How to exchange S7 award miles for an air ticket. How to spend bonus S7 miles How to find out your miles in s7
S7 airline, like most major air carriers, has its own bonus program, which allows you to receive for using the services of the airline and its partners bonus miles, which can then be spent on purchasing tickets for regular flights, which allows you to fly practically for free. The procedure for accumulating miles and purchasing tickets is quite simple and transparent, however, there are some peculiarities.
S7 Airlines is a member of the Oneworld international alliance, which, in addition to S7, includes 15 other airlines. In addition, the airline’s partners are other companies, mainly operating in the tourism business, selling tickets, car rentals, accommodation booking services, and so on.
For using company services, clients receive bonuses called miles. In addition, there are special co-branded cards from several banks, for which bonuses are awarded for purchases. When a sufficient number is accumulated in the account, they can be spent on the purchase of award tickets and other purposes.
They are status and bonus. The first influence the increase in the client’s status, so you can get increased silver, gold and platinum statuses. When you assign a new level, privileges open up, for example, improved service at airports, and an increased number of miles for flights is awarded.
How to accumulate them
There are several options. Among the most popular and profitable are flights with airlines of the Oneworld alliance, as well as the use of joint partner bank cards. Today, such cards are issued by Bank of Moscow, Alfa Bank and UniCredit Bank.
For participation in the program and opening a card, you are awarded welcome miles, in addition, they are given by the airline as a gift for birthdays, as well as for some flights. For example, children are immediately awarded 1,000 miles for their first flight. In addition, they can be purchased on exchanges or transferred from one account to another, and even given as a gift.
Another interesting option offered by the S7 company is the purchase of a package of bonus miles in the event that there are not enough of them to purchase the desired flight; a maximum of no more than 15,000 can be purchased per year, provided that during the last 365 days there was at least one failure award flight on airline flights.
In addition, they are also awarded for using the services of other S7 partner companies, in addition to Oneworld airlines. For example, you can rent a car or book accommodation and get miles for it, which you can then spend at your discretion.
Miles accrual system
S7 company awards bonuses for each flight. With standard customer status, a minimum of 500 miles is awarded for each flight. And the maximum number will depend on the flight distance and the chosen fare; they will be calculated as a percentage from 50 to 250%.
How can you spend miles?
It is important that they cannot be cashed out. You can spend, depending on your own desire, on the following purposes:
- Flight on regular flights of S7 and 15 other air carriers.
- Upgrading the class of service on a flight.
- Transfer to another client's account (there are exchanges where miles can be sold).
- Transfer for charitable purposes.
The cost of a one-way ticket on the airline's flights starts from 7,500 miles one way. The same amount is required to purchase an award ticket from partner airlines. But upgrading the service desk from “Economy” to “Business” will cost 3,500 miles.
An important nuance: you can only pay with miles for the main cost of the ticket, but you will have to pay fuel, airport and service fees at your own expense when booking an award ticket.
How to buy an award ticket with miles
In fact, the instructions for buying a ticket with miles are quite simple and are no different from buying a regular ticket.
Registration in the program
First, to start accumulating bonuses, you need to become a member of the program. There are several ways to do this:
- Register on the S7 website for the S7 Priority program.
- Apply for a co-branded card at your partner bank.
- Register with the S7 Priority Program Service Center by calling the hotline 8-800-100-77-11.
Then all you have to do is accumulate the required number of miles. You can check their condition at personal account on the S7 website, or by calling the Service Center. If the required number of bonuses has been accumulated, you can proceed to purchasing a ticket.
Online purchase
- Log in to the s7.ru website by logging into your Personal Account.
- In the “Order an Award” section in your Personal Account, send a reservation request.
- Fill in information about the planned flight: directions, dates, fare, airline, passenger details, and so on.
- If there is availability on the selected dates, you will need to confirm your reservation.
- To pay service fees, you will need to pay through the site in any way convenient for you.
- If the operation is successful, a confirmation of purchase, as well as an electronic ticket, will be sent to the email specified during registration.
