Gold with Star Alliance For £1k? A HOW TO Guide

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks so much to Torsten for pointing out that the reduction in the renewal thresholds was extended until May 31 2023 after I wrote that part of the script! Annoyed I missed it, but pleased that the opportunity to obtain status at a reduced cost remains in place. And he also pointed out that Aegean often has double point offers which make qualification and renewal even easier!!!

[@vlak6150]

Hi Matt, been watching your videos for a while and really like the way you format them. They all contain great info, are very well structured and easy to understand. Keep up the great work!

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks very much. Haven't done many videos like this one recently so it was fun to make!

[@divyamoditongya]

Currently (Oct 2024), is Air India’s or Aegean’s mileage program better if I would never fly Aegean?

[@MattsPlanet]

If you'd never fly Aegean (and a lot of people can't) then whoever your local option is could well be the best option as they'll be easier for you to travel on

[@nomdutilisateur]

I've been Miles & Bonus Gold for many years now. They are such a nice airline to travel with, and being located in Europe, it is so easy for me to renew Gold. They even protected my Gold status during Covid. Actually, I lost it during 2 month, they downgraded me to Silver, but then instead of asking me the full 24000 miles over 12 month renewal, they challenged me to get just a few 1000s miles and Aegean flights in the next couple of month to get Gold back. Which I did. So I got Gold back in 2 month with very little travel. I had spend 8 years with Air France, barely qualifying for Silver, being poorly treated. Should Air France offer status match I would just ignore it and keep flying with Aegean!

[@MattsPlanet]

I'm enjoying my relationship with Aegean! Thanks for the comment.

[@dospalmascb]

My biggest problem is getting the boss to venture into an airport on a regular basis. However getting gold status and being able to use it on El Al would be incredible.

[@MattsPlanet]

Some of my viewers have persuaded their bosses to let them trip around to get status for joint benefit - very few have convinced their bosses to go with them!

[@SotiriosAligiannis]

Hi Matt, excellent and very informative content and presentation. Jut one crucial piece of information I discovered lately regarding the reduced thresholds for (re)qualification, is that they are extended beyond May 31st 2022. I know this because I was looking at some trips with my daughter, she's still basic (Blue) member and I realized she can make it to Silver fairly easily. The amount of status miles required is 8000 to Silver (+2 flights on Aegean metal) and I called the company to ask and they confirmed the reduction is extended, I think till November but I'm not sure. Same goes for Gold, and I do see an opportunity here for the young lady to reach top tier and then easily renew as I do for many years now. Keep up the good work!

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks! It was very annoying - there were a few days between when I completed the script and recorded the video, and in those few days Aegean announced an extension to the reduced thresholds Grrrrr! Happy that they did so, but annoyed that the video ended up being inaccurate! Thanks for watching!

[@richard_london]

Another great video! I just started the process to renew my Aegean Gold -the cheapest option for the 4 segments at the time was LHR-ATH-IST-ATH-LHR. These flights alone generated over 5k miles, for a little over £300. Another benefit once you get to Gold is the 4 free upgrade coupons. I waitlisted all 4 segments and they were all granted at the gate - so it was a very comfortable way to achieve most of my renewal to 2024! As others have highlighted there’s also a brand new Aegean lounge in Athens that is highly recommended too!

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Richard. I gather there are occasional double point promotions too, so if you can get that kind of trip when that offer is on, you'll be virtually there with one trip... Is the new lounge Schengen only? I've been to the non-Schengen one and its not brilliant!

[@richard_london]

@@MattsPlanet it replaces the old non-Schengen lounge which has now closed. Brand new, large and impressive facility.

[@MattsPlanet]

@@richard_london Aha. The old one was a bit tired. And small....

[@reklov827]

Beeing since 10 years Miles & Bones member and almost the same amount of time in their Gold tier: it really pays off. Yet alone the long rows at security currently in many airports if you do not have fast track (which fortunately have with the Gold card). It is a great scheme, though when I started renewal of gold was even just one flight with any(!) star alliance airline a year. I hope they keep the 12k / 4 flights rule for renewal, as without flying Agean they raised the amount of miles needed to 70k.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks - I had spotted the 70k change, which they sneaked out very quietly... Will feature in an upcoming video!

