What is 50 miles when buying a ticket. Accumulate miles quickly - a detailed overview of the best bank cards for travel. When miles are not credited

This is the second article in a series of posts on mileage programs. Before you start reading it, check if you have read the first part :)

Well, now that the concepts have been sorted out, let's deal with the myths and typical mistakes of beginners. As a rule, those who are too lazy or did not consider it necessary to understand the concepts and system of work of loyalty programs, that is, EVERYTHING, are subject to them. Most people don't take it seriously, so they miss a lot of opportunities before they figure it out. We also didn’t figure it out right away, and then we bit our elbows when we realized how many stupid things we managed to do :)

Myth one. I fly little/rarely, so I will never save up for any bonus, I will not even join any programs.

It's amazing how many people refuse freebies, and this is in Russia, where, as you know, freebies are sacred. Let's start with the fact that a little is a relative concept. In some programs, 4,500 miles (!) are enough for a one-way premium ticket for a short distance, and you can earn them successfully by flying once in economy class on a business trip from Moscow to Irkutsk and back. What is successful and unsuccessful, we will understand a little later.

Myth two. I can only get flight bonuses from the airline I fly with.

This is a misconception that is surprisingly still extremely common among many passengers. And many, having bought a ticket for the first time for a new airline, get an account in its program, add up bonus miles there, then they never fly with this company again and these miles will someday burn out. We dealt with this myth in the first article. Bonuses for a completed flight, most often, will be given by all partner airlines, including members of the same alliance as the airline you are flying with.

Myth three. If I often fly with one airline, then it is optimal to add bonuses to its program.

Sometimes it's true, but sometimes it's a terrible mistake. We were somehow very surprised when Aeroflot credited 0 miles to our accounts for a flight to Europe. It all depends on the airline you are flying with and the fare at which the ticket is issued. We repeat: loyalty programs in different airlines, even within the same alliance, differ very much. And the number of bonus miles for the same ticket in different programs may be different, depending on the program and fare.

Myth four. I have an account in the XXX program and something is accumulating on it. And well, the rest is nonsense.

This attitude has a variation - they let me fill out a questionnaire on the plane, they said that it was free - I registered, they gave me a card. Of course, simply adding miles for completed flights into some kind of program is, of course, better than nothing. But you need to understand that you can get almost as many such cards as there are airlines. On their own, they do nothing. And of course, the efficiency of using bonuses with such an attitude will be practically zero.

Myth five. To receive free tickets and other bonuses, you must fly a lot.

If you carefully read the first article, you know that this is not so. Those times are long gone. With the advent of co-branded plastic cards, which are now in abundance in Russia, you can earn miles simply by paying for your everyday purchases. We will definitely write a separate article about co-brands, this is another unplowed field.

Learning to count bonus miles

Now that we have dealt with the errors, let's move on. Let's learn how to count today. Calculate how many bonuses and where we can get for our flights.

Why is learning to count so important? It's very simple: we can get flight bonuses ONLY in ONE airline. It is not possible to receive awards for the same flight with Miles and More (Lufthansa), FinnAir Plus and Miles and Smiles (Turkish Airlines) at the same time, even if any of these companies according to the rules gives award miles for this flight. You need to choose in which ONE bonus program you use this flight and present this card (or say the number) at check-in.

1) the airline we are flying with

This is usually pretty simple. Your ticket always contains a flight code starting with two Latin letters. This is the IATA code for this airline. SU - Aeroflot, S7 - S7 (Siberia), UN - Transaero, AF - AirFrance, AZ - Alitalia, LH - Lufthansa, TK - Turkish Airlines, EK - Emirates, etc. If we don’t know, it’s not a problem to find which a / c which code on the Internet.

2) the fare at which the ticket was issued

Here again, you need to understand in detail. There are only three service classes - first, business and economy. But each airline has a great variety of booking classes. They are designated by ONE Latin letter. The booking class is specified separately on the ticket (booking class, booking code, etc.), or it is the first letter in the fare name.

Let's go over it in more detail. On the same flight, in the same economy class, people fly different tariffs. Someone bought it at a sale about promotional fares, someone until recently did not know if he would fly or not and bought a ticket with the ability to return or change at flexible fares, someone flies on a business trip and bought at the last moment when there were tickets left only at full fares, and someone flies on an award ticket. Each of them has a DIFFERENT booking class on the ticket. And accordingly, each of them can receive a different number of bonus miles for their flight (or not receive anything).
For example, Aeroflot tickets are issued on the next. booking classes: economy - Y,B,M,U,K,H,L,Q,T,E,N,P,R,O,X,F,G,V,Z, business - J,C,D ,I,Z.
If you cannot find your fare on your ticket, you can call the airline and ask. Knowing the rate at which the ticket is issued is the most important thing in order to properly manage bonuses.

