AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Aegean Airlines, the Athens-based European airline, has announced some changes to its Miles+Bonus program. U.S. travelers may not be as familiar with Miles+Bonus, as you cannot transfer points to the program from any flexible currencies. However, European flyers and those who are interested in earning status with Aegean should take note of these changes.
Aegean Status Qualification Changes
The Miles+Bonus program is unique, as the qualification time is a rolling 12-month period from your last tier upgrade or renewal date — there are no set calendar dates for everyone. If you have recently earned or upgraded to an elite tier, you are set for a while. But, going forward, there are now new qualification standards with Aegean.
Miles+Bonus previously had three tiers: Blue, Silver, and Gold. By earning Aegean Silver, you also earn Star Alliance Silver, while Gold equates to Star Alliance Gold — which enables access to lounges when flying Star Alliance partners. Those tiers remain, albeit with higher qualifications that we will discuss below. Aegean is also adding a higher status tier called Platinum.
Here are the new qualifications for either earning status initially or retaining the status going forward.
To earn Silver status
- Flying 16 flights with Aegean and/ or Olympic Air, or
- Collecting 12,000 tier miles, including 4 flights on Aegean and/ or Olympic Air, or
- Collecting a total of 36,000 tier miles
To retain Silver status
- Fly 16 flights with AEGAN and/ or Olympic Air, or
- Collect 9,000 tier miles, including 4 flights with Aegean and/ or Olympic Air, or
- Collect a total of 36,000 tier miles
To upgrade to Gold status
- Fly 32 flights with Aegean and/ or Olympic Air, or
- Collect 24,000 tier miles, including 12 flights with Aegean and/ or Olympic Air, or
- Collect a total of 72,000 tier miles
To retain Gold status
- Fly 32 flights with Aegean and/ or Olympic Air, or
- Collect 18,000 tier miles, including 12 flights with Aegean and/ or Olympic Air, or
- Collect a total of 72,000 tier miles
To earn/retain Platinum status
- Fly 32 flights with AEGEAN and/or Olympic Air and collect 72,000 tier miles.
Note that you must earn Silver status first by meeting the requirements above. Your membership year then resets, and you can “upgrade” to Gold as above.
Previously, earning Gold status — and also Star Alliance Gold — and then retaining it was the sweet spot of the program. That tier retention used to require four flights and 12,000 miles, while now it has increased to 12 flights and 18,000 miles. That's a hefty increase.
Aegean Elite Tier Benefits
You can view all the Miles+Bonus tier benefits here, but there doesn't seem to be outsized value in the new Platinum tier to warrant the high cost of achieving it. One more free checked bag, a dedicated customer service team, and better seat selection highlight the differences.
Related: Do Aegean Airlines Miles Expire?
Bottom Line
This is unwelcome news for both Aegean loyalists and those looking for a fairly easy path to Star Alliance Gold. Effective immediately, those looking to earn or retain status with Aegean Airlines will face higher requirements. Both Silver and Gold status will be significantly harder to get, as it appears Aegean wants to reward those who are actually flying their own planes.
The new Platinum status may be worth considering for those who fly Aegean with regularity, but the extra benefits seem generally uninspiring.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.