Purchasing through the Program Service Center
An alternative option is to purchase a ticket through the S7 Priority Program Service Center. To do this, you need to call the toll-free hotline 8-800-100-77-11 and inform a company specialist about your intention to buy an award ticket using S7 bonus miles.
Now I’ll tell you how to fly business class and not pay crazy money for it. As you know, almost every airline has bonus programs where passengers are invited to accumulate miles, which can then be exchanged for tickets. So, if you approach the savings process wisely, you can fly several times a year in comfort and practically for free.
First you need to decide with whom to fly and earn miles.
Airlines have miles, and banks have miles. For example, Alfa-Bank and Tinkoff Bank offer their clients bonus programs where they also accumulate miles, which can then be exchanged for tickets. But in fact, this is a type of cashback with a fixed rate.
Airline miles are much more interesting. There are qualifying and non-qualifying miles. The first ones are awarded to you directly for flying with this airline, and they affect your status. Each airline has different membership levels (silver, gold, etc.). The higher your status, the more privileges you receive. It all depends on the airline. For example, Aeroflot offers you check-in at business class counters, the ability to choose a front-row seat with increased legroom at no extra charge, and access to business lounges. Also, high status will sometimes allow you to get business class seats without additional payment. For example, if the flight is overcrowded, some passengers may be transferred from economy to business. As you guessed, such a gift awaits the one whose level is higher. I was transferred from economy to business several times.
Some airlines have even more privileges. American Delta upgrades elite passengers to business class for free if there are available seats. This rule applies only to domestic flights, but still nice ;)
Major airlines form alliances. There are three major ones: SkyTeam, OneWorld and Star Alliance. Accordingly, you will receive bonus miles for flights on all alliance airlines, even if you do not have their bonus program. For example, if you have an Aeroflot bonus card, then you will receive miles and privileges for flights on all airlines of the alliance.
Here you need to choose the airline whose bonus program you want to open. There is no point in having cards from both Aeroflot and AirFrance, since they are part of the same alliance and have essentially the same bonus program.
If you live in Russia, then first of all open an Aeroflot card, since the national carrier has almost monopolized the air transportation market in the country. If you plan to fly frequently, for example, around the States, then you can consider the Delta bonus program (they are also part of SkyTeam) instead of Aeroflot. The remaining cards also need to be opened. The OneWorld Alliance in Russia represents S7. In Star Alliance Russian airlines no, but it includes, for example, " Turkish Airlines", Lufthansa and many other popular airlines.
Now you need to accumulate miles. The most obvious way to earn miles is to fly on the airlines you want. As I wrote above, in addition to receiving bonus miles, you will increase your status and have various pleasant bonuses. But you can't accumulate much like that. If you do not fly regularly, then you will have to save for a normal bonus ticket for several years.
To more actively accumulate miles, you can contact partners. For example, many banks have joint projects with airlines. For every dollar spent bank card you will receive a certain number of miles.
In addition, many hotels give miles. For example, if you have an Aeroflot bonus program, you can earn 500 miles for staying at Radisson or Kempinski hotels and up to 2 miles for every dollar spent at Marriott or Intercontinental. Rental companies also give miles. For example, Eurocar and Avis give 1,500 miles each for renting a car. Each airline has dozens of partners, so carefully study who gives bonuses for what.
So you've collected your miles and now it's time to spend them. You need to spend miles to buy bonus tickets! And this is where the fun begins. You must not only be able to save miles, but also spend them correctly.
The task for all participants in the competition is this: we are trying to fly in economy class to Omsk and New York at the end of May for one day (departure on May 28, return on May 29)*. If someone is unable to offer economy class, we take the most cheap ticket. Then we try to figure out how many miles we need to spend on the same trip.
*Prices were measured in April, when the exchange rate was slightly different and tickets were available.
Let's start with Aeroflot! Miles under the "Bonus" program accumulate quite quickly, especially if you buy expensive tickets. But you need to understand whether they are easy to use.
