Options for 6000 miles or 4 Aegean segments with €650
Dec 6, 2019, 1:25 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 474
Options for 6000 miles or 4 Aegean segments with €650
I'm in an interesting position re renewal for another year. I'm doing limited flying so I haven't already got the miles.
Option 1 is pay €650 "extra" for some flights I am about to book; to accrue 100% miles vs 70% (different booking classes), which would mean I am fine.
Alternatively I could fly the 70% mileage flights (I am committed to these flights regardless of other decisions), which leaves me needing either 6,000 tier miles or 4 Aegean segments, and €650 to spend in order to achieve that! I've got until Nov 2020 and depending on time of year would depart from:
- UK airports (likely LHR?). Not sure if aiming for 4 A3 options or if 6000 miles is achievable in a European return trip (unlikely?)
- NZ airports (likely CHC (SIN on SQ is the obvious return) or AKL (SFO on AirNZ is the obvious return)).
Depending on the trip I would pay more than the €650 (if I can tie in with other things, or if its somewhere interesting :-), but thats my current option for renewing!
Looking for thoughts, options I haven't considered, or other ways to do this! Also aware I could buy 3000 tier miles for €300, but that wouldn't get me all the way!
Option 1 is pay €650 "extra" for some flights I am about to book; to accrue 100% miles vs 70% (different booking classes), which would mean I am fine.
Alternatively I could fly the 70% mileage flights (I am committed to these flights regardless of other decisions), which leaves me needing either 6,000 tier miles or 4 Aegean segments, and €650 to spend in order to achieve that! I've got until Nov 2020 and depending on time of year would depart from:
- UK airports (likely LHR?). Not sure if aiming for 4 A3 options or if 6000 miles is achievable in a European return trip (unlikely?)
- NZ airports (likely CHC (SIN on SQ is the obvious return) or AKL (SFO on AirNZ is the obvious return)).
Depending on the trip I would pay more than the €650 (if I can tie in with other things, or if its somewhere interesting :-), but thats my current option for renewing!
Looking for thoughts, options I haven't considered, or other ways to do this! Also aware I could buy 3000 tier miles for €300, but that wouldn't get me all the way!
Dec 6, 2019, 5:39 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
First, you have a lot of time.
You have three options;
1. If you can afford to pay the additional €650 "extra" for a better accrual rate ticket, then do it. Less flying for you and you are not leaving requalification to chance.
2. If you ARE SURE OF THE DATES and CITIES you will be somewhere near where Aegean/Olympic fly, then search for 1 stop tickets to SKG/HER/otherGreekCity and book them when they are still cheap.
Only if you ARE SURE OF THE DATES and CITIES.
3. Do a mileage run. Post here (link) with specific details, and see what the crowd comes up with.
Otherwise, you are asking for speculation - whether you can afford to pay the 650 euro or whether you are sure of the dates and cities you will be in where you can fly Aegean/Olympic at cheap rates.
Nobody can answer this really.
You have three options;
1. If you can afford to pay the additional €650 "extra" for a better accrual rate ticket, then do it. Less flying for you and you are not leaving requalification to chance.
2. If you ARE SURE OF THE DATES and CITIES you will be somewhere near where Aegean/Olympic fly, then search for 1 stop tickets to SKG/HER/otherGreekCity and book them when they are still cheap.
Only if you ARE SURE OF THE DATES and CITIES.
3. Do a mileage run. Post here (link) with specific details, and see what the crowd comes up with.
Otherwise, you are asking for speculation - whether you can afford to pay the 650 euro or whether you are sure of the dates and cities you will be in where you can fly Aegean/Olympic at cheap rates.
Nobody can answer this really.
Dec 6, 2019, 7:24 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 474
Hi, thanks for the response.
Yes I can afford to pay the extra for better accrual rate and then it is done. But I wasn't asking people to speculate on my finances or my plans, more offer suggestions based on experiences.
I guess I was looking for someone to add some input like "London > Athens > ? return would get you 4 Aegean fights and the ? location is a great overnight if you haven't been to Greece before" (I haven't). Or "in a day from LHR you can get the miles if you don't mind some flights - in particular business class on [Brussels] can be lucrative if you want a quick city break getaway" or "maybe fiji from AKL would be a good destination".
My two "base" countries I'm no expert in the options, and have never flown A3 before.
You are right it is much easier to just pay the money and know I get the miles, but then there might be some interesting options about!
Yes I can afford to pay the extra for better accrual rate and then it is done. But I wasn't asking people to speculate on my finances or my plans, more offer suggestions based on experiences.
I guess I was looking for someone to add some input like "London > Athens > ? return would get you 4 Aegean fights and the ? location is a great overnight if you haven't been to Greece before" (I haven't). Or "in a day from LHR you can get the miles if you don't mind some flights - in particular business class on [Brussels] can be lucrative if you want a quick city break getaway" or "maybe fiji from AKL would be a good destination".
