SAS EuroBonus - Eurobonus member changing FFP to Miles and More

Hey guys!

I am considering changing FFP from Eurobonus to Miles and More of Lufthansa.

Background:

I am 23 years old living in Kristiansand, so my closest airport is Kjevik(KRS). I am currently an EBS. I do not think I fly enough to become EBG. I mostly fly European routes, and will continue to do so since I am moving to Copenhagen this fall to study. I always try to book youth-tickets with SAS, meaning I always fly in booking-class V. With Eurobonus I only earn 25 % of total miles flown flying in V. If I change to Miles and More the earning will be 100 %.

I also have a couple of trips each year Intercontinental. But since I am moving to Copenhagen it would be easy to fly Intercontinental with Lufthansa (not so easy living in Kristiansand).

Assuming I would reach Silver in Miles and More I can only see advantages changing to Miles and More. More miles, lounge access to Lufthansa’s business lounges and they also have a Hotline that I can use (really needed that the other day with SAS, but not available as a EBS).

So here are my questions:
Have I misunderstood something?
Can I credit miles from Widerøe flights from CPH to KRS to MM?
What benefits will I loose fling with SAS?

EBS is pretty much useless. I've even had friends who wanted to go on a mileage run to reach EBS status, to which I suggested a mental check up. A total waste of money!!!

FTL is better if you use LH hubs frequently (or airports with LH-run lounges), because you get the lounge access when flying on LH metal. Also, the status is valid for 2 years. The road from FTL to SEN is huge, though, so if you will have an increase in the number of flights, you might want to consider EBG through segments. A segment run out of CPH is pretty cheap, so if you end up just 10 segments short, you might find it worthwhile.

You should also check out airlines like Aegan and Spanair, the latter which offers *A Gold status for Star Alliance segments, not just their own metal. After all, having *A Gold is always better than FTL, unless you only fly to/from LH-hubs and on LH metal.

You should also check out airlines like Aegan and Spanair, the latter which offers *A Gold status for Star Alliance segments, not just their own metal. After all, having *A Gold is always better than FTL, unless you only fly to/from LH-hubs and on LH metal.

I get what you are saying regards to benefits when you are flying. But that would make it difficult to spend the miles earned, right?

I get what you are saying regards to benefits when you are flying. But that would make it difficult to spend the miles earned, right?
As members of Star Alliance, they offer award flights for all Star Alliance airlines (if available tickets), but usually the prices are lower when flying with the FFP's own airline than with partners (i.e. fly SAS as a EuroBonus member, LH-group as Miles & More etc.).

Be aware that Miles & More charge YQ (fuel surcharge) for awards on their own metal, so a "free" flight might end up being more expensive than buying a discounted campaign ticket. Miles for flights are usually only worth it if you get enough miles to go First Class or if you find a points bargain campaign.

I guess you must decide what's more important; a fair share of miles in a FFP which charges YQ, or *A Gold status. Remember that you sometimes can earn more miles from credit cards and other partners, than actual flying. That is at least the case with EuroBonus these days.

You should also check out airlines like Aegan and Spanair, the latter which offers *A Gold status for Star Alliance segments, not just their own metal. After all, having *A Gold is always better than FTL, unless you only fly to/from LH-hubs and on LH metal.

As a current EBS and FTL, I would think that this is your best bet. EBS is essentially worthless, while FTL is a nice perk IF you are connecting through a LH hub (lounge access). Otherwise there is not much difference, especially at CPH. Yes, you will get more miles for flying with M&M, but as noted above, you will be paying YQ on award tickets.

One more thing to think of, does M&M have a credit card in Denmark (they do not in Sweden)? If you rack up a decent amount of miles through spending, I would consider keeping them in the same program. If there isn't a M&M credit card in Denmark, would you end up splitting your miles between programs?

I would either make a push for SEN or move to A3.

In my opinion, you should really consider if your travel pattern could get you *Gold in any way. Agreed that M&M FTL is slightly more useful than EBS, but only if connecting through FRA/MUC, which is not always convenient. With *Gold your benefits are more universal acrosss *Alliance.

Especially if flying occasionally intenational with Widerøe, since EB is the only program you can credit Widerøe flights to, and because they count as Basic point and qualifying segments in EB.

Also EB is the only program offering CreditCard programs in DK/NO, and using an EB Mastercard for your daily shopping (even as a student) can quickly earn you just as many points as flying occasionally in cheap economy.

Be aware that with a Norwegian adress (even if you spend a lot of time in Denmark) you only need to fly 35 segments (eg. oneway flights) to get EBG. If you fly KRS-CPH and connect to SAS, that will count as 4 segments for a return trip, and with 9 such trips you're EBG. People have also been known to consider doing cheap/fast domestic flights in Denmark to rack up the last few segments...

