The airline has updated the S7 Priority mileage program for frequent flyers. 4 premium statuses have been added; passengers who fly 4 or more flights per year will be able to receive bonuses. The new S7 Priority privilege program will become available to a larger number of passengers.

Previously, the S7 Priority mileage program had 4 statuses: Classic, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
Now the Classic level is further divided into 4 new statuses: Junior, Master, Expert and Top.

Junior status

Junior is assigned to a passenger after 4 flights on S7 Airlines flights from the beginning of the calendar year. To obtain status, it is enough to fly with a transfer there and back. The status increases the accumulation of miles by 10% and gives 30% cashback on your first purchase with an S7 credit card from Tinkoff Bank.

• +10% miles for flights with S7 Airlines.

Master status

Master is assigned after 8 flights on S7 Airlines flights since the beginning of the calendar year. Master status increases the accumulation of miles for completed flights by 15%. One of the main benefits of status is the ability to freely select seats on the plane when purchasing air tickets.

• Free seat selection.

Expert status

Expert is assigned after 12 flights on S7 Airlines flights since the beginning of the calendar year. This status provides a 20% discount on the purchase of a ticket using miles at the “Priority” fare. It also increases mileage accumulation by 15% and provides free choice places.

• 20% discount on air tickets for miles at the “Priority” fare
• +15% miles for flights with S7 Airlines.
• Free seat selection.

Top status

Top is assigned after 16 flights on S7 Airlines flights since the beginning of the calendar year.

• 33% discount on air tickets for miles at the “Priority” fare.
• Free seat selection.
• +1 additional luggage space.

Silver status

Silver is assigned after 20 flights (20,000 status miles) on S7 Airlines flights since the beginning of the calendar year. Silver status corresponds to Ruby aviation level Oneworld alliance.

• +25% miles for flights with S7 Airlines.
• Free seat selection.
• +1 place up to 23 kg.

Gold status

Gold is assigned after 50 flights (50,000 status miles) on S7 Airlines flights since the beginning of the calendar year.

• +50% miles for flights with S7 Airlines.
• Free seat selection.
• +1 piece up to 23 kg (or 1 piece up to 15 kg on Oneworld flights).
• Check-in for flights at business class counters.
• Priority boarding.
• Access to the halls increased comfort Oneworld with a travel companion.

Platinum status

Platinum is assigned after 75 flights (75,000 status miles) on S7 Airlines flights since the beginning of the calendar year.

• +75% miles for flights with S7 Airlines.
• Free seat selection.
• +1 piece up to 32 kg (or 1 piece 20 kg on Oneworld flights).
• Check-in for flights at business class counters.
• Access to oneworld first class lounges.
• Free upgrade of service class on S7 flights - 2 times during the year.

Accumulation of bonus miles

Accumulation bonus miles occurs for flights in economy class; when flying in business class, 1 flight is counted as 2. It is worth noting that not all S7 Airlines flights are included in the accumulation of miles. Charter flights flights carried out by the Globus carrier do not give passengers bonus miles. To find out more about miles accrual, we recommend contacting S7 Airlines.

Earning Oneworld Miles

S7 Airlines is part of the Oneworld aviation alliance. When flying with Oneworld member airlines, you can earn miles.

UPDATE: The article has been updated to reflect the changed prices.

Welcome to a new series of articles that many readers have asked me to pay attention to. This series will be called Best ways to use miles…

These articles will be a mirror image of another series How to access... If there we are talking about which miles are the most profitable to use to purchase an award ticket for a specific product of a specific airline, then here we will discuss various options for using miles of a specific loyalty program.

I hope that one series of articles will organically complement the other.

So we'll start with one of the world's most popular and most controversial loyalty programs.

Miles&More

Miles&More is a loyalty program for several European airlines: Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, LOT, Adria and Croatia Airlines. In addition to these airlines, which are the “founders” of the program, and others included in Star Alliance carriers, program partners are Condor, Eurowings, Luxair, Air Astana, Air Malta.

Judging by the number of passengers registered with Miles&More, it is the most popular loyalty program in the world.

Miles&More can be viewed in different ways. On the one hand, there are thousands (&more) ways to accumulate miles in this program, including - which is important for Russians - co-branded cards.