[@joshauteuil4207]

Nice video Matt. You deserve another award bonus from Aegean for all the new signups you've sent their way!

[@MattsPlanet]

That would be nice! Not holding my breath though!!!! Thanks Josh

[@russellmania9157]

The MAIN perk I like with my Eva Air Gold status is..They offer free exit row seats in economy which saves hundreds of bucks traveling overseas as I do!!

[@MattsPlanet]

Those seats can be better than business class on BA short haul flights!

[@chilglish]

Personally, I find this type of video fascinating, so thank you! Also, well done on the Gold status and the 2.8k subscribers! Wish I still lived in Europe so I could take advantage of your miles/points/status wisdom...

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks again. An old school video for the old school subscribers like you!!! Glad you enjoyed it! South America isn't a fertile ground for loyalty schemes. I am working on a trip down your way though... Perhaps not Chile this time but close...

[@chilglish]

@@MattsPlanet Will it be Oneworld or Star Alliance? I'm heading back to blighty next week, for a quick visit to family and friends, on an AV geek's/reviewer's "dream" route SCL-EZE-AMS-LHR in KLM's 787-9 business class product. I should (fingers crossed!) get to sample the brand new SkyTeam lounge in Santiago, the flagship Aerolíneas Argentinas lounge in Buenos Aires and the KLM Crown lounge in Amsterdam, and that's just on the outbound! I must say I'm feeling rather excited at the prospect!

[@thomasmaresh5264]

6'45" Interesting airlines, places, video. I like this. This is how I feel. I have SkyTeam Gold (Delta) and Star Alliance Gold (TAP) and OneWorld Ruby (RAM). I did have OW Sapphire for a short while (Alaskan) which was superbly useful for preferred economy seating and lounge access with Qatar. I just like too many airlines and places for different things. While Qatar is wonderful, the seats are a little smaller than EK, and Qatar did away with the A380, so I don't know if I want to stay with OW and QR. I tam anxious to use my SA Gold on SX A3280 JFK-FRA. Also, I can use my SA Gold for lounges in the US on United (which I haven't done yet but am anxious to do.) I love my SkyTeam Gold but I understand now that I did it backwards, because it doesn't give me US lounge access. So, my future plan is to use my SA Gold on the SX A380 flight JFK-FRA to see how interesting that is. if it's really interesting, then I'll keep SA Gold; otherwise, not.

[@MattsPlanet]

Cheers Thomas. Maintaining one gold is tough - maintaining 2 or 3 is really tough unless you're travelling every week! Living in the UK, OneWorld is the most logical to maintain (for BA, American heading West and Qatar heading East), with Star Alliance second and SkyTeam a distant third...

[@bowman7296]

Very good video Matt, well done in getting to gold status considering all the hassle of flying and paper work for entry to different countries, hopefully this might be getting easier now but what about all the troubles the poor people had getting away at Easter the airport and carrier's will have to up there game for the summer break.

[@MattsPlanet]

Cheers Peter. Things are easing generally but Easter travel was best avoided. Fortunately I can travel outside of school holidays and away from weekends so things haven't been bad at all for me, but there certainly are speedbumps for airlines and airports ramping back up... Allow enough time and be patient is the advice!

[@TheTeslaTess]

What an awesome video. Registered with Aegean today and played around searching for flights and spend time in milage calulators... But, how the heck did you find flights that give you 7500 miles for 300 pounds / 17000 for 680 pounds? I found FRA-EWR-SEA-SFO-FRA operated by LH and UA. Costs 470€ without handbaggage I think booking class K. I measured the distance on Google earth that is 10000NM... I think that gets me 5000 miles right? for 470€... I can't seem to beat the barrier of 100€ for 1000 miles by much. These are by far the best deals I could find with my skills. Also looked into business class briefly with Aegean but also only 3000 miles for 280€... same ballpark

[@MattsPlanet]

I was checking that table showing the booking classes and miles earned (which is on the website for download - www.mattschannels.com/travel-links and a 50% return on miles flown is quite poor. My first stop is always TAP which is 200% in business. There's been a few transatlantics (MAD or BCN to JFK I think) which come in at around €1,300 which at 200% of miles flown is quite lucrative. Start with the airlines that give the best points return on miles flown is my advice and that's rarely UA. Watch out for Lufty P class fares too - look great but earn 0.