Whether this is a good strategy for earning enough points to redeem flights of any value is a different story ...

Also note that M&M charges 30 000 points for all international flight awards within Europe, and 25 000 points for Domestic flights.

As a member of EB you only need to pay 12 000 points for all SK-flights within and between Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Estonia. And if you fly out from CPH you only need to pay 20 000 points when flying to most other destinations in Northern Europe (London, Paris, Switzerland...).

So I would venture to say that the EB-points have a higher value than the M&M-points.

Also note that M&M charges 30 000 points for all international flight awards within Europe, and 25 000 points for Domestic flights.

As a member of EB you only need to pay 12 000 points for all SK-flights within and between Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Estonia. And if you fly out from CPH you only need to pay 20 000 points when flying to most other destinations in Northern Europe (London, Paris, Switzerland...).

So I would venture to say that the EB-points have a higher value than the M&M-points.

But as I fly a lot in V-class on SAS the earning would be 4 times higher with MM than with Eurobonus. That would make up for the fact that award trips costs 30000 miles with MM.

But can someone tell me why V-class on SAS gives 25 % earning on Eurobonus and 100 % with MM? It does not make any sense at all....

Despite EBS being (close to) useless, you still need 35 000 miles to achieve M&M FT. And if you should consider *G in the future, the EB threshold is only 45 000 miles compared to 100 000 with M&M. That's quite a difference!

You can only buy those student tickets for a couple of more years, and as long as you reside in Norway I would advise you to stick to EB due to the lower thresholds.

If you fly KRS-CPH and connect to SAS, that will count as 4 segments for a return trip, and with 9 such trips you're EBG.

As long as you make a domestic connection you will only earn 2 segments for a return trip.

So I would venture to say that the EB-points have a higher value than the M&M-points.

In (Northern) European redemptions - absolutely. SK's no-YQ policy on redemptions is a very, very strong argument. But if one redeems on *A metal, the operating airline's YQ rules are decisive, aren't they?

If, on the other hand one would redeem on longhaul premium cabins, the picture is different.

- SEN companion ticket for 50% of miles available

- availability on LH/LX/OS metal is much better for M&M elites than what is made available for other *A members

SEN can be a beast to achieve, especially if mainly traveling s/h in Y , with 100k actual miles (or 80k +25% bonus if already FTL) but it's valid for two years followed by 2 FTL years soft landing and one must requalify only once in every two years.

Therefore I have both FFPs - going for SEN when needed and in the between-years chasing another *G. Earlier it was BD with it's near demise it's been SK.

But as I fly a lot in V-class on SAS the earning would be 4 times higher with MM than with Eurobonus. That would make up for the fact that award trips costs 30000 miles with MM.

But can someone tell me why V-class on SAS gives 25 % earning on Eurobonus and 100 % with MM? It does not make any sense at all....

The V-class gives 100% on longhaul and 25% on shorthaul in EB. Perhaps it was not possible to differentiate the earn-rate between different routes for M&M-members flying SK, and that they therefore chose to go for 100% on all routes? Whatever reason, I agree that it doesn't make sense that the earning with SK are lower in their own frequent flyer program than in M&M.

Oh, another argument for EB are the upgrades for points on SK longhaul of course. They cost 10000 points for an upgrade from Economy to Extra, 20000 for Extra to Business, and 30000 all the way from Economy to Business of course. That's IMO the best value per point that you can get in the program, and they are only available for EB-members.

What is the minimum mileage on an SK flight on M&M? Worth noting, CPH-KRS in 249 miles, so 100% miles may not always be as great as it sounds. I learned that the hard way crediting SK flights to CO and getting indeed 100% of the actual miles on a very short flight :rolleyes:

Be aware that with a Norwegian adress (even if you spend a lot of time in Denmark) you only need to fly 35 segments (eg. oneway flights) to get EBG. If you fly KRS-CPH and connect to SAS, that will count as 4 segments for a return trip, and with 9 such trips you're EBG. People have also been known to consider doing cheap/fast domestic flights in Denmark to rack up the last few segments...


Qualifying by segments, surely they only count business-class, or am I mistaken here?

I'm mistaken. I just chattet with SAS and the confirmed that all bookingclasses that earn points count towards the 35.

