wtcmor
Feb 25, 12, 11:48 pm
I am just about to join Aegean and using a calculator I found online I will get 43000 points as I am going RTW with Swiss and United. As I live in Australia my options are very limited for redemption as I always use Oneworld carriers and will not add to this points balance in the future. So its basically Air New Zealand. Does anyone have any experience in redeeming Aegean points for ANZ flights? Are you limited to direct flights or could I go Brisbane to Auckland stopover for less and 24 hours and then onto Papette? Thanks for any advice
wyvern
Feb 26, 12, 6:19 am
You will get *G and should get a *G card valid for 3 years. To keep the points alive you need to fly one *A miles earning flight every 1 or 2 years (opinions vary). Quite possibly the *G status is valid indefinitely if you keep flying *A and crediting flights every 1 or 3 years - we're all waiting to find out.
I have no experience redeeming A3 miles, but you will need to make at least one *A, flight in a class that earns with Aegean, once every year (or two) to stop your miles from expiring. Being Australia-based, that's NZ, SQ, TG, OZ etc.
The plus side is if you fly on any of those airlines ,you will be *G after your RTW flight (or part way through it), and hopefully for a little while longer after that, at least, if you keep crediting. So priority check-in and boarding (not SQ in Singapore though!), additional baggage allowance (not NZ seat only fares), lounge access and (with some airlines) preferred seating will all be things to look forward to!
Let's just hope that VA/DJ join *A too, though then that would open the dilemma as to whether to credit *A flights to VA or A3.
In the meantime there are some posts elsewhere on this forum from those who have tried to redeem A3 miles, so you could have a look there.