3) the airline that makes the flight

You may have thought we were wrong. After all, we have already found out about the flight of which airline we are flying at point 1. But no, there is no mistake here. A lot of flights are joint and have 2 codes, and sometimes 3. Although physically there is only one plane! This is called code sharing. For example, one flight Moscow-Paris may have the code SU-Aeroflot and AF-AirFrance. In this case, the aircraft will belong to one airline - either Aeroflot or AirFrance. Suppose you bought a ticket for AirFrance, and Aeroflot flies - in this case, your ticket will be marked flight AF .... (operated by Aeroflot). If there is no mark, then the airline is the same as in paragraph 1. In what cases it is important, we will understand a little later.

4) flight duration

Airlines most often give bonus miles depending on the distance that each flight flies. Some sites have calculators, but they are not always convenient. In addition, if you have several airlines flying on your ticket, you will have to look for it all on different sites, which is inconvenient. But on the Internet for a long time there are convenient services that measure distances. For example, this one. It is enough to drive in the airport codes and it will immediately show the distance in miles in one direction and in both.

So, now that we know everything we need, let's look at examples.

Example 1

We love cheap Alitalia promo tickets to Europe. But they are most often sold at the rate R. For example, Turin, which at one time was available for 5.7 thousand rubles. So, we know, all that is needed is the carrier airline Alitalia, fare R, Alitalia flies, the duration of the flight on the route Moscow-Rome-Turin is almost 4000 miles. How and where to get bonuses?

We start checking. “Darling” Alitalia, already selling these tickets on its website, informs us that in its programs Alitalia MileMiglia shines for us 0 miles. Let's see who else in the SkyTeam alliance can turn out to be kinder - the "kind" Aeroflot in its Aeroflot Bonus also wanted to spit on such travelers - miles are not credited under the R Alitalia fare: (Flying Blue from AirFrance and KLM will give 25% and then only for domestic flights (that is, Rome-Turin). Have you already given up and think that the rest will have the same? Read the previous article again. ALL programs are different. Therefore, it is too early to despair. The main thing is to find the right one - if you continue to search, you will definitely reach the Delta SkyMiles program and your patience will be rewarded 100% from the distance you have flown. For a flight at the rate R Alitalia Moscow-Rome-Turin in this program, you will earn your 4,000 miles, which, by the way, will never burn out :)

1. It is necessary to check the possibility of receiving bonuses in several programs.
2. The company that sold the ticket will not necessarily give more bonuses than another partner.
3. Miles can and should be accumulated in several programs (especially where they do not burn out).
4. If this is your special case, take note of the Delta program if you like to fly to Europe for the weekend on cheap Alitalia tickets, which are issued at discounted R-type fares.

Example 2

Two tickets in one. We try to indicate such significant bonuses in offers. Sometimes even buying cheap ticket you are actually buying a lot more. Take the offer we wrote about: an Iberia special rate in Chile en route Irkutsk-Moscow-Madrid-Santiago . The distance is 11,500 miles there and the same number back. Total 23,000 miles. It's a lot. This means that when you buy (very cheap, by the way) a ticket to your dream trip, you actually get yourself practically ANOTHER trip as a bonus. Why? We understand in order.

1) the airline we fly with is Iberia (code IB). Moreover, ALL 6 flights have this code, this is important.
2) Booking code N
3) Irkutsk-Moscow flights are operated by S7, Madrid-Santiago flights are operated by LAN, Moscow-Madrid is operated by Iberia in one direction, S7 in the other.

This example will just show us why it is so important to know exactly who is flying. When we check the Iberia Plus program, we will see that for the discounted economy (and fare N belongs to this group of fares) we will be given 80% of the distance on Iberia flights. And, of course, we will not stop there and go to check other programs (as in the example above). Then we will quickly find the British Airways Executive Club program, where we will be offered 100% of the distance for all flights under the Iberia code. Victory? Almost. This is where we need to make sure that companies that operate codeshare flights (in our case S7 and LAN) will be counted. The alliance rule almost always works here. If these companies are in the same alliance as the company in which you plan to receive bonuses, then you will receive miles. In this case, everything will be fine, both S7 and LAN are members of OneWorld, as is British Airways, so for flights under the code Ibeira you will receive 100% of the miles. If any of the flights under the Iberia code were operated by a company that is not part of OneWorld, then British Airways would not give bonus miles for this flight and we would have to “add” this flight to the Iberia Plus program, even if for 80% from distance.

If it is difficult, re-read it again, this is a very important example. It is important precisely because the most delicious cheap fares very often appear exactly where there is a code-share and one company sells seats on flights to another.