[@TheTeslaTess]

@@MattsPlanet yeah I learnt that... I am an Ethiopian fan now hahaha... Lufthansa really is evil! They seem to only offer booking classes without milage earnigns hahah. Jep the Tap portugal thing I checked out. I wasn't sure at first if Business also gives 200% or only their Executive business. So what I hecked out with them as a possible tier run was HAM-LIS-BOS 1500€ (return) and stacked into that with COPA (I think their economy classic which is still not expensive gives 100%) BOS-PTY-GUA 460$ or something as return... and then the best fligth of the trip form a miles/$ perspective: GUA-PTY-LAX return 460$ or something. But at this point in my live I can't really afford busines travel. Since I would travel ECO all the time anyway I wondered if I should even get a Status or rather a priority pass with Amex Platinum

[@kevindonnelly6007]

WOW! This just became my favorite Matt's Planet video!!!!! THANK YOU! I misremembered seeing it before, confusing it with one of your wonderfully almost-as-detailed OneWorld status videos. I am an "optimizer" by nature and *love* spreadsheets for organization, so this video had absolutely all the value I could ask for. One particular point A3 stuttered on in a Twitter reply when I asked about simply leaping to four flights for gold and skipping silver has now been answered. From a business perspective, I expected it to be six total and as a US resident will camp on silver for now, riding A3 metal @ LHR-ATH-MAD in upcoming June flights. [no need to reply to my gushing at an older video; so much interaction must be exhausting]

[@MattsPlanet]

No worries Kevin - thanks for watching! Even I forget some of the details I've put into older videos... And everybody loves a spreadsheet!

[@xandrios]

The best way to achieve status is by scheduling flights that you'd have to take anyway, to include *A partners or A3 themselves. Only the price difference between the option you'd otherwise have chosen, and the price paid in the end, are your costs. If you fly within Europe regularly there should be no issue with using *A and A3 a few times a year, allowing to re-qualify for virtually free. Assuming of course you do fly regularly... otherwise investing in status is not useful anyway. Oh ...those A3 segments for your Gold qualification, I hope you used the two free Silver upgrade vouchers to upgrade to business rather than using the paid challenge? Both upgrade options come from the same pool of (I-class) fares.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Xandrios. I used an upgrade voucher on the original itinerary I'd booked for January and didn't get it back when I moved the flight... Which I was annoyed about but didn't refer to in the video. I used the other one on the trip to Larnaca. It is a good benefit although it is annoying that it is lost if you need to reschedule.

[@xandrios]

@@MattsPlanet Thats a pity indeed. You do not actually lose it when you reschedule, however you do lose it if you reschedule to a flight without I-class availability. If the new flight has availability for upgrades, you won't lose your voucher and they will rebook you into business class for free (Well, for the 20 euro CS fee).

[@fataltiger]

Hi Matt, thank you for the video. Wich loyalty programm would you chose for oneworld? What would is the équivalent of Aegean?

[@MattsPlanet]

It's a really tough question to answer as there's a wider range of schemes in OneWorld than in Star Alliance - its quite hard to line them up in the same way as I did here.... If you're UK based I'd say BA as the credit card side makes them quite compelling....

[@rossvlogs3617]

Just found out I can get gold status on star alliance by matching my BA silver with TAP miles & go. Winner. Does cost 99 euros but that’s not so bad.

[@MattsPlanet]

I made videos about which star alliance scheme to get and talked about this - TAP is quite hard to renew (compared to Aegean) so its easy to get status but tricky to retain it... I chose Aegean even though I needed to qualify up front as its the better option for the medium term.

[@thomasmaresh5264]

A different question. Using one airline status to earn miles/points and a different airline status to get into the lounge. I did this on Qatar Airways, I entered QR privilege points on my reservation, and then showed my Alaskan MVP Gold status at the lounge, and it took ten minutes and a long discussion with a mysterious manager on the phone to get in. But then it was okay, and I got into the next three lounges on my trip no problem. So I think that I overwhelmed the computer system of Qatar Airways when I did this. And Qatar Airways is a reputable business on top of its game. So I don't know if I want to do this again.

