Scandinavian Airlines, SAS, is changing flight alliances on September 1 – from Star Alliance to Skyteam. This affects the Eurobonus program and its five million members in Sweden.
In the past, the point value has often decreased with such exchanges.
– Many have been worried because they were previously able to use these points to be able to travel cross-country and now wonder if you will continue to be able to do this, explains Alexis Barnekow, CEO of Chatflights, which, among other things, helps customers book points trips, in an interview with Aftonbladet.
But this time SAS has managed to keep the value of the points relatively unchanged. If you could previously travel to the USA in business class for 130,000 points, the points will be at about the same level now.
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Good to book or change companies
But it’s still not too late to protect your accumulated points, as long as you act quickly. Alexis Barnekow suggests taking advantage of the flexibility of bonus travel by booking a trip now and then switching to another destination, if something better or cheaper is offered after the alliance change.
He believes that those who want to be safe can book a trip with, for example, Lufthansa to the USA before August 31 and then wait for the change of alliance. If a better opportunity presents itself, you can rebook, although this may mean a smaller fee.
– It costs quite a bit to book with Star Alliance and if you book these bonus trips, they are fully flexible, he tells Aftonbladet.
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You have to do that to keep the status
Another tip for bonus customers who want to remain in Star Alliance is to change airlines before leaving.
Alexis Barnekow explains that some airlines in the old alliance, such as Lufthansa, offer status matching, which means that SAS Gold members can get the corresponding status with Lufthansa by contacting them.
– There are certain requirements, such as that you have to travel a bit to maintain the status. But if you’re a frequent traveler who really likes Star Alliance, it might be worth considering these offers now, he concludes.
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