My two "base" countries I'm no expert in the options, and have never flown A3 before.
You are right it is much easier to just pay the money and know I get the miles, but then there might be some interesting options about!
Dec 6, 2019, 8:27 am
#4
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: FRA, JFK
Programs: BAEC GGL, A3*S, Bonvoy Gold, HH Gold
Posts: 1,006
If you've never been to Greece, Athens would be the obvious go to place (that's where I went for my 2 Segments to get to silver). But that won't be enough.
For the jump to gold I sent to HER. It was nice but a bit too touristy for my liking. Next destinations on the list would be RHO and JTR.
What you could do is LHR-ATH-LHR and on the second day ATH-RHO-ATH or sth similar.
If you really just want the Segments, just pick the cheapest island. But if you've never been to Greece before I think you should set a couple of days aside for it.
For the jump to gold I sent to HER. It was nice but a bit too touristy for my liking. Next destinations on the list would be RHO and JTR.
What you could do is LHR-ATH-LHR and on the second day ATH-RHO-ATH or sth similar.
If you really just want the Segments, just pick the cheapest island. But if you've never been to Greece before I think you should set a couple of days aside for it.
Dec 6, 2019, 2:13 pm
#5
Join Date: Feb 2016
Programs: NZ Silver A3 Gold Qantas Gold Accor Platinum
Posts: 223
Am making assumption that you are doing a NZ/Europe or Europe/NZ that will accumulate the bulk of your miles? In my case I fly NZ to Europe each year for a holiday. I fly from from Auckland to a Euro destination on a *A carrier on a fare that returns 100% miles, thus get my 12000 miles for requal done. The A3 route map in Europe is really comprehensive so some really great options are available and reasonable in terms of cost if booked early.
I have always found the 4 A3 sectors easy to achieve by using A3 hubbing thru Athens to get around. Greece in my opinion is a great place to visit and/or holiday.
As an example last year flew London to Athens, spent couple of days in Athens, then Athens to Malta for a week then back to Athens, got the ferry to Aegina Island (ferry trip 40 mins) for a few days Greek Island R+R.. Then flew Athens to Milan to catch a flight back to NZ. (my 4 sectors done and dusted plus a holiday).
Generally speaking you can get to from most places in Europe with A3 by hubbing thru Athens. A simple weekend trip to visit Creece and get 4 sectors could look like London/Athens/Thessaloniki then the reverse back. Thessaloniki is a great place to spend a weekend or a bit longer for that matter. The advantage of Thessaloniki is that there are 10/12 flights a day to from Athens so makes connections from/to other places easy and simple.
I have always found the 4 A3 sectors easy to achieve by using A3 hubbing thru Athens to get around. Greece in my opinion is a great place to visit and/or holiday.
As an example last year flew London to Athens, spent couple of days in Athens, then Athens to Malta for a week then back to Athens, got the ferry to Aegina Island (ferry trip 40 mins) for a few days Greek Island R+R.. Then flew Athens to Milan to catch a flight back to NZ. (my 4 sectors done and dusted plus a holiday).
Generally speaking you can get to from most places in Europe with A3 by hubbing thru Athens. A simple weekend trip to visit Creece and get 4 sectors could look like London/Athens/Thessaloniki then the reverse back. Thessaloniki is a great place to spend a weekend or a bit longer for that matter. The advantage of Thessaloniki is that there are 10/12 flights a day to from Athens so makes connections from/to other places easy and simple.
Dec 6, 2019, 11:28 pm
#6
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: NW London and NW Sydney
Programs: BA Diamond, Hilton Bronze, A3 Diamond, IHG *G
Posts: 6,344
Basically LHR to any Greek airport via ATH will be less than €650 except when booking last minute, or some exceptional circumstance where all flights are filled. Just pick one. It can be done in less than 24 hours especially if you take the overnight LHR-ATH, though I would always prefer to spend a bit more time in the Greek city.
But you have 11 months. If these are your only options to renew, this means you believe that you won't fly Star Alliance at all besides the trip you are booking.
If you do intend to fly with *A more this year, then why is paying €650 extra for exactly the same product and service even a consideration? Is Gold that you wouldn't even use worth €650? Obviously it's a lot harder to get back to Gold if you lose it now, but you can buy lots of food and drink, pay for fast track many times and buy lots of extra baggage allowance with €650.
In past years I have renewed my Gold for not much more than €650 and most of my flights I would have taken anyway even if they earned 0 miles. Though with SAS earning gone this won't happen any more.
But you have 11 months. If these are your only options to renew, this means you believe that you won't fly Star Alliance at all besides the trip you are booking.
