Aegean Airlines’ Miles+Bonus frequent flyer program has historically been one of the most attractive Star Alliance frequent flyer programs, and one of the best programs for earning Star Alliance Gold status. Well, the airline has just announced plans to make major changes to status qualification. Not only will elite status become harder to earn, but the airline is also introducing a new top tier status.
Aegean Miles+Bonus elite qualification changes 2026
Thanks to the global alliances, it’s not uncommon to have elite status with an airline you don’t actually frequently fly with. After all, there are pros and cons to different programs, and with reciprocal elite perks across airlines in an alliance, there are some arbitrage opportunities.
Aegean Miles+Bonus has historically been one of the most generous programs for earning Star Alliance Gold status, even if you never fly with Aegean. Unfortunately that will soon be changing, with a particular increase to the number of segments that need to be traveled on Aegean to qualify for status.
These changes apply for status upgrades or renewals as of November 5, 2026, meaning the activity in the 12 months leading up to that would be considered for these purposes. In other words, these changes are kicking in imminently, for the purposes of elite status qualification going forward.
Here’s the old system of Aegean elite qualification, which applies for renewal and status qualification through November 4, 2026:
- To earn Silver status, you need to fly Aegean at least twice per year and earn 12,000 elite miles, or you need to earn 35,000 elite miles on any partner airline
- To retain Silver status, you need to fly Aegean at least twice per year and earn 8,000 elite miles, or you need to earn 35,000 elite miles on any partner airline
- To upgrade from Silver to Gold status, you need to fly Aegean at least four times per year and earn 24,000 elite miles, or you need to earn 70,000 elite miles on any partner airline
- To retain Gold status, you first need to retain Silver status, and then you need to fly Aegean at least four times per year and earn 12,000 elite miles, or you need to earn 70,000 elite miles on any partner airline
Here’s the new system of Aegean elite qualification, which applies for renewal and status qualification as of November 5, 2026:
- To earn Silver status, you need to fly Aegean at least 16 times per year, or you need to earn 12,000 elite miles and fly Aegean four times per year, or you need to earn 36,000 elite miles on any partner airline
- To retain Silver status, you need to fly Aegean at least 16 times per year, or you need to earn 9,000 elite miles and fly Aegean four times per year, or you need to earn 36,000 elite miles on any partner airline
- To upgrade from Silver to Gold status, you need to fly Aegean at least 32 times per year, or you need to earn 24,000 elite miles and fly Aegean 12 times per year, or you need to earn 72,000 elite miles on any partner airline
- To retain Gold status, you need to fly Aegean at least 32 times per year, or you need to earn 18,000 elite miles and fly Aegean 12 times per year, or you need to earn 72,000 elite miles on any partner airline
The program is also introducing a new Platinum tier, which has the same requirements whether you are qualifying or requalifying. Specifically, it requires flying with Aegean at least 32 times per year, plus earning 72,000 elite miles.
So, what are the incremental perks of the new Miles+Bonus Platinum tier? They seem pretty minimal given the effort required. They include a dedicated phone number, the ability to gift someone else Gold status, free extra legroom seat selection, and an extra piece of luggage.
My take on Aegean Miles+Bonus program changes
This is the second major increase in elite requirements for Aegean Miles+Bonus in a few years, as the program also updated requirements in 2023. The motive here is pretty clear — Aegean wants to encourage people to actually fly more with the airline, and not just primarily credit partner flights.
As you can see, earning status if you’re purely qualifying based on elite miles hasn’t increased that much, but that’s because that was always the hardest method for earning status. Instead, the biggest increase is for the hybrid qualification method, where you need to fly a minimum number of segments on Aegean, and then get a pretty big shortcut toward status. Aegean is also introducing a new method for earning status exclusively through segments, again, encouraging travel on Aegean.
Historically, the sweet spot was retaining Star Alliance Gold status with the program, using the hybrid qualification method. With these changes, we’re going from needing four Aegean flights and 12,000 elite miles, to needing 12 Aegean flights and 18,000 elite miles. That’s quite the increase!
I suspect that Aegean is hoping to generate some incremental revenue from additional flight bookings. Those who are loyal to Aegean Miles+Bonus but don’t actually fly with Aegean might now have a reason to visit Greece and fly with Aegean. A frequent flyer program is largely about generating incremental business for the airline, and encouraging people to actually fly with the airline is one way to do that.
I also suspect that Aegean has crunched the numbers, and has simply decided that customers primarily crediting flights from other airlines aren’t profitable to the airline anymore. Aegean gets some amount of revenue from partner carriers for the flights that are credited to Miles+Bonus, but then there are costs as well. Aegean is on the hook when you use your status to access partner lounges, and of course there’s the cost when you actually go to redeem your miles.
Bottom line
Aegean Miles+Bonus isn’t the Star Alliance sweet spot program that it once was. As of November 2026, the program will be increasing elite requirements yet again, as the airline encourages people to fly more segments on Aegean. That’s fair enough, as it seems Aegean Miles+Bonus is no longer interested in being the Star Alliance program for those who almost exclusively fly with other airlines.
Along with that, the airline is introducing a new Platinum tier, with very high status requirements. Obviously that’ll be most useful for those who actually frequently fly with the airline. The perks are fairly limited, aside from being able to gift someone Gold status.
What do you make of these Aegean Miles+Bonus changes?
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