NWIFlyer

With the evolution of the Miles&Bonus program, there are a number of threads on this forum that contain outdated information, plus a further set that - whilst describing the new program - contain conflicting information that has only been crystallised as we all discover how certain aspects of the program either work or are interpreted.

It is perhaps therefore unsurprising that many new members find searching through this myriad of threads a little daunting, and consequently they post a question in one of the FAQ threads.

This tends to irk those who've been around for a while who expect the new posters to at least do some basic searching before posting a question that has probably been asked many times before. This also causes the forums to become very congested and less easy to read through with the same question being asked and answered many times.

I am therefore creating a thread, which will be stickied, for anyone to ask any question they like about the M&B program where they are unsure or it's not obvious where they should be posting it.

There is no such thing in this thread as a stupid question, no issue with asking a repeat question, and any answers should be 100% flame-free. I will take a dim view of anyone that abuses a member or provides a less than helpful answer (such as 'do a search') to any question asked in here, because this is being created to benefit all of us so the other threads flow more cleanly. Thank you for your co-operation on this.

It might be that I move questions to more appropriate threads so they receive an answer more quickly, but if I do so I will always add a note to indicate where they originated, and ask that the flame-free answer principle be respected.

NWIFlyer
Moderator
Aegean M&B

goqsane

I'd like to ask whether we couldn't move all those topics to a some sort of one big topic? It's really difficult to navigate on this forum, as you said.

I was actually waiting for you to do it

NWIFlyer

I have plans, I just need time to execute them .

Eventually the forum will have a number of stickies at the top which will lead into information/discussion threads below (expanding on the work Prospero did when the forum was being handled by the Senior Mod team).

The recent poll on what members wanted to see covered produced a fairly even spread across the subjects, so there's not particularly any priority on what will get done first - just watch this space over the coming weeks!

ikaliam

Thank you for creating this thread! I have been lurking here for a while, reading posts and getting information but didn't dare ask a question
Since you were nice enough to give newbies a safe place though, here is my question, after I give some information:
I had obtained A3*G status before the airline changed their program so I was automatically transferred as a gold member under the new rules too. I decided I was going to go for the 12K miles + 4 Aegean/Olympic flights to maintain my status for an additional year (so, for 2016) and I have until Nov 24 2015 to do so. I only have 3.5K to go until I reach that goal and with an upcoming trip from North America to Europe in May I will have reached the 12K in the spring. My question is, what happens with the miles I collect when flying between May (when I reach the renewal quota for 2016) and November 24th? Do the additional miles count towards my renewal for 2017?

Obviously this is my optimistic take on this, I'd hate to think that miles stop counting after reaching the renewal quota and then start counting again after November 24th

Thanks to anyone taking the time to answer!

NWIFlyer

ikaliam, firstly and clearly most importantly, a very warm welcome to FT and the A3 forum!

I'm afraid the miles you earn between reaching the re-qualification requirement and the end of your year will not carry forward as qualification miles for the following year. However, they will remain available to you as award miles for redemptions.

This is a pretty common approach across many (most) FFP's. Some may have schemes for extremely high earners which afford additional benefits above the top alliance level - *G in A3's case - when reaching a given additional earning level [e.g. BA's Executive Club has a GGL (Gold Guest List) level starting at 2,500 Tier Points which gives members some upgrade vouchers, then Concorde Room access at 5,000 TP's].

I'm afraid A3 currently does not offer any other status benefits for high earning, which is probably not a surprise given the still relatively low number of miles needed to retain Gold in the first place.

drvb

I have an Aegean Miles & Bonus silvercard and I will soon fly in Aegean business class:
Sunday March 1, 19:10 (7:10 pm in the evening), Larnaca -> Athens
Monday March 2, 08:25 (08:25 am in the morning), Athens -> Frankfurt

1. What lounges do I have access to in Athens upon arrival on Sunday evening, without using 1 of the 4 lounge vouchers my silvercard gave me?
2. What lounges do I have access to in Frankfurt?
3. Where can I get the best dinner, in Larnaca Aegean Business Lounge, onboard the airplane, in Athens Aegean Business Lounge or in Athens Lufthansa Business Lounge?
4. Where can I get the best breakfast, in Athens Aegean Business Lounge, in Athens Lufthansa Business Lounge or onboard the airplane?

