It’s Now Harder to Earn & Keep Aegean Gold Status for Free Lounge Access
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You used to be able to fast track to Star Alliance Silver and Gold status by crediting miles to Aegean Airlines, but no longer.
That’s because on November 24, 2014, Aegean Airlines made changes to their frequent flyer program, which I’ll explain below.
Star Alliance Elite Status
Link: Star Alliance Silver and Gold Elite Status Benefits
Link: Star Alliance Member Airlines
If you have Star Alliance elite status, you can use your elite status perks (priority check-in, extra baggage allowance, and free lounge access for Gold elite members) when you fly on ANY Star Alliance airline, such as United Airlines and Lufthansa.
And sometimes you could use your Aegean elite status to skip airport security lines.
But the best part of Aegean Star Alliance Gold elite status is that you get free access to the United Airlines lounges on domestic flights!
Access to the United Club is only granted to paid United Club members or Star Alliance Gold members (not including United Airlines Gold, Platinum or 1K members), unless you’re flying internationally. So this is a great benefit of Aegean Gold elite status!
But Aegean elite status is now harder to get.
Changes to Aegean Airlines Frequent Flyer Program
Link: Aegean Airlines Miles & Bonus frequent flyer program
Link: Aegean Airlines Miles & bonus sign-up page
You used to be able to get Aegean Silver and Gold elite status without flying on Aegean Airlines, by crediting your Star Alliance flights to Aegean Airlines. But now you have to fly more!
Aegean Silver Elite Status
Previously, you got Aegean Silver status after 4,000 miles. This meant a round-trip United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New York got you Aegean Silver status in many cases.
From November 24, 2014, to get Aegean Silver status, you have to fly 12,000 miles within 12 months and 2 of those flights have to be on Aegean or Olympic Air. Or you have to fly 24,000 miles (on any Star Alliance airline).
And if you already have Aegean Silver status, to keep it you’ll have to fly 8,000 miles within 12 months and 2 of those flights have to be on Aegean or Olympic Air. Or you’ll have to fly 16,000 miles (on any Star Alliance airline).
For some folks keeping Aegean Silver elite status wouldn’t be worth it because you have to fly much more than you used to. And you’re crediting more miles to Aegean instead of United Airlines just to get a free checked bag.
Aegean Gold Elite Status
The changes to Aegean Gold elite status aren’t as dramatic as the Aegean Silver elite status changes.
Aegean Gold status was earned after 20,000 miles. So you could fly 5X from Los Angeles to New York on United Airlines and get Aegean Gold status.
But beginning November 24, 2014, you have to fly 24,000 miles within 12 months (4 flights have to be on Aegean or Olympic Air) or 48,000 miles (on any Star Alliance airline) to earn Aegean Gold status.
For folks who already have Aegean Gold status, to keep it you’ll have to fly 12,000 miles within 12 months (4 flights have to be on Aegean or Olympic Air) or fly 24,000 miles (on any Star Alliance airline).
If you don’t do a lot of international travel, it might be cheaper to get the United Club card which gives you lounge access to United Clubs.
Bottom Line
You have to fly more to earn (and keep) Aegean Silver and Gold elite status starting November 24, 2014.
The best perk of Aegean Gold elite status is access to the United Club on domestic flights and Star Alliance Gold lounges internationally.
But you now have to fly 8,000 miles within 12 months (2 on Aegean or Olympic Air) or 16,000 miles (on any Star Alliance airline) to keep Aegean Silver elite status. This is a 4X increase of the miles previously required to retain your Aegean Silver elite status.
To keep Aegean Gold elite status, you have to fly 12,000 miles within 12 months (4 on Aegean or Olympic Air) or 24,000 miles (on any Star Alliance airline).
Now that it’s harder to maintain Aegean Silver or Gold elite status, do you think it’s worth keeping?
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