ShyTraveler

Dear FT members, would you guys give some advice?

I need about 13810 points to reach Gold level on Eurobonus and qualification period is until April 2020.

I’ll be flying next month and really want to try Etihad business class.
Luckily there’s a good fare between Oslo to Hong Kong/Jakarta/Singapore via Abu Dhabi.
I think Eurobonus members can earn points on selected flights operated by Etihad to/from Europe, right?

If I take, let’s say return trip Oslo - Abu Dhabi, do you guys think it will be enough to earn 13810 in January 2020?

Many thanks

GUWonder

I managed to get mobile boarding passes for ORD-CPH again a few days ago by using the SAS app. And the SAS app boarding passes had TSA PreCheck for me as usual. But the only way I was able to get them was by using a manual, staffed SAS check-in and then going to the SAS app to get the mobile phone boarding passes. It’s pretty clear to me that it’s SAS that has inhibited the process from working smoothly for my US-ARN/CPH/OSL flights, and it’s not because of a US Government-imposed limitation. It’s all on SAS.

RedChili

No. Miles earned on Etihad are extra miles only, meaning that they don't count toward status. In order to become gold, you need to earn the miles by flying Star Alliance metal (or plastic, if it's the 787).

highupinthesky

According to this page https://www.flysas.com/gb-en/eurobon...tihad-airways/ you don't even earn extra points on the flights Oslo - Abu Dhabi.

RedChili

There are no flights OSL-AUH. If you buy such a ticket, you fly on a SAS codeshare to places like AMS, CDG, FRA or somewhere else in Europe, and from there with EY. So, you earn basic points for the first leg, and extra points for the second leg.

GUWonder

Do any Star Alliance-coded rail journeys credit to SAS EB in a way that counts toward status too? I have never credited say rail journeys to an SK account, but has anyone here had something like that work toward SK elite status?

highupinthesky

I have never seen any rail company mentioned on the EB earning page. It's only car rental and flygbussanar and similar in OSL and SE, but only if you book the trip the right way.

GUWonder

Those car rentals and flygbussen travels don’t count toward elite status even as they count toward spendable miles/points IIRC. And they are never coded with a flight number AFAIK.

I was thinking about UA and LH coded train trips.

RedChili

Officially, rail travel doesn't count. Having said that, I've seen a few reports from some lucky people in the A3 forum that actually received miles for rail tickets booked as LH.

GUWonder

And the same for the LH Express buses?

Maybe as part of SAS’s environmentally-friendly marketing hype, SAS should do the same for Star Alliance airline-coded rail travel as UA and LH do.

oliver2002

LH doesn't report the bus segments, but the rail segments are like regular flights, except that they are marked 'op by 2B'. AFKL also have substantial rail segments sold as airtickets. I know ARN & CPH have rail terminals attached, but do any meaningful long distance high speed rail stop at the SAS hubs?

highupinthesky

I guess the question is what booking class that rail leg has. If the leg has a *A flight number and booking class which grant miles, then I guess you should earn miles on rail travel. It's no different from a leg handled by a wetlease operator.

GUWonder

How have LH program members gotten mileage credit for those LH buses then? Manual request after being taken?

About the SAS hub rail question, the answer is basically no.

CPH has SJ trains, but those are the only trains that are even “high-speed” of a non-local commuter sort of train to serve CPH. The rest are commuter trains using mainly local commuter passes/tickets.

ARN has Arlanda Express, which is just an airport-serving train. Beside that, ARN has nothing more than trains that are sort of commuter trains that go to/via Uppsala or Stockholm C; and at ARN those require paying a rather expensive surcharge to use the ARN SJ/SL/UL trains there instead of avoiding use of the station. This may have been done to try to make Arlanda Express and the airport-serving bus companies happier, but as someone that prefers the train to the bus from ARN to Uppsala C, I wish the access fee weren’t there for ARN.

OSL’s trains? Didn’t seem any differently connected for air travel than CPH’s or ARN’s trains.

highupinthesky

There used to be SJ trains between Copenhagen central station and Stockholm central station, and they used to stop at CPH airport. But I don't know whether they still run. Also the Danish version of highspeed trains going to all the major cities of Denmark, used to start at the CPH airport, but I'm not sure this is still the case either.
All the trains in DK except the SJ trains and now also the Metro in Copenhagen, can be used with the same ticket.

CPH-Flyer

As far as I know, there are still trains from Copenhagen to Stockholm, stopping at CPH.

Calling anything DSB operated high-speed trains is quite an insult to high-speed rail.. However the Intercity trains still go to Copenhagen Airport.