Then everything is already simple, we register in the British Airways program, indicate this number everywhere when registering for a flight, we receive our 23,000 bonus miles. And then we buy an award ticket for them. For example, Moscow-London-Moscow on British Airways or Moscow-Verona-Moscow on S7 costs 20,000 miles, Moscow-Berlin-Moscow on AirBerlin or Moscow-Yekaterinburg-Moscow on S7 costs 15,000 miles :)

Let's take a look at this example:

1. And again - you need to check the possibility of receiving bonuses in several programs.
2. Be sure to check when buying a ticket which airline operates each flight.
3. We look not only where and how many miles you can get for a flight, but also WHAT YOU CAN SPEND THEM ON.

Example 3

The authorities send you on a business trip to Irkutsk from Moscow. And your favorite company in the person of the director's secretary should buy you tickets. Here, if you leave it to chance, you can suffer very much :) Fundamental points 2.

First, Aeroflot or S7?

Secondly, at what rate will tickets be bought for you?

At stake is no less than 5246 miles. This distance is Moscow-Irkutsk-Moscow, and this is quite a decent amount of bonuses.

Let's assume that the secretary took the cheapest thing for you and it turned out to be S7 at R fare. 2623 miles. British Airways, AirBerlin, American Airlines - 25%, i.e. only 1310 miles. Iberia Plus - 30%, i.e. 1570 miles. In any of these programs, this is not enough for any bonus. What to do in this case? If we fly S7 a lot more, we will make S7 a priority for ourselves. If this is a one-time mockery of the body, then we add up the miles in Iberia - according to the terms of the program, they can be combined with an account with British Airways in a few months, and there they will not be lost, because there award tickets for short distances start from 4,500 bonus miles (for comparison in S7 from 15000). In any case, we swear, hit ourselves on the head, fire the secretary and ask the boss for permission to fly in the future on business trips only in business class.

If you control the process and make sure that the correct tickets are selected, you can win significantly. The same economy class, but already at the tariff H or K will give you 100% in S7 Priority (where you won’t buy anything for these 5000 miles). But he will also give 100% to British Airways, where 5,000 miles are already enough for a one-way ticket to Kyiv, for example, by the same S7. And if you suddenly manage to knock out a business class from the boss (tariffs D, C, J), then again the situation will be different again. British Airways will only give 125%, i.e. 6,500 miles, and S7 Priority will give 200% of the distance - i.e. almost 10,500 miles. Not enough for a ticket to S7 yet, but already very close to a minimum of 15,000 round-trip in Russia or for short flights to Europe. There is an incentive to fly on another business trip ...

And if you have already accumulated many miles in Aeroflot Bonus, then it’s better not to suffer in these calculations, buy a chocolate bar for your secretary and tell that S7 has an uncomfortable schedule, bad seats, and in general you are annoyed by their green color, like Domodedovo Airport, and Sheremetyevo at you around the house. Therefore, we ask Aeroflot at a rate not lower than L and calmly receive our 4-5 thousand bonus miles to the bonus account in the Aeroflot bonus (where to spend these miles later is a separate issue).

Let's recap again:

1. When buying tickets, you don’t have to grab anything - you need to look at the fare at which tickets are bought. Sometimes with a small difference in money (which no one will pay attention to, especially if you are flying on a business trip), the number of miles earned will differ by 3-4 times.
2. Tickets of one airline, depending on the fare, may be beneficial to add to ONE or ANOTHER program.
3. Be sure to take into account our plans for the future - whether we fly ONCE with this company or plan to fly with it again in the future.
4. And again - we look not only where and how many miles you can get for a flight, but also WHAT YOU CAN SPEND THEM ON.
5. If you fly a lot for work - try to do it with the same airline (or the same alliance) - so you can save up for bonuses faster.

And now, as a test task: take any offer to your taste from those that we posted over the past week (except for Transaero, because this airline is not yet part of any alliance, there is nothing to count there), select one flight and count where would you put the miles. If you want, write in the comments, we will check your calculations :)

That's all with the second part. Next time we'll talk about mileage strategies and how many programs to join.

Everyone heard about them, many saw them, but few were able to get to know them personally. What are these mysterious miles that most airlines present to their frequent flyers? Today, "Air Tips from the Site" will talk about one of the most difficult programs for travelers, namely the miles accumulation system!

Let's start with the fact that many airlines have such bonus programs, but it is much more convenient to use similar offers from air alliances, which include several carriers at once. This allows you to earn miles faster and then spend them more efficiently. The following is a list of the largest air alliances ...

The largest Star Alliance includes Air Canada, Air China, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines and others.

A little more modest is the SkyTeam alliance, which includes the following carriers: Aeroflot, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Korean Air and many others.

In the fewest Oneworld alliance includes such airlines as Airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Qatar Airways, S7 and others.

What does the accumulation of miles give?

The most pleasant use of bonus miles is the purchase on them award ticket, which you will get for free or you will have to pay only taxes and fees. By the way, either you or your friends can make a flight, since miles are not nominal and they are allowed to give.

