Where and for what you can pay with miles. Accumulate miles quickly - a detailed review of the best bank cards for travel

Tatiana Solomatina

Aeroflot Bonus program: how to accumulate and spend miles?

Hello, dear readers and guests of my blog! How often do you fly by plane? If this happens at least two or three times a year, then this information will be not only interesting, but also useful. Because today I will introduce you to the Aeroflot Bonus loyalty program, which, under certain conditions, allows you to save a lot. However, this offer, unfortunately, is not suitable for everyone.

How beneficial is participation in the program for you? Find the answer in this article. Here you will find comprehensive information on the topic: what the program is, what privileges and opportunities it opens up, how to become a member, who can save money this way and under what conditions, and how to spend Aeroflot Bonus miles. I am sure that everyone will find something useful here.

Aeroflot Bonus is a loyalty program developed by the Russian airline Aeroflot. This savings system is not as banal as those offered to us by supermarkets or boutiques. Here the possibilities are much wider, and the result is much more pleasant.

Having accumulated a certain number of miles, you will be able to:

1. Enjoy all the delights of flying in business class.
2. Eating on board an airplane is no worse than in a luxurious restaurant.
3. Take advantage of additional benefits of Business class service.
4. It is profitable to book a hotel.
5. Purchase useful products, as well as partner services, or select them from the “Premium Catalog”.

What do you want? Seafood risotto in the sky on the way to Italy or an interesting little thing for your own pleasure? Or maybe you want to live in a luxury hotel at a more interesting price? With the Aeroflot Bonus program your travels will become bright and memorable. Believe me! It has already been tested by more than one Aeroflot client. And this is no joke!

How to get involved?

Every passenger over 12 years old can become a participant in the loyalty program. But the airline also takes care of its tiny customers. Therefore, similar privileges are provided for them - “Aeroflot Bonus Junior” (for children from 2 to 12 years old). By participating in this program, the flight for your baby will be an exciting adventure that will give a lot of positive emotions. Sweets, toys, children's clothing and other goods, advantageous offers from airlines are what a child can get by using “miles”. A very tempting offer, isn't it?

How to get involved? To do this, you do not need to stand in a tiresome queue and waste precious time. Just go to the official Aeroflot website and go to the “Aeroflot Bonus” tab, or just click here. Then fill out the online form. No internet access? In this case, the next time you fly on a company plane, ask the flight attendant for a paper version of the form and fill it out right on board. You can also register in the program by visiting Aeroflot representative offices or contacting program partners, for example, banks: SberBank, Alfa Bank, Otkritie, Citi, SMP. Next, accumulate miles and spend them with pleasure!

Attention! Remember that a temporary card is issued on board the aircraft and from partners, which must be activated on the website in your personal account.

What are miles awarded for and how can I use them?

To begin with, it’s worth clarifying that a specific partner will award you a certain number of virtual bonuses. For example, by renting a room at the Minor Hotel, you will receive 500 miles for one night’s stay, or by making purchases at Moskhoztorg, 1 mile will be credited to your card for every 40 rubles spent. These are the favorable accrual conditions. It turns out that accumulating miles is not so difficult. Quite the contrary. Well, it's very easy.

So, have you registered for the program and are ready to earn miles? Don’t quite understand how they are calculated? Let me explain. You can get the coveted miles:

• For flights on Aeroflot flights, as well as partner airlines (see the full list here), miles are awarded depending on the booking class of the ticket and the flight distance. If the range is less than 500 miles, then you will receive 500 miles to your personal account. Don't forget to present your Aeroflot Bonus card when booking/purchasing or when checking in for your flight. In addition, miles are also awarded when booking a flight on the airline’s website. You only need to indicate that you are a member of the program by entering your card number.
• For services, goods, works offered by Aeroflot partners. There are a huge number of them. These include restaurants, boutiques, supermarkets, hotels, and online stores. Want to find out if your favorite clothing boutique is a partner of the program? Here you can search by category and see how many miles are awarded. Follow the link, don’t be shy. I think you are a regular customer of at least one partner for sure. And this is already a certain number of accrued miles.
• Also earn and spend miles with more than 500 thousand hotels around the world. You can find out in detail how it works by going here.

Let me tell you a little secret: on the Aeroflot website there is a special calculator with which you can calculate how many miles you will earn on a flight, or you can spend the ones you have already accumulated while enjoying a trip in Business Class. To issue an award ticket or upgrade to a class of service, you need to have at least 15,000 miles in your account, which is easy to accumulate with program partners.

I want to warn you about one piquant point - not all tariffs accrue miles. Only for those participating in the loyalty program. How not to make a mistake? For group fares (GV), special (FX, BRV, MED), subsidized (SO, GO, MFRF, GC, GA), as well as premium and issued in O, X, F, G classes, miles are not accrued. It’s a pity, of course, but these are the conditions of the program. In addition, the airline has not stinted on pleasant bonuses for its customers. Do you agree?

