I just posted business class trip on Air China and Luthansa from Athens to SFO on Aegeon, Just signe

This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page .
Airline elite status can be a life saver- whether its upgrades or better customer service, it definitely enhances the flying experience. Many airlines bangkok cheap hotel also offer perks to elite members when flying on alliance partners- like free checked bags and airline lounge access. bangkok cheap hotel Up until now, one of the best ways to earn Star Alliance Gold status was  through Greek carrier Aegean Airlines , since your status lasted for life once you earned it . Star Alliance Gold offers many benefits, including priority airport check-in, priority boarding, free checked bangkok cheap hotel baggage and my favorite- international airport lounge access even when flying in economy.
However, Aegean just announced  some major changes to their program including how you earn Star Alliance Gold status, which is a game changer if you previously earned Star Alliance Gold status through them in order to access lounges while flying domestically within the US.
Previously you needed 20,000 miles to earn Gold status, bangkok cheap hotel and you got 1,000 just  for signing up – so that meant you had 12 months to earn another 19,000 miles. In fact, the requirements were actually a bit more lenient than that, since you could earn Aegean Blue status (which bangkok cheap hotel equates to Star Alliance Silver) by flying just 4,000 miles within 12 months, and you then had to fly only 16,000 more miles to earn Gold, which was valid for life as long as you kept your Miles Bonus account active.
Now, to earn gold status with Aegean you must fly 24,000 miles within 12 months (including at least 4 Aegean or Olympic Air flights), or a total of 48,000 bangkok cheap hotel miles on any Star Alliance carriers , meaning that this once great loophole to get Star Alliance Gold has closed. If you already have Aegean Gold status, you ll need to fly 12,000 miles within 12 months (including at least 4 Aegean or Olympic Air flights) or a total of 24,000 miles on any Star Alliance bangkok cheap hotel carrier bangkok cheap hotel to renew your status.
Aegean s new program will roll out on November 24, 2014, and it s much less lucrative than before, especially if you rarely fly Aegean and plan to do most of your flying bangkok cheap hotel on United Airlines and credit to Aegean.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility bangkok cheap hotel to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Maybe just make a yearly trip to europe and fly the 4 segments on aegean. And since they give 4 upgardes, those 4 segments could possibly all be in business class anyway. So if that ends up being even 2k miles, 10k more miles in the year needed. Still better than anything else.
I drove a family member to the airport who was supposed to board a flight from JFK to Santiago. He is legally blind and suffers of heart failure, bangkok cheap hotel a elderly man. Because his suitcases were over 1 kilo they made this blind man with heart failure open his suitcase in the middle of a busy international airport. The poor man was so humiliated by the response of management that were unable to provide any resolution or assistance that he became paralyzed with fear and would not move. He wouldn t leave the airport afterwards and management was unwilling to offer support. They did not care and made no exceptions for a handicapped person. He is a man of limited resources and didn’t have enough to pay for two suitcases and was told that he would have to pay I agreed but begged that they please let one pound go by and make him open his suitcase since it would humiliate him and because of his blindness it would be difficult for him. They did not care and made no handicapped exceptions. Once we decided that I would pay for him they insisted that he was still one pound over weight and will still need to open cases in public. They humiliated us both and mostly embarrassed a very proud and struggling elderly man. I hope that this company does the right thing for this person and I remind bangkok cheap hotel all people to consider before booking a flight bangkok cheap hotel on this airline if they would be OK using a company that treats an elderly family member this way before buying a cheap ticket in a cramped airplane.
The company policy and services is appalling. No one should be treated this way. I give it no star and promise that unless they rectify bangkok cheap hotel the matter to never use this airline again, and to assure that no family does either.
You will have it until November 24, 2015 if you qualify before this November 24. In addition to the 1,000 miles you receive for signing up, you will need another 19,000 miles. Be sure to check the earnings table at Aegean for United flights as the very discounted fares only earn 50%, if anything. The good part is that there is a 500 mile minimum on United.
bangkok cheap hotel And also you failed to mention they added some interesting stuff too, as bonus award miles when traveling with Aegean metal, and family pooling (*G exclusive) which helps a lot accumulating —and then burning— miles for your desired award. And let s not forget they included the possibility to purchase tier miles.
