All Airberlin topbonus status match offers to oneworld alliance

Posted on October 18, 2017 by meanie

Airberlin’s last day as a oneworld member airline will be October 27, 2017. But it doesn’t mean your topbonus status has to be wasted. There’re several status match opportunities with several oneworld airlines.

Iberia Plus status match

iberia plus status match

Currently the best oneworld status match offer. You can match topbonus Silver (oneworld Ruby) status to Iberia Plus Silver.

In case you have topbonus Gold or Platinum (oneworld Sapphire and Emerald) you can get Iberia Plus Gold (oneworld Sapphire).

You need to fill in the status match request document, which is in German, but… Google translate would help! Send it to ibpcampaign@iberia.es or clasica@iberia.es, including photos or screenshots of your current topbonus status.

The best part of Iberia Plus status match is that it’s not asking to do any flight challenges, so you can just receive the status and start using it immediately.

Finnair Plus status match and challenge

finnair plus status match

Finnair will only match topbonus members to Finnair Plus Silver (oneworld Ruby), irrespectively of having higher tier.

Reaching Finnair Gold status will require a Gold Challenge, which requires 40,000 tier points or 23 flights within 6 months. All details are available on Finnair status match webpage.

I got my status matched within 2 weeks after sending the required information to Finnair.

British Airways Executive Club status match + bonus Avios

BA Executive Club Silver

British Airways, same as Finnair, is only matching to BA Bronze (oneworld Ruby).

If you are an existing Executive Club Member, you need send an email at ABtieroffer@ba.com with your Executive Club membership details and attach evidence of your airberlin topbonus tier status by the 30 November.

If you are not an existing member, you will need to join first. You will also be eligible for an additional 4,500 Avios when you join before the 30th of November.

if you take 4 flights with British Airways before the 31 December 2017, you will receive additional 9,000 bonus Avios.

Full details are available at BA status match page

Royal Jordanian Airlines Royal Plus top-tier status match

Royal Jordanian status match

Quite “exotic” status match from Royal Jordanian airlines. The offer is valid only for top-tier statuses (Gold and Platinum). The status match requires a flight with RJ to “activate” the status and member must achieve 20,000 miles within the first 12 months to keep the matched status, otherwise, the card level will be demoted.

Full details are available on Royal Jordanian status match page, This status match is only making sense if you have travel plans with RJ, which has quite nice business class.

Personally, I have already matched to Finnair Plus and plan on matching to Iberia Plus. I don’t see myself using RJ anytime soon. And in good, old-fashioned traditions, British Airways are offering close to a useless status match.

Which program would you choose?

Kuala Lumpur airport lounges review: Plaza Premium, SilverKris and Royal Silk

Posted on October 2, 2017 by meanie

During my latest Crazy Trip of September, I had a chance to visit two StarAlliance Gold and one PriorityPass lounge in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL or KLIA).

My flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo/Narita was departing at 7-00, so during check-in, I got an invitation to contracted lounge Plaza Premium, which is the only lounge working during the night. Singapore Airlines SilverKris and Thai Airways Royal Silk lounges were both opening only at 6-00.

The amazing part is, all three lounges are within 1-minute walk from each other and next to smoking lounge! If you have a long stopover, you can do lounge hopping entire day ;)!

Plaza Premium Lounge in Kuala Lumpur

If you are travelling business class or have elite status with any of the following airlines, and your “native” alliance lounge is not working, you shall get the invitation ticket at the check-in counter. I could also access Plaza Premium Lounge using PriorityPass that I got after receiving American Express Platinum card.

At 5-00, when I entered the lounge, it was quite empty and only a few passengers were napping there. Closer to 6-00, when most of the airlines start flying, the lounge became much busier.

There is a dedicated bar, which serves coffee and alcoholic drinks.

There is a price list for alcoholic drinks, but I was told to show my boarding pass and got it for free. Not sure who is required to pay, my guess would be PriorityPass users.

The food options were limited to the salad bar, some chicken sausages, fried noodles and omelette. Next to the food station are fridges with soft drinks. There was also a separated “bread” station with bread, pastries and butter/jams. A bit later there were sushi rolls available.

Each seat has several power outlets, which is usually one of the biggest deficits in many lounges. WI-FI was working good, but I would expect worse performance during busy hours.

Jumping ahead, I think Plaza Premium is one of the best lounge options at Kuala Lumpur Airport among the ones in the review. It has the widest food selection and bigger sitting area, Surely, before it gets completely packed during busy hours due to many partners being served.

Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge at KLIA

The second lounge I visited at Kuala Lumpur Airport was Singapore Airlines SilverKris. To be frank, I always prefer SilverKris lounge in Asia, if there is one available, to any other StarAlliance lounge. Clearly, the lounge can be accessed by anyone flying Singapore Airlines business class or StarAlliance Gold members. SilverKris lounge opened precisely at 6-00 and is located 1-minute walk from Plaza Premium lounge.

There were some premade salads stored in the fridge, four options of warm dishes, some bread and pastry, alcohol bar and soft drinks.

SilverKris lounge had a fridge with a few bottles of white wine and red wine available next to heavy alcohol, which is my main food in lounges 😉

The lounge is the smallest one in the review, mostly providing high tables and just a few rows of chairs, but once again, no issue with power outlets or WI-FI connection.

Thai Airways Royal Silk lounge In Kuala Lumpur

The last lounge I managed to visit very quickly was Thai Airways Royal Silk lounge, which is located right opposite Plaza Premium. It’s a bit more spacious than SilverKris, seem to have more comfortable chairs, tables in front of you, rather than on a side, and decent working area.

The food selection was exactly the same as in KrisFlyer lounge, so there is not much to discuss here. The beverage selection is the same minus any sort of wines.

Thai Airways lounge was completely empty, while KrisFlyer was already getting busy at the time of my visit.

Bottom line

If you travel with StarAlliance Gold and want to have a glass of wine, head directly to Singaporean KrisFlyer lounge. If you don’t care about it and want nicer sitting area, the choice is Royal Silk lounge. Food is equal in both lounges, but Thai seems to be a bit quieter.

If you can access Plaza Premium lounge – there you find a wider food selection, but it can get very crowded and noisy.

Overall, Kuala Lumpur KLIA airport is a heaven for lounge hoppers!

British Airways Visa Card Sweden

Posted on September 1, 2017 by meanie

British Airways has announced a new promo offer for Visa Card for Swedish market.

The card will allow to accumulate Avios on BA Executive Club reward program for residents in Sweden.

British Airways Visa Card

Annual fee: 395 SEK a year
Points earning: 1 Avios for each 20 SEK spent and 2 Avios for purchases with British Airways
5000 bonus Avios are awarded on the first purchase made on the British Airways Visa Card before 30 September 2017
British Airways Companion Voucher after spending 500 000 SEK a year (SIC! More than triple times the amount required with SAS American Express Premium/Elite)
10% flight discount on a single or return journey between Sweden and the UK on BA operated flights
Application form is here

I don’t see many people applying for this card, unless they regularly take British Airways to fly between Scandinavia and the UK. Even though, Avios collection might be of interest for some Scandinavian travelers, but SAS is offering much better service and redemption options in comparison to BA Executive Club reward program. As there is no minimum spending required, technically you can apply for the card, make one purchase, receive 5000 Avios and close the card.

The companion voucher, however, is a complete joke and doesn’t stand a chance against SAS American Express 2-4-1 voucher.

And let’s not forget, British Airways has been constantly on strikes for several years in a row, which doesn’t add much credibility.

Footprint:

1. 5,000 Bonus Avios offer available to Eligible Participants only. Eligible Participants must be aged 20 or over and must reside in Sweden. 5,000 Bonus Avios are awarded on the first purchase made on the British Airways Visa Card before 23:59 30 September 2017.

2. Offer available to new applicants for the British Airways Visa Card only.

3. No annual fee for the first year, thereafter an annual fee of 395 SEK applies.

4. The Eligible Participant must have a valid British Airways Executive Club account to receive the 5,000 Bonus Avios. If you're not an Executive Club member already, we'll automatically enroll you into the Club when you get your British Airways Visa Card.

5. Standard terms and conditions apply to the use of the British Airways Visa Card, see here for full terms and conditions, interest rates and APR. [Annual fee 395 SEK, 13.64% effective interest rate (6 April 2016). The total amount payable is 21,590 SEK based on a credit of 20,000 SEK and 15.77% APR. The amount is calculated on the basis that the credit is repaid over 12 months (instalment amount in average 1799 SEK) and that the interest-free period of 39 days is used. This does not include any charges for cash withdrawals].

6. The 5,000 Bonus Avios points will be added to the Eligible Participant's nominated Executive Club account 30 days from the date of first use of the British Airways Visa Card.