For example, at the time of the proposed purchase, you can fly to Omsk and back to Moscow for 20,000 miles in economy class. 
I hope that the designer of Aeroflot, who came up with the idea of writing in blue on a blue background, has already been given to the crocodiles.
Now let’s uncheck the “Pay with miles” box. We see that the cheapest ticket to Omsk costs 10,000 rubles, and from Omsk to Moscow - 9,000 rubles. That is, the rate comes out to be approximately 1 to 1, but they decided to round up the miles to tens of thousands. 
Let's see how things are going with New York: 
In economy, the total cost of tickets is 37,042 rubles, fees are taken into account. Business class is much more expensive, 135,637 rubles. 
If you try to buy a ticket to New York using economy bonuses, the mile rate drops sharply. 
We spend 70,000 miles on round-trip tickets at once! Moreover, you will have to pay fees separately in the amount of 16,477 rubles. For the purity of the experiment, let's calculate the exact course. The fare to New York and back without taxes is 18,055 rubles. It turns out that when paying with miles, for every ruble you will have to pay 3.88 miles! 
One of the secrets of flying with miles: the higher the class of service, the more profitable it is to spend them. As we have already found out, a business class ticket to New York and back costs 135,637 rubles. Bonus ticket will cost 110,000 miles. We subtract the fees from the ruble price and find out that the Aeroflot mile rate in this case is 0.92 miles per ruble, this is an excellent indicator. The problem is that such a ticket is very difficult to buy with miles. 
You see, business class miles in both directions are sold out. 
I was just trying to find business class tickets for the summer and found that there was nothing...
Just in case, I checked the Aeroflot mileage rate for flights to other cities in Russia and neighboring countries.
A flight to St. Petersburg on the same days costs 7,500 rubles (this is economy). Bonuses – 20,000 miles. And don't forget about fees, which in the case of miles are always paid separately. But you only need to pay 30,000 miles for business. The rate could be around 1.5 miles per ruble, but the tickets, again, are already sold out.
In general, in almost all cases the same rule applies: the mile rate is extremely unfavorable when buying economy tickets, and quite favorable when paying with business class miles. Okay, everything is clear with Aeroflot. Let's see what others offer.
In addition to Aeroflot, among Russian carriers, only S7 Airlines (a member of oneworld) is included in one of the three largest international alliances. S7 has a Priority bonus program.
Well, let's try to fly to Omsk. Economy round trip for 16,200 rubles, very good. 
S7 has a table that allows you to find out how many miles tickets for direct airline flights will cost. Omsk, for example, is part of the Russia 2 award zone, and a one-way ticket to it will cost 15,000 miles in economy and 25,000 miles in business class. 
We choose to pay with miles. 30,000 miles + another 3.5 thousand rubles in fees. It turns out that the rate is 2.3 miles per ruble. 
A ticket to Omsk and back in business class for the same dates will cost 49,200 rubles. 
For the same tickets you can give 45,000 miles and pay an additional 3,560 rubles. Let's calculate the course. We remove the fees and find out that when flying in business class, the rate can be 0.98 miles per ruble. This is a very good course! The rule of cheap business class also applies here. 
The catch is that we are talking about the Business Optimum mileage fare, which implies that the number of available seats on the flight is limited. Airlines only have a few seats available on flights that can be purchased with miles. But this is still a good option if you are used to planning your trips in advance. After all, if you pay in rubles, business (using the example of the same tickets to Omsk) costs 3 times more than economy, and if in miles, then less than 1.5 times. 
Now New York. The ticket to New York is expensive, and the return transfer is inconvenient. 
What about miles? You must pay 75,000 miles at once, and pay an additional 23,495 rubles in fees. The exchange rate in this case is 2.05 miles per ruble. There were no business class tickets at all, so I don’t even know what the prices are now. 
Okay, we understand something about Russian carriers. Let's find out what Aeroflot's SkyTeam friends offer.
The American airline Delta has a bonus program called SkyMiles, which is combined with the Pay with Miles program. The latter has a clear policy in its rules: it allows you to reduce the cost of a ticket by $50 for every 5,000 miles. 
