How to Build A Star Alliance Tier Point Run / Mileage Run

[@chilglish]

Maybe I'm a nerd/avgeek but I thoroughly enjoyed this video! It's fascinating to see just how complex putting together a "gold run" on Star Alliance and definitely provides food for thought. The amount of hard work and research you have put in show and the clear way in which you explained everything is much appreciated. I look forward to the next one!

[@MattsPlanet]

Cheers - you are #teamoldschool for sure! I hadn't done one like this for a while and I'd forgotten how much work they are!!!

[@TheTeslaTess]

Most value tutorial ever!!! other gurus take money for this...

[@MattsPlanet]

Indeed! I'm too nice...

[@GLAFly]

I know that's probably more of a "niche" video than some of your others, but that was really helpful and one that I'll be referring back to. Star Alliance is on next year's list and I'll look at the program which works best for me at that point, but thanks for putting so much work into these videos - they are genuinely helpful!

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks for that... An Old Skool video!! If Star Alliance is on the horizon I made 2 videos about which scheme to pick - they're referred to in this one but here's the first part... kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6itgIqcaqh6mqs. Nearly a year old now!!!

[@jimmyjames6492]

Thanks for the tips + info on how to set up & maximize a mileage run!!! Much appreciated!

[@MattsPlanet]

You're very welcome!

[@j2simpso]

Thanks for compiling the list of Star Alliance fares for the Aegean program, Matt. I've presently got United status through the end of January 2023 thanks in part to me living in Australia and United extending status once again for me. I'm not sure if I'm going to bother getting Star Alliance status anymore, even with Aegean's reduced earning rate. Yes Star Alliance has the best route network and often the cheapest fare, particularly for international itineraries, but I've already got Qantas Gold status. At the same time, I plan on achieving Delta Medallion Gold status at the end of July through a status match, having found a cheap KLM business class fare from Toronto to Glasgow which will net me close to 13,000 MQM for £1,100 return. So basically by July I'll have mid-tier status on all three alliances: SkyTeam, Star Alliance and OneWorld. Moving into 2023, my plan is to retain Qantas and Delta status through flying, and potentially status matching back to United Premier Gold in mid to late 2023. The real challenge (and fun I suppose) is working out what trips I need to take, and how I can get the best routings to maximize the alliance statuses I have. The one thing I have against Aegean is aside from baggage and lounge, there aren't many benefits I can use day to day. Whereas with Qantas, United and Delta there are airline specific benefits I plan on using every time I fly.

[@MattsPlanet]

G'day! Aegean is not a great option for a Canadian / Australian resident! Hopefully the methodology is transferable to other airlines though, although I think you're already a very sophisticated operator!

[@j2simpso]

@@MattsPlanet it is and this was what I was doing before United changed everything up with their new non-milage, PQP system. Air Canada also has a similar system (albeit a bit more restrictive) which makes things a bit more complicated than simply calculating milage flown and multiplying it by accrual rate for the fare class. For instance, with United PQP is calculated by dollars spent on United metal (which obviously isn't favourable for those of us seeking status on a discount). Alternatively, when flying on United partners like Lufthansa or Air Canada, it's distance flown multiplied by accrual rate by fare code, divided by a magic number depending on if they are a preferred partner. Finally, that value is capped to either 500 or 750 if it's Economy/Premium Economy or 1000 or 1500 if it's Business or First Class depending again on if they are a preferred partner. United claims this system makes it easier to figure out status but I fail to see how it's any easier than the previous method of simply counting how many miles you flew.

[@richardstreet7518]

You made it as painless as possible Matt, and I picked up some very useful information-cheers

[@MattsPlanet]

You're welcome!

[@thegolfsinger]

Great video Matt. Just moved so my Oneworld Gold through Qatar is no good as my new local airport has hardly any Oneworld flights. It’s Aegean for me! Top man

[@MattsPlanet]

Aegean for the win....

[@tillmanzschucke4673]

Great video Mat! Just discovered your channel a couple of days ago and am already a fan! 😄

[@MattsPlanet]

There's quite a back catalogue now - hopefully some fun to be had!