If you do intend to fly with *A more this year, then why is paying €650 extra for exactly the same product and service even a consideration? Is Gold that you wouldn't even use worth €650? Obviously it's a lot harder to get back to Gold if you lose it now, but you can buy lots of food and drink, pay for fast track many times and buy lots of extra baggage allowance with €650.
In past years I have renewed my Gold for not much more than €650 and most of my flights I would have taken anyway even if they earned 0 miles. Though with SAS earning gone this won't happen any more.
Dec 7, 2019, 2:47 am
#7
Moderator: Aegean Miles+Bonus
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: AMS / ATH
Programs: AFKL Plat, A3 Gold
Posts: 7,339
Personally I would not fly just for earning miles. I'd probably be up for a detour or sth like that, but not booking a whole trip just for earning miles.
As you still have a lot of time I'd go with the 70% fare right now. That leaves you with 6K miles to earn over the next 11 months. Chances are that you will have to fly somewhere that you are not yet aware of right now, or if not, you can always later on decide if earning status is worth a quick trip on aegean or another carrier.
Two things to keep in mind: Status is not worth anything if you don't use it for flying, and secondly, getting 6K miles or 4 Aegean segments within Europe would/should be much less than 650 euro. Even business class round-trip on OS will get you 8K miles for much less than 650.
As you still have a lot of time I'd go with the 70% fare right now. That leaves you with 6K miles to earn over the next 11 months. Chances are that you will have to fly somewhere that you are not yet aware of right now, or if not, you can always later on decide if earning status is worth a quick trip on aegean or another carrier.
Two things to keep in mind: Status is not worth anything if you don't use it for flying, and secondly, getting 6K miles or 4 Aegean segments within Europe would/should be much less than 650 euro. Even business class round-trip on OS will get you 8K miles for much less than 650.
Dec 7, 2019, 7:11 pm
#9
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: United Kingdom
Programs: BA Exec Club - Silver | Aegean Miles & Bonus - Gold | IHG - Gold | Marriott - Silver
Posts: 44
You could also do an SK flight like I did, ARN-CPH-AGP return and bag yourself +6000 status miles. It cost me around £272 return
Dec 8, 2019, 2:53 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 474
If you've never been to Greece, Athens would be the obvious go to place (that's where I went for my 2 Segments to get to silver). But that won't be enough.
For the jump to gold I sent to HER. It was nice but a bit too touristy for my liking. Next destinations on the list would be RHO and JTR.
What you could do is LHR-ATH-LHR and on the second day ATH-RHO-ATH or sth similar.
If you really just want the Segments, just pick the cheapest island. But if you've never been to Greece before I think you should set a couple of days aside for it.
For the jump to gold I sent to HER. It was nice but a bit too touristy for my liking. Next destinations on the list would be RHO and JTR.
What you could do is LHR-ATH-LHR and on the second day ATH-RHO-ATH or sth similar.
If you really just want the Segments, just pick the cheapest island. But if you've never been to Greece before I think you should set a couple of days aside for it.
Am making assumption that you are doing a NZ/Europe or Europe/NZ that will accumulate the bulk of your miles? In my case I fly NZ to Europe each year for a holiday. I fly from from Auckland to a Euro destination on a *A carrier on a fare that returns 100% miles, thus get my 12000 miles for requal done. The A3 route map in Europe is really comprehensive so some really great options are available and reasonable in terms of cost if booked early.
I have always found the 4 A3 sectors easy to achieve by using A3 hubbing thru Athens to get around. Greece in my opinion is a great place to visit and/or holiday.
As an example last year flew London to Athens, spent couple of days in Athens, then Athens to Malta for a week then back to Athens, got the ferry to Aegina Island (ferry trip 40 mins) for a few days Greek Island R+R.. Then flew Athens to Milan to catch a flight back to NZ. (my 4 sectors done and dusted plus a holiday).
Generally speaking you can get to from most places in Europe with A3 by hubbing thru Athens. A simple weekend trip to visit Creece and get 4 sectors could look like London/Athens/Thessaloniki then the reverse back. Thessaloniki is a great place to spend a weekend or a bit longer for that matter. The advantage of Thessaloniki is that there are 10/12 flights a day to from Athens so makes connections from/to other places easy and simple.
I have always found the 4 A3 sectors easy to achieve by using A3 hubbing thru Athens to get around. Greece in my opinion is a great place to visit and/or holiday.
As an example last year flew London to Athens, spent couple of days in Athens, then Athens to Malta for a week then back to Athens, got the ferry to Aegina Island (ferry trip 40 mins) for a few days Greek Island R+R.. Then flew Athens to Milan to catch a flight back to NZ. (my 4 sectors done and dusted plus a holiday).