7. Avios Points are issued subject to British Airways Executive Club Terms and Conditions. Reward Flight Saver bookings and Companion Voucher bookings are subject to availability and Executive Club members are responsible for the payment of taxes, fees and carrier charges. See ba.com for the full range of Avios redemption opportunities.

8. Companion Voucher bookings are subject to terms and conditions.

9. Full travel insurance terms and conditions can be found here: Travel insurance terms and conditions (pdf, 135kb, Swedish only).

10. Eligible Participants shall receive the standard benefits from the British Airways Visa Card subject to the terms and conditions of use referenced in clause 5 above in addition to the Bonus Avios under the terms of this promotion.

11. These terms and conditions may be amended by the Promoter at any time.

12. The Promoter, administrator and issuer of the British Airways Visa Card is EnterCard Sverige AB, Corp ID no. 556673-0593, SE-105 34 Stockholm, tel +46 (0)771-48 00 50. EnterCard Sverige AB is subject to inspection by Finansinspektionen. Cancellation policy applies.

13. Questions regarding the British Airways Visa Card should be directed to EnterCard, tel +46 (0)771-48 00 50.

14. A flight discount of 10% applies to new British Airways Visa Card holders who've taken up the card between 01 September and 30 September 2017. Flights must be marketed and operated British Airways flights booked on ba.comby 31 March 2018 for travel by 31 October 2018. Discount of 10% is inclusive of taxes, fees and charges. One single-use discount code valid per customer. Eligible to be used on Single or Return journeys on routes between Sweden and the UK only. BA cabins available for this offer are Euro Traveller and Club Europe.

Royal Jordanian business class review Athens to Amman

Posted on August 31, 2017 by meanie

In July, I had to fly from Athens to Amman on Friday, and it’s the only day when Aegean Airlines is not operating flights to Jordan. The only option was to take Royal Jordanian airlines, which is a oneworld member. It was a good reason to status match with Airberlin topbonus, so I could get priority checkin, baggage and lounge access.

Royal Jordanian Crown business class review

Flight: Royal Jordanian RJ 132
Athens Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH) – Amman Queen Alia International Airport (AMM)
Direct flight: duration 02h10m
Economy class -> Business class with bid upgrade
Aircraft: Embraer 175
Seat: 1A

I booked a flight with Royal Jordanian airlines in economy class, but used Go Crown bid upgrade service. Go Crown bid upgrade was available in My Booking section of RJ.com website. The lowest amount to bid was 100, my upgrade bid was only 110. Two days before departure I received email with congratulations on upgrade.

I checked in online and had only carry-on with me, so I didn’t have any counter check-in experience.

Royal Jordanian lounge in Athens

Athens airport is a StarAlliance hub, so there was no oneworld lounge. But as I was flying Royal Jordanian Crown business class and had Airberlin topbonus gold status, I was able to enter one of the contracted lounges in international A-zone of Athens airport.

The lounge was quite good. Definitely not comparable to Aegean or Lufthansa StarAlliance gold lounges, but it served the purpose. You can read separate review of the lounge here.

Royal Jordanian business class flight

Royal Jordanian flight 132 is operated on Embraer 175 with 1-2 seat configuration. I chose seat 1A so I can seat alone. Business class cabin was half empty, while economy class was almost completely full. The cabin looks a bit dated, seats were worn out and slightly dirty. There was already pillow on the seat and I asked for an additional blanket.

Food and drinks

Shortly after taking off, I was approached by a very polite and nice flight attendant. She asked me what would I like to drink, but as there was no food/drinks menu I had to ask “what do you have?”. She asked again what do I want, and we had to play this game two more times, just for the fun of it.

To my surprise, Royal Jordanian was providing alcoholic beverages, including champagne. I asked for a glass of champagne. I got a strong feeling that the crew didn’t know how to deal with such request. First the flight attendant asked a male colleague to help her find it, another 10 minutes they could not open it, next 5 minutes they were looking for a glass.

When I finally got server the glass, I was wondering what brand is it, if it is even champagne or just sparkling wine. The flight attendant went back and returned with a small bottle of Tattinger champagne. I couldn’t be happier :).

Royal Jordanian is also offering selection of Jordanian wines in business class. I have tried Jordanian wine in Amman and it’s quite drinkable and enjoyable. They have only 3 different producers, but they taste more or less the same.

