned through any means, including hotels and Hertz car rentals, count toward your total for Gold.
Also, their bizarre award chart includes Greenland (!), Mexico and all of the Caribbean as part of North America, meaning they are reachable on SA partners for 25K in coach. Hawaii, on the other hand, is an eye-watering 80K in coach from the US.
36
February 7th, 2012 at 10:37 am
I have miles on a lufthansa miles and more cld it be transffered to aegean to gain the stat
37
February 7th, 2012 at 10:55 am
@Sam:
That’s correct.
@Everett:
Look in the post for info on the Great Circle Mapper.
@anne:
Recognize both for which purposes specifically?
@sk:
United allows you to supply an agent with mileage number for benefits and a separate mileage number for elite benefits!
Even if you get an agent that can’t do that you can always checkin and check your luggage with your Aegean number and then switch the mileage number to United at the kiosk, online, or at the gate or club.
@jake l.:
http://en.aegeanair.com/milesandbonus/program-description/earn-miles/#SWISS
Frankly besides for free wifi for Golds I don’t find the new benefits that exciting or applicable to most people.
@moshe:
If you go on a mileage run before the flight it’ll help you.
@megerton:
They do have “tier miles” earned only for flying.
@josh:
No.
38
February 7th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
Re: SPG – so 10 free suite nights is just chopped liver?
39
February 7th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
@jake l.:
Given that it requires you to spend a whopping 50 nights in SPG hotels and it can’t be confirmed until 5 days out that’s exactly what I would call it.
40
February 7th, 2012 at 5:02 pm
Thanks Dan
41
February 7th, 2012 at 6:37 pm
@Dan: My husband is a Continental and Star Alliance Silver and took a US Airways flight from JFK to TLV recently. He was only allowed 1 suitcase.
This is from their website:
If you bought your ticket on or after November 15, 2011 (and you’re traveling on or after December 15, 2011)
If you’re a Star Alliance Silver member we’ll waive the fee for your first checked bag and you’ll be charged for your second checked bag. Also, if you’re traveling to/from Tel Aviv, there’s a $70 fee for your second checked bag.
42
February 7th, 2012 at 6:43 pm
@DealsSeeker:
And your point is?
43
February 7th, 2012 at 11:12 pm
@Dan: I am quoting you here “Elite Benefits:
-Star Alliance Silver gets you and each of your travel companions a free checked bag on Star Alliance carriers like Air Canada, Continental, United, USAirways.”
But on international flights there is no baggage fee waiver on flights on US Airways for Star Alliance Elite (just for local travel), that is my point.
44
February 7th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
@DealsSeeker:
Silver gets you one free checked bag, not an additional free bag.
45
February 8th, 2012 at 1:48 am
Will Star Alliance Silver get me access to United Economy Plus seats for free? Either automatically via the website, or by calling up an agent?
46
February 9th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Dam, If I book a first class flight for mid-March through United website with a United flight number, but the metal is actually flown by Continental,will i receive the 300% flight credit to Aegean for the mileage?
47
February 12th, 2012 at 11:28 pm
I reached gold status but never received my card i went on to the website and requested a new card and it never came any thoughts?
48
March 1st, 2012 at 5:35 pm
I have six sa flights from the passed seven weeks. How can I credit the miles? I have some boarding cards and some itinerary sheets…Thanks
49
April 2nd, 2012 at 2:45 pm
is there a way i can use my mr points for this?
50
April 2nd, 2012 at 2:49 pm
@Matityahu:
No, but maybe at the gate.
@Melvin:
Continental stopped on 03/02.
@yanky:
Call them?
@moishy:
Call them?
@jack L:
No.
51
April 9th, 2012 at 6:18 pm
I presently have United Elite status as well as the United Club Club Card. What are the downsides of checking in using an Aegean FF number (to achieve SA Gold)? Would I not receive Upgrades etc.. And are there any workarounds for any such issues.
52
April 18th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
my continental one pass plus was turned into united mileageplus explorer by chase.the old card had my flown miles doubled on continental f/f account because I charged the ticket on the continental chase card. Is this now true on the united explorer ,as well?
53
April 21st, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Aegean is a Greek airline and heavily in debt. A recent Hungarian airline, Malev, was in a similar position and folded in March. With immediate effect, all miles, status etc. were lost.
54
October 4th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
I’ve got a non-stop on United in December booked in K, thus earning 50%. If I upgrade using 40k miles and $150 will that bump me up to F,A and get me 300%?
