I've read plenty of "Best Star Alliance FF program" threads on AFF over the past few days and think I have determined which is best for me, but would appreciate it if someone could "check my logic" and let me know if I've missed anything.
Firstly, my *A flying over the next few years is likely to be regular, but infrequent, if that makes sense? Expected travel is:
- almost certainly one MEL-CDG roundtrip per year with SQ (first one coming up in August this year) in Y for work
- maybe one extra MEL-HKG (via SIN) roundtrip per year in Y for work - normally go direct MEL-HKG with QF or CX several times per year, but occasionally a flight spills over to SQ due to price / availability.
- on average, one other international MEL-??? roundtrip every two years in Y on a S* airline for leisure (could be to anywhere, and may or may not happen - I travel internationally for leisure on average once a year but will always go with the cheapest option so might be OW or might be *A).
Given the limited nature of my *A flying, I've concluded that earn and burn rates aren't too important given it will take me a long time to accrue any useful number of points. On the other hand, status would be a nice perk for when I do travel *A.
With that in mind I concluded that Aegean would likely be the best option for me, as a single MEL-CDG roundtrip (as I said above, have one coming up in August) will be enough for me to earn Aegean Miles&Bonus Gold status and the associated *A Gold perks (priority boarding, lounge access, etc). Additionally, whilst Aegean's burn rates aren't the greatest, I should eventually accrue enough points for a free award flight to SE Asia (or similar).
Thoughts anyone? Does my logic add up and this sound sensible for me? Or have I missed something important?
Also, whilst on the topic of Aegean's FF program, can anyone confirm the following given that Aegean's website is a little light on detail:
1) Does anyone know if/when Aegean Award Miles expire? From the program T&Cs it looks like your Miles&Bonus account is closed if you don't accrue any miles within 36 months (GOLD and BLUE members) or 12 months (BASIC members), but are there any other expiry criteria for Award miles?
2) Does anyone understand exactly how the retention of status works (i.e. what you need to do to retain Gold)? My reading of the T&Cs suggests once you attain Gold all you need to do to retain it is keep your account open (i.e. earn some miles at least once every 36 months), but it's far from clear. A few threads on FlyerTalk (e.g. Aegean Airlines Miles & Bonus - FlyerTalk Forums) and AFF suggest newly minted Aegean Gold members have received cards with three-year expiry dates, which lends some credence to this theory, but does anyone know how the retention rules work for sure?
Thanks y'all.
Firstly, my *A flying over the next few years is likely to be regular, but infrequent, if that makes sense? Expected travel is:
- almost certainly one MEL-CDG roundtrip per year with SQ (first one coming up in August this year) in Y for work
- maybe one extra MEL-HKG (via SIN) roundtrip per year in Y for work - normally go direct MEL-HKG with QF or CX several times per year, but occasionally a flight spills over to SQ due to price / availability.
- on average, one other international MEL-??? roundtrip every two years in Y on a S* airline for leisure (could be to anywhere, and may or may not happen - I travel internationally for leisure on average once a year but will always go with the cheapest option so might be OW or might be *A).
Given the limited nature of my *A flying, I've concluded that earn and burn rates aren't too important given it will take me a long time to accrue any useful number of points. On the other hand, status would be a nice perk for when I do travel *A.
With that in mind I concluded that Aegean would likely be the best option for me, as a single MEL-CDG roundtrip (as I said above, have one coming up in August) will be enough for me to earn Aegean Miles&Bonus Gold status and the associated *A Gold perks (priority boarding, lounge access, etc). Additionally, whilst Aegean's burn rates aren't the greatest, I should eventually accrue enough points for a free award flight to SE Asia (or similar).
Thoughts anyone? Does my logic add up and this sound sensible for me? Or have I missed something important?
Also, whilst on the topic of Aegean's FF program, can anyone confirm the following given that Aegean's website is a little light on detail:
1) Does anyone know if/when Aegean Award Miles expire? From the program T&Cs it looks like your Miles&Bonus account is closed if you don't accrue any miles within 36 months (GOLD and BLUE members) or 12 months (BASIC members), but are there any other expiry criteria for Award miles?
2) Does anyone understand exactly how the retention of status works (i.e. what you need to do to retain Gold)? My reading of the T&Cs suggests once you attain Gold all you need to do to retain it is keep your account open (i.e. earn some miles at least once every 36 months), but it's far from clear. A few threads on FlyerTalk (e.g. Aegean Airlines Miles & Bonus - FlyerTalk Forums) and AFF suggest newly minted Aegean Gold members have received cards with three-year expiry dates, which lends some credence to this theory, but does anyone know how the retention rules work for sure?
Thanks y'all.
