Today is the last day to buy Aegean miles with a 40% bonus. If you want to read about that and the details about the sale (as well as some sweet spots and other things), check out this post. But, here are 3 great ways to use Aegean miles, just in case you were wondering what you could do with those miles.
3 Great Ways to Use Aegean Miles for Premium Travel
1 – Fly Around Asia in Business Class for 21,000 Miles
This is a golden opportunity to use miles from a European airline to experience Asia in luxury! For just 21,000 Aegean miles, you can fly around what Aegean calls “Far East” in business class. Here are those countries included in that region:
- China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
That means airlines like Asiana, Singapore, EVA, Thai and others are available to you for just 21,000 miles one way! That “Far East” region is so big that you could get some flights that would last over 7 hours! That is a pretty good use of miles!
See this post for more information on this sweet spot.
2 – Fly from North America to Israel in Business Class for 45,000 Miles
Here is another great region definition – Aegean classifies North Africa and Europe as being only 45,000 miles in business class from North American (which happens to include Caribbean islands). The beauty of that is that it lumps Israel into North Africa.
This means you can fly non-stop on United to Tel Aviv from DC, Newark, or San Francisco (if you find award space!) for just 45,000 miles or much less than what United charges! You can also fly with a stopover in Europe on airlines like Turkish, SWISS, Lufthansa, and others. Just remember that flying from the US to Europe will incur higher fuel surcharges on airlines like Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian. Turkish charges about half or less and airlines like SAS, LOT, and United don’t charge any through Aegean.
See this post for more information on this sweet spot – just take note that the cost for buying miles in that post is for a deal that has ended.
3 – Fly Between Europe and North American in Business Class for 45,000 Miles or First Class for 60,000 Miles
While airline programs like LifeMiles and United do not charge fuel surcharges on Lufthansa First Class, they will also charge more miles. That means you consider which you have more of to play with – money or miles – and then decide which airline redemption program is for you!
I almost exclusively use my Aegean miles for business class flights between Europe and the US. For just 45,000 miles, I can fly some amazing carriers in comfort. Travel tip: if you depart from Europe to North America, your fuel surcharges will be half of what they would be with if you started in North America. Using that tip, I can book Lufthansa First Class from Europe and just pay 60,000 miles and about $280 in taxes and fees!
Turkish Airlines is a great airline to fly on, for their lounge and aircraft. With Aegean miles, it lets you book business class with them at great value!
Summary – the Other Shoe
If you are waiting for the other shoe to drop on some of these values, there are a couple of things to remember. First is that, as mentioned, Aegean passes on fuel surcharges for Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, and Turkish. The next thing is that Aegean only allows you to have a single connection. So, that means just two flights on a one-way award. That connection can be up to 24 hours, however.
Lastly, while the website will let you book awards online, you may need to call in on some that don’t show up (but that do show up on United). Along with that, you cannot actually search for an award if you don’t have the miles for it. That is why I always say to use United.com to search for award space first.
Aegean is a great program for many reasons (like this e-mail shows) – another great part about it is that you can cancel or change an award for just €20! Take that United!