[@tillmanzschucke4673]

@@MattsPlanetDid you ever find some time to do a video about ExpertFlyer btw?

[@MattsPlanet]

@@tillmanzschucke4673 I made one some time back - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqjRl5Rppr6sd6c

[@kuzeyboy]

I live in Bulgaria so BA and oneworld isn't such a useful option for me but Aegean particularly, would work for me - thank you so. much! Prior to watching this I booked SOF-FRA-LIS-PDL with Lufthansa and TAP - now I know how to check it and I am expecting to find Ps with Lufthansa - I wondered why it was such a good price!

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Neil - "The Pesky P's" as I call them! Bulgaria isn't a terrible place to be based for BA as good fares on trips to the US often start from there... Most people looking for TP runs have to get to Sofia to start - you'd already be there!! Or in Bulgaria at least....

[@kuzeyboy]

@@MattsPlanet Hi Matt, sorry for the delay - the big problem with Sofia is the timing of the flight to LHR. It always means a hotel at Heathrow which massively adds to the costs!

[@abdullahshafique8473]

i came back to this video just to give a thumbs up... i want your channel to grow.... cheers Matt

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Abdullah!

[@saul9357]

Total AV geek overload Matt ! Well done 👍 I hope people appreciate the effort and knowledge that must go into these vids . I must ask …. Again… I know it’s not the easiest of Airlines to do tier point and miles runs on but you need to work your magic on Virgin Atlantic . Keep up the amazing content !

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Saul. Virgin is an interesting one - status is heavily weighted towards flying on Virgin itself. I matched across to their Gold tier before I flew with them recently and have been thinking about what I would need to do to retain that Gold status... I'll see if I can make a video out of that thought process!!!

[@marcushenricson5472]

Thanks Matt for a very enjoyable video! I decided to take the easier route and status match from AY Plat (OW Emerald) to TK Elite (*A Gold). One international flight on TK is required during the first four months, after which I should be *A Gold for a year.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Marcus - the match to Turkish was appealing, as was the one to TAP... But the renewal of both felt far more onerous than Aegean's will be - "just" 12k miles with 4 Aegean flights or 24k without... So that TAP trip to Cancun would just about renew me through Aegean... So although its a wee bit trickier to get there in the first place, its really simple to retain indefinitely... Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it!

[@jochenschulz6690]

Thanks a lot for your research! I'm actually using Aegean (living in Cyprus) and your Excel sheet is the perfect help for a quick overview. Highly appreciate your effort for creating and sharing! One thing that I'm struggling with: having 90000 miles now collected, I'd love to redeem them for a (one-way) first class flight with Singapore Airlines, e.g. FRA-SIN. But unfortunately I cannot find any first class flight on the Aegean redemption site at all. Maybe you have or will figure it out how to maximise the experience redeeming Aegean miles! Looking forward to a video about this topic! :)

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Joden Not looked in great detail as redemptions yet! I know Aegean is a decent airline to spend miles through which was part of the reason I picked them. I do know (or I think I know!!!) that Singapore (and Lufthansa?) only make F seats available through partner airlines a couple of weeks out from the departure date. They hold them for their own members and release them if they have any spare a week or two out. I would recommend you take a look at availability in F for imminent upcoming flights. It makes it very difficult to plan in advance, but perhaps the tactic is to book into business (so you know you're going and can plan for it) and then call to upgrade to F if you see availability in the week or two prior to departure? Otherwise you have to be extremely flexible to jump on a redemption if one pops up.

[@Da__goat]

I just reviewed the Gold Tier benefits that Aegean offers and my god, they’re just infinitely better than so many other airlines.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks - I'm certainly happy with my choice!

[@davideferraro521]

I am surely a flight/miles nerd, but what an interesting video, Matt! As an Aegean member, I found it very useful as I am preparing to make some mileage run to take the Star Alliance gold faster. Thanks again!

[@MattsPlanet]

You are very welcome!