That is, 100 miles cost 1 dollar, or 1 mile is equal to 1 cent. The dollar exchange rate is now fluctuating around 70 rubles/$1 (we’ll round it up for convenience). It turns out that one cent, also known as 1 mile, will cost 70 kopecks, and a ruble = 1.43 miles. A very good indicator, it’s just a pity that Americans also have restrictions on dates and destinations when paying with miles.
In reality the situation is like this. A ticket to New York and back in economy will cost 33,350 rubles, in business class - 142,973 rubles. 
Here is the price in miles, below is the surcharge for fees. The current rate for economy will be 4.73 miles per ruble, for business – one to one. That is, the story is approximately the same as with Russian airlines. 
U Air France a flight to New York and back on the same dates costs 37,542 rubles. 
The Flying Blue bonus system miles calculator (used by Air France and KLM) claims that standard economy will cost 50,000 miles. 
Like other airlines, Flying Blue's rules state that all additional fees are paid by the program participant himself. This means that you need to add 19,487 rubles to these miles. The tariff without taxes is 18,055 rubles, exactly like Aeroflot. That is, the real rate of a mile will be 2.77 miles per ruble.
Business class will cost 143,168 rubles. 
The calculator says 125,000 miles. Since the tariff without fees is 109,115 rubles, the mile rate will be 1.15 miles per ruble. 
Let's sum it up results:
The maximum mile course in this study was found in "Aeroflot". It will work if you take business class to New York and back. It is likely that you can also get into business class on other international flights at a favorable rate. But Aeroflot has a too vague line for a low exchange rate. It’s practically non-existent, and the worst situation is with economy on domestic flights: maybe 4 or 5 miles per ruble - try looking for it yourself. In this case, you can stumble upon 1 to 1, as in the case of Omsk. In general, be careful.
U Air France and the “brotherly” KLM rate will vary from 1 to 3 miles per ruble; flying in business is expected to be more profitable. In general, nothing surprising when it comes to international flights.
In the case of SkyMiles from Delta you need to be on your guard, because you can get either a very profitable rate or a completely unprofitable one. About the same story as with Aeroflot. In general, if you fly to the USA, it is better to get a Delta card, and maybe more than one - more on that below)
U S7 there are very favorable offers for business class, and the threshold for a disadvantageous rate is lower than that of Aeroflot. But, again, I don’t know what the situation is like in other cities. We have to dig. In general, the offer is similar to that of Air France, although it would probably be more appropriate to compare with oneworld partners.
Enjoy it for your health! But don’t forget about a bunch of restrictions when buying air tickets with miles. Sometimes it makes more sense to spend it not on tickets, but on upgrades and other perks, as well as simply on transfers from the airport.
In general, in the West, and in particular in the USA, accumulating miles is much easier than here in Russia. My friend levik from New York told me that the most convenient way to do this is with the help of co-branded credit cards.
There, banks and airlines do not skimp on bonuses if you spend a certain amount on your card. For example, if you get a Delta Gold SkyMiles credit card from American Express and spend more than S1,000 on it in the first three months of use, you can get 30,000 bonus miles. Moreover, in the first year of using the card, the service will be free (hereinafter – $95), and you can safely use it.
The secret is that when you close such a credit card, all the miles you received do not expire, but remain on your bonus account with the airline. If you carefully follow various promotions and offers, you can get 100,000 miles quite easily. Americans even have a special website to monitor all kinds of card bonuses.
You can open several cards during the year, close each of them after six months, and the miles continue to live and accumulate.
Every major airline has a partner bank. Delta is friends with American Express, American Airlines is friends with Citibank, and United Airlines is friends with Chase. Leva is subscribed to all possible loyalty programs, and when he needs to fly somewhere, he simply searches through the partners of these airlines to find the best way to spend his miles. For example, he flew to China with Cathay Pacific, which is a partner of American Airlines.
Leva spends his miles most willingly on first-class flights (he says he gets them on average three times a year). It turns out that this is more profitable: if in money business class is half the price of first class, then in miles the difference is only 20-30%.
