Four Easy Ways to Obtain Star Alliance GOLD Status

Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge Istanbul

Obtaining Gold Status with Star Alliance is a goal for many frequent flyers. It’s popularity mainly arises from the fact that the elite status comes with free lounge access – worldwide and including every lounge operated by the alliance. While some programs, like Lufthansa’s `Miles &More´ set the bar pretty high once it comes to reaching the popular gold card, other airlines offer simpler ways. Below we will give you an overview of the five easiest options that are out there.

Benefits of Star Alliance Gold Status

Star Alliance Gold Logo

There are quite a few benefits you’ll be able to enjoy once you call a card with the Star Alliance Gold logo on it your own. And you’ll profit from them every time you choose to fly with a Star Alliance member, no matter which travel class:

  • Priority Airport Check-in
  • Airport Lounge Access to over 1,000 Star Alliance Gold lounges, including a guest
  • Priority Boarding
  • Extra Baggage Allowance and Priority Baggage Handling
  • Gold Track (Where available)
  • Priority Reservations Waitlist
  • Priority Airport Stand-by

1. Aegean Miles + Bonus: 36,000 Miles and 6 Flights

The program offered by the Greek airline Aegean Airlines is already well known by most frequent flyers. To obtain Gold Status, it’s enough to collect 36,000 tier miles, given that you also complete six flights with the airline itself or their partner Olympic Air. If you don’t have the chance to fly with Aegean, you’ll need a total of 72,000 miles to reach their highest tier.

Aegean Miles+Bonus Gold
Welcome Package Aegean Miles + Bonus

Facts

  • Qualification:
    1. First, you’ll have to collect 12,000 tier miles and fly with Aegean or Olympic twice OR collect 24,000 tier miles without flying the Greek airlines to reach Silver Status
    2. Once you’re a Silver member, you have to be credited with another 24,000 tier miles and fly with Aegean or their Greek partner four times, OR you collect 48,000 miles and avoid their aircraft. Careful: Flights and tier miles collected before you become a silver member will not be considered anymore on your way from Silver to Gold. The count will be reset once you obtained Silver status
  • Validity: 12 months
  • Additional benefits: 6 upgrade vouchers (2 for reaching Silver + 4 for Gold), an extra 20% reward miles and up to 5 people can earn miles into one account
  • Softlanding: Silver Status
  • Requalification: 12,000 tier miles and four flights on Aegean or Olympic or 24,000 tier miles without flying the Greek airline

Bottom line

Everything was better in the old days! Until 2014 Aegean would reward you with Gold status for collecting 20,000 miles within 12 months and the status had no expiration date. That’s right: it was valid forever! At least in theory. But compared to other programs, 36,000 miles and six flights with Aegean are still a pretty sweet deal. Especially if you consider how easy it is to requalify, needing only 12,000 miles

There is a downside, though. Some booking classes (mainly for Lufthansa flights) won’t get you any miles. Or at least not many. On the other hand, there are some flights that could get you 200% (e.g., Business Class with Air Canada) or even 300% (Lufthansa’s First Class). So you should always check which airline works in your favor.

2. Asiana Club: 40,000 Miles Within Two Years

Asiana Club Diamond Card

The South Korean Airline Asiana runs a frequent traveler program called Asiana Club. A lovely program that allows you to obtain Star Alliance God status with minimal tier miles and – even better – keep it for up to 4 years. Asiana Club also offers good ways to redeem your award miles for flights.

Facts

  • Qualification: You’ll need 40,000 tier miles (or 50 Asiana flights) within a qualifying period of 24 months from the date of registration (base date) to obtain Asiana Diamond status, which is also Star Alliance Gold
  • Validity: Your Status will be valid for at least two years. Since your initial qualification period is 24 months, you can hold the Asian Diamond status for up to 4 years! (If you qualify on the first day of registration, you keep your status for the 24 months of the qualifying period plus another 24 months of standard validity)
  • Additional Benefits: you’ll receive an extra 10% bonus miles and a coupon for 50% off a reward flight. Your miles stay valid for 12 years (yes, that’s not a typo. 12 years!). Earn 500,000 miles and you’ll be granted Diamond Plus for life – another great benefit.
  • Requalification: collect 30,000 tier miles within 24 months before the expiration of your status to requalify
  • Softlanding: No

Bottom line

40,000 miles within 24 months isn’t all that much. To maximize the validity of your status, you should try to register right before your first flight, and you could hold Star Alliance Gold for 4 years. Also, 30,000 tier miles for requalification is a fair deal! And award miles expiring after 12 years is unique too.

Even when redeeming award miles Asiana Club can be exciting. A one-way first-class flight with Lufthansa to the West Coast of the US can be booked for 50,000 award miles and an additional ~250 € for fees! Lufthansa’s program `Miles & More´ requires you to spend 85,000 award miles for the same flight.

3. Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles: 40,000 Miles Within 12 Months

Turkish Airlines has been offering a status match to its loyalty program for a while now. But that’s not the only reason why Miles & Smiles got the attention of frequent travelers. 40,000 miles to reach Star Alliance Gold is not bad, and it only takes 25,000 to requalify for Turkish Airlines’ Elite Status in your first year after reaching Gold status (37,500 if you wait until your second year). If you can afford to fly Turkish’s business class product, you even get an extra 25% bonus on the tier miles earned.