It is worth noting that it is not easy to collect the required number of miles for a whole ticket, but they can be spent on other joys of life, such as:

• service class upgrade, i.e., by buying an economy class ticket, with the help of miles you can be in “business”;
• an increase in passenger status, which entails an increase in baggage allowance, an invitation to special lounges at the airport, and then to priority boarding, as well as the accrual of more miles for flights;
• receiving serious discounts on other travel services, such as hotel accommodation or car rental;
• or discounts on purchases of a variety of products from the "mile catalog", from clothing and accessories to an electric drill and a vacuum cleaner.

Who benefits from earning miles?

In order to successfully accumulate and then spend miles, first of all, you must often use the services of one airline or one air alliance. Therefore, if you fly with a variety of airlines or spend your entire vacation in the country, mileage programs are unlikely to please you. But they are suitable for those who travel a lot or go on business trips, giving preference to some specific air carriers.

Qualifying and non-qualifying miles

Miles can be of two types: qualifying (they are also status) and non-qualifying (or award). The first are charged directly for flights. The main purpose of such miles is to increase the passenger status from the simplest to the elite, which gives maximum benefits. However, qualifying miles can also be used to earn an award ticket.

Non-qualifying miles are issued for using the services of the program partner companies (banks, restaurants, shops, etc.). In this case, the status of the passenger does not change in any way, and miles can only be spent on award flights, service class upgrades on the plane and other one-time pleasures (whereas a high status is usually assigned to a passenger for a year).

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It is important to understand that if you do not earn qualifying miles, you will not be able to use your accumulated non-qualifying miles. In other words, a non-flying passenger does not deserve any privileges, even if he makes a lot of purchases from partner companies! The period of accumulating miles also plays an important role. Usually it is 1-2 years, after which all unused miles of non-rechargeable account burn out.

Ways to earn miles

The most logical way to earn miles is to fly. However, do not forget that you need to fly either with one carrier, or (more conveniently) with airlines from the same alliance.

In order to inform the airline about your participation in the accumulation of miles, when booking a ticket, you must enter your personal frequent flyer number or show the program card when checking in for the flight. At the same time, it does not matter where exactly the reservation was made - on the official website of the carrier, at the air ticket office or on the website of an online agency. It is also worth considering that if you bought a ticket, but the flight on it was not completed (the reservation was canceled or you just missed the plane), then miles will not be credited.

The number of miles earned depends on several factors: service class (economy / business), flight distance and the fare at which the ticket was purchased. You can see how many miles you get for a particular flight in the special miles accrual tables in the airline's rules.

In addition to flights, you can use other services provided by the partner companies of the program and, again, earn miles. Hotels, restaurants, car rentals, mobile operators and many others will be happy to give you the coveted air points.

The most profitable and convenient way to accumulate non-qualifying miles is to use the cards of partner banks. The more purchases you make with this card, the more miles you earn. By the way, here is a little trick! When visiting shops, restaurants and other establishments with friends, offer to pay the joint bill with your card, so other people's purchases will also earn you miles.

How to spend miles

In addition to the already mentioned bonuses directly from airlines, as well as discounts on services and products of program partners, you always want to spend miles on flights, getting that very cherished free ticket (you need to remember about the possible payment of fees).

Each airline and alliance has a lot of pitfalls to consider when looking for bonus tickets, but there are also unspoken general rules:

• When choosing an airline for a flight, pay attention to how high fees (in real money) they can charge for a ticket paid for with virtual miles. Although it may not ask for anything at all!
• Spending bonus miles is beneficial on flights in business class, especially over long distances, when comfort is of great importance, and such tickets are very expensive for the money. True, it is worth considering that you will need a lot of miles for this.
• If you don't have a lot of miles, choose to fly shorter distances but in business class. In this case, the fees are usually the same as for "economy".
• Unlike buying with real money, you will not get a discount on a round-trip ticket for bonus miles.

How to earn miles with Aeroflot Bonus

Since different alliances and airlines have quite a lot of such subtleties, we decided to analyze in detail the secrets of the most popular Aeroflot Bonus mileage program in Russia.