[@jeffflad]

Glad I ‘stuck around’ for this one… I think I prefer the simplicity of the BA scheme where you know what you’re getting but I do love a spreadsheet. Plus, (don’t judge me) I prefer the BA product… I did think watching it, you should do a video where you name airlines you wouldn’t fly with based on your experiences…. If any 😃

[@MattsPlanet]

Cheers Jeff. Bonkers that I've somehow ended up with a catchphrase... The BA scheme is a) quite straightforward (certainly more straightforward than having to go through that Star Alliance palaver!!!) and its not that hard (or expensive) to achieve status... Looked at a few other OneWorld schemes recently and BA's scheme stands up well... Re an airlines video... I often try to make the point that its hard to conclude on an entire airline based on a sample of one flight, which is what it sometimes feels I am doing... The best experience ever on Air Koryo may well be better than the worst experience on Singapore Air, but you wouldn't conclude that Air Koryo is the better airline... I could have picked a lot of airlines for that example, but North Korea felt like an easy target! There is a video in there for sure, I have flown on 90 airlines (per my travel spreadsheet, tee hee) and it may be interesting to share some of those eperiences... Thanks for the comment!

[@Isitworthitreviews]

I would love to see this for United specifically

[@MattsPlanet]

United is revenue based these days I believe so its a very different equation.... Simpler in many ways!

[@Isitworthitreviews]

@@MattsPlanet True but when flying on Star Alliance Partners booked with those partners but credited to United it defaults to a distance based method. Basically it is the award miles earned (based on fare class and distance) divided by either 5 (preferred partners) or 6 (other star alliance partners).

[@MomentsInTheSky]

Very informative. I’m currently going for Star Alliance Gold with Aegean but didn’t realise Lufthansa offered such a poor earnings rate..the last time I had Star Gold was with British Midland!

[@MattsPlanet]

Lufty and United are the 2 airlines to triple check before booking... Thanks for watching!

[@lesbrown2724]

I think that you are turnasing me into an avgeek as I watched this through to the end and can best describe it as "oddly fascinating ". I shudder to think how much time and work you invested in this!

[@MattsPlanet]

You're welcome Les - score one more avgeek!

[@axelhaberkorn8351]

Big thumbs up! Love your videos, Matt! Especially the more educative ones like this one here! So much I can take out of them. Already enjoyed the BA Tier Point Run videos and have the firm intention to embark on a TP run at some point. For the foreseeable future though, I'm well equipped with AY+ Gold (actually interesting scheme if you fly AY) and a matched TAP Gold (rather dull, but useful for the lounge/luggage benefits). But I'm constantly weighing up if I should jump ship and leave my current priority *A programme (LH Miles&More). I'll never make it to their incredibly high-maintenance Senator status with my current flight patterns, but others such as A3 or TK could be doable if I tweak routings and booking classes as suggested by you. I feel like making such a "dull spreadsheet" myself now to compare a few options. Seems like a veeeeery time-consuming exercise though :D Looking at your spreadsheet though, I'm wondering why you go for business class only? The splendour of flying biz aside (which is a valid reason, I get it) - wouldn't the pence/mile ratio be even better by using Y fares that earn 100%? There seem to be quite a few carriers where almost all Y fares earn 100% . Especially within Europe I find C tickets often totally overpriced for what you get. So, am not sure if Y fares wouldn't manifest a better earning rate and thus better suited to be looked at - particularly for those with thinner wallets?

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Axel. Lufty is a painful scheme to get status with and its painful to renew... 50k to renew with Lufty and 12k with Aegean, or 24k if you don't have a weekend in Greece in the year.... You're absolutely right on the business class point - its simply that TAP is pricing its C fares extremely aggressively right now which makes it a very attractive option as you only need to fly half as far if you're earning 200%. And I make the point in the video that the psychology shifts a little if you're renewing Gold as you'll be travelling with the benefits (lounges, seat selection etc etc etc). I've actually gone for an economy class option to get 95% of the points I need for Gold as I'll be going somewhere I really want to visit. I think the destination is important in picking a routing even if it might not be the absolute cheapest option. I'll actually be travelling with a friend who has star gold so I can piggyback on his status on this trip. Ultimately you'll pay for the points one way or another, so if you get a comparible earning rate for travelling in business, why not?

