More champagne please…

Let’s pretend for a moment that you have no miles, are not a frequent flyer and would absolutely adore the chance to fly in a flat bed. Now let’s also suppose that it’s Black Friday, there are some bonkers, ludicrous offers out and that if everything so far is true, you can. An amazing travel deal has emerged, which allows you to fly business class in some of the world’s best seats up front, all for under $300 – even on long flights over 6 hours. Here’s how to turn your next Asian adventure into an epic, on the cheap…

Buy Miles, Fly High

Aegean is a Greek airline you may never fly, but that’s beside the point. They’re great, and they have an extraordinary frequent flyer program. Even if you’ve never flown, you can purchase miles with Aegean, which you can then use on other Star Alliance airlines, like: EVA, Thai, Singapore, ANA, Air China and more. Just for signing up for their frequent flyer program, they’re giving away 2,000 miles at the moment, and that makes all the mastery we’re about to dive into even sweeter.

21,000 Miles For Asia

Asia is like… huge. But you don’t need to worry about that, since you’ll now be flying in a bed and well lubricated with fine champagne. Aegean’s Miles & Bonus frequent flyer program requires 21,000 points for a one way business class ticket in Asia, and by Asia that means all of it. You could fly from the Southern most tip of Southeast Asia to the Northernmost part of North Asia for the same amount of miles you’d pay for a short flight. Places like China, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam are all included.

2,000 + 10,000 + 10,000

When you sign up for Aegean’s Miles & Bonus program, they give you 2,000 points as a welcome. That’s very kind of them, isn’t it? On top of that, thanks to a Black Friday sale going on through today, the 24th of November only – you can enjoy a record 100% bonus when you buy Aegean points. Buying 10,000 points gets you 20,000. Couple that with your 2,000 free points and you’ve got 22,000 points. That’s more than enough for a one way in business class anywhere in Asia. Total cost to buy the points? €250/$280. That’s it.

Find Seats And Book Business

Here’s where you’ll get lost, but you’ll figure it out quickly enough anyway. You’re prospectively buying Aegean miles, to fly on other airlines they partner with, but to find the seats you’re going to look elsewhere. The best place to look is United.com. Go there, enter “Book with miles” add in your dates and desired route, like Singapore to Tokyo, your dates and see if there are any “saver” seats available in business class. If there are, they will be bookable for fewer points than United would charge, via Aegean. Yes – ignore the United rates. You’re just using their handy website to find the seats, and then you’ll buy points or redeem points you already have with Aegean to lock the same seat in at better rates. You can book online with Aegean, or over the phone.

About The Buying Points Thing

Generally you never want to buy points unless you have something you can use immediately, but these Aegean Miles & Bonus points are so valuable. Buying points here could be a very shrewd move to have in the “bank”, even if you don’t use them right at the moment or may plan to use them for something else. For example, 60,000 is enough for one way in First Class between Europe and the USA as well. Here’s the Star Alliance chart to explore possibilities, one ways would be half the points…

Gilbert Ott

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

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4 Comments

  1. So, are you saying you can buy Aegean points and book any flight where Aegean or any Star Alliance airlines flies with however many points you have? And you use the United web site to plan your trip but use Aegean points by booking through Aegean (online or phone)? Have you done this? Thanks.

  2. Hi I’m looking at doing a one way from Beijing to Manila but when looking at the mileage it says 25k for an award ticket within Asia so wondered if I’m misreading something?

    I’m thinking of transferring some Marriott points to Aegean.

    I missed out on the Black Friday bonus unfortunately.

    Any info/advice would be appreciated.

    Cheers

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