1. First of all, it is worth noting that Aeroflot does not have completely free tickets. Additional payment of various fees in monetary terms is mandatory for everyone, even for the most frequent flyers. However, these fees can vary greatly.
2. It is advantageous to buy a ticket for miles at once in both directions, because one way it will cost only a little cheaper.
3. The entire map of the world is divided into zones, the number of miles required for departure or arrival from / to a particular city depends on the belonging to which. Sometimes it turns out that airports relatively close to each other are located in different zones, so it’s advantageous to travel not from your hometown, but from a neighboring one. For example, a flight from Krasnodar (zone Russia-1) is cheaper than a flight from Sochi (zone Russia-2).
4. Save miles and at the same time make your trip more fulfilling with the help of a flight not to the final destination, but to another Big City located nearby. For example, flying to Venice (Europe-3 zone) is always more expensive than Innsbruck (Europe-2 zone), and a trip from the second city to the first can be a great addition to the trip.
5. To get a bonus ticket for popular dates and destinations, you should search in advance, but there is still a chance that you will not find what you need. The problem is that the number of tickets that can be paid for with bonuses is limited by Aeroflot, which is especially felt when looking for flights for the high season and to the most interesting destinations.
6. Look out not only for regular airline sales, but also for special mileage promotions, during which tickets to certain destinations can ask for much less miles than usual. However, do not forget that taxes and fees will still have to be paid in full.
7. Accumulating Aeroflot Bonus miles by paying for goods with bank cards is very convenient, since the airline cooperates with several banks, one of which is the most popular in the country.
8. But to accumulate miles using the services of Aeroflot itself, sometimes it turns out to be completely useless. The fact is that some airline tariffs do not provide for the accrual of bonuses for flights, and for tickets purchased under the promotion, you can get only a quarter of the possible number of miles.
9. Remember that the accumulated Aeroflot Bonus miles expire after two years, if during this time you have not made a single flight on the flights of the airline itself (at the fare with mileage accrual) or partner carriers in the Skyteam alliance. In addition, you will not be able to purchase an award ticket for miles (even if you save them) if you have never flown with Aeroflot itself or its subsidiary Nordavia during the specified time.

As you can see, the process of accumulating and spending air miles is quite complicated and painstaking, so not everyone is involved in it. Also, these programs are not for everyone.

However, if you fly a lot and can sort through the intricacies of alliances, miles, and award tickets, then this can really help save money or allow you to indulge in extra trips.

Information on how to earn miles for a plane is very relevant and interesting. Let's list best cards banking systems and briefly describe the terms of accrual and how to spend the received bonuses. After all, everyone will want to use a free or cheaper flight in the desired direction.

Today, airlines are increasingly offering a so-called loyalty program to regular customers. Banks also join it, helping people to quickly increase conditional miles on their account, even when making daily purchases, which are then available to use personally or transfer to close relatives.

Benefits of miles cards

Accrual of bonus miles initially appeared with individual airlines. Thus, they took care of their regular customers so that they choose flights of the same airline. Over time, a similar system has spread to bank cards, as well as some other financial and tourist institutions.

For ordinary people, the benefit is that when they use certain services of a particular company, they receive conditional bonuses as a gift. Having collected a certain amount of them, you can buy an air ticket for free or almost free of charge or get other privileges while traveling. Specific conditions always depend on which carrier or bank you are cooperating with.

So, the airline gives the passenger bonus miles for the purchase of each ticket. At the same time, there is an increase in the status of the client, which also brings additional benefits. The more often you use the services of a carrier, fly longer distances, purchase expensive tickets, the faster the system accumulates conditional miles on your account.

We list the basic principles of their use:

1. Qualifying bonuses are awarded for each flight made with the help of a specific carrier or one alliance.
2. You should know in advance which system they are assigned to. So, the more expensive the ticket and the farther the distance, the more conditional miles you get. Carriers have separate tables that provide numbers and coefficients for accurate calculations.
3. Time frames must also be taken into account. That is, every six months, a year or two, you need to make at least one flight so that the bonuses do not “burn out”. Very often people are faced with the fact that they did not take into account this condition and all their accumulated miles disappeared at the most inopportune moment. Therefore, it is important to adhere to the established rules when participating in a particular loyalty program.
4. When making periodic flights, in addition to conditional bonuses, you also receive an increase in status, which is very beneficial. Among the opening privileges, there may be - priority in the queue during check-in and boarding, access to the airport's VIP lounges, an increase in free luggage space per person, etc.
5. Sometimes award miles tickets are completely free. In other cases, you have to pay fuel surcharges, but even then the flight is much cheaper.
6. You can spend the accumulated units not only on yourself, but also on your friends or relatives.
7. There is a special system for recalculating bonuses, according to which you can purchase not only economy class tickets, but also use business class when flying. And more often than not, this turns out to be a more profitable advantage than just buying a free seat.
8. When connecting a bank card or other cooperation programs, you can receive bonuses even for simple daily financial transactions. True, in this case, your client status will not increase. But you can earn free miles very quickly.
9. Similarly, it will be possible to spend the accumulated conditional units on other goods of partners. In this case, it is desirable to obtain a catalog that lists all the options and prices for the services of airlines and other companies.

But in order to take full advantage of such a benefit from the loyalty program, you need to carefully study all the terms and conditions. Very often, people remain dissatisfied only because they turned out to be inattentive and scrolled through the cooperation agreement superficially.

