Brutal: A New Era for Aegean Miles+Bonus

Well, the moment many of us feared has finally arrived — that dreaded email announcing “A New Era for Miles+Bonus.”

After British Airways introduced its spend-based status model earlier this year, I had a feeling Aegean wouldn’t stay untouched for long. For years, Aegean’s Miles+Bonus has been the hidden gem of Star Alliance, realistic, rewarding, and attainable even for travellers outside Greece.

But that generous era may be coming to an end.

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💡 The (Limited) Good News

Let’s start with the positive: Aegean hasn’t gone fully spend-based.
Status qualification still relies on flights and tier miles, not your wallet.

That said, the new thresholds are far tougher, particularly for those not regularly flying within Greece.

A New Era for Aegean Miles+Bonus

🧾 New Status Thresholds (Effective November 2026)

Silver Tier – Qualification (within 12 months)

• 16 flights with Aegean and/or Olympic Air, or

• 12,000 tier miles including 4 Aegean/Olympic flights, or

• 36,000 total tier miles

To retain Silver:

• 16 flights with Aegean/Olympic, or

• 9,000 tier miles including 4 Aegean/Olympic flights, or

• 36,000 total tier miles

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Gold Tier – From Silver

• 32 flights with Aegean and/or Olympic Air, or

• 24,000 tier miles including 12 Aegean/Olympic flights, or

• 72,000 total tier miles

To retain Gold:

• 32 flights with Aegean/Olympic, or

• 18,000 tier miles including 12 Aegean/Olympic flights, or

• 72,000 total tier miles

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Platinum Tier – New Top Status

• 72,000 tier miles including 32 Aegean/Olympic flights

To retain Platinum:

• The same: 72,000 tier miles including 32 Aegean/Olympic flights

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⚠️ The Reality: A Tougher Climb

For existing Gold members, this is a major devaluation.
From November 2026:

• Tier miles to retain Gold increase from 12,000 → 18,000 (+50%)

• Aegean flight sectors jump from 4 → 12 (+200%)

That’s a steep climb.
You’d need three island round-trips via Athens or six direct returns just to retain Gold, assuming the flights even exist from your base.

For those outside Greece, the programme’s accessibility is fading fast.

To earn Gold from scratch, you’ll need 36,000 tier miles + 16 Aegean sectors. Ouch

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🥇 The New Platinum Tier: Prestige or Padding?

Aegean’s new Platinum tier replaces Gold as the top level.
However, key details are missing:

• It still maps to Star Alliance Gold

• There’s no reduced requalification for existing members

• Extra benefits remain unclear

It feels more like a cosmetic addition than a genuine reward enhancement — at least for now.

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✈️ New Qualification Path: Flight Count Alone

One genuinely positive change: you can now qualify purely on flight count.

• 16 flights → Silver

• 32 flights → Gold

For regular commuters or island-hoppers, that’s achievable.
In fact, this could still make Aegean more attainable than BA Club or Lufthansa for frequent regional flyers.

But for international travellers using Aegean as a Star Alliance gateway, it’s a different story.

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⏳ The “12-Month Grace” Confusion

Aegean claims all members will have 12 months’ notice before the new rules kick in.
However, some members (myself included) appear to have been given less than 12 months to retain current Gold status.

It’s an oddly inconsistent rollout for a program that’s historically been transparent.

At least there’s one assurance: you can retain your current status until 2027, even as the new system begins phasing in from late 2026.

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🌍 What This Means for Frequent Flyers

For years, Aegean Miles+Bonus has been the sweet spot of Star Alliance — affordable, generous, and trusted.

These new changes mark a clear shift:
Aegean is pivoting toward domestic loyalty and revenue alignment, much like its larger counterparts.

That’s fair from a business perspective, but it risks alienating the global loyalists who built Aegean’s cult following in the first place.

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💭 Final Thoughts

It’s hard not to feel nostalgic.

Aegean’s Miles+Bonus was once the smart traveller’s secret to Star Gold. This is no longer the case, as I believe there are now several other Star Alliance programmes worth focusing on, which I will compare in a future post.

At the same time, the winds of change are blowing across all loyalty programmes. I would be making this comparison next week and there will be a new major shift in one of those programmes the following week!

Perhaps this isn’t just the end of Aegean’s generous era — it’s the end of the idea that elite status could be earned through clever flying rather than heavy spending.

The Miles+Bonus name might remain, but its spirit? That’s up for debate. You can see full details and some FAQ here