How do miles work and how to get them? How to earn Aeroflot miles for flights and purchases Where is it more profitable to accumulate miles?

Many airlines run bonus programs, and Aeroflot is no exception. Program "Aeroflot Bonus" has been operating since 1999, and, according to the company itself, in 2009 the number of participants exceeded one and a half million. The bottom line is that for each ticket purchased and the use of services of partner organizations, the passenger is credited with points - miles - to his bonus account. The number of points varies depending on the class, flight distance and other factors. You can also earn Aeroflot miles for making purchases in certain stores, subscribing to printed publications, purchasing insurance, etc. Using bonus points, you can purchase award tickets, receive a discount on accommodation in hotel rooms of partners of this air carrier, upgrade your ticket class, use privileges when applying for a Sberbank card "Aeroflot - bonus"

Any passenger over the age of two can become a member - since 2003, Aeroflot Bonus Junior has been operating especially for children from 2 to 12 as part of the main program. It is noteworthy that this subroutine is subject to the same conditions as the main one.

Note! Participation is individual for each passenger.

Before you can earn Aeroflot Bonus miles, you must submit an application for participation. The easiest way to do this is on the airline’s website at http://www.aeroflot.ru/ru-ru/afl_bonus/entry. When you go to the page, you must first check the box, thereby agreeing to the terms of the program. Next, you can proceed to participant registration.

The program provides 2 types of bonus accruals: qualifying And unqualified. To add points, you must purchase a ticket for one of the regular flights of Aeroflot or the company’s partners. Qualifying miles can be exchanged for awards: award air tickets, class upgrades, and obtaining the status of a more prestigious member.

Non-qualifying miles are additional points that are awarded for using the services of airline partners, but they are not taken into account when upgrading your membership status.

Sberbank clients who have become members of Aeroflot’s loyalty program are awarded a different number of points depending on the type of card. Card holders Aeroflot Classic For every dollar or euro spent, one mile is added. The same number of bonus points is provided for every 50 rubles. For owners of plastics Aeroflot Gold for the same amounts you get 1.5 miles. Welcome miles are also provided for new members: Classic – 500, Gold – 1000.

Samples of Aeroflot Bonus program participant cards

How to find out the number of points?

There are several ways to check Aeroflot Bonus miles:

in a letter;
through the Internet;
by phone.

Every year, the airline sends letters to program participants informing them of the total number of points collected. To check Aeroflot Bonus miles in real time, go to the loyalty program website https://rewards.aeroflot.ru/. Please note that you only need to log into your account and you will immediately see the number of bonus points in the top right corner. If you are visiting the site for the first time, you must register. Enter your last name, first name and middle name, email address. Within a few minutes you will receive an email with a link. You need to click on it to verify your account and be able to use it.

You can also find out how many miles Sberbank has accrued under the Aeroflot Bonus program by phone. Dial a federal number 8-800-444-55-55 . Calls are free within the Russian Federation. The operator needs to provide your passport details and program participant card number.

We recommend using the bonus points calculator, which is located on the page http://www.aeroflot.com/cms/calculator of the carrier’s official website. There you will find out how many miles you will receive for an unpurchased ticket.

Plastic card of Sberbank and Aeroflot

How to spend miles

What Aeroflot Bonus miles can be used for has already been discussed above. The full catalog indicating the cost in bonus miles is on the main page of the bonus program website. To pay with Aeroflot miles for purchasing a ticket, when booking on the website, check the appropriate box. If you want to upgrade your flight class on an Aeroflot plane directly from economy to business using bonus points, you can do this at the check-in counter. In the case when you are flying by plane from one of the alliance companies "SkyTeam"(partners), you must register for an upgrade in advance at any pre-sale ticket point.

Learn more about earning miles with a joint bank card

Turn your daily purchases into award flights! You simply pay with a joint S7-Tinkoff payment card and benefit in the amount of up to 4 miles for every 60 rubles paid with the card. The card works for you every day, and in just a few months you can earn enough miles to qualify for an award.

Read more about accumulating miles with S7 Airlines

When flying on codeshare flights where the operating carrier is the airline: B2 (BELAVIA - BELARUSIAN AIRLINES), 5N (NORDAVIA), 9U (AIR MOLDOVA), J2 (AZERBAIJAN HAVA YOLLARY), HY (UZBEKISTAN AIRWAYS), U6 (URAL AIRLINES) , Y7 (NORDSTAR AIRLINES), CY (CYPRUS AIRWAYS), and the marketing carrier is S7 (flight code S7), miles are accrued in accordance with the table for earning miles on S7 flights. The miles awarded are bonus miles; the status segment is not awarded for the flight.

Mileage redemption on codeshare flights is available for 90 days after the flight. 1

1 Mileage accrual is available for codeshare flights:

S7 and B2 - from 12/01/2015
S7 and 5N - from 12/01/2015
S7 and 9U - from 06/23/2017
S7 and J2 - from 07/17/2017
S7 and HY - from 07/17/2017
S7 and U6 - from 09/06/2017
S7 and Y7 - from December 15, 2017
S7 and CY - from 08/27/2018

Miles can only be accrued for flights with flight code S7.