No, Leva was not flying in this aircraft compartment. This is a photo from. 
In addition to purely “aviation” credit cards, there is a reason to get regular ones from airline partner banks. For example, with American Express or Chase cards, you can accumulate “multi-use” bonus points, and when you see Delta or United selling tickets for miles, you can immediately convert those points into miles and buy what you need.
Leva advises starting with the cheapest credit card (often it is “free”). Here is his procedure for earning miles:
1. Take a cheaper card, with a free first year.
2. Spend the required amount on it on time and receive a bonus.
3. Keep it inactive until almost the end of the year.
4. Call and cancel right before your anniversary.
5. After a year (or 18 months) you can try again.
In general, if you have the opportunity to get American mileage cards, feel free to get them, just don’t forget to close them. Have a nice flight!
Today's review from our reader Sergio, the material of which was being prepared for publication back in November, but was only published now for technical reasons. The text has been updated with the latest December changes to the S7 program.
I have been in the S7 Priority program since 2011, this is actually my first mileage program. Now I have gold status in it, which I actively use. I also have two co-brands out of three possible. During these four years I flew a lot, both for money and for miles.
S7 airline review
S7 Airlines(brand of Siberia Airlines) has a wide network of domestic routes. S7 Airlines also operates regular flights to the CIS countries, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The S7 fleet consists of 58 aircraft, of which 20 A319 (C8 Y126), 19 A320 (C8 Y150/156), 4 A321 (they seem to be all C8 Y189, but I haven’t flown on them, I heard that there is some kind of economy aircraft only), 13 B737-800 (C12 Y154/156) and two old B767-300 (C12 Y240/C18 Y222). The boards are generally unified, without “surprises”. You can go into detail.
Route network includes two large hubs in Moscow (Domodedovo) and Novosibirsk and covers about a hundred cities in Russia, the CIS and Europe, as well as several Asian destinations, including Dubai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, Phuket, Hong Kong.
Classes of service
The S7 is doing very poorly with this. Bad economy and bad business.
As a status flyer, I certainly don’t complain, always flying for money in the third row on an A319/A320 and fourth on a B737 and in the first row when flying for miles. But without status, the layout, of course, leaves much to be desired. There are generally bad places, such as the non-folding row in front of the emergency row or the second row (this is in business!!!) in the A319
Service in business is always lame (worse than economy in normal airlines), in economy, in principle, it sucks quite tolerably. Not the worst, of course, but it still sucks.
I just want to say: “To hell with this S7, fly Aeroflot planes!”
//I wrote this with faint hope that the S7 management will pay attention, hear me! I see how AK is changing, “Priority” is now the best program available to Russians, the site has become quite functional. Train your female workers, AK is lame in terms of service. Complete indifference to passengers!//
But, oddly enough, I can’t say anything bad about both sides of the B767; there are very good seats in economy, and the seats in business, although covered with gray hair, are quite comfortable. But the service there consistently sucks, with no surprises. For example, water in the bathrooms can easily run out towards the end of the flight, and caring flight attendants will put out a pack of wet wipes. You won’t get more tea; you have to beg for water.
In business, you can easily run out of everything edible, and you will have to suffer with a brick that was mistakenly placed instead of a steak. Any request is a personal favor.
Alliance and partners
//or rather, one and only partner for today//
This is where the S7 shines. AK has been a participant for five years now OneWorld– the best of the three and a half global alliances available. The status is fully supported by all participants. And the participants themselves - Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Qantas, Qatar Airways – very strong partners. Well, and a few more airlines.
Well, the only non-alliance partner is Emirates. What can I say - such a partnership is worth a lot. Although with status support in this case there is a small but very offensive embarrassment.
Changes in the S7 Priority program
Behind Last year the program has undergone many changes. Mostly, of course, negative. But there are also advantages. Extensive changes introduced since December 2015.
First, the possibility of registering transfer transportation using miles was cancelled. Then they partially returned, but it didn’t get any easier. The list of exceptions is ridiculously small.