[@MattsPlanet]

That's an interesting one... I think it is pretty tough to swap, although I've heard stories of people changing loyalty numbers online once they've got into the lounge, although you would have needed to check-in to get that far and I'm not sure how many airlines let you change things after checking in... It's probably easier if you have a physical card to flash...

[@bulletcruise]

I still prefer Turkish. Firstly they give status for 2 yrs and you can requalify by earning 45000 across two years and no need to fly Turkish. If you do fly Turkish, then you do get one of the best lounges in Istanbul during your flights. Their redemption is pretty decent now too. With Aegean, unless you're sure you'll visit Greece every year, it's a wasted trip just to qualify. In Turkish, do a nice business class trip every two years and you'll be good.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks - Turkish is easier to qualify for too if they are still offering their matches.... I think one point with Aegean is that its only 24,000 miles without any Aegean flights. That's 48,000 miles over 2 years if you don't fly Aegean, which isn't that different from Turkish.... But the Istanbul lounge is spectacular - no argument there!

[@bulletcruise]

@@MattsPlanet apologies it's 37500 miles to requalify for non Turkish residents across 2 yrs and you get status for 2 yrs too

[@MattNav]

Very informative as always Matt! Well done! Personally, Star Alliance Gold still ranks a step below Oneworld Sapphire / Emerald in my books cos it's not always guaranteed to grant things like free seat selection alliance wide... Btw just curious if you're still planning on making that video on earning BA Gold without flying BA?

[@MattsPlanet]

G'day Matthew. I'm looking forward to using Gold to see whether the benefits are worthwhile... I'm assured there's a seat blocking function which keeps seats free next to Gold card holders as long as possible, which is a nice benefit to have that OneWorld gives... Re the renewal without BA - its on the radar but pricing has gone barmy... I think jet fuel costs and the unexpectedly quick recovery of international travel means airlines are nervous so aren't offering great pricing... Watching things closely!

[@divyamoditongya]

I usually fly business and first so I wanted to ask if it’s worth getting gold and renewing every year?

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks for the question. Gold is less worth it if you usually fly in premium. You earn bonus avios on BA and AA so if you fly a lot it can be rewarding... Plus you can access extra availability when you redeem points. But if you fly in premium all the time you probably should be earning status anyway....

[@AcidJiles]

Good video Matt, although I think really liking Greece/Greek Islands is also a requirement for going with Aegean as you will be travelling there at a minimum once every year to renew.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks - its helpful to like Greece, but remember its only 24k miles without any Aegean flights which is still very competitive, even with Turkish..

[@xandrios]

Why is that? Any flight to eastern Europe or the middle-east can be routed through Athens. One round trip will get you the 4 segments needed to requalify. If you plan carefully you'd be able to upgrade those 4 flight legs using the Gold coupons for free too!

[@philippillis9393]

I just signed up. I'm definitely reaching Silver easily before May 2023, after that I hope I can activate a Together account and use my partner's miles to reach gold. I'm still not sure how the mileage pooling works but Gold status seems within reach.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Philip. I'm solo these days so haven't really looked at the Together account... But even without it I'm having little trouble renewing my gold.

[@j2simpso]