Aeroflot terms and conditions

Aeroflot remains the most popular carrier in Russia. This airline has a lot of flights both in our country and abroad. And if residents of Moscow or St. Petersburg can still choose bonus programs of other airlines, for example, European ones, then in remote regions they are most often forced to cooperate with this particular carrier.

azimuthotels.com

But it is worth noting that the accrual of bonuses remains quite profitable. So, getting a card for accumulating miles is available at any bank in Russia, while additional benefits are opened for affiliate programs. For example, for every 20-30 rubles spent from a credit card, 1 free mile is credited. True, most often there is a condition under which you need to use the services of a carrier at least once every two years.

It is advisable to check the accumulated miles before the planned trip, for example, in personal account, and clarify the conditions for their use in order to accurately calculate where it is more profitable to fly, how much the flight will cost and other nuances. Also, by analogy, it is possible to spend them on car rental, hotel rooms and other travel services.

But you need to remember that Aeroflot does not offer completely free tickets even for regular customers. In each case, you will have to pay at least fuel surcharges. Therefore, it is much more profitable to use the loyalty program when booking a seat in business class. Then the price will be the same, but you will get much more benefits during the flight.

Pay attention to the so-called territorial grid. Depending on the locality, in which the passenger is located, and from which he will fly on an award ticket, the need for conditional miles spent on the same flight is also significantly different. For example, destinations from the Russia 1 zone to Europe are considered the most profitable, since passengers have to save up much less conventional units on their account to make a trip.

Remember one more thing. There is a difference in the cost of fuel surcharges depending on the direction of travel. So, when flying to Kazakhstan (Karaganda), they will be in the region of 350 rubles per person. And if, for example, you go to Kamchatka, then - 4300. Therefore, it is very important to calculate in advance for which tickets you should use bonus miles so that the trip is as profitable as possible.

Often, Aeroflot holds various promotions and contests, in which passengers also have the opportunity to get extra miles to their account or use them at a better rate.

Bank cards

By opening a credit or debit card at a bank, you can also earn extra miles for future travel.

The conditions in each institution are somewhat different, therefore, in order to choose which card is better in this regard, you need to carefully study all the features of bonus accrual for a specific partner offer. For example, we briefly list the most popular systems.

Considered one of the more advantageous offers, because when paying for purchases with a credit card of this bank, you can get much more miles for free flights. Of the minuses, it should be noted that in this case, conventional units are written off according to a special system - a multiple of 3,000. So, if you need to pay 11,500 miles, then 12,000 will be withdrawn from your account, and if 12,500 miles are needed, then already 15,000.

The terms of use include the following:

• when booking hotels, they accrue 10% bonuses from a credit card;
• for tickets, the fare is slightly lower - 5%;
• there are others Special offers which can be found in the catalogue.

If you regularly use this card and pay off the debt in a timely manner, then miles are accumulated very quickly for a free flight across Russia or even to Europe.

Alfa Bank

Has a program called AlfaTravel. It unlocks the following perks:

1. Increased accrual for the purchase of tickets not only for airlines, but even railway, as well as when booking hotels through a local website. But in this case, the cost of services may be higher than at other sites.
2. There are benefits for customers in the form of Priority Pass, unlimited roaming internet for two weeks, some discounts when using various travel services.

It is worth noting that this bank has a whole tariff scale for cards and in each of the cases bonuses are accrued for one or another action. Therefore, you need to familiarize yourself with the existing conditions in advance in order to choose the most suitable and profitable option for yourself.

Bank opening"

This bonus program implies the accrual of conventional units, which can then be spent on the same services - air tickets, hotel reservations, etc. But among the rules of use there is a mandatory purchase only through their Internet service. But among the advantages, it should be noted that here you can write off bonuses in any amount, without a “step”, as in Tinkoff.

Depending on the selected credit card tariff, the accrual conditions are slightly different:

• 3-4 rubles for every 100 rubles spent;
• the amount of travel insurance - 35,000-100,000 euros;
• there are additional benefits for the Premium account (available internet in roaming, flight delay compensation, free transfer, etc.).

At the same time, you can pay for the ticket both with fully accumulated bonuses, and in part. The percentage of accrual of miles is rather big - 3-4%. They let you into the business lounge at airports while waiting for the plane. But in this case, there are also disadvantages, for example, the increased cost of services, not always favorable conditions, and insurance does not cover the costs of staying in certain countries.

Sberbank

The most common loyalty program for our compatriots, working directly with Aeroflot airlines. In general, the conditions for accrual / use of bonus miles are similar here:

1. They give welcome bonuses for opening an account - 500-1000.
2. For every 60 rubles spent, they give 1-2 miles, depending on the type of card (Classic, Gold, Signature).
3. There are discounts on car rentals.

