lensovet

Hi all,

Currently I'm an A3 Gold member, and have until next November to requalify.

Question is, getting 12k miles with A3 flights seems way easier for me than flying 24k at the moment. The problem seems to be that Aegean doesn't fly to the US at all, and even their codeshares are pretty limited.

So, can someone suggest some reasonable (price-wise) itineraries that would involve flying A3 to meet the qualification requirements? Bonus points if itinerary gets all 4 segments in one go.

Snacky

There are a lot of opportunities for doing this, but if you for instance get yourself to either LHR or FRA, which would be the easiest hubs for you to connect from, and do 4 segments on A3 from there, like LHR-ATH-SKG return or FRA-ATH-LCA return, that would be a relatively easy and cheap way to do it. If you at the same time find a cheap flight US to Europe, that earns 100% or more tier miles on A3, your might even requalify on that one combined trip alone.


Snacky

Knobbgb

For that, look at SAS. Get yourself to Stockholm or Copenhagen (100% miles on SAS) and A3 have some quite cheap fares from there to Athens (although not daily). Around 150 Euro return some days in March, a little more with the domestic hop included. e.g. ARN-ATH-SKG 4th March then SKG-ATH-ARN 7th March is 182 Euro. Or CPH-ATH-HER-ATH-CPH 5th March/9th March 167 Euro.

lensovet

Thanks, I had noticed that on Google flights. Another option depending on dates can be flying on Turkish to IST and then doing a quick hop on A3 to say Thessaloniki, very cheap tickets there as well.

At this point I will probably be doing either this or a round-the-world itinerary on SQ SFO-HKG-SIN-DME-IAH-SFO to get me to 24k together with some domestic business travel.

pbd456

if it is viable, i would take a vacation in greece around nov 24 to get 8 segments for two years.

MSPeconomist

That would probably mean visiting three islands. Note that many resorts in this area are seasonal and close for the winter.

djjaguar64

I am planning to do the TK flight as well. Then either flying into CPH or SKG with A3. Are there any flights from the US or Canada into Europe that will give you close to 12K?

KLouis

α) There are many beautiful areas in Greece in addition to islands and A3 does fly to them.

b) Many islands are "open" throughout the year.

c) Many people prefer to be in Greece when the millions of tourists are away (n.b.: nobody thinks of himself/herself as a tourist )

Air Rarotonga

Of course, you just need to book the right booking class. i.ex.:

• LX, F-cl, A-cl, ORD-ZRH = 4443mi x3 = 13329mi / flight

On LH First, you will also get 300% mileage credit!

djjaguar64

Thats fine and dandy but I dont have that much candy in my pocket. I guess there is no Y class flights with at least 11000 miles.

NWIFlyer

Well, this is supposed to be a Frequent Flyer program, and you shouldn't necessarily expect to reach Gold off the back of a return flight in Y - particularly with many fares only earning at 50%!

SAS from ORD is probably your best bet for 100% earning in Y at a reasonable price, but quite how long that will last is anyone's guess - certainly not one I'd be relying on.

M&B is, probably rightly, no longer a cheap qualification option. Status is supposed to bring a certain amount of ease in moving through airports and having space in a lounge when needed. If more people become eligible than the available facilities can cope with, then status no longer has worth, so it's not surprising qualification and re-qualification has become harder.

Bottom line is that many people need to fly a great deal more now, or spend a lot on a single flight, to maintain their benefits. Almost all FF programs are set up to ensure people who fly irregularly in discount Y don't qualify for anything other than the 'normal' airport experience - and it's difficult to argue that's anything other than fair to the people that have to fly week in, week out.

KLouis

I think you have a weak memory! Before the programme changes we even had a very well visited, dedicated thread that dealt with how fast one could become gold (i.e. possibly with only one flight). I believe that, still, most visitors to this thread are anything but frequent flyers with A3.

Nikolaos

East coast to Rome will give you around 10K, if you pay attention to the booking classes (pick ones that earn 100%).

Then a rt on A3 to ATH will give another 1600-2000 miles, depending on the booking class. A short trip to another destination in Greece to fulfill the 4-segment requirement.

Plus you get a dream vacation; Rome-Athens-islands

:D!

The OP's location is SFO.

LX SFO-ZRH in booking class S in February costs $1300 return, according to ITA Matrix, and will earn 100% on A3 which will be about 11500 miles.

ZRH-ATH-(Greek island)-ATH-ZRH on A3 will earn far more than 500 miles, easily meeting the requalification criteria (not that there is any need to requalify in one trip alone unless the only flying you ever do on *A is a yearly Greek holiday)

djjaguar64

That sounds promising. I am looking at YYZ-FCO, IST, CDG and CPH. Just need the right booking class that is 100%.