Learn more about earning miles with partner airlines

Airline flights one world earn status miles and allow you to qualify for elite status faster.

Types of miles

In S7 Priority you dial:

status miles, which bring you closer not only to bonuses, but also to elite status;
bonus miles, which you can spend on awarding awards.

Learn more about accumulating miles with program partners

Among the partners of the S7 Priority universal loyalty program are: charitable foundations, hotels, car rental companies, a cruise company, retail chains and other service companies. You can significantly speed up your miles accumulation with the help of program partners, both while traveling and in your everyday life.

Greetings to all readers of my blog! Today it’s time to continue the review of bank cards, perfect suitable for travel. In previous reviews, we looked at which option is best to choose for purchases abroad, and also touched upon the issue of banking products for travel ( profitable purchase of tickets). Today I’ll take a closer look at how to accumulate miles and what offers are best suited for this.

How are miles awarded?

Personally, I managed to try out the offers of Alfa Bank and Tinkoff. For example, at Alfa Bank Even the name says that the product is positioned as a travel option - Alfa Miles. Read more about the conditions for working with it below.

In essence, this is an ordinary debit/credit card, but the bank allows you to accumulate bonus funds and use them to purchase railway/air tickets, book hotel rooms, that is, pay for everything related to travel. Conditions vary depending on the specific bank. For those who are planning a trip abroad, I recommend - you can good savings by reducing costs when converting money into the desired currency.

In fact, this is a regular bonus that many banks award for various purchases. It’s just that the name of the bonus funds was chosen so that it immediately indicates that the product is aimed specifically at travelers. Besides:

Increased bonus It is offered specifically for paying with plastic for the purchase of different types of tickets;
Bonus miles can be used to pay 100% of the ticket price. Payment of other travel expenses depends on the bank, some allow it, others do not.

As for how to accumulate such a gift from the bank, I advise use plastic more often to pay for everyday expenses. If you need to buy a ticket, be sure to pay for it with a card. I, for example, in 2 months Unbeknownst to myself, I accumulated a bonus on my Alfa Bank card, which was enough to pay 100% of the cost of an air ticket in Russia.

How much can you earn

There are a number of restrictions on the transfer of funds to a bonus account (depending on the specific bank). They do not allow customers, for example, to abuse this service by simply transferring money from one account to another. In addition, not all categories of purchases are taken into account by the bank; some are not charged. I recommend before opening a card with miles study the terms and conditions very carefully jar.

For example, Alpha has them Not will be credited:

For withdrawing money from any ATM;
For transfers of money to the accounts of other banks and the accounts of the AB itself. Replenishment of EPS wallets (Qiwi, YaD, WebMoney, etc.) is also not taken into account.
For paying bets in casinos/totalizators;
For payment in favor of pawnshops, insurance companies, and any financial institutions;
If plastic was used for purchases in favor of legal entities. For example, purchasing equipment and furniture for a company - you will not get anything for such an expense.

You can find out whether you will receive a replenishment of your bonus account by Merchant ID, on the Alpha website There is a list of transaction codes for which miles are not credited to your account.

Concerning limit according to the number of accumulated bonus miles, then it does not exist. So The more actively you spend money, the faster your bonus account will grow. You can calculate miles using an online calculator on the bank’s website.

The accrual will not occur instantly, but 1 time per month, you can track the status of your bonus account through your personal account. Welcome miles will only be awarded if you make your first purchase within 45 days after its release.

What and how can you spend it?

Options for how to spend bonus miles depend on the bank. Some allow you to pay with them only for the purchase of air or train tickets, others - for renting a hotel room. This may also apply to the purchase of goods/services from a bank partner.

For example, in the case of Alpha, you can purchase an air ticket using accumulated miles directly through the Aeroflot website. Just in the ticket booking window under the currency selection field a corresponding option appeared. When booking hotels through the Aeroflot website, this option is also available.

There is a calculator on the bank’s website, you can estimate how much the accumulated bonus will be enough for. It does not display the cost of the ticket in miles; it only indicates which trip the bonus savings will be enough for. In general, it is quite possible to pay for an air ticket in Russia or to neighboring countries even if your average monthly expenses are at an average level.

If you plan actively make purchases abroad, think about the Alfa Bank dollar card, and points will accumulate quickly, And you won’t have to overpay for conversion. this issue is considered separately.

Options on the market

Proposals from Alpha and Tinkoff – not the only ones, but these banks are the most intelligently organized + I have personal work experience with them, so I will dwell on them in more detail. The cards are really worth it.

Alfa Bank offers

Alpha offers to buy a ticket using miles with 100% payment of its cost using bonus funds. There are several options suitable for travel, I will compare them in tabular form.