Conditions for using accumulated miles

There is no need to describe in detail how to spend miles. I think from reading above, it became clear - accumulate miles and get bonuses. The only thing worth paying attention to: in addition to having the required number of miles, in order to receive awards, you must take at least 1 paid flight on a regular Aeroflot flight over the last 2 years at a fare that is included in the accrual of miles. This is the “strict” condition the airline puts forward.

To spend miles with loyalty program partners, you need to provide an Aeroflot Bonus card and enter a PIN code, which can be generated in your Personal Account. Everything is quite simple and clear.

Don't know how many miles you have accumulated? Information about your account status is available in real time on the airline’s website in your personal account. Or you can contact Aeroflot call center consultants.

Enjoy shopping, culinary masterpieces, and travel in comfort! With the Aeroflot Bonus program, flying by plane is not only accessible, but also always pleasant.

How to level up and become a member of the Elite Club?

You will receive your basic membership card after earning 2,000 miles. It is produced within 2 weeks and is automatically sent to the postal address you specified during registration. Delivery is made by Russian Post. The approximate waiting time is about 6 weeks.

But the Aeroflot Bonus program provides something else interesting - a transition to Elite levels, where you get more cool privileges. For example, additional discounts from partners or various amenities during the flight.

To upgrade to a higher tier, you must accumulate the required number of qualifying miles within a calendar year. What is this?

• Qualifying miles (hereinafter referred to as K-miles) are those that you earn while traveling on regular flights of both Aeroflot and partner airlines.
• Non-qualifying (hereinafter referred to as N-miles) are those that you additionally earn for the services of partners, special program offers and additional elite miles received in the Elite Club. These miles are available for use exclusively to receive awards. However, keep in mind that they do not affect the transition between levels.

Wondering how to become a member of the Aeroflot Elite Club? I won't languish. In addition to the basic level, there are also Silver, Gold and Platinum, the conditions for the transition between which are quite realistic to fulfill. Look, it's simple:

1. You can reach the Silver level by accumulating 25 thousand K-miles in a calendar year or by taking 25 scheduled flights at fares that participate in the accumulation of miles (this is called flight segments).
2. On Zolotaya – 50 thousand K-miles or 50 flights in 1 calendar year.
3. For Platinum – 125 thousand K-miles or 50 flights in Business class for 1 calendar year.

Just like that! Agree, it’s very cool to travel and receive additional privileges in the form of miles, which you can spend not only on the services of the airline itself, but also at your own discretion, thanks to the variety of offers from the program’s partners. What do you think?

How else can you use miles?

If you wish, you can give your award in the form of an upgrade, a free ticket or partner services to another person. To whom? Anyone! Mom, sister, grandfather, friend.

In addition, you can do something useful that will add a million pluses to your karma - make a donation to charitable foundations that are partners of the Aeroflot Bonus loyalty program. The minimum donation amount is 100 miles. But you can do such a good deed only if you have already accumulated 3 thousand miles in your account. All details are in the section "Mercy Mile". Don't be lazy to go. The only caveat is that such opportunities are not provided for Aeroflot Bonus Junior participants.

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that participation in the program is exclusively individual. That is, if your grandmother is going to visit Paris, then her miles cannot be credited to your account.

Another important point is that if you bought a ticket but did not use it to board the plane, miles will not be credited.

Who benefits from participating in the program?

So, if you often travel by plane and want to get the most out of it, be sure to register for the Aeroflot program. Why not? No risks, no downsides, nothing bad. This is not a credit card! This is much cooler than a regular discount program and much nicer than a simple 10% discount in any boutique. One even gets the impression that the Aeroflot Bonus card is almost omnipotent. Seriously speaking, this is certainly not true, but you will undoubtedly appreciate its privileges.

If you don’t fly airplanes, then there’s certainly no point in participating in Aeroflot’s loyalty program. However, life is unpredictable. And maybe in a month you will want to get acquainted with the culture of Laos and buy your first plane ticket. Then don’t forget to register for Aeroflot Bonus. It won’t take much time, but it will give you a lot of positive emotions!

Travel! There are so many beautiful and interesting things in the world that take your breath away. Don't believe me? Then here are a few articles that will be interesting to read at your leisure:

Now I’ll say goodbye for a while, see you again!

Tatiana Solomatina

Aeroflot is considered one of the largest air carriers in our country. The company was founded in 1923 as JSC Dobrolet. Today the company is equipped with 120 modern aircraft. Passengers can enjoy lucrative discount offers and many benefits. It is Aeroflot that offers its customers a bonus program. How to spend miles and airline bonuses? This will be discussed in the article.

What bonuses does the company offer?