On the other hand, inexperienced users, having accumulated a fair amount of miles, find themselves in a stupor when they see how the astronomical fuel surcharges levied on award tickets make the use of those same miles impractical.

The truth, as often happens, is somewhere in the middle. Miles&More has some interesting use cases, but before you make this program the main one in your portfolio, you need to clearly understand its limitations.

So, let's first briefly discuss the general conditions regarding award tickets, and then see for what purposes Miles&More miles are best suited.

Tariffs and conditions for Miles&More award tickets

A full description of the terms of the program is beyond the scope of this article, but here are the main points.

This is what the price table for award tickets looks like, regardless of whether we are talking about the Lufthansa Group or alliance partners.

The prices in the table are for round trip flights. A one-way flight costs exactly half as much. Moreover, Miles&More uses price rounding to the nearest thousand in favor of the passenger. For example, a flight from Europe to Central America in business class will not cost 127,000 / 2 = 63,500 miles, but only 63,000 miles. Generously!

Before booking a round trip flight that costs an odd number of miles, try splitting it into two one-way flights to save 1,000 miles.

The table above has some nuances.

Flights within one country are subject to special rates. Domestic. So, for example, a flight within the USA / within Switzerland is calculated according to the tariff Domestic, and not according to the tariff North America - North America/Europe - Europe.

Rates 3 regions apply if your route crosses a third region. Moreover, we are not talking about a transfer that you have planned for maximization purposes, but even about forced transit. For example, a flight from the USA to Southeast Asia via Europe will be calculated not according to the main table, but according to the table 3 regions.

Miles&More limits the number of flight segments. It depends on how many regions the award ticket includes:

• 1 region: 2 one-way segments, 4 round-trip segments
• 2 regions: 3 one-way segments, 6 round-trip segments
• 3 regions: 4 one-way segments, 8 round-trip segments

You can book flights online with almost all partner airlines. Exceptions: Air India, Cathay Pacific, Air Astana.

So, now that we have clarified the main points on which award tickets function, let’s actually discuss best options miles usage.

Lufthansa First Class

Classics of the genre! This is the most profitable use of Miles&More miles. Many people think that it is the only one. As we will see later, this is not the case at all. But if you take into account not mathematics, but the use of miles for inspiring purposes on a special occasion, then this is really almost the only option :)

Why is this the best investment for Miles&More miles?

• Miles&More is the only program that makes Lufthansa first class tickets available earlier than 2 weeks before departure
• High fuel surcharges are worth it first of all when purchasing such expensive flights
• I haven't mentioned it yet, but Lufthansa first class is pretty awful.

How much does it cost to fly Lufthansa first class from Europe ( one-way)?

• North America: 91,000 miles
• South America: 111,000 miles
• Middle East: 65,000 miles
• India: 91,000 miles
• South Africa: 91,000 miles
• Southeast Asia and Far East: 111,000 miles

In some other programs we see a little more low prices for similar routes, but Miles&More prices are generally adequate, especially considering the ability to plan a flight more than two weeks before the desired departure date.

Before making a decision, it is of course worth keeping in mind Miles&More fuel surcharges and the cost of accumulating these miles and affiliate program miles. However, this is rather a topic of discussion for the article “ How to gain access to Lufthansa First Class» 🙂

All of the above applies to Swiss first class; except that they can only buy it with miles status participants Miles&More - Senator and HON Circle.

Fly Smart

Fly Smart premium rates apply to flights within Europe booked no earlier than two weeks and no later than two days before departure.

Those who can make a decision in this period of time can save significantly.

A round trip flight in economy class will cost 20,000 miles, and in business class it will cost 30,000 miles.

This may represent a good value in case of expensive flights to rare destinations or during high season.

The good news is that taxes and fees can also be paid with miles. They cost 15,000 miles for both economy and business.

Fly Smart tickets can only be booked online.

Meilenschnäppchen

Every month Miles&More puts some routes on sale at reduced prices.

For example, round-trip flights in business class between Europe and the USA cost 55,000 miles instead of the traditional 112,000, and between Europe and Asia - 70,000 instead of 142,000. Solid savings! It's nice that the Meilenschnäppchen rates have not changed since the standard rates were increased a few months ago.

However, again, high fuel surcharges should be kept in mind. As general rule, Meilenschnäppchen make sense for exotic and expensive destinations. But if the sale list includes flights with Eurowings and LOT, then the fees for them are significantly lower!