Bonus miles for spending 30 rubles/1$/0.8€	Welcome bonus in miles		What can you spend bonuses on?	Additional features
1	500	599, package “Optimum”	Payment for tickets for air and railway transport, car rental, hotel rooms	-
1.5	1000	3500, “Comfort” package		Travel insurance
1.75	1000	0, package "Maximum"		0% commission for cash withdrawals abroad, you can instantly link an account in foreign currency

If paying with miles is not possible because there are not enough points, you can purchase more. This offer applies to all types of cards.

The table above shows the conditions for working with debit cards, but Alfa Bank also issues credit cards of such a type. Basic conditions for them (accrual procedure, number of welcome points) the same as for debit, so I will focus only on their “credit” characteristics.

Maintenance cost, rub./year	Credit limit, rub.	Grace period, days (grace)	Loan rate, %
from 990	300 000	60	23.99
from 2490	300 000
from 4990	up to 1 million

If you plan to store large sums of money on plastic, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with.

There is another interesting option - Russian Railways proposal, it is also considered a good way to travel. True, unlike the previous ones, miles are not accrued here, but work is carried out with regular points. There is also an option with debit cards and credit cards; I will provide a table for credit cards.

Bonus points for spending 30 rubles/1$/0.8€	Welcome bonus, points	Credit limit, rub.	Maintenance cost, rub./year	What can you spend bonus points on?	Additional features
1.25	500	Up to 300,000	From 790	Payment for Russian Railways tickets, credit cards of this type are “tailored” specifically for traveling by rail	Travel insurance
1.75	1000	Up to 500,000	From 2490
2	1000	Up to 1 million	From 4990

For all credit cards of this type the rate is equal to 23,99% , grace period – 60 days. It begins to count after the first purchase using borrowed funds.

Apply for an Alpha Russian Railways credit card

In addition to the above offers, Alpha also has an offer Aeroflot. According to it, the accrual reaches 2 miles for 30 rubles/1$/1€. I haven’t worked with it yet, the conditions are similar to Alfa-Miles. If you are planning trips abroad, I would recommend thinking about multicurrency map, don't pass by. This way you won’t spend too much on conversions.

Please note one thing, I didn’t pay attention to it right away - points will be awarded only for an amount divisible by 30 rubles/1$/0.8€ (or other amount specified in the description). For example, you made a purchase on 115 rubles, in this case, you will be credited with 3 miles using Alfa-Miles, and the rest (not a multiple of 30 rubles, that is, as much 25 rubles in this example) will be discarded and not taken into account by the system. It’s a small thing, but it affects the size of the final accrual. Advice on how to get the same miles - spend your money more actively, and as expenses increase, the growth rate of the bonus account will also increase.

What will Tinkoff please?

Although I put this bank in second place on the list, but in my personal rating it is on par with Alfa Bank, taking an honorable first place. Tinkoff's main offer is All Airlines travel card(there is both a credit card and a debit card).

Bonuses

8% — car reservation, payment for a hotel room;
3% - air and train tickets;
1.5% - other categories of expenses;
up to 30% on special offers from partners.

Maintenance cost

299 rubles per month if you take out a cash loan from the bank. With a balance of 100 thousand service free.

What can you spend bonuses on?

Buying tickets.

Additional features

Traveler's insurance;
When removing more than 3000 rubles Tinkoff does not charge a commission (this also applies to cash withdrawals abroad);
When transferring up to 20,000 rubles per month to cards of other banks zero commission;
6% per annum on the balance.

This is not the only option for a traveler. Not a bad option - S7, miles accrued on it are approximately the same as in the offer from Alpha, but there is an advantage in the form of free cash withdrawals. Occasionally get a job closed ticket sales, I haven’t come across such offers yet, but judging by the reviews of other bank clients, there is a chance to buy the desired ticket much cheaper than the market price.

Apply for a TKS All Airlines debit

For a credit card, the limit is set at 700,000 rub., interest on borrowed funds is 18.9%, maintenance will cost 1890 rub. in a year. The grace period is 55 days from the start of using borrowed funds. Miles for purchases are accrued a little more actively than with a debit card, for example, for booking a car, hotel rooms will no longer be credited 8%, but 10% of the amount spent.

Apply for a TKS All Airlines credit card

1.5 3000 when issued between October 31 and December 31, 20173500 or 120$/120€ 2 12,000 or 250$/250€

The Aeroflot card will accrue a bonus much slower compared to Alpha and Tinkoff, if payments are made in rubles. So if you often make purchases in Russian currency, the offer from Sberbank is unprofitable - the accumulation will continue doubled slower.

I will also note high cost of maintenance. According to this parameter, both Alpha and Tinkoff on the head are bypassing Sberbank. As for how to use accumulated Aeroflot miles, you can spend them on purchasing tickets Aeroflot And SkyTeam, use to upgrade your service class, purchase of goods from bank partners. They cannot be used, for example, to pay for a car rental or a hotel room. Another option - participation in a charity event.