Aeroflot is considered one of the major air carriers in our country. The company was founded in 1923 as Dobrolet JSC. To date, the company is equipped with 120 modern aircraft. Passengers can enjoy attractive discount offers as well as many benefits. It is Aeroflot that offers its customers a bonus program. How to spend miles, air carrier bonuses? This will be discussed in the article.
What bonuses does the company offer?
Miles from Aeroflot is a company program offered to regular customers. To register in it, you must fill out a form on the official website or on the plane itself. This can also be done by issuing a special bank card of partner banks. The number will be indicated on the plastic, which is very convenient. After receiving the card, you must take it everywhere with you.
Participation in the program must be announced when registering the card, otherwise the bonuses will not be used. If you frequently use the services of partner companies, you will accumulate many miles. After that, they are available for various spending.
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 the ticket;
- you can choose any partner company;
- for miles you can buy a ticket;
- you can purchase goods by paying with miles;
- the program is free.
The service allows you to regularly use discounts, since bonuses are intended to pay for a certain part of the tickets.
Differences between a temporary card and a permanent one
When joining the program, the client receives a temporary card. Usually a printout is issued, where the account, number and surname are indicated. A little later, the company sends the permanent card to the client. But often, in order to receive it, you must meet several conditions, for example, accumulate 2,000 miles.
A temporary card has practically no differences from a permanent card, since it also provides the opportunity to accumulate bonuses. The main thing is to correctly indicate the number when buying a ticket from a cashier or via the Internet.
Mile types
It must be taken into account that miles are:
- qualifying;
- non-qualifying.
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 member has the opportunity to join an elite club, which provides additional privileges.
What can I spend my Aeroflot miles on? Non-qualifying points are earned through purchases from partners. It can be hotels, online stores, car rentals. Such bonuses do not count towards determining the status of a member.
Who can participate?
Anyone can register for the program. This is not affected by age, citizenship. Children under 12 can participate in the Aeroflot Bonus Junior program. Terms and conditions do not differ from the adult bonus system.
Accumulation of bonuses
Bonuses are given in the form of miles for regular flights. They can be different in size, it all depends on the tariff and distance. If you use the economy class, then bonuses will be provided in the amount of 25-75%. When choosing a business class, up to 150% is charged. If Aeroflot miles have been accumulated, 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 need to provide your card number when buying a ticket or when checking in for a flight. If this is not done, then 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 credited to customers 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 a lot of qualifying miles, you will get additional benefits. Among them:
- visiting business lounges;
- convenient check-in for flights;
- more places for luggage;
- 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. It contains information on where to spend Aeroflot miles. Each time you log in, you must enter a username and password. There is information on flights, the 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 she who serves for the sale and purchase of bonus miles. A lot of people use this service so that the accumulated points do not disappear. After all, if no flights were made within 2 years, then the miles cannot be used. It turns out that in order to receive discounts, you need to use the services regularly.
Gifting miles
If Aeroflot paid 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, then they should be reissued for any person who wants to make such a gift. The procedure is performed 2 days or earlier before departure.
Use of bonuses
A full member becomes only when at least 2000 miles are credited to his account. After that, a plastic card is issued, where there is a number, surname. Now you can actively use the accumulated bonuses.
The number of miles is determined by the distance, 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 there is a calculator to help you determine exactly how many miles you can earn.
How to spend Aeroflot Bonus miles? To do this, you must present the card every time you travel or use various services. Many companies have joined the program. Sberbank offers special services for this. Bonuses will come for opening a new card.
If Aeroflot credited a lot of bonuses, how to spend miles? They are spent in the classical way: when flying by partner companies, to obtain a higher status of a client, to book hotels, rent cars. 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 with benefit. You can take part in charity by sending points to those in need. Miles are spent on the purchase of award tickets for flights. All commissions are paid by the passenger.
If you buy an economy class discount ticket, you will have access to the benefits of business class. Program clients can pay bills with partners.
Aeroflot provides its customers with many benefits. If you regularly use the services of the company, there will always be privileges in the form of discounts. And how to spend bonuses, everyone decides for himself.
Many airlines provide a cumulative loyalty system, thanks to which you can get a very profitable bonus. This program may be of interest to those whose activities involve frequent flights due to business trips. In fact, miles are the units by which the air carrier evaluates customer loyalty.
Such programs are very similar to the accumulative systems of many large supermarkets, where points ("miles") are awarded to the customer for the purchase of goods (tickets). In the future, they can be spent on other goods (exchanged for another ticket or book a hotel, rent a car).