Sometimes the Meilenschnäppchen list includes intra-European destinations for economy class flights with minor fuel surcharges. Most often we are talking about LOT flights.

Apart from fuel surcharges, the problem with Meilenschnäppchen is that the travel period lies far in the future, and flights one-way not allowed. However, in certain circumstances these suggestions may make sense.

Business class LOT

If you want to avoid astronomical fuel surcharges, the solution is LOT!

The Polish airline does not charge unnecessary fees when purchasing award tickets.

So, a flight from Warsaw to Beijing on a LOT flight costs 71,000 miles + 294 PLN (68 €).

A flight on the same route through Germany on board Lufthansa costs 71,000 miles + 1198 PLN (277 €).

It's also safe to say that LOT's business class product is at least as good as Lufthansa's business class, if not better. So in this case, saving does not mean a lower quality product.

Premium class departing from Hong Kong and Brazil

This story, as old as time, applies not only to the Miles&More program. Brazil and Hong Kong are the only two countries that legally prohibit charging fuel surcharges on award tickets.

Therefore, with departures from Brazil and Hong Kong, flying with Lufthansa makes sense not only in first class, but also in business and even in premium economy.

If you want to minimize fees, choose direct flights, without transfers in Europe.

Thus, a flight from Sao Paulo to Zurich has the lowest fees if you choose Swiss.

Likewise, a direct flight from Hong Kong to Frankfurt with Lufthansa will cost you less than Austrian via Vienna, Swiss via Zurich or Lufthansa via Munich.

This rule applies to all Star Alliance partners. In the same way, you can fly inexpensively from Brazil, for example, with TAP or Turkish Airlines flights.

Another good option to use this trick is flight from Sao Paulo to Johannesburg South African Airways. In business class it costs only 56,000 miles plus about 30€ taxes.

United flights within the US

United's 15,000 miles in economy class and 20,000 in business class across the US are a great use of Miles&More miles.

According to the geographical definition, the US region does not include Hawaii... otherwise it would be too good 😉 But Alaska, yes, it does.

United has a wide range of domestic flights, including all sorts of exotic and expensive destinations.

In business class, United uses planes with a full bed on flights between New York and San Francisco/Los Angeles. 20,000 miles for a product like this is more than a fair price.

What's even better is that taxes and fees on these tickets are literally zero. Expect to pay around $10.

United flights from the USA to Hawaii

Even though Hawaii isn't considered part of the United States in the Miles&More table, United's flight rates are reasonable: 20,000 miles in economy, 35,000 miles in business.

Again, you can enjoy minimal taxes and fees of $10.

Flights between Hawaii and Australia, New Zealand and Asia

While zoning Hawaii increases the cost of flying there from the continental United States, Miles&More zoning makes it possible to travel economically between Hawaii and Australia, New Zealand, Oceania and Asia.

One-way flight between Hawaii and regions And Central Asia/Far East Costs just 20,000 miles in Economy and 35,000 miles in Business!

The only catch is that there are very few airlines serving these destinations, and finding available seats is a difficult task.

To be more specific, we are talking about flights

• United: Honolulu - Guam, Honolulu - Tokyo
• Air New Zealand: Honolulu - Oakland
• Air China: Honolulu - Beijing
• China Airlines: Honolulu - Taipei, Honolulu - Tokyo (NRT)
• ANA: Honolulu - Tokyo (HND, NRT)
• Asiana: Honolulu - Seoul

Good luck finding places!

Flights within and between Africa and the Middle East

The more exotic the destinations, the higher the prices usually are. The use of miles in such cases suggests itself!

Within the region Middle East/Caucasus/North/Central Africa we will have to turn to the services of Ethiopian and Egyptian Air. Unfortunately, Southern Africa allocated to a separate region...

A one-way flight in economy costs just 17,000 miles, and 30,000 miles in business class.

How much will it cost for a short flight between Addis Ababa and Zanzibar, or more? long journey between Dakar and Dubai.

Flying between Central and South America

Such trips can be sooooo expensive!

Star Alliance airlines such as Copa Airlines and Avianca will come to our aid.

Mexico is part of Central America for Miles&More, so flying from there to any destination South America costs just 17,000 miles in economy and 30,000 miles in business.