Miles from Aeroflot is a company program offered for regular customers. To register for it, you need to fill out a form on the official website or on the plane itself. This can also be done by issuing a special bank card from partner banks. The number will be indicated on the plastic, which is very convenient. After receiving the card, you must take it with you everywhere.

You must indicate your participation in the program when registering your card, otherwise the bonuses will not be used. If you often use the services of partner companies, you will accumulate many miles. After that, they are available for various expenses.

Advantages

The program is very popular among the company’s clients, and it is valued for its advantages:

• bonuses are awarded for private and business flights;
• makes it possible to return a ticket;
• you can choose any partner company;
• You can buy a ticket with miles;
• you can purchase goods using miles;
• the program is free.

The service allows you to regularly take advantage of discounts, since bonuses are intended to pay for a certain part of the tickets.

Differences between a temporary card and a permanent one

Upon joining the program, the client receives a temporary card. Usually a printout is issued indicating the account, number and surname. A little later, the company sends the permanent card to the client. But often, to obtain it, you need to meet several conditions, for example, accumulate 2,000 miles.

A temporary card is practically no different from a permanent one, since it also provides the opportunity to accumulate bonuses. The main thing is that you must indicate the number correctly when purchasing a ticket from a cashier or online.

Kinds of miles

It is necessary to take into account that miles are:

• qualifying;
• unqualified.

The first type of miles is credited for each flight on Aeroflot flights. The number of bonuses is determined by the flight range, as well as the fare. Each participant has the opportunity to join an elite club, which provides additional privileges.

What can you spend Aeroflot miles on? Non-qualifying points are earned through purchases from partners. These could be hotels, online stores, car rentals. Such bonuses do not count towards member status.

Who can participate?

Anyone can register for the program. This is not affected by age or citizenship. Children under 12 years old can take part in the Aeroflot Bonus Junior subprogram. The terms and conditions are no different from the adult bonus system.

Accumulation of bonuses

Bonuses are provided in the form of miles for regular flights. They can vary in size, it all depends on the tariff and distance. If you use economy class, then bonuses will be provided in the amount of 25-75%. When choosing business class, up to 150% is credited. If you have accumulated Aeroflot miles, you can find out how to spend them on the airline's website.

Bonuses are also provided by partners who are part of the SkyTeam alliance: 25-100% for economy class, and up to 300% for business class. In order for miles to be credited, you must provide your card number when purchasing a ticket or when checking in for a flight. If you do not do this, you can receive bonuses within 6 months. To do this, you need to send printed tickets and copies of boarding passes to the Aeroflot Bonus system.

Partners

Miles are awarded to clients of partner banks. It is enough to be the owner of a debit or credit card. Such organizations include:

• Sberbank;
• Bank opening";
• "Alfa Bank";
• Citybank;
• "SMP Bank"

Usually 1 mile is issued for every 60 rubles, although prices may vary slightly. There are conditions for participation in the program: at least 1 flight must be made in 2 years, otherwise the bonuses cannot be used.

Extra miles

If you accumulate many qualifying miles, you will receive additional benefits. Among them:

• visiting business lounges;
• convenient check-in for flights;
• more luggage space;
• ticket upgrade.

Where can I find out about the number of miles?

Each airline has a “Personal Account” for users, where you can view all the necessary information. There you can find information on where to spend Aeroflot miles. Each time you log in you must enter your number and password. There is information on flights and number of miles. You can find information on where to spend Aeroflot miles, for example, to buy a ticket.

Buying and selling miles

There is an exchange that works with many companies. It is used for selling and purchasing bonus miles. Many people use this service so that their accumulated points do not disappear. After all, if there have been no flights for 2 years, then the miles cannot be used. It turns out that to receive discounts you need to use the services regularly.

Donating miles

If Aeroflot paid out a lot of points, how to spend miles? They can not only be sold, but also donated. But in the second case there will be no reward for this.

If points have accumulated, they should be reissued for any person who would like to give such a gift. The procedure is performed 2 days or earlier before departure.

Using bonuses

A member becomes a full-fledged member only when at least 2,000 miles are credited to his account. After this, a plastic card is issued with a number and last name. Now you can actively use the accumulated bonuses.

The number of miles is determined by distance and class of service. All participants in the bonus program receive a certain status, according to which the amount of bonuses is approved. Conditions change frequently, and to accurately determine how you can earn miles, there is a special calculator.

How to spend Aeroflot Bonus miles? To do this, you must present your card every time you travel or use various services. Many companies have joined the program. Sberbank offers special services for this. Bonuses will be received for opening a new card.

If Aeroflot has received a lot of bonuses, how to spend miles? They are spent in the classic way: when flying with partner companies, to obtain a higher client status, for hotel reservations, car rentals. The program works in almost all countries.