Bonus "miles" from low-cost airlines are 2 and status. The first are the category of bonuses that can be spent on purchasing a ticket or upgrading the class of service. These bonuses have an expiration date, after which they expire. They are valid from 20 to 36 months, during this period they must be completely spent. Status "miles" can also be exchanged for various awards. They affect the status of their owner. The more such "miles" on the client's account, the more important person he becomes. "Miles" of this category are reset to zero after a year.
A little history of the program
This system of gaining advantageous advantages originated in the company 15 years ago, in 1999, but Aeroflot is not a pioneer in this bonus program. For the first time, loyal customers of Transaero airlines got the opportunity to enjoy benefits from participation in it 4 years earlier.
In the last decade, there has been a rapid development of the bonus program, new relevant opportunities have appeared in it, because of this, it was possible to attract 500 thousand customers. The opportunity to participate in it was provided not only to Russian citizens, but also to foreigners who used the services of this airline.
Brief description of the bonus system
The essence of the program to support loyal customers is as follows: certain bonuses will be awarded for each flight on comfortable aircraft of the company. After purchasing an Aeroflot airline ticket, "miles" are credited to the member's account. Their number depends on a number of the following factors: the total flight distance, the selected class of service, the current status of the program member.
Who can be eligible to participate in this bonus system?
Registration in the Aeroflot Bonus system is a simple procedure, age and citizenship do not matter. Children under the age of 12 must declare their participation in a similar subprogram "Aeroflot Bonus Junior". Apart from the name, it has no special differences. Aeroflot's rules on how to spend "miles" and accumulate them change periodically. In order to have these bonuses, you need to declare your participation in the system.
Program Participation Rules
It is very easy to become an official Aeroflot Bonus member. There are 3 convenient ways, you can use any of them:
- submit the completed application form to the nearest Aeroflot representative office or an authorized point of sale;
- fill out an online application on the official website of the company;
- become the owner of any partner card of the program, for example, Sberbank issues "miles" for Aeroflot. How to spend them is described below.
Any of the listed methods requires the submission of the passport data of the future participant, his detailed contact and personal information. After registration, an individual number is issued in the system.
The client becomes a full-fledged member of the bonus program in the event that more than 2000 "miles" are accumulated on the account. Upon reaching this level, a plastic card of the official participant with an individual number is issued, it also contains the full name. owner. The card is delivered by mail to the specified address. After accumulating the required number of award points, their owner will already know exactly how to spend "miles". "Aeroflot Bonus" is really a very profitable and convenient system.
Varieties of bonus "miles"
Now it is very important to understand the questions of how to spend Aeroflot "miles" and accumulate them, as well as what varieties there are.
This company has two main types of points:
- "Miles" of a qualifying type, which are credited directly for completed air travel. The client receives these bonuses not only for the purchase of tickets for Aeroflot's operating flights, but also for the purchase of travel documents from partner companies. Each declared partner has its own restrictions and certain rules, each Aeroflot client needs to familiarize themselves with them. How to spend "miles" wisely? This question worries every participant. With the help of qualification-type bonuses, it is possible to make a free flight by exchanging them for the desired ticket, upgrade your class of service or status level in the program itself.
- Bonus miles of a non-qualifying type, which are credited for the purchase of various goods and the use of services from partner companies. For this type of promotion, the conditions and procedure for their accrual are constantly changing. How to spend the accumulated "miles"? Aeroflot offers only one way for this type of bonuses - obtaining various benefits during registration and during the flight. In order to spend premium bonuses, you must first accumulate them over a certain period of time.
Accumulation methods
The main ways to get the coveted "miles":
- It is necessary to fly on flights of the same airline or with the help of its partners. This is the easiest way to save, it is ideal for those who often travel due to business trips or visit relatives. This method is also relevant for fans of a particular country for recreation. For such tourists, you can choose the most optimal bonus program, which allows you to significantly save money without changing your plans.
- Purchase of goods and services from the main partners of the program (payment for hotels, car rental, restaurant meals). They are much more profitable to rent a car or stay in a comfortable hotel from the list presented. Additional "miles" are assigned to the card for purchased services.
- Use of special bank cards. Many large banking organizations offer advantageous debit or credit cards for the convenience of their customers, which help to fly profitably. By making purchases, a certain percentage of the amount spent is credited to the client's personal "mile" account. For example, for every dollar or euro spent, 1 "mile" is added to the account. These "miles" are premium, they can be exchanged and spent, but they do not affect the upgrade of the status.
