Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

How to get Star Alliance Gold for LIFE with Aegean Airlines

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

Apart from British Airways, Head for Points focusses more on mileage accumulation than status accumulation. However, it is certainly something that we DO cover, and it is about time that I ran an introduction to the world of Aegean Miles&Bonus.

Aegean Airlines joined Star Alliance in June 2010. The company was only formed in 1999, and is now the largest domestic airline in Greece. It only operates short-haul flights, with a fleet of 29 Airbus A319 / A320 / A321 aircraft. It is not something that would usually get much attention, even amongst the 28 airlines inside Star Alliance.

However, what makes Aegean special is that its frequent flyer programme is easiest in the world (I think) to obtain top-tier Gold status. It is certainly the easiest way to get Star Alliance Gold.

And, as part of Star Alliance, a Gold card from Aegean gives you the same benefits as a Gold card issued by Lufthansa – lounge access with all Star Alliance members (plus a guest), priority boarding, extra baggage allowance etc.

The programme is idiot-proof to understand:

You receive 1,000 status miles for signing up – these miles have generally counted towards status although some recent reports suggest they don’t any longer

Credit 3,000 (4,000 if the 1,000 don’t count) further status miles within 12 months and you become ‘Blue’

Credit 16,000 (17,000 if the 1,000 don’t count) further status miles within a further 12 months and you become ‘Gold’

Once you are Gold, you will remain Gold forever (or until Aegean change their rules!) as long as you credit one flight to your account every 36 months

None of these flights need to be on Aegean

The programme runs on a yearly basis from when you change tiers and does not work by calendar year

And that’s it!

Getting 20,000 status miles is relatively easy – although, as ever, you should make make sure that your tickets are in relevant qualifying fare classes. (Not all discounted economy tickets will earn 100% mileage, for instance.)

Here are the qualifying fare classes for all Star Alliance airlines on Aegean. These may be different to those used by other airlines, so check carefully before crediting anything. However, getting those 20,000 status miles for lifetime Star Gold is as easy as flying 10,000 miles in, say, Lufthansa business class in a C, D, Z or J booking class.

I am not recommending that you move all your Star Alliance flights to Aegean. As it happens, the ‘spending’ chart is not too bad. The good news is that they allow one-way awards and the mileage needed is average-to-good based on route. However, they do not allow stopovers. In reality, though, once you’ve credited the initial 20,000 status miles to Aegean you can reassess where you send your future Star mileage.

You can learn more about obtaining Aegean Gold in this Flyertalk thread, although I have covered all of the basics above. It seems unlikely that this generosity will last forever, but if you fly Star Alliance then it is worth looking at this opportunity seriously.

Category

General

Comments (31)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Felixstowe Flyer says:
    23 Aug23 August 08:24

    Hi Raffles.
    Many thanks for your site which is my first call every day. I am not a very frequent flyer but want to build up my miles and status. I obtained Aegean Gold this year with a 2000 point sign up, an economy return flight with South African Airlines LHR-DUR and a 2 segment economy flight to Athens via Frankfurt. Now looking at possible status matches elsewhere as I’m getting hooked on this miles collecting. A pity no oneworld carrier seems to status match

  • olybeast says:
    23 Aug23 August 09:23

    Hi raffles, I’ve been looking into this for a couple of months and I think the cheapest way to do it out of Heathrow is LHR-GRU on united on a V ticket (which is economy) this has been at 800-900 quid for a while and should get 19000 miles. I think it stops in MAD before heading to GRU. I think all economy flights on united earn 100% mileage on Aegean. I’m going to do this next feb for my birthday

    • olybeast says:
      23 Aug23 August 09:28

      Also found it on US on a 100% earning fare for £685 for 17232 miles in feb. depending on where you transit the US the miles vary

      • GUWonder says:
        23 Aug23 August 09:40

        Most economy class tickets for flights on UA metal do not credit to A3 accounts with 100% miles for the distance traveled. US metal however does credit 100% over to A3 accounts for all regular paid economy class tickets.

      • olybeast says:
        23 Aug23 August 09:47

        UK passport holders also don’t need a VISA to enter brazil.

  • OttoMH says:
    23 Aug23 August 09:59

    Shhhhh Raffles…… 🙂

  • creampuff says:
    23 Aug23 August 10:26

    I’ve got *A Gold via Aegean.

    Just one single trip:
    London – Venezuela return in biz class on Lufthansa. Business trip. There for a week, only 1.5 days actual work, hotel was right on the beach, on full expenses. It was real hardship! Often I couldn’t decide to eat the steak or the lobster 😉

    Unlike many Aegean members, I have actually flown on them – took a holiday to Greece this year. I thought Aegean was quite OK.

    • Felixstowe Flyer says:
      23 Aug23 August 12:09

      I agree. Flew Aegean from FRA – ATH in economy and it was fine.