Copa and Avianca charge fuel surcharges, but they range from $100-$150.

Don't forget to compare rates with other programs like LifeMiles and ConnectMiles. On short flights domestically Latin America they often offer lower prices and better availability.

Flights within Oceania

Here we take advantage of the region's vast geography Australia/New Zealand/Oceania. We take a remote point in Australia and a remote point in Oceania. We get, for example, a flight from Perth to Fiji on Air New Zealand for 17,000 miles in economy class and 30,000 miles in business.

Taxes and fees range from $50.

As is the case with exotic destinations served by just one airline, finding available seats will be a challenge...

Eurowings flights

The situation with Eurowings is a bit confusing.

For short and medium duration flights, Eurowings has its own table, as Eurowings uses its own pricing system.

For long-haul flights, standard Miles&More rates apply. In the table on the Eurowings website you will see another table that applies to departures from/arrivals to Cologne. But, as far as I understand, this is no longer relevant, since Eurowings does not have a single long-distance route left from Cologne.

Not only are the rates expressed in miles attractive, but also the moderate taxes and fees. Within Europe, expect to pay around €50 for a one-way flight, but long distances- up to 100€.

Eurowings flies in exotic places- for example, Reykjavik, Marrakech, Funchal, Punta Cana.

You can book tickets as follows: on the Eurowings website by logging in using your Miles&More credentials and on the Miles&More website.

As I wrote above, if Eurowings destinations are included in the Meilenschnäppchen list, then this is a real freebie!

Bottom line

Well, I hope this list will serve as proof that Miles&More miles are a valuable currency, applicable not only for the purchase of obvious first class flights with Lufthansa itself.

Let's discuss other options and nuances in the comments!

Miles & More is the world's largest airline loyalty program. Her story began in 1993. Then, year after year, new partners joined her, new rewards appeared, and so on. Currently, Miles & More members include more than 40 airlines around the world and 25 million air passengers.

To register for the Miles & More program and start earning miles, all you have to do is fill out a simple form. This can be done on the official website of the program, or through the mobile application.

Also, those passengers who have registered in the bonus program of any Star Alliance member airline automatically become Miles & More participants.

Which airlines participate in the Miles & More program?

Airlines that accept Miles and More points (allowing them to be accumulated or spent on their services) are divided into two types: fully integrated airlines and partners.

Airlines fully integrated into the program:

• All airlines belonging to the Lufthansa Group (including Eurowings and SWISS);
• LOT - Polish Airlines;
• Adria Airways;
• Condor;
• Luxair.

Program partners:

• All members ;
• Air Astana;
• Air Malta;
• Air Dolomiti
• Jet Airways.

How to earn Miles & More miles

The more miles, the more profitable it is to participate in the program. The first and most obvious way to top up your bonus balance is to fly frequently with airlines that participate in the bonus program. The rules for accruing miles differ from carrier to carrier, but on average they look like this:

• A fixed number of miles are awarded for flights within Europe;
• For flights around the world, a number of miles is awarded equal to the actual distance between the airport of departure and the airport of arrival;
• For international flights, miles are awarded with a certain coefficient - usually from 0.25x (for the cheapest tickets) to 2x (for business and first class).

That is, a passenger flying in economy class on the cheapest ticket is awarded only a number of points for the flight that is only a quarter of the actual distance in miles, while a passenger who chooses a flight in first or business class can have a number of miles credited to their bonus balance twice the distance actually covered.

Exist different types miles: premium, status, HON Circle and bonus.

We provide details and up-to-date information on how miles are credited to a particular carrier in detailed reviews airlines participating in the bonus program. This information can also be found on the official Miles & More website or in the mobile application bonus program.

Let's also note other ways to get miles:

• Book a room at a program partner hotel;
• Rent a car from a rental company that is a partner of the program;
• Make a purchase at a partner store.

The latter method is more relevant for Europe, or more precisely for Germany, since most partner stores are located at German airports.

You can also earn miles using certain banking products (credit cards) and telecommunications services.

In Russia, you can earn miles using three credit cards:

• Austrian Airlines card (issuer – Raiffeisenbank);
• Miles & More cards (issuers: Russian Standard Bank and Citibank).

Russian Standard Bank also offers debit cards with the ability to accumulate program points.