Additional sources of accumulation
Many companies reward their customers with extra "miles" in the following cases:
- during the initial entry into the program, welcome "miles" are accrued;
- holiday "miles" are issued to reward loyal customers on their birthday;
- you can get "miles" for activity in social networks - for writing reviews, participating in various contests, games or quizzes from the airline;
- additional "miles" are issued for subscribing to the company's newsletter;
- "miles" purchased on the website of the air carrier or from other holders of bonus cards.
Many customers accumulate "miles" in the hope of receiving certain benefits. Aeroflot also has a similar support program for its loyal customers. With the help of bonuses, it is possible to get real benefits for those who fly frequently. When accumulating bonuses, many people have a question about what Aeroflot miles can be spent on. Let's try to answer it.
Where to use bonuses?
These "miles" are credited by Aeroflot for regular flights, their amount depends on the distance traveled by the client by air, as well as on the class of service. Each member of the reward program is given a certain status, which also affects the amount of bonus "miles". The conditions of the program are subject to frequent changes; for a more accurate calculation of possible savings, Aeroflot offers a "miles" calculator.
You can spend bonuses at your discretion. It is also offered to accumulate them in the course of making purchases, when the payment is made using a card of a partner bank. Many leading financial institutions of the country are actively involved in this program. Sberbank also offers special "Airport bonus". Bonuses are awarded for opening a new card, each dollar spent adds one bonus "mile" to the card.
Everyone can take advantage of all the benefits of cooperation with Aeroflot. How to spend "miles" from Sberbank, all holders of bonus cards also need to know. Bonus units are spent in a standard way: for a free flight by this airline or its official partners, for the next increase in client status, for booking hotels or renting a car. Moreover, these conditions apply almost all over the world. Now another direction has become popular. How to spend "miles" of "Aeroflot" for the benefit of others? With their help, you can participate in a special charity program, helping those in need.
What are qualifying bonuses used for?
The "miles" accumulated on the account of the qualifying type must be spent in one of the proposed ways, otherwise the client risks losing all the benefits from their use. What you can spend "miles" "Aeroflot":
- Become the owner of an award ticket on an operating flight of one of the partner companies that is part of the SkyTeam group. All commission fees are paid by the passenger.
- Optionally upgrade your current class of service. By purchasing an economy class discount ticket, it is possible to use all business class privileges when paying with bonus "miles".
- Pay bills of partner companies.
This is the main thing you need to know for those who have an Aeroflot accumulative bonus card. How to spend "miles" and what they are for, we examined in detail.
Privileged statuses of program participants
The client receives a full right to participate in the program at the time of the initial accumulation of 2000 bonus "miles". After fulfilling this condition, he is issued a basic member card. There are 2 more privileged statuses - silver and gold. They are called SkyTeam Elite and SkyTeam Elite Plus.
To obtain a SkyTeam Elite Silver Card, a client needs to accumulate 25,000 miles in a calendar year, and 50,000 miles to acquire Gold status. When a client reaches a new level, his card is automatically replaced with an individual one of the appropriate design and color. Such programs are beneficial for those customers who fly regularly throughout the year. For those who travel by plane from time to time, it will not be easy to accumulate the necessary points. When registering for participation in the airline's program, it is important to know where to spend the bonuses. Aeroflot offers to use "miles" in different ways.
Ability to buy and sell premium bonuses
Of course, in the literal sense, bonuses are not subject to sale and purchase. But there are times when a client has accumulated the required number of "miles" to purchase a ticket, but for some reason he cannot use them. In this case, you should agree with another person so that the ticket is not lost. This way you can redeem your accumulated points. This is another option available to Aeroflot customers.
How to spend "miles" if the trip fell through? Look for someone to sell a ticket to. Points in this case do not burn out, but appear in the form of a cash equivalent. But there is one more nuance here: in order to avoid fraud, it is advisable to carry out all operations in special sales centers of the air carrier.
The procedure for donating award miles from Aeroflot
How to spend "miles"? You can give them to your loved ones, relatives. The whole procedure takes place according to the scheme described above, only the owner does not receive any remuneration, and the ticket is issued free of charge. The ticket goes to the addressee. You will also need the personal passport details of the person to whom the award ticket is addressed. You also need to present the card and provide all the data of the donor. There is one limitation here: the client can give away his accumulated points no more than 10 times a year. This is perhaps the most recent answer to the question of where to spend bonuses. Aeroflot distributes "miles" to the most active and loyal customers.