Thanks!

NWIFlyer

First up, A3 Business Class is, imho, one of the very best in Europe and an experience you'll enjoy.

1 & 2: Star Alliance does not have many arrivals lounges, and - even where available - these would only be accessible by long-haul business class travellers or top-tier customers of the airline (e.g. the United Arrivals Lounge at Heathrow, which is used by a number of Star airlines). Even if there was an arrivals lounge in Athens (which there isn't), a flight from Larnaca definitely wouldn't qualify. The Frankfurt arrivals lounges are operated by Lufthansa, but again you won't have access because you're not on a long-haul service.

In addition, as you're not on a same-day departure to Frankfurt, your ticket would not officially grant you access to the departures lounges, even if you could get to them. You could try claiming you're travelling within 24 hours to see where it gets you, but this proviso is really only intended for flights from, for example, Asia to Europe which leave in the two hours after midnight. You will get access the any Business Lounge the following morning before your flight to Frankfurt.

3. As you don't have lounge access, I'm afraid the question no longer really applies. The good news is that there are some great restaurants in Athens if you're staying in the city overnight and you'd be far better eating at those both for quality and quantity.

4. I can only comment on the Aegean lounge in Athens, but food options there are very limited and replenishment has been an issue on my last couple of visits. I wouldn't remotely relying on it for anything substantial, and I'd expect the plane food to be more reliable.

drvb

When I flew Turkish Airlines business class in the same manner (arrive Sunday evening at Istanbul and continue on Monday morning) I was able to access the lounge on Sunday evening at around 21:00 (9 pm) by scanning my boarding pass for Monday morning and I was able to get into the lounge again on Monday morning. So, I'm not necessarily looking for an arrivals lounge. As fas as Athens is concerned, I guess I could use one of those silvercard lounge vouchers (even though I wouldn't fly out until the day after), that should be ok? I'm really not expecting to be allowed into a lounge in Frankfurt, but sometimes you get happily surprised.

NWIFlyer

Yes, indeed - sometimes it works, but it's always best to prepare for disappointment and refusal! In any case, the lounges in ATH really are not suitable for constructing anything resembling a meal. Assuming you're staying in Athens overnight, you would be far better off heading into the City and enjoying the evening there.

In any case, you still have to get to the lounge, for which you'll need a boarding pass (given arrivals and departures are separated at ATH). You could try presenting the one for the following morning, and then try and exit the airport from the departures area, but that sounds like a lot of hassle for a few sandwiches to me ..

drvb

Is there a Star Alliance lounge in Frankfurt that doesn't scan the boarding pass? In that case maybe I could use my charm and the business class boarding pass that brought me to Frankfurt to get in...

KLouis

Are you thinking of spending the night in a lounge in ATH? If yes, forget it, both LH and A3 lounges are closed o/n: in contrast to TK that has several very late flights from iST, neither airline flies from ATH from late evening to early morning.

If Athens is too far for you, you could stay at the Sofitel, around 50m away from the airport. Great hotel and an excellent restaurant in the top floor!

Finally, you have to be more than optimistic to think that you'll convince a lounge dragon to let you in in FRA based on your ATH-FRA bc. If successful this would be almost equal to a miracle.

NWIFlyer

Indeed - Lufthansa lounge agents are fully trained to be impervious to charm! If the computer says no, as it will, there will absolutely be no exceptions.

drvb

I've read that if you have a LH 1st class boarding pass for a particular day, you have access to FCT at both Munich and Frankfurt all day long, regards of where you're flying next. I guess there are no such privileges for business class passengers and business lounges?

NWIFlyer

Only if you have a departing flight - you don't. You'll get exactly what you're entitled to with a European Business Class ticket - but no more. Don't expect any amount of charm to work.

ben434

Just to be completely clear, holding a First Class ticket for an arriving LX/LH flight (or being Senator/HON) gives you access to ALL their lounges even without being on a departing LX/LH flight.

In your case though, holding a Euro Business ticket is not enough, as previously mentioned.

On a side note, the policy is quite different in ZRH for instance where you can access the Swiss Arrival lounge anytime as long as you are flying business on LX/LH or have a FTL status (which corresponds to a Silver level). I guess LX is nicer to their Elites although being owned by LH