a7m

I know that SU miles expire after after 2-3 years of inactivity. But did the rules change? I know there was one year extension in 2020. Now, howver, I look at my account and see this:

Ваши мили активны до
01.01.3000

Has SU changed rules recently?

hessbo

Mine still show 1.1.22 as expiration date.

Aeroflot bonus website was down yesterday - perhaps the date shown to you was a glitch that they solved.

miklcct

Are there some SkyTeam domestic UK flights I can take to keep my miles from expiring? I have nearly 40k miles in my account and it will expire on 2022-01-01.

fifty_two

No , from UK all skyteam qualifying flights are international . You can take a cheap flight to amsterdam or paris , not leaving the airport and just return to UK , then you wont have to cross the schengen borders

miklcct

And how's the border situation if I want to enter the country? I'll get my second jab in the UK next week.

I currently don't have any travel interest to Schengen right now but I have interest to travel to St. Petersburg for a race early September. Is it possible for us to do so without quarantine requirement?

If travelling to Russia itself is possible, then I can take Aeroflot and extend my miles for another 2 years.

fifty_two

The situation changes all the time everywhere , but based on what i know the country is not 100% closed

If you are citizen of some authorised countries and fly directly from one of these countries to russia then you are allowed to enter

see partial screen capture from travelcentre/timatic (sorry i couldn't copy/paste)



Of course , based on your citizenship(s) , if you need a visa then you will have to apply for it (with all associated costs) at your local russian embassy before and then book your SU flight . E-visas are suspended until further notice , so no other choice

In addition , PCR tests are required + paperwork .

I dont know about quarantine , but one thing is sure , no foreign vaccines has been approved yet in russia (according to newspapers they will start the process for astra zeneca during fall/automn but it's just rumors)

I wouldnt really give too much hope for september , but rather winter 2021 at best considering situation over there , i also wanna go but i have to wait further

i do not know what is current situation for UK , i heard their citizens/residents were allowed for a while but it seems its not the case anymore

You should regulary check news ( https://www.themoscowtimes.com/) and iata travel centre https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/world.php , then contact russian embassy to confirm if you can start the process , but keep in mind that things can quickly change , for the better or the worse , so amsterdam/paris are far better , cheaper and safer option for your goal

miklcct

I've checked that Amsterdam is unfeasible due to compulsory quarantine even for vaccinated travellers.

Are there any other SkyTeam routes other than AMS from Southampton?

The closest airport to my home is Bournemouth but there is no direct transport to get to the airport. Getting to Southampton is much easier and faster with a half-hourly direct train.

fifty_two

Netherlands are not in the list of countries/nationalities allowed by russian federation now , as far as i know , and they probably wont be soon , i guess its due to politics

Yes , check wherever SU is flying , and if it match the combo (citizenship/location/residency/etc ....) you can apply for a visa

SU is still flying to a lot of european countries now , direct flights to LED or SVO , you need to check the routes

miklcct

I think there is a misunderstanding here. I live in the UK as an HKG citizen double-jabbed in the UK, and I'm choosing a destination served by SkyTeam airlines. Travelling to AMS is unfeasible because of quarantine requirement, and an alternative for me is to SVO / LED on SU itself but I also doubt the border situation of entering Russia.

fifty_two

If you travel trough european countries (UK - XXX - Russia) you wont enter schengen , you can pass by amsterdam and then quarantine wont apply to you as far as i know , it might be the same for czech republic , however you need to check , also keep in mind interline in case you have luggages

if non-schengen skyteam flight to russia is your aim, i can recommend other european countries such as norway , turkey or moldova for example

miklcct

I'm concerned if border situation in Russia will allows me to visit flying direct from the UK as an HKG citizen.

luitje

Don't be. As long as you have all the paperwork to enter HK, you shall be fine.

Russian Federation - Transit Visa
Visa not required.
Transiting without a visa is possible
Warning:Passengers must have a printed medical certificate with a negative Coronavirus (COVID-19) PCR test result issued at most 72 hours before arrival. The medical certificate must be issued in Russian or in English. A notarized translation to Russian is accepted.

Important: There are no transit facilities at Irkutsk (IKT), Khabarovsk (KHV), Krasnodar (KRR), Mineralnye Vody (MRV), Rostov-on-Don (ROV), Sochi(AER), Yuzhno Sakhalinsk (UUS) and Zhukovsky (ZIA), passengers must comply with all entry regulations for Russian Fed.
Russian Federation - Transit Health
Vaccinations not required.

miklcct

Maybe I didn't explain myself clearly enough.

My choices for a trip is to ENTER Russia for a race in St Petersburg (as a HKG citizen flying direct from the LHR to Moscow) or take a KLM to visit Netherlands direct from Southampton (I'm not particularly interested in visiting the EU right now and don't want to spend a fortune in travelling to any airports than Southampton unless there is a motivation, as travelling to any other airports will probably cost me £50+, but it's under £20 round-trip for Southampton). The latter seems impossible without quarantine.

No matter what, it is already too late for Russia now with the race coming next weekend, and I can't get assurance from any of other athletes living in the UK confirming they will go. There are a few interesting races in mid-September which serve as a motivation for me to travel to the EU but unfortunately I am not free in that period.

luitje

1. It is your residence not your citizenship that determines your eligibility to enter. Assuming you are the UK resident, you can travel to Russia.
2. Country of transit is irrelevant if you are travelling from (or even transiting through) the UK - you are still required to quarantine for 14 days (unless you left the UK more than 14 days ago).

Full details available from the Russian Embassy website: https://www.rusemb.org.uk/consnews/167

I would personally advise against connecting flights during this pandemic. Regulations are quite fluid and last thing you want is adding more uncertainty to your travel plans.

miklcct

Point 1 was false as, in normal time, as an HKG citizen I was allowed to enter Russia visa-free for 14 days but not if I'm a GBN citizen, where a visa is required. There were a few countries where a Hong Kong passport allowed me to enter visa free but not with a GBN passport, including Turkey, Egypt, Russia and a few others.

But nothing seems to be possible now, and I'm afraid that my Aeroflot miles accumulated before 2019 will be a waste as they expire by the end of this year. Aeroflot was the best airline in terms of flight times because others mostly flew on a schedule which was highly sought by other passengers but extremely undesirable for me. And the long-haul flights were cheap enough that premium economy on Aeroflot was usually cheaper than other airlines' economy.