Note! Members of the bonus program who do not have a special status have miles valid for 36 months. However, if you register credit card Miles & More miles will never expire.

Miles and More member statuses

For those who really fly a lot, the Miles and More program provides three special statuses:

• FREQUENT TRAVELER (issued for accumulated 35 thousand status miles or 30 scheduled flights during the year);
• Senator (for 100 thousand status miles per year);
• HON CIRCLE MEMBER (member of a venerable circle) (for 600 thousand miles over two years).

We also provide a description of the main privileges, depending on the status of the program participant:

Those who maintain their status for several years in a row additionally receive status stars. Here's what it is:

How to spend Miles & More miles

Having accumulated a fairly large number of bonus points, it’s time to think about what to spend them on now? At first glance, participants and partners of the Miles and More program offer a fairly large number of different services on which you can spend your accumulated miles, but in fact, as in most bonus programs, most of them are simply useless to clients.

• upgrading your flight class;
• compensation for part of the cost of the air ticket.

If you have a lot of miles, but you don’t plan to fly, then you can look at the section with promotions of partners - there are a lot of Russian companies there:

• taxi services;
• food delivery services, cafes and restaurants;
• hardware stores;
• grocery stores;
• medical centers.

Each of them has its own conditions for exchanging points - in some cases you can get a discount using Miles & More miles, in others you can compensate for part of the cost of a purchase or service, and in others you can purchase a gift certificate.

Is it worth participating in Miles & More?

We would recommend signing up for the program if you buy a ticket on a participating airline. Registration is simple, it definitely won’t be unnecessary. Here, as in any bonus program, it’s nice when some kind of bonus accumulates. But in order to save up for a truly worthy reward, you will have to save for a very long time.

Concerning, additional services, such as co-branded credit and debit cards, then we would not recommend having them. Indeed, in this case, you tie yourself to a limited circle of air carriers, while there are much more on the market profitable offer, with a similar system for accumulating miles or points, but bonuses can be spent on flights of any airline.

A separate advantage of Miles & More is its convenient mobile application, which allows you to clearly and conveniently track your bonus balance and be the first to know about promotions and special offers companies.

Regular customers Russian airline S7 Airlines can travel even more by becoming members. Having accumulated enough bonus miles on the card, they can be exchanged for tickets, airline and partner services (car rental, hotel reservations, purchases). In this way, the company expresses its gratitude to passengers for their continued preference for it.

Is it possible to buy a plane ticket using status miles on the official S7 website?

One of the frequently asked questions is, can I use miles when purchasing an award flight in economy or business class? The answer is yes!

However, in addition to the required number, at least one flight with S7 must be made in the current or past year.

Ticket purchase cost depends on the chosen tariff– “Optimum”, “Priority” and “Promo”.

1. “Optimum” involves a smaller number of miles to be exchanged for booking an award flight, but the number of such seats is limited.
2. “Priority” does not have such restrictions, but its bonus value is three times higher than the “Optimum” tariff.
3. "Promo" is valid for flights in economy class. Its cost is the lowest, but does not imply a refund of the ticket, regardless of the reason.

In addition to tariffs, premium zones are also taken into account.

Next on the site you can pre-calculate the amount that will be credited using the service “ Miles calculator" You will find it in the “S7 Priority” tab in the “Accumulate miles” section. Suitable for calculations of S7 flights and partner airlines.

Is it possible to buy miles for money on the official S7 Airlines website?

Are you going to travel again soon, but don’t have enough bonuses for an award ticket? Don't be upset: there is a way to buy C7 (S7) miles. They can only be purchased by passengers registered in the loyalty program who have made at least one flight with S7 Airlines this year or last year at a fare that is eligible for miles accrual. You can buy no more than 10,000 miles per year. The minimum quantity for purchase is 500. The service is non-refundable, meaning the transaction cannot be cancelled. The fee for this is also non-refundable.

In addition to the official website, there are specialized forums and exchanges where you can reasonable price buy or sell unnecessary miles. In such places the cost per unit may be identical official rate air carrier. Sometimes miles are cheaper.

In any case, the transfer of miles is carried out only on the S7 website.

The rules stipulate that you can transfer miles to anyone. This means that this method of parting with accumulated bonuses is also suitable.