Separate nuances

When using free bonuses, you must clearly follow all the rules that apply to the system. Let's highlight the most important ones:

• Remember that it is very difficult to purchase tickets for certain destinations for holidays, holidays, the peak of the tourist season, as they are booked almost a year in advance.
• It is possible to transfer bonuses to other persons, but in a limited amount, depending on the carrier, the status of the client and the bank.
• Stopping at the transfer point is allowed only up to 24 hours.
• It is more profitable to purchase round-trip tickets.
• Always consider the cost of fuel surcharges, as sometimes they are too high.
• Periodically, it is necessary to use the services of the airline so that bonus miles do not “burn out” and their debiting is available.

Video: how do miles work?

Example

To understand in more detail the accrual and use of bonuses, we give approximate indicators. Let's say, with a regular Standard card in any bank, you can collect about 7900 miles per year with spending 40 thousand per month. Making at least one flight a year during your vacation, for example, from Yekaterinburg to Athens and back, you get at least 5,600 miles.

Using a bank card to pay for tickets, another 770 conventional units are added. And, for example, by earning 500 welcome miles and the same amount for participating in the promotion, you have added a total of 1000 to your account. Using the same hotel booking system, you can add up to 1000 USD to your balance. e., paying for accommodation by card. And for renting a car, another 250 is added.

In total, there are already 16,520 bonuses in total for the year and one vacation spent. They can be spent in different ways. For example, having accumulated 20 thousand miles in a year and a half, you will be able to fly to Istanbul or St. Petersburg from Yekaterinburg. In this case, you will only have to pay fees in the amount of 3000 rubles.

It is impossible to immediately tell which of the cards or programs will be more profitable and better. It all depends on the specific conditions of use. Therefore, it is worth carefully studying the rules, interest charges in each bank and with individual carriers in order to decide which system will be more profitable for you to fly.

Imagine, the first frequent flyer program appeared in 1972! I wasn't even around then. A few years later, American Airlines “finished” this project, and a system for accounting and accumulating miles appeared, which is known to everyone today. Even Russian Railways recently introduced a similar system for rail passengers, and miles are credited not only for flights, but also for spending on a bank card.

I have been using the Aeroflot mileage program in my bank for a long time, but since February 1, they have changed the conditions for accruing bonus miles on debit and credit cards. If earlier one mile was charged for every 30 rubles, now the rate has increased to 60 rubles. It's sad, but understandable.

I have long wanted to write about miles and this system, and then an opportunity presented itself. Guys from Tinkoff Bank approached me with an offer to advertise them and provided me with financial analytics of current proposals for mile cards on the Russian market. This is very interesting data that shows the real situation in terms of the profitability of certain cards. Let's understand: what are miles, how they are accrued and spent.

Essence of miles

The airlines are simple. You fly, you earn bonus miles. After a few flights, you can spend those miles on tickets or services: an upgrade to business class, extra baggage, or something else. Banks do not accrue bonus miles for flights, but for card purchases. Miles can be spent on tickets, hotel reservations and other services, depending on the bank.

What is the point of banks doing this? When you buy something with a card, your seller pays a commission to the bank: on average, from 2% to 4% of the purchase amount. This commission is the economic basis of the card payment system. Everyone earns on it: your bank, your seller's bank and the payment system. It is beneficial for the bank that you use the card as often as possible. It is desirable that the card becomes your main payment instrument. Even if you have a credit card, it is not so important for the bank to receive interest from you as to encourage you to make purchases as often as possible. Banks do not earn on you, but on sellers.

In fact, miles are a certain type of cashback, the return of part of the funds spent for regular use of a bank card.

Miles accrual

If airlines accrue miles based on flight distance, class of service, etc., then miles on a bank card accrue based on the amount of your payments. On the All Airlines card of Tinkoff Bank, 2% of any purchases made on the card are charged. Other cards have the same mechanics. You spend from the card, you get a percentage of spending in the form of miles. But the rates for accruing miles for purchases are different. For the same purchases from different cards, a different number of miles will be returned.

Let's say you spend 70,000 a month - i.e. 840,000 a year. Let's take the popular mile cards and see how many miles are returned:

As we can see, the cards of Sberbank, Russian Standard and Raiffeisen banks brought the most miles. All Airlines from Tinkoff Bank returned only 16,800 miles to the owner. Against the background of other maps - not a very remarkable result. But let's figure it out: is 40,000 miles a lot or a little? In the US, some programs can earn you as much as 50,000 welcome miles. Here we come to an important point - the real value of miles.

Miles value

Everyone has the same principle: first you accumulate miles, and then they turn into money. But each bank has its own conversion rate from miles to rubles. For example, 1 mile in Vanguard is 36 kopecks. Russian Standard has 1 mile equal to 50 kopecks. In the All Airlines card program, 1 mile is equal to 1 ruble. That is, 100 miles is 100 rubles.

Let's say you want to buy a ticket to Barcelona and back for 14,500 rubles. Here's how many miles you need to get such a ticket:

So far, it turns out that the most profitable cards are VTB24 Transaero Platinum (connected to the Transaero Privilege program) and All Airlines. Both cards outperform all other major competitors in terms of value from the same baseline.