Thanks again for the video, Matt! Interesting to see the ways in which one can "game" the system to attain and retain status with Aegean. As someone who will soon be booted out of United as a Premier Gold (got extended twice due to you know what and being in Australia) at the end of January, I'm starting to think about where I can earn status with Star Alliance and am in a bit of a pickle. United's earning requirements now are a bit silly for Gold (8,000 PQP to earn Gold which means either forking out $8000 USD on UA fares or finding airlines with the right routings to generate those PQPs, neither of which will let me hit United Gold for $2,000 as in prior years).However, I have over 100,000 lifetime miles flown with United putting me 10% of the way to lifetime Gold (reached after flying a million revenue miles on United). Although Aegean seems like a good program, my concerns with it would be whether I could fly with Aegean in a year given where I'm located, and also whether I can fly their preferred partners that earn status at a good rate (i.e. United's dirt cheap K fares only earn 50% accrual meaning my rules out my normal trick of flying LHR > SYD via LAX for $1,000 on UA return to accrue 25,000 points out of the question). In the end, although I hate doing it, I may just let this status lapse and get off the United status treadmill. Then use a status match late next year to match back with Delta or Qantas status to regain United status for ~$2K. One thing absent from this video, and perhaps something that would be helpful in future videos, would be a discussion on why bothering with status. I know some people on the status treadmill who do so only because they want to say they have United Premier Gold. For me it's always a calculation of the cost and benefits of attaining status. For instance, with United I could always count on gaining $2,000 worth of benefits flying United as a Premier Gold. It meant saving an absolute fortune on baggage fees, which when moving between North America, Europe and Australia can *really* add up. Then there was seat selection, which, if you're on a 10 or 17 hour flight on United as was common pre-COVID would easily be hundreds per flight. Lounge access was a nice feature, that I would value at a couple hundred per year. Then there was priority everything plus IRROPs protection which I would value a couple hundred there too. So as you can see, I got a decent amount of value out of the Premier program.

[@MattsPlanet]

Cheers. There are many excellent upsides to living in Australia - ready access to airline loyalty schemes is not one of them.... I was with Air NZ for many years but flew regularly to the US so status was never really a challenge... The American airlines are probably setting the pattern for how all schemes will go in the medium term - great if you travel a lot and someone else is paying the bill!!! 1m miles for lifetime Gold is a lot.... I think Asiana was a decent Asian option but they may well end up in Skyteam so it may be a wasted investment... I've talked a little bit about the business case for status - not done a dedicated video about it though... But you're bang on the money about there being real savings from status if you travel a lot. Cheers!

[@Homo_Vagus]

Hi Matt! Nice video!! Aegean still offers physical card on request if you're interested in such things 😉

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks! Could have done with a physical card when filming, but I even impressed myself with my editing skills...

[@douglasharre7156]

@@MattsPlanet As does Air NZ...my renewal card arrived in the mail recently..:-). Given NZ's location the bulk of flights are long-haul, so it's relatively easy to clock up the miles.....(although AirNZ's Airpoints programme is not as generous as in past years). Most of my flying for work and holidays over the past 15 years has been in Asia, so having Thai, SIA, Asiana etc in there has been great. Air NZ to SIngapore and then the world's your lobster. Most of the SA airlines fly out of there, including Air Canada, United, Lufthansa, Air Canada etc....oh..and Aegean....::-) As you have noted, it's a pity that Air NZ has dropped flights to LHR, and people here now need to take United (if they want to go via LAX), or more likely, will take SIA/Lufthansa/Thai etc to LHR etc via Asia (which also means not having to deal with Homeland Security in the USA). AirNZ has been rolling over Gold memberships since Covid hit, as (presumably) they don't want people flying long haul business to move to SIA or Qantas etc.

[@blachb]

We want to know what happened in Ayia Napa!

[@MattsPlanet]

Very little! The place was dead... I made a video but it didn't really work so I pulled it... Not a place to go to out of season!

[@stevecraven3502]

Matt. Its now March 2023, did you keep your Gold Star Alliance status? 7-0 😁Still pinching myself. Steve. C. YNWA.

[@MattsPlanet]

I did retain it with the trip to Rhodes. It wasn't hard!!! Gold through April 2024 now... I had to go to dinner at 4-0 and couldn't believe they got 3 more!

[@GLAFly]

Great video Matt (and I don't think you can be accused of "click-bait" for your "rounding" of the £1k to get to gold - at least you've not gone down the "Worst airline ever" route!). It's great that there are a number of options for getting to Gold with Star Alliance, but oh, how I wish there were more choices for us poor regional sods. Used to have *A Gold back in the heady days of BMI, but currently GLA seems to only be served by Lufthansa (not sure if . Edinburgh seems much better served, with flights on Aegean, United, Air Canada, SAS, Brussels Airlines, Turkish and Lufthansa, so at least that's an option (albeit a bit of a drive in both directions). Suggestion for a future video maybe? Which alliance best serves the UK regional airports?