[@peetbothma6982]

Thanks Matt. Very interesting information. Will have to apply this since I have some business trips coming up. Have to decide between SAA Voyager and Ethiopian Sheba programmes for most effective way to get to Star Alliance Gold🙂👍🇿🇦

[@MattsPlanet]

Glad it was helpful. I did some videos about picking a star alliance scheme a year back which I referred to in this video... Might be helpful?

[@peetbothma6982]

@@MattsPlanet Remember that one. The benefit with SAA Voyager for me is that I earn on my AMEX spend plus, I earn Tier miles when flying Emirates on an SAA codeshare. Really usefull. Also earn very well when flying with Ethiopian😇👍🇿🇦

[@minhnhatpham9816]

Thank you for a very nice and detail video. I am trying to accumulate points for SAS and Turkishairlines as I go quite often w these 2. Hope you can provide us some videos about these 2 airlines' schemes

[@MattsPlanet]

Hello Minh. I've gone into great detail about BA (and Aegean) as I'm in those schemes so have first hand experience of how they work... I'm not in the SAS and Turkish schemes so its tricky to make a video that contains much more than me repeating their marketing spiel and perhaps repeating reports from others on their experiences.... If that's still valuable, I will take a look at making a video but I don't think it would be that useful...

[@kubahenriksen6337]

This is so informational! Thank you!!!

[@MattsPlanet]

You are very welcome!

[@cameronvonk7235]

Fantastic video!! I would love to find that spreadsheet worked out for United .. fare classes are so confusing and I want to understand them better

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Cameron. It may be something I make a video about in the future as revenue based status is likely to be the way European programmes go towards but its really quite complicated! Thanks for watching

[@cameronvonk7235]

@@MattsPlanet way to complicated 🤯! Thanks for the great content happy to be a new subscriber!

[@bowman7296]

Well Matt, that must have taken some time to research and put together, well done, very informative, maybe have to watch a few times to take it all in. I have taken your advice a few times and used Google Flights and the ITA site, but it takes a bit more to work round..

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Peter. Not quick or easy to pick up, but you are more than welcome to watch this again!!!

[@johnathankain8033]

Being based in a location only served by OneWorld and Skyteam airlines (and unaligned ones), it would great to see similar for Skyteam.

[@MattsPlanet]

It's definitely on the list - especially now Virgin has joined Skyteam... It just takes ages to make a video like that!

[@johnathankain8033]

@@MattsPlanet for U.K. Regional based people FlyingBlue is the obvious SkyTeam go-to, but I wonder if any others may make sense.

[@MattsPlanet]

@@johnathankain8033 I can't promise when but I will promise to make that video!

[@mikewarde2802]

Great in-depth analysis with the odd quip to lighten the mood, you obviously have a lot of spare time on your hands, or should that be, you used to have?😀

[@MattsPlanet]

Ha ha - I like to be thorough!!! Haven't done one like this for a while and I'd forgotten how long it takes!

[@davidmason1919]

Some great info and a very interesting video. Could you clear up what the Aegean scheme is please?

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks David! Aegean is a Star Alliance member, and I chose them as my preferred Star Alliance airline to pursue status through... I made a video explaining why - if you found this video interesting you'll probably also find those interesting... I referred to it in this video but here's a link to part 1 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6itgIqcaqh6mqs Cheers!

[@reidhauke3389]

Great video, I would very much appreciate more - especially centered on *A. It appears Africa is rather grey on your map, so why not jump on the next ET flight?

[@MattsPlanet]

OK then! Have a trip next week that may well be along those lines...

[@BrutalTurtle]

Hi Matt, thanks for the video, I have a couple of questions as I'm really new to Star Alliance (signed up to Aegean today) stuff and I've recently booked a flight with AirChina to Japan. Will the miles be automatically added to my Aegean account after I complete the flight, or is there some manual setup that needs to be done between AirChina and Aegean? I don't see any Star-Alliance member field on the AirChina booking management. Secondly, as far as I read on the Aegean site, for me to reach the Silver Tier I would need 35,000 tier miles, and this trip to Japan would only take me to about 12,000 (I'm flying Economy, checked your link and the conversion is 100%). So I'd need to take a LOT more flights to reach Silver and then eventually Gold, right? Just the one big flight wouldn't crack it, wishful thinking I know :D Thanks

[@MattsPlanet]

There should be a frequent flyer entry box somewhere in the Air China site... You can also do it when you check in but its better to get it done in advance... The points will then credit automagically - may take a week. Or two! And getting status on Aegean does take some activity but retaining it is the real good part!