Every passenger in business class cabin was offered a cup of traditional Jordanian coffee with cardamom. Can’t say I’d drink it ever again, but was a fun experience.

There was no food selection, so everyone got served the same plate of Arabic meze (eggplant, cheese pie, filled tomato and falafel), salad with dressing and bread/pita. I liked the food a lot, apart from the cheese pie. The dow became soggy after heating up.

After lunch, the flight offered me a refill of champagne, which I couldn’t deny. And glass by glass I finished entire bottle of Tattinger.

Inflight entertainment

None, apart from Royal Jordanian magazine. But it’s not a big issue, given the flight duration of 2 hours only.

Overall

I was very pleased with my Royal Jordanian business class experience. I had much lower expectations, but a bottle of champagne definitely raises it up. The crew was nice and polite, food was very tasty and the seat is much better than most of European airlines have in business class. We arrived on time to Amman Queen Alia International Airport and quickly left the aircraft.

The only negative moment was dirty and worn out cabin conditions, but I personally prefer old Embraer 175 over new Boeing 737.

Airberlin topbonus status match to EuroBonus level

Posted on July 10, 2017 by meanie

It’s not a secret that airberlin topbonus program runs everlasting status match program, matching existing customers status to their Top Bonus Silver (oneWorld Ruby) or Gold (oneWorld Sapphire) card.

However, I was surprised how fast and smooth the status matching process is. I was forced to book a flight with Royal Jordanian airlines, as my beloved Aegean isn’t operating any flights to Amman on required date. With the only option left being Royal Jordanian, which is in the same oneWorld alliance as airberlin, I decided to status match my SAS EuroBonus Gold status to airberlin topbonus program.

How topbonus Status Match works

Email to statusmatch@topbonus.de and provide the following information:

Your topbonus number
A legible scan/photo/copy of your other valid frequent flyer card (I sent an iPhone screenshot of my SAS EuroBonus status)
Your application will be reviewed and processed by our Service-Team.

In addition, I was asked to provide a photo of passport, national ID or any other proof of my Swedish residency. All in all, my status was matched within one day, which is really impressive. When few years ago I tried status match SAS EuroBonus to Turkish Airlines Miles and More, followed by Alitalia MilleMiglia program, it took me 2 weeks at least.

With airberlin topbonus it took just 2 emails and less than 24 hours. Impressive German efficiency!

I received airberlin topbonus Gold status that is valid for 12 months, mostly for the sake of fast track and lounge access. Here are the full benefits:

50 % more status and award miles on flights (Executive Bonus)
free seat and XL/preferred seat reservations
free access to more than 650 Business Class and Frequent Flyer Lounges at airberlin and oneworld® worlwide
free adjacent seat
priority boarding
security fast lane

In order to be able to use status match, you need to be a resident in one of the following countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland or Norway. You can also match to airberlin topbonus Silver status, but the benefits are quite negligible if you travel on oneworld partners.

Update:

Airberlin topbonus gold card

My card has arrived within a week by priority mail and I bought lanyards for staff here. The package included one topbonus gold card valid until 08/2018 and two luggage tags.

And I completely agree with “Gold suits you perfectly!”… indeed it does!

S7 airlines stops codesharing with Royal Jordanian airlines

Posted on July 5, 2017 by meanie

S7 Airlines seems to be stopping codeshare partnership with Royal Jordanian airlines (both are members of oneworld alliance). I had a reservation with one leg operated by S7 and second leg with S7 flight number operated by Royal Jordanian metal. Yesterday the last leg by RJ just completely disappeared from my reservation. Like without even leaving a single trace it was ever there…

Here is the flight booked several months ago

Searching for the same dates and destinations today on S7 website gives only this notification

It took me two days of being bounced between S7, Royal Jordanian and Expedia to recover the reservation and during that time I managed to visit one of S7 offices in Russia.

I reasonably asked personnel working for S7 what is going on, where is the flight and why they cannot restore their alliance partner flight back to the reservation. I got a quick answer “we are stopping our cooperation with Royal Jordanian airlines“. Unfortunately, S7 personnel refused to dig into details.

It’s not clear what’s the status of cooperation between S7 and Royal Jordanian, but rumors are saying its about who is earning profits from the heavily booked route to Amman.

During the talk with Expedia, I also asked what is going on. The only reason they could come up with was also stop of codesharing agreement.

In any case, if you have any flights booked with S7 and RJ together, I would highly recommend to immediately check it.

Leave your comments if you experienced the same!

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