Horse fees have been introduced for some destinations. Try to take Beijing-Krasnoyarsk miles, for example, you will be very surprised.
A new zone “Near Abroad Countries” has been introduced.
A set-up with the introduction of the new zone “Russia 4”.
Now you need to fly for money at least once every two years in order to be able to spend miles.
The accruals for co-brands were greatly reduced.
Promo tickets can no longer be upgraded using miles.
It is no longer possible to convert Svyaznoy Club benefits into miles.
On the plus side, a 300% charge for business has been introduced. Combined with the business pass, it wasn’t too bad. Then they cut it to 150% or 250%.
There is a discount on award tickets for children.
Children can now also earn miles on their flights.
You can get an award on Emirates (but the fees are killer).
It has become possible to issue one-way tickets to a number of partners – a very strong step.
We stopped at Domodedovo in the upper hall, which used to be Transaerovo. This was my favorite lounge. It's a shame that C7 ruined it. Food appeared, but space completely disappeared. It became some kind of “deluxe waiting room.”
Various promotions are carried out, for example, “how many years, so much discount” - participants with experience were very well rewarded with additional miles for flying on their own flights.
Or remember when they used iPhones to catch planes? And now they give out 1000 miles on Facebook (I heard that with promotion it was possible to do much more).
Or the promotion has just ended - a 10% discount on the tariff for S7 Priority members.
Well, the main changes introduced on December 1, 2015. That rare case when the changes are positive and not negative. A new fare schedule has been introduced, now most economy tickets are charged 100% of the distance, at least 500 miles, with the exception of baggage-free fares, which charge 50%. Well, these baggage-free tariffs were introduced. So far the price has become cheaper. Although, of course, low price– only potential for further growth.
Registration in the program
After online registration on the website you will receive 500 miles to your bonus account. The most interesting thing is that if you register after the flight, then within 6 months you can restore previously completed flights. But flights with partners cannot be restored retroactively ( I flew on an S7 to Moscow using Avangard miles - in December they were credited when registering for S7 Priority - approx. Shtirlitz).
After your first flight, you will receive a basic level card in the mail. Taking into account the linking of some company shares to length of service in the program, I recommend everyone to register right now - there will be no harm.
Benefits of statuses
The program has four levels of participation - basic, silver, gold and platinum. Starting from the silver level you can get extra luggage, access to lounges, choice of any seat in the cabin for yourself and fellow travelers, you can buy tickets for double payment with miles, even if there are no seats for miles. Well, I won’t dwell on this, the status people already know everything.
Earn Miles & Banks
Earning miles on flights is simple. You fly and you get it. On C7 and on alliance partners. In some places and with other partners you can get miles - on flights to Minsk, for example on BelAvia.
Accumulation with partners - you can get 500 miles for renting a car, and you can also get miles for booking hotels on ostrovok.ru. I pay for renting a car to another place, so I can’t comment on anything. But it’s probably convenient for “monogamous people.” As for Ostrovok - there is a transfer through their internal currency, I think if anyone uses it, it is better to change their “dreams” for the night, and not for C7 miles.
There are also several chains and hotels that I am not familiar with, so I cannot comment.
Another very strong partner is Tripadvisor. Leave reviews on the site and earn miles. The conditions are very good. You can earn money on flight reviews alone. Credit up to 1,500 miles per month. There are a lot of restrictions.
There is also the opportunity to open a deposit in Alpha and receive miles instead of money. But this is for those who are really bad at math. The conditions are not favorable, I don’t think anyone takes advantage of this at all.
And the most important thing is the accumulation of co-brands.
Today there are three co-brands - Alfa Bank, Bank of Moscow and Unicredit Bank.
Let's look at each in detail.
Alfa Bank
They issue credit and debit cards. Debit only within service packages.
There is an interesting way to get an expensive credit card by issuing it as an addition to a cheap credit card. But not everyone succeeds. Perhaps no one will succeed now, but this trick worked before.