Other ways to spend miles

The question arises with the accumulation of bonuses from the Aeroflot company - how to spend miles profitably. You can take part in charity by sending points to those in need. Miles are used to purchase award flight tickets. All fees are paid by the passenger.

If you purchase an economy class discount ticket, you will receive business class benefits. Clients of the program can pay bills from partners.

Aeroflot provides its customers with many advantages. If you regularly use the company’s services, you will always have privileges in the form of discounts. And how to spend bonuses is up to everyone to decide for themselves.

Just imagine, the first frequent flyer program dates back to 1972! I wasn't even alive then. A few years later, American Airlines “finished” this project, and a system for recording and accumulating miles appeared, which is known to everyone today. Even Russian Railways recently introduced a similar system for railway passengers, and miles are awarded not only for flights, but also for spending on a bank card.

I have been using the Aeroflot mileage program at my bank for a long time, but as of February 1, they have changed the conditions for accruing bonus miles on debit and credit cards. If previously one mile was awarded for every 30 rubles, now the rate has increased to 60 rubles. It's sad, but it's clear why.

I have long wanted to write about miles and this system, and then an opportunity presented itself. The guys from Tinkoff Bank approached me with an offer to advertise them and provided financial analytics of current offers for mileage cards on the Russian market. This is very interesting data that shows the real situation in terms of the profitability of certain cards. Let's figure out what miles are, how they are awarded and spent.

The essence of miles

For airlines, it's simple. You fly, you are awarded bonus miles. After a few flights, you can spend these miles on tickets or services: an upgrade to business class, additional baggage, or something else. At banks, bonus miles are awarded not for flights, but for purchases using the card. Miles can be used to purchase tickets, book hotels and other services, depending on the bank.

What's the point of banks doing this? When you buy something with a card, your seller pays a commission to the bank: on average, from 2% to 4% of the purchase amount. This commission is the economic basis of the card payment system. Everyone makes money on it: your bank, your merchant’s bank and the payment system. It is beneficial for the bank that you use the card as often as possible. It is advisable for the card to become your main payment instrument. Even if you have a credit card, it is not so important for the bank to receive interest from you as to encourage you to make purchases as often as possible. Banks make money not from you, but from sellers.

Essentially, miles are a certain type of cashback, the return of part of the funds spent for regular use of a bank card.

Miles accrual

If airlines award miles based on flight distance, class of service, etc., then miles on a bank card are accrued based on the amount of your payments. The Tinkoff Bank All Airlines card earns 2% on any card purchases. Other cards have the same mechanics. When you spend using your card, you receive a percentage of your spending in the form of miles. But the rates for accruing miles for purchases themselves are different. Different amounts of miles will be returned for the same purchases from different cards.

Let's say you spend 70,000 per month - that is, 840,000 per year. Let's take popular mileage cards and see how many miles you get back:

As we can see, the cards from Sberbank, Russian Standard and Raiffeisen brought the most miles. All Airlines from Tinkoff Bank returned only 16,800 miles to the owner. Compared to other cards, this is not a very remarkable result. But let's figure it out: is 40,000 miles a lot or a little? In the US, some programs can give you as many as 50,000 welcome miles. Here we come to an important point - the real value of miles.

Miles value

Everyone has the same principle: first you accumulate miles, and then they turn into money. But each bank has its own conversion rate from miles to rubles. For example, 1 mile in Vanguard is 36 kopecks. For Russian Standard, 1 mile is equal to 50 kopecks. In the All Airlines card program, 1 mile is equal to 1 ruble. That is, 100 miles is 100 rubles.

Let's say you want to buy a ticket to Barcelona and back for 14,500 rubles. Here's how many miles you need to get such a ticket:

So far, it turns out that the most profitable cards are VTB24 Transaero Platinum (connected to the Transaero Privilege program) and All Airlines. Both cards are ahead of all other major competitors in terms of benefits, given the same initial data.

But there are a few more important points that need to be mentioned.

1. Taxes and fees. Not all bonus programs allow you to pay the full cost of a ticket with miles. The fact is that the ticket price consists of two components: the fare and taxes/fees. Typically, taxes and fees range from 20 to 50% of the ticket price. Ticket sites immediately show us the final prices, but on airline websites you can find out more about this. With almost all airline programs, you only get reimbursed for the fare. You will have to pay service fees and taxes yourself. At All Airlines, service costs are reimbursed in the same way as the air ticket itself. You won't have to pay extra.

2. Annual maintenance cost. Essentially, this is a subscription fee for using the card. Here again you have to turn to the data:

VTB24 Transaero Platinum costs 11,050 rubles per year - this is practically the cost of an entire ticket.

3. Selection of flights. Almost all bonus programs on the list have a significant limitation. The fact is that you cannot buy any ticket with miles. You will encounter restrictions on countries, dates, airlines or method of purchase. With cards linked to Aeroflot, you will only be able to fly with Aeroflot and partners. With Transaero cards (including VTB24) - only Transaero and its partners.

