I have written many times about the incredible value of Aegean Gold and how it grants you Star Alliance Gold as well. One of the easiest ways to earn Aegean Gold has been with US Airways (which may change after March 30th). United Airlines will work as well, but only the more expensive tickets. The cheapest tickets only earn 50% when credited towards Aegean. One way to use United cheaply, however, is to fly short segments. This is because there is a 500 mile minimum when crediting United flights to Aegean.
While it is possible to pick up Aegean Gold just flying around the US, there is no question that it is easier if you can swing the whole amount in one trip. To refresh, you get 1,000 miles for joining. After earning 3,000 more miles, you will have earned Aegean Blue (Star Alliance Silver) with 4,000 miles. After that, you have one calendar year to earn the remaining 16,000 miles to receive Aegean Gold (Star Alliance Gold). This makes for a total of 20,000 miles for Star Alliance Gold!
Earning chart for Aegean using Ethiopian flights
The problem with doing it all in one trip is that not all carriers credit at 100% to Aegean. Of all the Star Alliance carriers, only Copa, Croatia, Ethiopian, SAS, Singapore, Thai, and (for now) US Airways credit all eligible fare classes at 100%. Keep in mind – not all fare classes are eligible, so make sure you check the chart to know if your potential fare class is eligible. As you can see from the list, your best bet to earn Aegean Gold in one swing is to fly to Asia (with Singapore or Thai) or Africa (using Ethiopian).
I recently had to book some travel for 8 people to Africa and it turned out that the cheapest fare was going with Ethiopian Airlines. Thanks to the 100% credit to Aegean and the 1,000 miles for signing up, each of them will earn Aegean Gold after the trip has finished! Not bad at all!This is a trip they all needed to take and they get to pickup the very valuable Aegean Gold (Star Alliance Gold) in the process!
Do you have Aegean Gold yet? If so, how many trips did it take for you to pick it up?
Hi, this was a great opportunity (WAS) Aegean woke up and things now are not as they were in the past…maybe you can add an update that this is finished.
It was great while it lasted…
You are right! It is still pretty good for those that can do 4 segments on Aegean. I have written a lot about the changes but had not thought to change this one so I will do that (thanks for the reminder). It happens when there are 2,000 posts that I sometimes forget what I have updated! Thanks!