But there are a few more important points that need to be said.

1. Taxes and fees. Not all reward programs allow you to pay the full price of the ticket in miles. The fact is that the ticket price consists of two components: the fare and taxes / fees. Typically, taxes and fees range from 20 to 50% of the ticket price. Ticket sites show us the final prices right away, but you can find out more about this on the airline sites. For almost all programs with airlines, you only compensate for the fare. Service fees and taxes will have to be paid by yourself. At All Airlines, service costs are compensated in the same way as the ticket itself. You won't have to pay.

2. The cost of annual maintenance. In fact, this is a subscription fee for using the card. Here again we have to turn to the data:

VTB24 Transaero Platinum costs 11,050 rubles a year, which is practically the cost of a whole ticket.

3. Choice of flights. Virtually everyone bonus programs from the list there is a significant limitation. The fact is that you cannot buy any ticket for miles. You will face restrictions by country, date, airline, or purchase method. With cards linked to Aeroflot, you can only fly with Aeroflot and partners. With Transaero cards (including VTB24) - only Transaero and its partners.

There are no such restrictions on ALL Airlines. You can buy with miles any ticket of any airline in any direction, on any date, in any place and through any search engine or agent. Including low-cost airlines (Ryanair, Pobeda, etc.). The only conditions are the payment of the ticket with an ALL Airlines card and the opportunity to compensate the cost of the ticket with miles only in full. There is no partial surcharge, as in some other banks.

But you will be able to "accumulate" miles after purchasing a ticket - no one else has such an option. While at other banks you need to know in advance whether to redeem miles, with All Airlines you will be able to refund your ticket within three months after the flight. During this time, you can earn more miles.

4. Validity of miles and "activation" of miles. Everything is simple here: for all cards from the list, inactive miles burn out every 2 years. Did not have time - lost the accumulated miles. ALL Airlines miles only expire once every 5 years. "Not in time" will be difficult. In addition, in order to use Aeroflot bonus miles, you must first fly somewhere with Aeroflot at your own expense. This "activates" the miles. You understand that this flight will also cost you money.

5. Accrual of miles for the bonus flight itself. For an ALL Airlines bonus flight, you will also receive miles from the airline itself, since for airlines this is a regular ticket purchased with your funds. No restrictions are placed on it. The benefit is twofold: you continue to earn Airline Miles on your flights and at the same time earn ALL Airlines Miles on purchases.

Bonuses

Each mile program has its perks. These can be welcome miles, increased birthday miles, discounts from partners, etc. In the case of All Airlines, you will be given an increased mileage cashback for spending in the travel sector. For example, for buying air tickets through travel.tinkoff.ru you get not 2%, but 5%, and 10% is returned for booking hotels and cars.

Example: you buy a ticket for 28,000 rubles, which you are going to compensate with miles. The ticket is free for you, but the bank will still refund you 5% - that's 1,400 miles. They can be used to compensate for the next flight. Spending 70,000 rubles per month on the card and 100,000 per year on the tourist category, you will earn approximately 21,000 miles. 21,000 miles is, if anything, a free ticket to Singapore and back.

Let's summarize.

The case is this: you spend 100,000 rubles a month from the card and are going to fly to Tel Aviv for 14,500 rubles. The ticket price consists of the fare (8,000 rubles) and airline fees and taxes (6,500 rubles).

Conclusions on the table:

Surcharge for fees. In most cards, you will have to pay a significant amount for tickets - airline fees and taxes.

How many of these tickets can you buy in a year. Some cards will not allow you to fly for free. It will take more than a year to accumulate miles (or you will have to spend more than 100,000 rubles per month from the card). With All Airlines, you will definitely get any ticket for free, and in the very first year of use. When you spend 15,000 on your ticket refund, you will still have 10,000 miles left. You can fly anywhere on them if the ticket costs less than 9,000 rubles.

How many miles you get for buying a ticket. Here All Airlines is in the lead: for the purchase of a ticket, you will receive an additional 1,200 miles that can be spent on the next ticket.

All Airlines is a value proposition for travelers or those who fly regularly on vacation. I fly frequently and will most likely continue to use both my bank card and the All Airlines card. There is a little trick here: the guys from Tinkoff Bank suggested that All Airlines does not interfere with using other bonus programs.

For example, I can still spend Aeroflot bonuses, and with the help of All Airlines, I can compensate for service fees for which I previously had to pay extra separately. Or I can compensate for the purchase of a ticket with the help of All Airlines, and Aeroflot bonuses will help me upgrade my flight to business class.

In addition, the card has a rich set of banking services:

— credit limit up to 700,000 rubles;
— interest-free period up to 55 days;
— 1000 miles as a gift (you need to make one purchase from the card);
- free travel insurance (will be used for obtaining a visa);

You can fill out an application for an All Airlines card