[@MattsPlanet]

Cheers Craig. As a Glaswegian I guess there's an inherent resistance to flying out of EDI? Regional airline guide is a really good idea actually - I feel a spreadsheet coming on....

[@GLAFly]

@@MattsPlanet I'm just lazy and don't like to drive to Edinburgh if I don't need to :-). That, and the 8 minute door to door from Glasgow airport is a big draw! That said, regional spreadsheet sounds like just the job.

[@GLAFly]

As Johnny 5 would say "need more input"!

[@TheTeslaTess]

How did you create your map of all the flight routes you have taken?

[@MattsPlanet]

Great question. I dumped a record of my flights from openflights.org (where I track my travel) and was able to upload that file into google maps. I honestly can't now remember how I did it and doubt I'll ever be able to do it again - it was like a jedi 5 minutes where I was controlling the internet with my mind.... I then had to manually spin the globe on the screen and edit it into a smooth rotation. That bit took a while.....

[@jeffflad]

Interested in your comment of the bidding to upgrade being a ‘rabbit hole’ what do you mean? Not a good decision or the lack of tier points as based on original purchase? Or a few hoops to jump through? Just interested as seems nice bonus to get a business seat at a very reduced rate, or certainly seems it does…. I certainly like an or….. or do I?😄

[@MattsPlanet]

Ahhhhh.... The Psychology of Temptation. A Doctoral Thesis by Matt Jones, 2022... But seriously - the airlines are no fools. They structure the offer of an upgrade very carefully to be as tempting as possible whilst still making sense for them. They try to get you to pay what you would have had you booked the higher class in the first place, whilst making you feel like you have a bargain! There are genuinely good offers to be had which are worth taking, but often your taking an emotional decision rather than an economic one. On this occasion, it was my first trip with Steve for several years so we wanted to get off to a great start so were more inclined to spend the money than perhaps we'd have been on another occasion. But the airlines have much better information than you do! Hence the rabbit hole!

[@jeffflad]

@@MattsPlanet Ahhhh… I was under the impression it was a more than decent saving. Thanks for clarifying!

[@xandrios]

@@MattsPlanet You were not able to use your two Silver coupons on the Gold qualification trip? Both the upgrade challenge and Upgrade coupons use the same availability pool. Typically any business class seat unsold 2 days before departure will become available for upgrading that way.

[@NickNoordijk]

Hi Matt, super helpful video! I'm almost at 9k tier miles and have 10 months left and now wondering what happens after Silver? 🤔 Wil it reset to zero, and do I need to get 24000 tier miles with 4 Aegean/Olympic Flights OR do I need 15000 tier miles and 2 Aegean/Olympic Flights? Thank you!

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Nick - you should get a year from achieving silver to get gold which is 18k + 4 flights on Aegean - the qualification discount is still in force I believe. If you don't get to gold you'll drop back from silver at the end of the year.

[@TheTeslaTess]

So with an Aegean Gold Status I can get into all the Business lounges of any Star Alliance Airline?

[@MattsPlanet]

Pretty much - I've not found a lounge I've not been allowed in. Some airlines have different rules for domestic travellers with other airlines' status but you should always be OK on an international flight. It's a nice asset to have!!!

[@ImmaculateRecovery]

holy **** I have been crediting to miles&more like a complete muppet, didn't even reach the lowest tier, but would have smashed past gold with Aegean though, thanks for the tip!

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks for the comment... I would caution that the schemes earn at different rates so its not always quite so simple - if you fly in business in Lufthansa on P class fares you'll earn nothing if you shift those flights to Aegean - but generally speaking, Aegean is decent for earning and redeeming. If you have a particular travel pattern, a few minutes on wheretocredit.com will be illuminating!!! You do need to know the specific booking code you fly on, but that's not too hard to find....

[@bluekenbi]

it seems that I need to earn 9000 miles from only Aegean airline/Olympic airline to get Silver tier. 1500miles with 2 flights of aegean airlines + 7,500miles with other star alliance filghts, I thought it works for getting Silver tier.. I was trapped..

