Aegean Airlines runs one of the most popular loyalty programs within the Star Alliance: Miles+Bonus. It used to be the easiest way to obtain Gold status. And even though the Greek carrier implemented some chance years ago, making it a little harder to reach Miles+Bonus Gold, it is still seen as a fast track to elite status.
But recent news shows that Aegean is taking further steps to make its program less appealing to frequent flyers. Even though the airline hasn’t changed any requirements for obtaining status, there has been an overnight devaluation of award miles for travel with Star Alliance partners.
People that signed up for Miles+Bonus often did it for one reason: reaching Star Alliance Gold as fast as possible. But since you earn miles on your way, also redemption is an important point. And Aegean had us covered here. At least until now.
What has Happened
That an airline devaluated its frequent flyer miles isn’t anything new. Sadly, we travelers have to be prepared for these moves almost all the time. So the fact that Aegean changed the award chart is no surprise.
What is weird is that they didn’t even deem it necessary actually to inform members about the change. A new chart on their website obviously did the job good enough. At least for Aegean’s point of view. Needless to say that we think of this as a disappointing way to treat loyalty customers.
New Award Chart
Let’s just have a look at the new award chart, that the carrier has published on its website:
While some mileage values are still the same as they used to be, others went up. Especially flights from Europe to the Near East, the Far East, Central Asia, and the North Amerca are now more expensive. Here’s an example for flights from Europe to Central Asia:
| Old Value | New Value | Difference | |
| Economy | 60,000 | 70,000 | 10,000 |
| Business | 90,000 | 110,000 | 20,000 |
| First | 120,000 | 150,000 | 30,000 |
Conclusion
Aegean Airlines used to be a good program in terms of mileage redemption. If, for whatever reason, it becomes necessary to devalue the award miles – so be it. The program is still a decent one and always makes it into our list of easiest ways to obtain Star Alliance Gold status.
On the other hand, the airlines could have done better in communicating the changes. Hard to imagine that they will lose many customers because of the change. But it doesn’t make the carrier appear in a good light if they do so overnight without notifying anyone.
Source: YHBU – Thanks