There are no such restrictions on ALL Airlines. You can use miles to buy any ticket of any airline in any direction, on any date, in any place and through any search engine or agent. Including low-cost airlines (Ryanair, Pobeda, etc.). The only conditions are payment for the ticket with an ALL Airlines card and the ability to compensate the cost of the ticket with miles only in full. There is no partial surcharge, as in some other banks.

But you will be able to “accumulate” miles after purchasing a ticket - no one else has this option. While with other banks you need to know in advance whether to use your miles, with All Airlines you can redeem your ticket within three months of the flight. During this time, you can accumulate more miles.

4. Miles validity period and miles “activation”. Everything is simple here: for all cards on the list, inactive miles expire every 2 years. If you didn’t make it in time, you lost your accumulated miles. ALL Airlines miles expire only once every 5 years. “Not being on time” will be difficult. In addition, in order to use Aeroflot bonus miles, you must first fly somewhere with Aeroflot at your own expense. This will “activate” the miles. You understand that this flight will also cost you money.

5. Accrual of miles for the bonus flight itself. For an ALL Airlines bonus flight, you will also receive miles from the airline itself, since for airlines this is a regular ticket purchased with your own money. There are no restrictions placed on it. It's a double benefit: you continue to earn airline miles on your flights while at the same time earning ALL Airlines miles on your purchases.

Bonuses

Each mile program has its own perks. These could be welcome miles, increased miles accrual on a birthday, discounts from partners, etc. In the case of All Airlines, you will be given increased mileage cashback for spending in the travel sector. For example, for purchasing air tickets through travel.tinkoff.ru you receive not 2%, but 5%, and for booking hotels and cars 10% is returned.

Example: you buy an air ticket for 28,000 rubles, which you are going to compensate with miles. The ticket is free for you, but the bank will still return you 5% - that's 1,400 miles. They can be used to compensate for the next flight. Spending 70,000 rubles per month on the card and 100,000 per year on the tourist category, you will get approximately 21,000 miles. 21,000 miles is, if anything, a free ticket to Singapore and back.

Let's summarize.

The case is this: you spend 100,000 rubles a month on your card and are going to fly to Tel Aviv for 14,500 rubles. The ticket price consists of the fare (8,000 rubles) and airline fees and taxes (6,500 rubles).

Conclusions from the table:

Additional payment for fees. With most cards, you will have to pay a significant additional amount for tickets - airline fees and taxes.

How many of these tickets can you buy in a year? Some cards may not allow you to fly for free. You will have to accumulate miles for more than a year (or you will have to spend more than 100,000 rubles per month from the card). With All Airlines you will definitely get any ticket for free, and in the first year of use. Once you've spent 15,000 on your ticket, you'll still have 10,000 miles left. You can fly anywhere with them if the ticket costs less than 9,000 rubles.

How many miles will you get for purchasing a ticket? All Airlines takes the lead here: when you buy a ticket, you'll earn an additional 1,200 miles that can be used on your next ticket.

All Airlines is a profitable product for travelers or those who regularly fly on vacation. I fly often and will most likely continue to use both my bank card and the All Airlines card. There is a little trick here: the guys from Tinkoff Bank suggested that All Airlines does not interfere with using other bonus programs.

For example, I can continue to spend Aeroflot bonuses, and with the help of All Airlines I can offset service fees for which I previously had to pay extra separately. Or I can compensate for the purchase of an air ticket with the help of All Airlines, and Aeroflot bonuses will help me upgrade my flight to business class.

In addition, the card has a rich range of banking services:

— credit limit up to 700,000 rubles;
— interest-free period up to 55 days;
— 1000 miles as a gift (you need to make one purchase with the card);
— free travel insurance (will be used for obtaining a visa);

You can fill out the application form to receive an All Airlines card

Now I’ll tell you how to fly business class and not pay crazy money for it. As you know, almost every airline has bonus programs where passengers are invited to accumulate miles, which can then be exchanged for tickets. So, if you approach the savings process wisely, you can fly several times a year in comfort and practically for free.

First you need to decide with whom to fly and earn miles.

Airlines have miles, and banks have miles. For example, Alfa-Bank and Tinkoff Bank offer their clients bonus programs where they also accumulate miles, which can then be exchanged for tickets. But in fact, this is a type of cashback with a fixed rate.

Airline miles are much more interesting. There are qualifying and non-qualifying miles. The first ones are awarded to you directly for flying with this airline, and they affect your status. Each airline has different membership levels (silver, gold, etc.). The higher your status, the more privileges you receive. It all depends on the airline. For example, Aeroflot offers you check-in at business class counters, the ability to choose a front-row seat with increased legroom at no extra charge, and access to business lounges. Also, high status will sometimes allow you to get business class seats without additional payment. For example, if the flight is overcrowded, some passengers may be transferred from economy to business. As you guessed, such a gift awaits the one whose level is higher. I was transferred from economy to business several times.