Turkish Airlines Status Match
Successful match to Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles

Facts

  • Qualification: If you collect 40,000 Status Miles within 12 consecutive months you’ll be rewarded with Miles & Smiles Elite, hence Star Alliance Gold
  • Validity: 2 years from the date you earned the status
  • Additional Benefits: You can purchase up to 10,000 tier miles for $ 70 per 1,000 miles, Miles & Smiles offers a family account, and you can earn extra 25% bonus tier miles on Turkish Airlines Comfort and Business Class flights
  • Requalification: 25,000 within the first year or 37,500 status miles throughout two years of your gold status. (Only, if you live outside of Turkey)
  • Softlanding: Classic Plus (Star Alliance Silver)

Bottom line

40,000 status miles within 12 months can be a challenge especially since even flights with Turkish Airlines will get you a maximum of 150% on your miles as tier and award miles. But then the re-qualification is easier.

Unfortunately, also Miles & Smiles excludes some low-cost booking classes (e.g., Lufthansa) from being eligible to collect miles. In some other booking classes, there are up to 200%, though.

4. SAS EuroBonus: 45,000 Basic Points Within 12 Months

As a member of SAS’ frequent flyer program EuroBonus, you can reach Gold status by collection 45,000 Basic Points (that’s how SAS named their tier miles). Your qualification period will be 12 months, starting on the day you entered the program. Once your account shows 45,000 tier miles, you’ll be rewarded with Star Alliance Gold status and corresponding privileges for rest of your qualification period and another 12 months.

Facts

  • Qualification: You need 45,000 Basic Points (= tier miles) or 45 segments flown with SAS or Widerøe within a 12 month qualification period to earn Eurobonus Gold, which is equivalent to Star Alliance Gold. The qualification period starts when you join Eurobonus. For example, if you register with EuroBonus in August 2019, the qualification year ends on July 31st, 2020.
  • Validity: You will be a tier member for the rest of your current qualification period plus another 12 months until the end of the following qualification period.
  • Additional benefits: After ten consecutive years of holding Eurobonus Gold status, you will be rewarded with a Lifetime Gold membership and the chance to give away Silver status. You’ll receive an extra 25% on points collected on SAS and Wideroe flights, 20% discount on award flights with SAS (if you book at least 14 days in advance), free WiFi on SAS flights and free seat reservation on SAS flights.
  • Softlanding: Silver Status

Bottom line

Especially if you travel a lot in low-cost booking classes (e.g., Lufthansa’s K, L, and T class) you might want to take a closer look at EuroBonus. Even cheap fares still get you 25% of the miles flown as Basic Points. Also, the change to earn lifetime Gold Status could be very interesting and isn’t something you’ll find with every airline. By the way: if you’re able to collect 90,000 tier miles, you’ll reach Diamond Status and can give away a Gold card to a friend.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every Star Alliance Gold status include the same benefits?

The Miles&More Senator, as well as the MileagePlus Gold status or gold tiers of other loyalty programs, include Star Alliance Gold status. But almost every frequent flyer program has its own perks that will be offered to members on flights with the program-operating airline. A Miles&More Senator status, for example, will get you access to the Welcome Lounge after a long-haul flight and you will receive two upgrade vouchers. As a MileagePlus Gold member, you can reserve Economy+ seats and bring two pieces of luggage weighing up to 32kg each on United flights.

Can I just buy my Star Alliance Gold status?

There is no program out there that will sell a Star Alliance Gold status. So you will have to fly to earn those tier miles or points ion your way to elite status. Some airlines will sell tier miles in case you’re still missing some at the end of the membership year. But those will never be enough to obtain gold status.

Can my friend/relative/… credit his or her tier miles to my account?

Unfortunately, this is not possible. At least with most Star Alliance frequent flyer programs. Egyptair is the only exception. The airlines will let you open a family account, even for tier miles that are needed to reach Star Alliance Gold.

Do I have to be on board of an aircraft to earn tier miles?

Yes. There is no other way. Typically your boarding pass will be scanned before you can embark. If that’s not the case, you will have a tough time getting the program to credit your account. Even paying for a ticket in full and not flying will result in an empty mileage account.

Can I transfer miles to another program

No. In sporadic cases, this is an option for award miles but never for tier miles. As soon as miles have been credited to your account, that’s where they will stay. So it’s essential to plan ahead.

Can I request miles after my trip?

If for whatever reason you didn’t add your frequent flyer number to your booking, you won’t see any miles. But no worries: almost all frequent flyer programs offer a way to request missing miles.

Cover Picture: Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge in Istanbul

Write a comment

Comments (9)

  1. Naz says:

    which star alliance airline is the fastest to get to gold, ANA or Turkish?

  2. Mahesh parbat gandhi says:

    How to apply star alliance gold

  3. Ehrlich says:

    @extremetravel
    Would also be very interested in hearing more as I just nearly missed Gold status

  4. Jake says:

    You missed that Asiana also offers a lifetime diamond status at 500,000 miles total which makes it probably the most favorable FFP in the world.

  5. Federico Savino says:

    Hi,
    Can you please explain something more?
    Thanks

  6. XtremeTravel says:

    There are ways to pay for Star Alliance Gold.
    There is a little trick to it, but it works.
    Been there, done that.

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