For sure, there are some deals that get exposure and soon after die. But, you aren t really claiming that this was because of that, are you? This has been blogged about for a couple of years now! Aegean s program was unsustainable in its current form. They have made a smart move here by still throwing bangkok cheap hotel a bone in the way that current Gold members can retain their status. It is still the most generous program in the Star Alliance.
a bit confused, if an Aegean GOLD Miles Bonus member re-qualifies in 2015, is that member then deemed a LIFETIME bangkok cheap hotel Aegean Gold Miles Bonus Member or does that member need to re-qualify every year thereafter (i.e., just like all the other programs = Aegean eliminated the LIFETIME bangkok cheap hotel status even for those who earned it before Nov 24, 2014?)
They never had lifetime status. It worked out like that simply because of the way the program was constructed but bloggers were the ones who called it lifetime, not Aegean. So, after this November 24, all existing Golds will need to requalify for status that exists after November 24, 2015
Reading your previous posts on this fabulous perk (lifetime Star Alliance Gold membership from Aegean for just 20,000 flight miles), I was just about to start looking in to doing this with some of the miles I will accrue over and above attaining my target status on United this year. But I had a nagging feeling that all good things (especially spectacularly good things that are much better than the benefits offered by other airlines) must end. Thank you *very* much for keeping us up to date on this.
My fiancé literally JUST hit Gold status last week before this was announced using the old method. So I guess we made it by the skin of our teeth. Oh well, here s to at least enjoying the elite status during our honeymoon!
We just returned from Athens. bangkok cheap hotel I had signed bangkok cheap hotel up for Aegean Mileage Account before we left and credited business class trip back on Air China and Luthansia bangkok cheap hotel to my new Aegean account. Too bad , would have been better served to use United Mileage Plus account. Is there any way to switch airline you credited miles to after the flight, if on an alliance carrier?. I now have blue status bangkok cheap hotel on Aegean, but need 16,000 more miles within bangkok cheap hotel year to get gold status?? Any ideas?
I just posted business class trip on Air China and Luthansa from Athens to SFO on Aegeon, Just signed up. Any way to switch those points to United Mileage Plus, as looks like Aegeon is now no good to me?
Just hit gold on the old Aegean Miles Bonus method. Flew a return trip from Narita Tokyo to London Heathrow in Economy. Flying the most indirect way to get from Tokyo to London, but hit just over 20,000 miles with that route.
It s a shame they ve changed the rules but it makes sense. The program was unsustainable and in comparison to the other Star Alliance airlines the required miles to retain Gold Membership is very low. 24,000 miles to a regular long haul flyer is nothing. I d imagine those using it for regular domestic flights in the US or wherever will find it more difficult to retain gold status.
Actually as a current Gold given that it s only 12k + 4 A3 flights, a trip from home to Athens, then to a greek island, then back should give me 4 segments making it fairly easy to re-qualify if I m under the 24k. Not so depressing
Hi so if my hubby qualifies for blue with 4000 before November 24, how many miles does he Have to fly to get to gold by the end of his 12 months? He just joined Aegean a few days ago? We mainly fly united
This was horrible news especially since I just started using them this year and would have achieved Gold Status this December (even spent a bit more on my flights bangkok cheap hotel to ensure they were with Star Alliance). Well, let us know about the next loop-hole so that we can hopefully gain status another way.
I earned the Gold status last July. And my card now showing a validity until Dec 2015. So basically I have a year and 3 months to keep up the status before I requalify. I still see the program the best and easiest in Star Alliance and even when compared to other Alliances. I do a lot of travel from Europe to Asia and Middle east via Istanbul on Turkish airways Economy, and just having Gold status is enough! The Turkish airlines Lounge bangkok cheap hotel is a huge plus, it is not like any other lounge I saw before. Also, Turkish airways truly recognise your status with services bangkok cheap hotel and upgrades with asking, not just by a welcome and a smile like other airlines. bangkok cheap hotel I did the 19,000 miles in 4 months only with 6 round trips from Europe. 1 cross Atlantic with United, 3 short haul with Lufthansa and 2 medium haul with Turkish. Those who already earned the Gold status, or will be able to do so before November this year, still has an advantage. They will only need