55
October 4th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
I’m in Israel, went on Turkish. Should I join Aegean based on this?
56
October 4th, 2012 at 6:37 pm
How can I find out which Air Canada flights will earn status miles?
57
October 4th, 2012 at 8:54 pm
Any way, other than flights, to gain qualifying miles with Aegean? Would be nice to send them 2000 miles from Starwoods and get their Blue card (Silver in SA).
58
October 4th, 2012 at 9:57 pm
WOW!!! This sounds FABULOUS!!! I am at about 7th grade level in the travel hacking/frequent flying realm…lovin’ my studies though…had some AWESOME trips…SOOOO I sign up and then what–sorry!
I book a flight on United how?? I guess I don’t understand how to get Aegean credits, etc… Thanks and HUGS to the fam I LOVE to rad about…Kathy
59
October 4th, 2012 at 10:26 pm
@Ephraim:
You can pay to upgrade the fare class, but I don’t beleive a mileage upgrade would work.
@Too Lazy To Read All The Comments:
Depends on the fare class of the ticket.
@Chaim:
You need to find out the fare class.
@MacDan:
Not that I’m aware of.
@Kathy:
All you need to do is signup for an Aegean number and then provide that number to United or any other Star Alliance carrier online or at the airport.
60
October 4th, 2012 at 11:07 pm
sorry, i’m still new. how do I earn miles on Aegean? Go to United.com and book using money not miles, then go to Aegean website to “claim air miles”? Thank you.
61
October 4th, 2012 at 11:34 pm
actually i got it. you don’t sign in to your mileageplus account. let it goes to the next page and select aegean program. silly me.
62
October 5th, 2012 at 2:35 am
Hey, great post!
If i sign today and dont reach silver within year – I can just start over in a year from now? (I could just open a new ff account and get 1k/2k miles and get another year to earn silver)
Also, I can add my aegean ff number to any *A flight whether its domestic or international?
63
October 5th, 2012 at 7:49 am
i flew us airways recently nag received us airways miles. can i switch those to aegan
64
October 5th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
@shotguns:
Same question here.. I received 5500 united milage plus miles last month for flying to israel, can change these miles into Aegean miles?
65
October 5th, 2012 at 6:12 pm
I have a question as well. I’ve got a US Airways domestic ticket for Nov. booked. Can I change the FF# to Aegean, and how do I go about doing that?? I know….us beginners, ugh Thanks a bunch
66
October 6th, 2012 at 11:21 am
@Jean M: You can change your FF# online, over the phone, at the airport kiosk, check-in counter, or gate. Just make sure you change it prior to boarding your flight. You can also get retroactive credit, but not if you had a different FF# on your ticket when you fly.
67
October 6th, 2012 at 11:56 pm
@however: you are correct, i would not have my miles with Aegean, just like Malev, can be gone and say goodbye to miles!!!
68
October 10th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
If you credit your miles to Aegean, do your flight legs still earn credit towards elite status on another airline?
eg I fly US Airways and pushing to retain my Silver status. If I use my Aegean # presumably I would get the miles on Aegean and not get the credit for flights on US Air?
Gracias.
69
October 13th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
aegean requires a minimum amount of miles from air canada and others, any idea what this means, and if it applies to each flight segment or if the roundtrip meets the limit is good?
70
October 13th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
@e-foooo:
Your “eg” assumption is correct.
@acanada:
Lol, by minimum they mean that even if the flight is less than 500 miles they will still give you 500 miles.
71
October 14th, 2012 at 12:29 am
@Dan:
AWESOME! Thanks
72
October 16th, 2012 at 1:35 am
1) I just checked baggage allowance on Air Canada, and the price didn’t change for star alliance silver. (gold shows 3 free bags) did they change the policy?
2) could I accumulate my wifes miles on my status?
73
October 17th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
i flue yesterday on air Canada ‘Y’ fare & i gave in my Aegean number & i didn’t got the points
74
October 17th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
also do they give points on ‘L’ class by Lufthansa ?
75
January 22nd, 2013 at 4:37 pm
It’s now 2013:
does that mean qualifying for gold now means until the end of 2016?
76
February 1st, 2013 at 7:54 am
If i apply with agean can i later combine the account with my united account?
77
February 4th, 2013 at 10:08 am
Hi Dan thanks for your great posts, if i transfer 20k membership rewards points to aegean does that qualify me for the gold status ?