[@Toter-Greifvogel]

Will have a Gold Status run this Summer. Athens-Lis back and forth. Aegean for the win.

[@MattsPlanet]

I did spot that flight and it was good value - I also saw you could do it under TAP flight number on an Aegean flight and I studied the small print and concluded that would be a qualifying flight for the 4 you need for status as it was Aegean metal... ATH - MLA was good value per point too, although a much shorted flight

[@Toter-Greifvogel]

@@MattsPlanet i checked the timetables for days. Will do Ber-Ath-Ber-Ath-Mad-Ath-Lis-Ath-Lis-Ath-Ber within a week. I know U understand my AvGeek Sickness and that there is no cure....

[@MattsPlanet]

@@Toter-Greifvogel This is a safe space for that sort of behaviour! Enjoy!

[@Toter-Greifvogel]

@@MattsPlanet I forgot to mention. All in Business of course. Would u like to share some experience with Lis and Mad Lounges?

[@MattsPlanet]

@@Toter-Greifvogel The LIS lounge is quite nice - was a bit cramped but I believe its been refurbed and extended since I was there. All you can eat pastel de natas.... There's also an ANA lounge up the stairs in the middle of the Schengen terminal. MAD - I've only been to the non-Schengen lounge, although that is exceptional for a business lounge so if the Schengen area is anything like it you'll enjoy it

[@speedbird006]

I found ET business class return fare MXP-FCO-ADD-ICN-NRT with just 2000€. Booking class P, surprisingly the business class fare credits 0% on A3...you can earn 30000 miles return on CA, but not too keen on CA FFP.

[@MattsPlanet]

That's a decent fare... Not sure Japan would let you in when you got there! P class wasn't offered on Ethiopian when I made my table a few months back - perhaps they've learned a trick from Lufthansa on how to annoy members of partner airlines' schemes....

[@speedbird006]

@@MattsPlanet True, it’s not easy to enter Japan currently, but the restriction will be lifted sooner or later. Actually after researching bit more ET has some good deals out of Japan. NRT-ICN-ADD-FCO rtn around 600€ on L class, 18000 miles, NRT-ICN-ADD-GRU rtn on H class around 1000€ on H class, 24000 miles on A3. I know this isn’t for everybody., but I go back and forth between Europe and Japan, so this will work for me.

[@abdultaariq8395]

Hi Matt, I would love it if you could guide me through how to get a gold star alliance as I am very new to this thank you, Taariq .

[@MattsPlanet]

I showed the journey in my Aegean videos and explained it in this one.... kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaXapphnd6mHjMU

[@namindia2893]

Can you please do the same guide for SkyTeam?

[@MattsPlanet]

Skyteam remains the third alliance in the UK, even with Virgin joining so they're not an alliance I know well.... Its on the to-do list but not right at the top!

[@RenanLimaBaima]

I wanted to know about how to get top tier in Lufthansa, even tought they are a star alliance member they have a different tier classification.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Renan. I made a video about which Star Alliance program to join - part 1 is here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6itgIqcaqh6mqs - in which I talk about status with Lufthansa. From memory it required a lot more flying than most...

[@RenanLimaBaima]

@@MattsPlanet Yeah, I confess they are pretty hard to understand and to "maximize," but they are the only one that offers a credit card with miles here in Luxembourg. And for top tiers like Senator on, it is costless. I came from Brazil this year, and I know how the market operates there really well. It is way more straightforward to get status there. Still, we don't participate in the alliances (we used to have many options), just individually with each company (due to past agreements), so I already manage to have all top-tier advantages here. I am struggling to find a way to get a worth miles credit card here. This was the "best" option from now. As miles & more are offering 1,5x more miles, status miles, and HON circle per awarded miles this year up till December, I saw that just a business flight from FRA to LAS would already grant 44k status miles, which is 44% of the requirements for the Senator (100k). So I thought of going through a tier run with them this year. Let me know if you have any tips and suggestions to maximize the run and minimize the costs.