Generally speaking you can get to from most places in Europe with A3 by hubbing thru Athens. A simple weekend trip to visit Creece and get 4 sectors could look like London/Athens/Thessaloniki then the reverse back. Thessaloniki is a great place to spend a weekend or a bit longer for that matter. The advantage of Thessaloniki is that there are 10/12 flights a day to from Athens so makes connections from/to other places easy and simple.
Basically LHR to any Greek airport via ATH will be less than €650 except when booking last minute, or some exceptional circumstance where all flights are filled. Just pick one. It can be done in less than 24 hours especially if you take the overnight LHR-ATH, though I would always prefer to spend a bit more time in the Greek city.
But you have 11 months. If these are your only options to renew, this means you believe that you won't fly Star Alliance at all besides the trip you are booking.
If you do intend to fly with *A more this year, then why is paying €650 extra for exactly the same product and service even a consideration? Is Gold that you wouldn't even use worth €650? Obviously it's a lot harder to get back to Gold if you lose it now, but you can buy lots of food and drink, pay for fast track many times and buy lots of extra baggage allowance with €650.
In past years I have renewed my Gold for not much more than €650 and most of my flights I would have taken anyway even if they earned 0 miles. Though with SAS earning gone this won't happen any more.
But you have 11 months. If these are your only options to renew, this means you believe that you won't fly Star Alliance at all besides the trip you are booking.
If you do intend to fly with *A more this year, then why is paying €650 extra for exactly the same product and service even a consideration? Is Gold that you wouldn't even use worth €650? Obviously it's a lot harder to get back to Gold if you lose it now, but you can buy lots of food and drink, pay for fast track many times and buy lots of extra baggage allowance with €650.
In past years I have renewed my Gold for not much more than €650 and most of my flights I would have taken anyway even if they earned 0 miles. Though with SAS earning gone this won't happen any more.
I will fly *A on other trips, but not as much as "normal" this year, and many won't be eligible for milage accrual, or I would credit to a different FFP. Fair question on the value, but I would use it on numerous flights that I wouldn't accrue on (e.g Trans Tasman AU-NZ on *A I have never flown and been able to accrue to A3. But status counts for lounge etc). Agreed you can buy lots of food and drink, but a lounge for me is also about having usable internet, somewhere comfortable, and somewhere to have a shower. Most regular trips I do have decent lounges, SIN being the notable omission (no showers etc). I have never seen the option to pay for fast track? Re baggage out of interest I checked, and e.g. Europe/NZ on SQ, extra baggage is USD36/kg (when booked in advance). If that is right, €650 is only about 20kg, one way.
Personally I would not fly just for earning miles. I'd probably be up for a detour or sth like that, but not booking a whole trip just for earning miles.
As you still have a lot of time I'd go with the 70% fare right now. That leaves you with 6K miles to earn over the next 11 months. Chances are that you will have to fly somewhere that you are not yet aware of right now, or if not, you can always later on decide if earning status is worth a quick trip on aegean or another carrier.
Two things to keep in mind: Status is not worth anything if you don't use it for flying, and secondly, getting 6K miles or 4 Aegean segments within Europe would/should be much less than 650 euro. Even business class round-trip on OS will get you 8K miles for much less than 650.
As you still have a lot of time I'd go with the 70% fare right now. That leaves you with 6K miles to earn over the next 11 months. Chances are that you will have to fly somewhere that you are not yet aware of right now, or if not, you can always later on decide if earning status is worth a quick trip on aegean or another carrier.
Two things to keep in mind: Status is not worth anything if you don't use it for flying, and secondly, getting 6K miles or 4 Aegean segments within Europe would/should be much less than 650 euro. Even business class round-trip on OS will get you 8K miles for much less than 650.
I don't follow how this would get me 4 A3 segments?
Dec 8, 2019, 10:07 am
#12
Moderator: Aegean Miles+Bonus
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: AMS / ATH
Programs: AFKL Plat, A3 Gold
Posts: 7,339
Agreed status isn't worth anything if you don't fly, but I do fly enough for it to be useful and worthwhile to me. Also my flying will increase again after this A3 year, so worth holding onto if I can. I looked into OS and it looked like 2k each way on inter-europe Business? I haven't studied the route map to work out other potential options.
For example: LHR-VIE-AMS AMS-VIE-LHR is 360 gbp in class Z and will get you 8000 miles on Aegean. Example here.
Dec 10, 2019, 1:56 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 474
You're absolutely right, but unless your destination is VIE you will always do 4 segments with Austrian (on a roundtrip ticket).
For example: LHR-VIE-AMS AMS-VIE-LHR is 360 gbp in class Z and will get you 8000 miles on Aegean. Example here.
For example: LHR-VIE-AMS AMS-VIE-LHR is 360 gbp in class Z and will get you 8000 miles on Aegean. Example here.