It's done. Aeroflot allowed members of its bonus program to transfer bonus miles to each other. Now, if you do not have enough miles, you can always take them from another member. Let's take a closer look at how this works.
How to transfer miles?
The section "Spend miles" - "Transfer miles" appeared in your personal account. Here you need to enter the participant number, after which his name and the first letter of the surname will be displayed. From the drop-down list, you can select the number of miles to transfer - from 500 to 5000 in increments of 500 miles (ie 500, 1000, 1500, … , 4500, 5000). Next, you need to choose how you want to pay for the transfer: in miles or in cash.
That is, the translation is paid? What is the price?
There are two payment options. Either by miles (the commission will be 20% of the transfer amount), or by money: in this case, it will be 600 rubles. Since the monetary “price” of a mile when exchanging for goods is no more than 30 kopecks, it is more profitable to pay in miles. True, there is a trick here: with payment by miles, a silver member can transfer a maximum of 10 thousand miles per year, gold 20 thousand, platinum - 30 thousand. The rest is for money.
Oh, can I legally sell miles now?
Well, that's it. As before, it is not allowed to use your miles for commercial purposes, including the sale / resale of miles to third parties. Aeroflot reserves the right to cancel the earned miles, block the member's account for any period, cancel the account, cancel the elite level of both the program member and the recipient, without reimbursement of any expenses and amounts. And there are many cases of “fuse” of sellers of miles. For example, one such flew into platinum, then decided to sell the gold card received at the same time for 40 thousand rubles - and as a result, no miles, no status, nothing.
How does Aeroflot know that I have sold miles?
There are many ways. For example, specially trained people monitor private classified sites. It is known about "control purchases". Finally, this can be found out if something goes wrong with a passenger flying for your miles, he starts demanding compensation and accidentally mentions that he paid someone. It is relatively safe to send close friends and relatives miles away. But will you seriously take money from your mother for a mile ticket to the sea?
Are there any restrictions on transferring miles?
Yes, and there are many. This is done so that it is impossible to accumulate miles earned in the bottom of the barrel in one account. The owner of miles can transfer no more than 50 thousand miles per year. The recipient can also receive no more than 50 thousand miles from one or more other people's accounts, but no more than 10 transactions during the year. At the same time, in order to transfer miles, you need to have at least 3 months of experience in the program (this was done to combat fraud - there is a known method with registering a new account with the name of the victim and substituting its number in the PNR of this victim). You also need to fly at least once for money over the past two years, that is, inactive miles cannot be withdrawn from your account by transfers.
Oh, 50 thousand! Can you, then, collect yourself for gold?
No. The miles received by transfer are not qualifying, even if you originally earned them for the flight, and did not receive them from the bank. So it’s impossible to wind up the status, there is such an opportunity. And thank God: Aeroflot already has too many status holders, there is no need to distribute statuses to everyone.
Aeroflot rewards its passengers with bonuses for completed flights.
Aeroflot bonus: how to credit miles after a flight? All this is done automatically according to the service class, booking class and flight distance. The table clearly demonstrates how to accumulate points, how to spend Aeroflot bonus miles depends entirely on the client's desire.
How to spend Aeroflot bonus miles? They can be spent:
- to pay for subsequent flights;
- to pay for premium services of the company's partners;
- to upgrade the class of service;
- to charity, if this coincides with the desire of the passenger himself, and he voluntarily declares this.
If the client has an Aeroflot Sberbank card with which he pays for purchases, then points are also credited to the Aeroflot Bonus account. How to spend miles aeroflot bonus Sberbank? Having accumulated enough of them, you can exchange them for a ticket to anywhere in the world. They can also be sold or donated (for details on how to do this, see the article below).
Buying a ticket with miles
How to buy an Aeroflot bonus ticket for miles? If there is a sufficient number of points, the client receives an award ticket on the next flight. But additional taxes and fees will have to be paid as usual. You will be able to use this service only if in the previous two years you have already flown in the direction that participated in the bonus program. Payment for points is made no later than one day before departure. The ticket is bought at the ticket sales point or on the company's website.