[@MattsPlanet]

I think its 4 flights within the 9,000 miles? So even if you shuttled between Athens and Chania for €30 each way then got the rest on another airline you'd be good? And i think the 9,000 includes a temporary discount from the usual 12,000?

[@gunvaldsandhaland7757]

great info,like your video

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Gunvald.

[@ultraamol]

Hi, I am looking for star alliance gold status match. Currently I have Vistara Gold Status. How can I match it? I can book revenue ticket as well and I can pay some status match fees as well. Waiting for you response. Thanks

[@MattsPlanet]

I think I answered your question in my last reply?

[@ultraamol]

@@MattsPlanet thank you. So I can first match my vistara gold to emirates gold. And from Emirates gold to Turkish elite. And yes I have to book revenue ticket for same. Is this correct?

[@torstenhaase6244]

Hello Matt, forgive me if I don't express everything grammatically correctly, as I'm from Germany. I appreciate your well researched videos, unfortunately they are getting too "youtube-heavy" for my taste lately. This year I became an Emerald in Oneworld in the Finnair programme, only with a hand full of economy class flights. I actually wanted OW status in BA, which is why I came across your site. Also have I been with Aegean Gold for about 4 years and also earned the status in economy class only. So I know a thing or two about Aegean and want to comment on a couple of things. Firstly, your video is not up to date as Aegean has extended until 31/05/2023 that the miles required to maintain status and upgrade for all Miles+Bonus members will remain reduced by 25%. So there is no need to rush to the end of May this year. Furthermore, in my opinion, you give too little credit to the Aegean flights themselves in your video on tier points runs. Escecially when it comes to retain status. For example, all Aegean Business Class flights earn 250% status miles and Gold earns 300% award miles. More than any other alliance partner like TAP, SAA etc. in biz. Aegean often has sales promotions to buy flights cheaply. The only small drawback is that there are no long-haul flights, but that's also why Aegean has such a low threshold for achieving status. For example, I myself could fly 2 times from HAM-ATH in business class (3180 status miles and over 3800 award miles cost (150-180€ ~£125-£150) each way) to maintain status. Another example. I just extended my status this year until end of March 2024 with Aegean flights only (BER-ATH-HER-SKG in eco and SKG-FRA in biz (double points promotion). If I calculate like you, the net cost for this year's extension would be 198€ (~£165). Just my two cents Have a nice day ps. if you don´t know already Aegean has recently opened a new Lounge in Athens in the Extra-Schengen Area

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks so much Torsten - thanks for taking the time to comment. I'm annoyed I missed the extension of the renewal! That bit of the script was written a while back and although I did re-google it before filming I must have missed the announcement of the extension - looks like it was announced on 31st March.... Grrrrr.... And that's a top renewal hack! Hopefully the essence of the video is still helpful to many! Would love to hear more about the "youtube-heavy" comment you made - I am trying to grow the channel but I'd like to not lose whatever made people watch in the early days... If you could elaborate it would be really helpful! Thanks again for taking the time to comment!

[@peetbothma6982]

Or South Africa😂😂. SAA has now reduced their qualification criteria due to you know what👍. Another great video Matt, keep it up mate🇿🇦👌

[@MattsPlanet]

Really hope SAA makes it back to their former strengths soon. Lots of South Africans in Tanzania actually - as a European you kind of forget that its the same continent!

[@aCycloneSteve]

I'm on Skyteam (Platinum now) and I'm a few years from Lifetime Silver status. Has anyone heard of a matching of lifetime status across programs? I'm retiring soon to a small town that only has United & I don't want to drive an extra hour & a half each way every time I fly.

[@MattsPlanet]

Cheers Steve. Not heard of that but thinking about it it probably makes sense that I've not heard of it as it wouldn't make economic sense for the airline. They give status as a reward for spending with them then give value back over a lifetime if they've earned enough from you to make that work financially. If someone matched a lifetime gold they'd have all of the outgoings without having had any of the incomes. So Im not surprised they don't exist, unfortunately...

[@aCycloneSteve]

@@MattsPlanet Well, I guess I'll be driving a lot! 😞

[@BonkersAboutAlice]

I'm currently Oneworld Sapphire. Do you know a way to status match across to Star Alliance?