Miles recovery

If you forgot to present your loyalty card or account number, and for this reason the flight remained unaccounted for, then you can restore miles on the S7 Airlines website. To do this, you need to go to your personal account, fill out the form provided and send a request. It is important that the personal information on the ticket matches that indicated in the participant’s profile.

The passenger has 6 months to restore miles if the flight was made on an S7 Airlines flight. One year – if you used the services of a partner airline.

Transferring S7 miles to another person

Registered users have the opportunity to transfer miles to another person. You can transfer no more than 10,000 miles from account to account during the year.

The cost of the service for transferring the minimum number of miles (this is 500 miles) is 375 rubles.

To do this, you must have the required number of them on your account and make at least one flight at that moment as a registered participant on an S7 flight at a fare that takes part in the bonus program. The service is non-refundable - it cannot be cancelled. The fee for this is not refundable.

How to donate bonus miles to charity?

You can donate miles to charity in the following ways:

• Online form option. In the “S7 Priority” tab, select the “Charity” section. Next, indicate the charitable foundation, the number of miles and click the “Make transfer” button.
• Call the program Service Center at 8 800 700-90-10.

Miles validity period

The accumulated miles are valid until the end of the year in which the flight was taken and the next two.

If they are not used or renewed, they burn out.

If you become an active member, the validity period is extended for another year.

How to become an active participant?

• Take at least one flight on S7 or Oneworld alliance partners at a fare that earns miles during the calendar year.
• Accumulate at least 5,000 miles (welcome miles do not count).

Miles of participants aged 2 to 12 years are stored according to different rules - they do not expire and remain on the account when the participant stops using children's mile card and begins to be serviced on a general basis.

How to check your miles?

Each S7 Priority member can find out how many miles are in his bonus account. Perhaps they have accumulated enough to use them. The remaining miles on the S7 Priority card are visible in the profile personal account. Below the block with personal information is the “My Miles” block, which indicates the card number, its type, and the mile balance.

How long does it take for miles to be credited?

Accrual occurs automatically after flying on S flights 7, if the passenger presented a card or provided an account number during checkout. Some airports are not equipped automated system sending passengers. In this case, bonus miles will be credited within 45 days. A prerequisite is that the flight must be made at a fare that is included in the accrual of bonus miles, and the passport data in the ticket must completely match the data specified in the S7 Priority program.

Now elite statuses of the S7 Priority bonus program can not only be flown, but also purchased: if you do not fly as often as you need, but you have, for example, a lot bank miles or money, then silver, gold and platinum status can be obtained for a modest bribe.

It's very simple: see how many miles or segments you need to get status and buy them. One missing segment or a thousand miles will cost 3,000 rubles or 7,200 miles. The same rules apply to extending previously received statuses. Statuses are valid throughout the OneWorld alliance.

Embraer-170 VQ-BBO in the new S7 Airlines livery

There is, however, one caveat: you can get no more than 20% of the missing miles or segments. However, there is another way: gold card S7 Airlines can be purchased for an arbitrary period with a monthly payment. It costs 15 thousand rubles or 30 thousand miles. Excellent scheme: “gold” allows you to transport for free extra bed luggage, including on baggage-free fares, and visiting business lounges with one travel companion: that is, the costs are recouped many times over, even if you just fly somewhere in a month as a couple from the regions with a transfer.

By the way, elite statuses have generally become much more attractive since September 6: now platinum status members receive two free upgrades per year from economy to business for themselves and fellow travelers on the same booking. Fees have also been waived for Platinum members, and rates for changes to award tickets have been reduced for Gold and Silver passengers.

S7 Airlines now awards miles from its bonus program for the purchase of various additional services: in particular, transportation of excess baggage, reservation of a pre-booked or superior seat, special meals or upgrade to business class. Moreover, miles can be obtained completely free of charge by registering online.

However, be careful: in this case, if you have not paid for the seat selection, the algorithm will try to seat you as close to the back of the cabin as possible and at the same time between the passengers. This is not done out of harm, but because these are the places that are least popular among those who pay for their choice, so it is logical to leave the more popular places to those who are willing to pay for it (the choice costs 350 rubles). Meanwhile, when checking in at the counter, you can ask for a window or aisle seat for free (they usually remain free), so choose: 50 miles per segment or the chance to get a more comfortable seat.