How to buy miles from Aeroflot? In the literal sense of the word, bonuses, of course, are not for sale. But if someone has accumulated them to buy a ticket, and the person knows that he will not have to fly in the near future, he can negotiate with another citizen who needs to fly by plane and buy him a ticket for the desired flight. This is done for a certain fee. To whom and how to sell Aeroflot miles, the bonus holder usually finds among his friends or via the Internet. Thus, those who have award points receive a cash reward for them from the buyer, who is also satisfied - the ticket cost him less. To avoid cases of fraud, all transactions of such a purchase and sale are best carried out at the company's office.
Gifting Aeroflot award points and miles
How to give miles from Aeroflot? Everything happens in much the same way as when buying and selling, only the donor does not take remuneration, but issues a ticket free of charge. The holder of bonuses needs to issue an award ticket not in his own name, but in the name of the person to whom he wants to give. This must be done no later than 48 hours before departure. The ticket sales center will need the passport details of the person who will actually fly the plane. The name of the donor and the card of the program participant are also required. But according to the rules established by the company, a person cannot give away his points more than ten times a year.
Does it make sense to buy miles? Or sell them? What if the miles are about to burn out? Answers below.
Consider the situation on the example of the Aeroflot Bonus program. The highlights also apply to other airline mileage programs.
Program Rules
We carefully read the rules of the program.
So, let's assume that you have accumulated a lot of Aeroflot Bonus miles and they will soon expire, but no flights are expected. What to do? How to save the miles accumulated over the years? Can they be transferred or sold to a third party? See the Aeroflot bonus rules from 08/01/2016 http://www.aeroflot.ru/ru-ru/afl_bonus/rules
4.1.7. A member of the Aeroflot Bonus program can transfer the Award in the form of an Award ticket, an Award upgrade in service class for flights operated by Aeroflot and Partner Airlines, as well as Partners’ Awards to any person no more than 10 (ten) times per calendar year. Award upgrade with the transfer of the Award at the check-in counter is not included in the designated limit (10 awards per year).
Thus, you need to have enough miles for an Award ticket or for an upgrade. You can transfer / sell them to a third party. If miles are not enough for a flight, then you can spend them with partners or for charity (see clause 4.11 of the rules). Or, you can also use the remaining miles from the sale of basic miles.
How to buy/sell miles?
Aeroflot does not regulate in any way how you will negotiate among yourself (who gives and who receives miles). This happens in a purely private manner. There are so-called exchanges on the Internet, where you can find people who want to buy miles for money. Now, in the fall of 2016, the average mile price on such exchanges 0.6 ruble. From an economic point of view, such a price per miles is beneficial for the buyer when buying business class tickets. The price of economy tickets will not be much more profitable, and often even unprofitable in comparison with the direct purchase of tickets. Therefore, they are taken by those who fly by business or intermediaries who earn on the difference between a business ticket and a ticket bought for miles. So, Benefits of earning business class miles. It is always profitable to sell, especially when they burn out soon 🙂
You can also buy a ticket for another person for miles through the site. This is only if you completely trust each other. In order for the transaction to pass safely, you need to conduct it at the Aeroflot office by filling out an appropriate application. But it's safe from the mileage buyer's point of view. The buyer can theoretically not pay you after transferring miles and purchasing a ticket. To avoid this, you can draw up a contract in a simple written form or rely on the decency of the buyer by establishing confidential communication with him before transferring miles (promise that you will earn many more miles in the near future and you don’t need to throw it now))).
Miles Buyer Instructions.
According to Aeroflot bonus rules:
4.3.2. In order to issue an Award ticket with the transfer of the Award at Aeroflot's own sales offices/branches/representative offices, it is necessary to provide the original or a copy of the Membership Card, a completed and signed Application for the transfer of the Award by the Member - the account holder, originals/copies of the passports of the account holder and the passenger to whom the Award is transferred. An Award ticket with the transfer of the Award can be issued by the Participant - the owner of the account or his authorized representative. The powers of the authorized person must be confirmed by a power of attorney. If the ticket is issued to a third party, and not in the name of the Participant-account holder, the power of attorney must be notarized.
In practice, it is enough to provide the Aeroflot Bonus member number and provide a passport with an application.
Some exchanges write that Aeroflot does not welcome the transfer of miles for money, allegedly with the risk of losing status in the program for the seller and the complete cancellation of miles. I have not found such information anywhere in the rules and FAQs.
Buyers are also advised not to buy cheap miles as they can be stolen. And this threatens with the fact that the owner of the miles can detect the loss and withdraw them before departure. This was especially true until the spring of 2016, when Aeroflot introduced two-factor authentication via SMS on the site, and the task of hacking accounts has since become much more complicated.