Some airlines have even more privileges. American Delta upgrades elite passengers to business class for free if there are available seats. This rule only applies on domestic flights, but it’s still nice ;)

Major airlines form alliances. There are three major ones: SkyTeam, OneWorld and Star Alliance. Accordingly, you will receive bonus miles for flights on all alliance airlines, even if you do not have their bonus program. For example, if you have an Aeroflot bonus card, then you will receive miles and privileges for flights on all airlines of the alliance.

Here you need to choose the airline whose bonus program you want to open. There is no point in having cards from both Aeroflot and AirFrance, since they are part of the same alliance and have essentially the same bonus program.

If you live in Russia, then first of all open an Aeroflot card, since the national carrier has almost monopolized the air transportation market in the country. If you plan to fly frequently, for example, around the States, then you can consider the Delta bonus program (they are also part of SkyTeam) instead of Aeroflot. The remaining cards also need to be opened. The OneWorld Alliance in Russia represents S7. There are no Russian airlines in the Star Alliance, but it includes, for example, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and many other popular airlines.

Now you need to accumulate miles. The most obvious way to earn miles is to fly on the airlines you want. As I wrote above, in addition to receiving bonus miles, you will increase your status and have various pleasant bonuses. But you can't accumulate much like that. If you do not fly regularly, then you will have to save for a normal bonus ticket for several years.

To more actively accumulate miles, you can contact partners. For example, many banks have joint projects with airlines. For every dollar you spend on your bank card, you will earn a certain number of miles.

In addition, many hotels give miles. For example, if you have an Aeroflot bonus program, you can earn 500 miles for staying at Radisson or Kempinski hotels and up to 2 miles for every dollar spent at Marriott or Intercontinental. Rental companies also give miles. For example, Eurocar and Avis give 1,500 miles each for renting a car. Each airline has dozens of partners, so carefully study who gives bonuses for what.

So you've collected your miles and now it's time to spend them. You need to spend miles to buy bonus tickets! And this is where the fun begins. You must not only be able to save miles, but also spend them correctly.

The task for all participants in the competition is this: we are trying to fly in economy class to Omsk and New York at the end of May for one day (departure on May 28, return on May 29)*. If someone is unable to offer economy class, we take the cheapest ticket. Then we try to figure out how many miles we need to spend on the same trip.
*Prices were measured in April, when the exchange rate was slightly different and tickets were available.

Let's start with Aeroflot! Miles under the Bonus program accumulate quite quickly, especially if you buy expensive tickets. But you need to understand whether they are easy to use.

For example, at the time of the proposed purchase, you can fly to Omsk and back to Moscow for 20,000 miles in economy class.

I hope that the designer of Aeroflot, who came up with the idea of ​​writing in blue on a blue background, has already been given to the crocodiles.

Now let’s uncheck the “Pay with miles” box. We see that the cheapest ticket to Omsk costs 10,000 rubles, and from Omsk to Moscow - 9,000 rubles. That is, the rate comes out to be approximately 1 to 1, but they decided to round up the miles to tens of thousands.

Let's see how things are going with New York:

In economy, the total cost of tickets is 37,042 rubles, fees are taken into account. Business class is much more expensive, 135,637 rubles.

If you try to buy a ticket to New York using economy bonuses, the mile rate drops sharply.

We spend 70,000 miles on round-trip tickets at once! Moreover, you will have to pay fees separately in the amount of 16,477 rubles. For the purity of the experiment, let's calculate the exact course. The fare to New York and back without taxes is 18,055 rubles. It turns out that when paying with miles, for every ruble you will have to pay 3.88 miles!

One of the secrets of flying with miles: the higher the class of service, the more profitable it is to spend them. As we have already found out, a business class ticket to New York and back costs 135,637 rubles. The bonus ticket will be worth 110,000 miles. We subtract the fees from the ruble price and find out that the Aeroflot mile rate in this case is 0.92 miles per ruble, this is an excellent indicator. The problem is that such a ticket is very difficult to buy with miles.

You see, business class miles in both directions are sold out.

I was just trying to find business class tickets for the summer and found that there was nothing...

Just in case, I checked the Aeroflot mileage rate for flights to other cities in Russia and neighboring countries.

A flight to St. Petersburg on the same days costs 7,500 rubles (this is economy). Bonuses – 20,000 miles. And don't forget about fees, which in the case of miles are always paid separately. But you only need to pay 30,000 miles for business. The rate could be around 1.5 miles per ruble, but the tickets, again, are already sold out.