  • Grant says:
    23 Aug23 August 10:38

    This seems incredible – am I right in thinking I can do this in (virtually) one go? I have an upcoming business trip to Hong Kong which I could switch to Lufthansa and I reckon accrues 19,500 miles according to the M&M calculator. So if I set up an Aegean account and credit it to this I just need to make one of my monthly trips to Basle on Swiss instead of BA, and I get lifetime Gold?

    • creampuff says:
      23 Aug23 August 13:01

      Well I did it in one go see above London-Caracas return in business, so if you are going to HK in biz class it may also work out.

      However Lufthansa business class blows in comparison to Cathay Pacific (I’m assuming you are on CX; doesn’t apply as much to BA). Unless you plan on doing some economy class Star Alliance trips, where you will benefit from the lounge etc, then I don’t know I’d voluntarily move myself off Cathay Pacific on to a lower standard of biz class.

    • Rob says:
      23 Aug23 August 13:36

      Yes – until Aegean changes their rules! However, you will get a card valid for December in 3 years time (so Dec 2016) so its fine for at least that long.

      Is Lufty on the new flat bed seat?! If not, consider switching to Swiss – the new seats there look good.

  • Rob says:
    23 Aug23 August 13:33

    Obviously I don’t think anyone expects this to really last for their lifetime! However, it is certainly an easy status to get and the card they sends you has a 3 year expiry date from the next December, so you would certainly be good for that period at least.

    • Sir Stamford says:
      23 Aug23 August 14:04

      I think we are on the same page as that is what I also concluded in my last paragraph i.e. we don’t expect it to last forever. The benefit over 3 years for minimal effort is fantastic nonetheless.

      However, isn’t the title of the post “How to get Star Alliance Gold for LIFE with Aegean Airlines”, when in reality, it isn’t likely to be the case?

      Sir Stamford

      • Alan says:
        23 Aug23 August 14:11

        Plus although the card is valid for 3y, we’re Aegean to go bust I doubt the other carriers would continue to recognise the validity to the end of the expiry! Agree it’s the easiest way to get *G though.

      • Rob says:
        23 Aug23 August 14:19

        I never said it was your lifetime ….! More likely to be Aegean’s lifetime or the lifetime of the programme.

        Given the minimal requirements, you’d be crazy not to go for this because you were concerned about the stability of the airline. You don’t even “lose” the 20,000 miles you credit to Aegean, as long as you credit enough to get to a relevant award level for you. All you lose is the opportunity cost of crediting 20,000 status miles to another scheme.

        I would have no qualms about doing this tomorrow if I’d got a long-haul Star flight coming up (which I don’t, and won’t). However, if my Mrs did – and she is the long-haul business traveller in our house – I would certainly encourage her to do it.

        • Sir Stamford says:
          23 Aug23 August 15:15

          “More likely to be Aegean’s lifetime or the lifetime of the programme.”

          The probability of A3 changing the requalification criteria in the short to medium term is high, meaning that even if A3 or Miles & Bonus were to survive, the *G status at this level is not guaranteed for the duration of their lifetime!

          Raffles, please don’t take my comments in the wrong way especially when you have taken the trouble to write this fantastic article. A lot of bloggers including Gary Leff have referred to the A3 programme as providing “lifetime” *G. As we stated above, what is at risk is a relatively low 20k miles but all readers should have their expectation properly managed and know what they have signed up for.

          Sir Stamford

  • John says:
    23 Aug23 August 16:26

    Aegean is making a loss, but it is expanding and going to acquire Olympic.

    Presumably they will just require 20000 miles every 3 years to renew, rather than 1 flight. I hope they don’t introduce an A3 metal requirement though. Not that they are a bad airline – I would have flown them for LHR-LCA but they cancelled that route.

    Can anyone provide a list of which *A airlines have an own metal requirement to earn *G (not top tier)?

    I earned my *G with 1.5 economy returns on LX (LHR-ZRH-SIN-ZRH-LHR-ZRH-SIN) – then *G for the final return to LHR.

    LX in Y is pretty ok as long as the plane isn’t full.

  • Danny value says:
    23 Aug23 August 19:13

    Gosh, Stamford. Lay off raffles! We all understand that nothing lasts forever. It’s an easy way for many of us to get gold across the star alliance.

    • Rob says:
      23 Aug23 August 21:19

      I didn’t take it personally! Journalist license is often taken on HFP with article headlines, especially as they have to be under 120 characters (plus link) to fit on Twitter!

    • Sir Stamford says:
      23 Aug23 August 22:30

      Thanks – it is nothing about personal attacks or desperately trying to win an argument. It is just laying all the facts on the table as part of the decision making process.

      Sir Stamford

      • Richie says:
        24 Aug24 August 00:18

        That’s why I like this site,
        You can have an opinion, without it turning in to a personal attack , unlike the other related website …

        Enjoy the bank holiday everybody

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Latest Forum Posts

Get 40,000 bonus points (worth 40,000 Avios) and £300 dining credit with The Platinum Card

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get £10 when you spend £150 on your free Currensea card

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? EARN POINTS WORTH 10,500 AVIOS WITH CAPITAL ON TAP

Get 20,000 bonus points, four airport lounge passes and your first year free with American Express Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!