go to http://en.aegeanair.com

Sign up for a Miles & Bonus account.

Add this number when you make the booking.

When you fly, make sure to ask the agent whether the number is in the booking. If it is not, ask them to add it again.

A couple days after arriving in PHL, your account will display Star Alliance Silver status. When you return to DEL, make sure that LH has the fact that you are Star Alliance Silver in the system (it should print on the boarding pass).

When you return to India, you should get a official Star Alliance Silver Card from Aegean within 2-3 months.

If you fly to the US one more time, or even if you flew to BKK or ICN or NRT, then you will get Star Alliance Gold, which gives you lounge access, extra baggage, etc.

Star Alliance silver by itself gives you some perks like IRROPS advantages, priority standby, free bags on some airlines, etc.

can i upgrade to business using star silver?

Add which number?

If i use aegan's transfer service from PHL to Dover.. will i accrue miles?

No, Star Silver does not allow you to upgrade to business class - if it did, then who would buy business class?

If your flight is cancelled or something, they might give you an upgrade, but you can't really count on that and it is a rare occurence anyway.



When you sign up for Aegean Airlines miles and Bonus, you will recieve a number. You should keep this number, since you will need it for all your star alliance flights


If you use Aegean Airlines' transfer service, then yes you will recieve miles. That said, I didn't know that aegean Airlines had a transfer service . Link please?

Should i buy an expensive ticket from LH just for extra miles? Because booking class S and T accrue 7000 or so miles and Class Q accrues 15000 miles

here is the link http://tours.aegeanair.com/airport-s...irport_Shuttle

Yes, you will earn miles for using this service. (2 miles per Euro spent)

However, you must order directly from that site (tours.aegeanair.com)

Class G is the cheapest that will allow you to earn full miles.

I suggest booking with a travel agent in Delhi (there's tons of them), and tell them EXACTLY what you want: Lufthansa DEL-FRA-PHL-FRA-DEL in class G

To find out what the price should be, you should go to http://matrix1.itasoftware.com.

In the "to" box, type:
PHL::+/f bc=g
In the "from" box, type:
JFK::+/f bc=g


Then fill out your dates and stuff. Booking city should be DEL.

It will tell you exactly how much the ticket should cost, so that you can make sure that the travel agent is charging a fair price.

Hope this helps...

If G fare availability is there, and you find a travel agent who can book it for you, then book right away. Just make sure that the ticket is in G class before paying (travel agents often will try to sell you a cheaper ticket and pocket the fare difference).


Edit: bad news, Lufthansa has changed their accrual rates (new rates displayed here: http://en.aegeanair.com/milesandbonu...les/#LUFTHANSA), so V class no longer earns 100% miles. The lowest class is now G. I'd seriously give US Airways a look...

If you fly US Airways for the FRA-PHL-FRA/MUC-PHL-MUC/ZRH-PHL-ZRH/VIE-PHL-VIE segments, you get 100% mileage regardless of the price of teh fare. So you might want to see what the cheapest US Airways fare is (that does NOT use Jet Airways), and book that instead.

In that case, you should definitely fly to PHL. It will be very annoying to have to go from NYC to Dover, Delaware by public transportation after a long flight. Also, small towns like Dover tend not to have good public transportation. Make sure your transportation needs are taken care of there before you go.

good call....after getting used to driving conditions in the US, i moved back to india & would get honked & yelled at for following the traffic laws....

And I would spend $20 on an inflatable seat cushion like I posted above and save the 5-6 hours.

PHL gets you about an hour closer to Dover than the EWR option, but the connection likely adds 3 or more hours to the journey, so you still come out behind.

I say DEL-EWR n/s on CO with a seat cushion and an Extra Legroom seat.

A bit about this. Certainly I understand why they advise foreigners not to drive in India. But driving in the US is relatively straightforward. Yes, we drive faster on highways/freeways because the road conditions are good and traffic, outside of rush hour near major metropolitan areas and construction/accidents, is generally light. And people generally obey the rules. If speed is an issue, you will be perfectly fine at 90-100km/h - just stay in the right lane. You'll rarely see people exceeding about 135km/h; most will travel 105-120km/h. It's not Germany.

Or is the whole other-side-of-the-road thing? I've driven in NZ and South Africa (opposite US) and it takes a little getting used to and some extra concentration but not too difficult.

Unless you have a car & driver at your disposal, getting around the Dover Delaware area is not going to be easy on public transport. Probably not even that convenient to use taxis.

i can understand why the op doesn't want to drive outside india....for some people the 'other side of the road' comes very easily but for some it's extremely difficult....

i can adjust pretty easily to driving in europe & in the us but my brother who is a very good driver cannot drive on the other side of the road....he tried it a few times & just couldn't get the hang of it....

There's more difference than just that. There is also etiquette and the fact that driving in India is much more sound/noise based than the US. Drivers often rely on their ears more than on mirrors. You can't change those instincts overnight.