[@MattsPlanet]

I'd have a look at TAP and Turkish which are the 2 which have most aggressively sought business lately. But things are odd in the airline business right now with uncertainty over Ukraine impacting fuel cost and other factors... I find that Head for Points is a good site to monitor every day as they'll report match offers that pop up.

[@GG-hi5if]

So, do I need 36,000 miles and 4 aegean flights or 24,000 for gold?

[@MattsPlanet]

So you need 12,000 miles and 2 flights to get to silver. Then, you need another 24,000 and 4 Aegean flights to get up to gold. So 36k and 6 flights from joining

[@GG-hi5if]

@@MattsPlanet Then 12,000 star miles + 4 A3 flights or 70K star miles to retain? What would be a rough guestimation for the cost 26k miles and 6 aegean flights? I just got 11.5k star miles from a recent flight I took which puts me in touching distance of silver and/or gold if I go out of my way to fly on a3.

[@MattsPlanet]

@@GG-hi5if I've done some sums here and when Aegean has a sale on you can get flights with them for

[@GG-hi5if]

@@MattsPlanet okay, my employer might be getting me 15-20k + star miles this year. Therefore, does it matter when I get the aegean wualifying If I get 11k star on one star airline (non aegean) Then 10k (non argean) Then 2 Aegean flights Should I then be silver (12k and 2 a3 flights), and 15k and 4 flights off gold aegean?

[@MattsPlanet]

@@GG-hi5if You'll go to silver on the latest of the 12,000 points or 2 flights... If the 2nd flight comes last, the surplus points will carry over and count towards the 24k you need for gold

[@jj-bu6yb]

I am genuinely confused, how do I get started? Not great in math 😅

[@MattsPlanet]

Rewatch the video??? Its basically the cost of a ticket divided by the number of points you'll get....

[@jj-bu6yb]

@@MattsPlanet great job Matt! I did not mean disrespect, simply I am new to all this

[@ViNguyen-ck4uy]

This made my day lol

[@MattsPlanet]

Must have been a very dull day up until when you watched the video!

[@TechRep0]

One thing to think about. If you plan to retain gold status for multiple years, SAS eurobonus might be a good choice. There you get lifetime gold after 10 years.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks! A detail I hadn't noticed and one worth remembering.... Its just so much harder to get the 50k (?) points needed to qualify and renew...

[@Alisongabrielle]

Another way to get star alliance gold for a year is to make friends with someone who is a Turkish Airlines "Elite plus" (platinum status). For 40K miles they can bestow gold status on up to 3 friends (40K miles each friend). If anyone wants to be my friend I have 40K miles that will expire if I haven't spent them before the end of December. They say you can't buy friendship, but I say you can...make me an offer 😂

[@MattsPlanet]

That is a very good point! I hope someone takes you up... I can't, but you do have a new subscriber! I wish I could play one instrument, let alone several...

[@adamellistutorials]

Hey mate. Emailed you. Bu… Agean vs Asiana for FF club for a DJ looking to get gold status (loung access and all the benefits) What’s the best?

[@MattsPlanet]

Hi Adam. Out of the two, Aegean. Simply because Asiana is defecting to Skyteam in the next few years after its purchase by Korean Air. So you could do all the work to get OneWorld status only to find it converted to SkyTeam... This video produced a lot of love for Turkish airlines, which may be worth a look depending on your circumstances.

[@junzhecao798]

Where can i status match?

[@MattsPlanet]

Airlines are being quite cautious at the moment so there aren't that many opportunities. I'd take a look at TAP and Turkish for Star Alliance, ITA for Skyteam and I don't know of any OneWorld matches out there currently off the top of my head. I keep an eye on loyalty blogs like Head For Points as they tend to report new matches and although the data can be out of date, statusmatcher.com is a site dedicated to the subject.

[@junzhecao798]

@@MattsPlanet I did ita for skyteam, Royal Air moroc went on for just a bit, but i got gold as well. I will look into TAP and Turkish airlines.

[@junzhecao798]

@@MattsPlanet Now royal air moroc only has silver since too many people signed up for the gold.