In general, in almost all cases the same rule applies: the mile rate is extremely unfavorable when buying economy tickets, and quite favorable when paying with business class miles. Okay, everything is clear with Aeroflot. Let's see what others offer.

In addition to Aeroflot, among Russian carriers, only S7 Airlines (a member of oneworld) is included in one of the three largest international alliances. S7 has a Priority bonus program.

Well, let's try to fly to Omsk. Economy round trip for 16,200 rubles, very good.

S7 has a table that allows you to find out how many miles tickets for direct airline flights will cost. Omsk, for example, is part of the Russia 2 award zone, and a one-way ticket to it will cost 15,000 miles in economy and 25,000 miles in business class.

We choose to pay with miles. 30,000 miles + another 3.5 thousand rubles in fees. It turns out that the rate is 2.3 miles per ruble.

A ticket to Omsk and back in business class for the same dates will cost 49,200 rubles.

For the same tickets you can give 45,000 miles and pay an additional 3,560 rubles. Let's calculate the course. We remove the fees and find out that when flying in business class, the rate can be 0.98 miles per ruble. This is a very good course! The rule of cheap business class also applies here.

The catch is that we are talking about the Business Optimum mileage fare, which implies that the number of available seats on the flight is limited. Airlines only have a few seats available on flights that can be purchased with miles. But this is still a good option if you are used to planning your trips in advance. After all, if you pay in rubles, business (using the example of the same tickets to Omsk) costs 3 times more than economy, and if in miles, then less than 1.5 times.

Now New York. The ticket to New York is expensive, and the return transfer is inconvenient.

What about miles? You must pay 75,000 miles at once, and pay an additional 23,495 rubles in fees. The exchange rate in this case is 2.05 miles per ruble. There were no business class tickets at all, so I don’t even know what the prices are now.

Okay, we understand something about Russian carriers. Let's find out what Aeroflot's SkyTeam friends offer.

The American airline Delta has a bonus program called SkyMiles, which is combined with the Pay with Miles program. The latter has a clear policy in its rules: it allows you to reduce the cost of a ticket by $50 for every 5,000 miles.

That is, 100 miles cost 1 dollar, or 1 mile is equal to 1 cent. The dollar exchange rate is now fluctuating around 70 rubles/$1 (we’ll round it up for convenience). It turns out that one cent, also known as 1 mile, will cost 70 kopecks, and a ruble = 1.43 miles. A very good indicator, it’s just a pity that Americans also have restrictions on dates and destinations when paying with miles.

In reality the situation is like this. A ticket to New York and back in economy will cost 33,350 rubles, in business class - 142,973 rubles.

Here is the price in miles, below is the surcharge for fees. The current rate for economy will be 4.73 miles per ruble, for business – one to one. That is, the story is approximately the same as with Russian airlines.

For Air France, a flight to New York and back on the same dates costs 37,542 rubles.

The Flying Blue bonus system miles calculator (used by Air France and KLM) claims that standard economy will cost 50,000 miles.

Like other airlines, Flying Blue's rules state that all additional fees are paid by the program participant himself. This means that you need to add 19,487 rubles to these miles. The tariff without taxes is 18,055 rubles, exactly like Aeroflot. That is, the real rate of a mile will be 2.77 miles per ruble.

Business class will cost 143,168 rubles.

The calculator says 125,000 miles. Since the tariff without fees is 109,115 rubles, the mile rate will be 1.15 miles per ruble.

Let's sum it up results:

The maximum mile course in this study was found in "Aeroflot". It will work if you take business class to New York and back. It is likely that you can also get into business class on other international flights at a favorable rate. But Aeroflot has a too vague line for a low exchange rate. It’s practically non-existent, and the worst situation is with economy on domestic flights: maybe 4 or 5 miles per ruble - try looking for it yourself. In this case, you can stumble upon 1 to 1, as in the case of Omsk. In general, be careful.

U Air France and the “brotherly” KLM rate will vary from 1 to 3 miles per ruble; flying in business is expected to be more profitable. In general, nothing surprising when it comes to international flights.

In the case of SkyMiles from Delta you need to be on your guard, because you can get either a very favorable rate or a completely unprofitable one. About the same story as with Aeroflot. In general, if you fly to the USA, it is better to get a Delta card, and maybe more than one - more on that below)

U S7 there are very favorable offers for business class, and the threshold for a disadvantageous rate is lower than that of Aeroflot. But, again, I don’t know what the situation is like in other cities. We have to dig. In general, the offer is similar to that of Air France, although it would probably be more appropriate to compare with oneworld partners.

Enjoy it for your health! But don’t forget about a bunch of restrictions when buying air tickets with miles. Sometimes it makes more sense to spend it not on tickets, but on upgrades and other perks, as well as simply on transfers from the airport.