However I would point out that if you have two intercontinental journeys/year you're very close to *G qualification on Aegean (20.000miles/12 months) and Asiana (40.000 miles/24 months).
E.g.: This calculation alone gives you more than 24.000 miles if your booking classes earn 100%:
http://www.milecalc.com/schmutzig/?paths=CPH-EWR-LAX%0D%0Acph-fra-bkk

What is the minimum mileage on an SK flight on M&M? Worth noting, CPH-KRS in 249 miles, so 100% miles may not always be as great as it sounds. I learned that the hard way crediting SK flights to CO and getting indeed 100% of the actual miles on a very short flight :rolleyes:

I have one such line from last year - you can hardly earn less

Helsinki-Stockholm +125
SK709/SK709
Economy Class, T

I am actually in the process of switching from MM FTL to EBG. For many years I was stuck with MM FTL. I am also based in CPH, and in my experience it is often cheaper to fly with SK, and SK earnings are very often low credit in MM miles (25% on all cheap classes). Also SK segments do not count against FTL renewal, so I would probably not even earned that, if not my frequent flies on LO.

So in my personal situation, with lots of cheap Y flights, it seems much more beneficial to go for EBG. Also the credit card miles are a good incentive (which pays off once you are EBG, since you do not have to pay the yearly CC fees).

I also found MM awards prohibitively expensive. In the same price range as campaign tickets that anybody can buy online (with one exception, I can recommend spending MM miles on AC domestic flights which are still fairly long distance, but tend to be pricey in CAD$, but cheap in miles, since they are domestic and there is no fuel surcharge for them).

EDIT: remember the most annoying thing: with FTL you have access to *no* lounge in CPH, regardless what you fly. I was really disappointed to discover this.

Instead of switching to Miles and More, I'd switch to Aegean.

That way, you'll get *G. It's more useful than EBS or FTL...

I am actually in the process of switching from MM FTL to EBG.

If you can do that, it's a no brainer - FTL is after all *S while EBG is *G

Guys, sorry I interrupt the conversation, I just read this and was very useful! Im new to EB and MM. my question is:We all know that we can buy points/miles in both programs. In MM we only can buy 12000 miles per year, but in EB there is no limit per year. so..let´s say that we buy EB points, can we add them to MM??? so this way we can speed to our frequent flyer status.. would this be possible?

Guys, sorry I interrupt the conversation, I just read this and was very useful! Im new to EB and MM. my question is:We all know that we can buy points/miles in both programs. In MM we only can buy 12000 miles per year, but in EB there is no limit per year. so..let´s say that we buy EB points, can we add them to MM??? so this way we can speed to our frequent flyer status.. would this be possible?

Short answer: no

Thanks

Short answer: no

In addition, purchased miles are award miles (on EB) and do not count for status. Rather sure that this holds true for M&M.

There was recently a thread here that have claimed that you can buy basic points with EB. to my surprise ...

Guys, sorry I interrupt the conversation, I just read this and was very useful! Im new to EB and MM. my question is:We all know that we can buy points/miles in both programs. In MM we only can buy 12000 miles per year, but in EB there is no limit per year. so..let´s say that we buy EB points, can we add them to MM??? so this way we can speed to our frequent flyer status.. would this be possible?

Just a warning. This thread is a bit outdated since we now earn 100 % miles in all classes with eurobonus.....

I also found MM awards prohibitively expensive. In the same price range as campaign tickets that anybody can buy online (with one exception, I can recommend spending MM miles on AC domestic flights which are still fairly long distance, but tend to be pricey in CAD$, but cheap in miles, since they are domestic and there is no fuel surcharge for them).



I agree. That was one of the reasons why I stopped considering moving from Eurobonus to MM.

And I really hate MM customer service. All they do is to ask me to call to another department as they cannot help with my problem. And usually I need to call to 4-5 different telephone numbers to solve a problem.

After SAS reintroduced 100 pct. earning for all M-class tickets, I cannot find any reasons to move to MM.

Can I credit miles from Widerøe flights from CPH to KRS to MM?


No, as WF is not part of Star Alliance

While better than nothing, MM FTL isn't that good, and unless you're able to make Senator in MM I would not change

To review my comment a year ago - I probably will stick to SK. Here's why M&M is NOT a real option for me:

- with last September's introduciton of only 100% earning for Z and P business class fares in M&M the 100k (80k + 25% status bonus) earning within any calendar year became mostly impossible for me. LH Z is now also 100% in EB, but LX and OS Z still earn 200%

- most LH fares are non-upgradable, only full far Y or C seem to be upgradable, so the e-vouchers are very difficult to use and so are the points

- the YQ in European shorthaul is plain ridiculous in M&M. HEL-BUD via Germany, YQ 260+€ - seriously??

- a bunch of 125 mile earning booking classes

On the other hand EBG can be achieved basically with two simple longhauls in C (HEL-CPH-TYO return is 24k points + status bonus) and no YQ on redemptions

And of course (re)qualifying for BA Gold takes a lot of flying away from *A :D:D