[@pb456-7]

TAP status match also an option no, for 99€ with BAEC status of silver or higher?

[@MattsPlanet]

It is - you pay a little but get some miles in return. Easy in, but requalification is tougher than Aegean. But if you need status quick and may not need it in the longer term, its an excellent option.

[@Jorge-ig7ku]

Hello Matt's, I'm currently Silver on United, looking the best way to do a Mileage run to get to Gold by December.. any ideas!!! Thank you !

[@MattsPlanet]

Hi there - United (I believe) is revenue based so I'd imagine its just a case of spending what you have to to get there.... Not studied that program in detail I'm afraid...

[@Jorge-ig7ku]

Thank you Matts for your reply ... Maybe a topic for your next video 🙂for your subcribes in USA.. @@MattsPlanet

[@nahimzoro8261]

Hello. I'm traveling from Istanbul to Belize with star alliance Turkish airlines air Canada single tircket Is transit visa require star alliance ?

[@MattsPlanet]

I'm not sure I understand the question... Is a transit visa required for Canada, assuming that's your transit point? Not a question I can answer I'm afraid as I imagine it will depend on your citizenship. Should be easy to find out from the airline though?

[@richard_london]

Really excellent video, I need to renew my Aegean gold and was unaware of the opportunities with TAP. Something else to keep an eye on - A3 often have double tier promotions on their own fares - so business class earns 400%...also helps with the x4 A3 segments you need. Also, unusually A3, allow you to buy tier points (as well as award miles) - can be very useful to help with (re)qualification....

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Richard... That double tier promotion is really good to know about... I have booked a trip which doesn't quite get me there so will probably need to drop €75 to close it out... Which I don't mind actually mind as I can show it and talk about it in my video... I do have one question though that you might actually know! My Aegean account shows that I need to achieve gold by May 31st 2022 - I joined the scheme in October '21 and thought I'd get a year to reach Gold so I have no idea where this May deadline comes from? Its ok as I'll get there by then, but I'd like to understand the program I'm in!!! And ideas? Thinking I might have to call them to get an answer... Thanks in advance, thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@richard_london]

@@MattsPlanet Hi Matt, that deadline sounds strange, over the last year Aegean have been offering extensions to their qualification date, so I would have expected the date to have moved out, not forward - sounds like a call is needed. BTW, when you qualify for Gold with A3, you are given special access to a dedicated phone support number, I find they answer within 30 seconds and are *really* helpful - given the hassle of getting through to BA for anything at the moment, A3 are a dream. Customer support....maybe another interesting topic for you... ;)

[@MattsPlanet]

@@richard_london Thanks so much for replying... I've pinged Aegean an online question - probably easier to explain it that way rather than on the phone. I'm happy with my choice of Aegean so if the service gets even better when you reach gold then fantastic!!!

[@GG-hi5if]

@@MattsPlanet Hi Matt, can you please remind me - why did you pick Aegean again? I might have missed it somewhere. I initially considered Air Canada but then realised Air Canada has a minimum milage AND a minimum spend requirement (3000 CAD for Gold Status!)!

[@MattsPlanet]

@@GG-hi5if No worries - they were the right mix of ease of qualification, ease of renewal and redemption opportunity. I talked through the process here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6itgIqcaqh6mqs

[@davidmason1919]

The spreadsheet must have taken you hours Matt, could you clear up what the letters in the columns mean please? 👍

[@MattsPlanet]

Cheers David. Didn't take as long as you might think - I got into a rhythm!!! The letters relate to the booking codes - C is usually full fare Business / Club class... Y is usually full fare economy, which is why people often refer to economy and business as Y and C. I started off ordering the codes by class of travel, but as there is no global convention on who uses what, it got really confusing really quickly! So I just ranked them alphabetically and used colours to distinguish the various classes. Cheers - hope that's clear!

[@davidmason1919]

@@MattsPlanet Cheers Matt, hope the weather in Cyprus is good 🌞🌞