In general, in the West, and in particular in the USA, accumulating miles is much easier than here in Russia. My friend levik from New York told me that the most convenient way to do this is with the help of co-branded credit cards.

There, banks and airlines do not skimp on bonuses if you spend a certain amount on your card. For example, if you get a Delta Gold SkyMiles credit card from American Express and spend more than S1,000 on it in the first three months of use, you can get 30,000 bonus miles. Moreover, in the first year of using the card, the service will be free (hereinafter – $95), and you can safely use it.

The secret is that when you close such a credit card, all the miles you received do not expire, but remain on your bonus account with the airline. If you carefully follow various promotions and offers, you can get 100,000 miles quite easily. Americans even have a special website to monitor all kinds of card bonuses.

You can open several cards during the year, close each of them after six months, and the miles continue to live and accumulate.

Every major airline has a partner bank. Delta is friends with American Express, American Airlines is friends with Citibank, and United Airlines is friends with Chase. Leva is subscribed to all possible loyalty programs, and when he needs to fly somewhere, he simply searches through the partners of these airlines to see what would be the most profitable way to spend his miles. For example, he flew to China with Cathay Pacific, which is a partner of American Airlines.

Leva spends his miles most willingly on first-class flights (he says he gets them on average three times a year). It turns out that this is more profitable: if in money business class is half the price of first class, then in miles the difference is only 20-30%.

No, Leva was not flying in this aircraft compartment. This is a photo from.

In addition to purely “aviation” credit cards, there is a reason to get regular ones from airline partner banks. For example, with American Express or Chase cards, you can accumulate “multi-use” bonus points, and when you see Delta or United selling tickets for miles, you can immediately convert those points into miles and buy what you need.

Leva advises starting with the cheapest credit card (often it is “free”). Here is his procedure for earning miles:

1. Take a cheaper card, with a free first year.
2. Spend the required amount on it on time and receive a bonus.
3. Keep it inactive until almost the end of the year.
4. Call and cancel right before your anniversary.
5. After a year (or 18 months) you can try again.

In general, if you have the opportunity to get American mileage cards, feel free to get them, just don’t forget to close them. Have a nice flight!

If you know about a sale in a store, then you go there and take something useful for yourself. The air where planes fly also has its own promotions and discounts.

Airline miles or bonus miles are a program for passengers who fly very often. However, it is not necessary to fly with only one company. Large carriers are united in alliances, which imply the offset of bonuses. The most famous airline associations are Sky Team, One World and Star Alliance.

You can become a participant in the program on the plane by filling out a paper form that the crew has. But you don't have to be in the air to participate. All conditions are usually written on airline websites, and you can register yourself in the program online. You can also do this in the office by filling out a form. You will be credited with a certain number of welcome miles and you are already “in the system”.

Be sure to carefully read the terms and conditions of participation in the program. How long your miles will be stored, how you can spend them, whether airport taxes will be increased for you - all this needs to be studied so that you don’t regret the wasted efforts later.

First you will have a "temporary" card with a number. You will get a plastic one later, when you have accumulated a certain number of miles. But a temporary card allows you to do all the same things, and most importantly, it helps you accumulate miles.

How to earn miles

Special “co-branded” MasterCard and Visa cards also allow you to start earning airline miles. At the bank you apply for a card, and then you simply start making any purchases: in a store or cafe, at a gas station or at the cinema. For example, buying a car for 600 thousand rubles with such a card is a flight to, or.

There are other ways to earn miles. By participating in various promotions and competitions from airlines, you can replenish your stock of “bonus points”. You can subscribe to the airline's newsletter and learn about all the additional services that will earn you miles. This could be dinners in restaurants of a certain chain, renting a car in one company, buying things in some stores.

Of course, the main source of miles remains flights. How to earn airline miles using them? When purchasing an airline ticket, you will be required to provide your card number or provide it to the cashier if you are not purchasing your ticket online. Then you need to take a flight. Then, usually within a few days, the treasured miles will appear on your account. More miles are awarded for business class flights than for economy voyages. You can also save money: a flight with one airline with transfers is cheaper and earns more miles than a direct flight.

Each company's website has a table from which you can estimate how many miles a particular flight will earn you. For example, a flight from is usually about 2,000 bonus miles.

How to spend your accumulated miles

You can spend miles in different ways. You can pay for the air ticket in full or in part. You can also upgrade your service class: pay the difference between economy and business class to fly in more comfortable conditions. Then look at the terms and conditions of your program. You can buy products or services from your airline's partners or donate miles to charity. You can give a reward ticket to a friend and not use it yourself.

For the “accumulator” of bonus miles, it is also important to pay attention to the restrictions that may be specified in the terms of the program. Sometimes it happens that you will not be able to select the flight date or time. But all these are small nuances that will never spoil the impressions of your first absolutely free flight.