Charges: standard mile for 60 rubles, gold for 48 rubles, platinum 40 rubles, black 34 rubles (credit, debit 40 rubles). They don’t pay for all the most interesting things, so any 4900, 4814, 4812 are without miles.
Also, for debits, regardless of the card category, when linking the card to accounts in euros and dollars, one mile is credited for spending 1 euro or 1 dollar. But no problems with conversion.
I myself have been using debit gold alpha for many years, and in principle I’m happy with everything. Everything is logical and understandable, the most convenient online banking, it’s very convenient to link one card to different accounts - it’s strange that all banks don’t do this, it’s very convenient to connect SMS information on different cards to different phone numbers.
In your S7 personal account, miles are reflected on the first days of the month, as a total amount for expenses in rubles, a separate total amount for expenses in dollars, and a separate total amount for expenses in euros. Despite the worst conditions among co-brands, I continue to use cards from alpha (I have two of them, one in my name, the second in my wife’s name, with her S7 number), since in terms of service neither the Bank of Moscow nor Unicredit with Alphas don't stand next to each other.
UniCredit Bank
They issue credit cards. It is possible to issue a credit card with a zero limit. Accruals: standard - mile for 60 rubles, gold for 48 rubles, platinum for 40 rubles (or 48, but with rather stupid “additional benefits”).
Internet banking is very inconvenient. Perhaps even the worst of all. In terms of the number of ATMs/branches, everything is terrible. Especially when it comes to ATMs with a cash deposit function.
I cannot discuss the topic of charges in sufficient detail, since I do not actively or willingly use the card. But all the most delicious things pass by.
I have a standard credit card with a microscopic limit. It was released free of charge as part of a promotion (I don’t even remember whether there was a promotion on Facebook or VKontakte). Considering the terrible service and such a small accrual, I don’t think anyone will be interested in this card.
Sometimes there are interesting promotions for additional miles accrual. It is for these shares that I hold the card. Miles in your personal account are reflected at the beginning of the month, in a separate amount for each transaction. Another significant disadvantage is the withdrawal of own funds from credit card paid.
Bank of Moscow
In terms of accruals, the bank is the best. Issues debit and credit cards.
For classics, a mile costs 40 rubles, gold costs 32 rubles, platinum – ~22.85 rubles. per mile (1 , 75 miles for every 40 rubles spent on the card).
I don’t use a card from BM; according to the owners’ reviews, you shouldn’t expect anything good in terms of accruals; all the goodies pass by. Well, since I was a client of the bank before, I can say for sure that the bank is absolutely not focused on the client, the service is terrible.
Promotions are being held to issue cards for free. But I was not attracted even by these shares. The only interesting option is a card for 20 thousand per year, with which you can upgrade two tickets to a business, and the tickets can be on a rather complex route, with several stopovers. But there are a lot of restrictions on such an upgrade.
Buying miles
On the S7 website you can buy the missing miles, up to 15,000 miles per year, at a price of 1 mile for 1 ruble, in blocks of 500 miles. To be able to buy miles, there is a condition for paying for a flight in the current or previous year.
You can also give your miles to other members, up to 15,000 miles per year, for a fee of 0.5 rubles/mile.
Spending miles
For your own flights, an award ticket can be issued on the website; both the amount of fees and the availability of seats are immediately visible. It seems like these are the most ordinary things - but just a year ago one could only dream about this. For your own flights, you can buy a round-trip or one-way ticket for half the price (which is very nice; Aeroflot also has a surcharge for vanwei).
Here is the bonus table:
Russia 1: Astrakhan, Volgograd, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Moscow, Nizhnevartovsk, Nizhnekamsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, Rostov, Samara, St. Petersburg, Stavropol, Surgut, Tyumen, Ufa, Chelyabinsk.
Russia 2: Abakan, Barnaul, Bratsk, Gorno-Altaisk, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk, Nadym, Novokuznetsk, Novosibirsk, New Urengoy, Omsk, Salekhard, Tomsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita.
Russia 3: Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, Magadan, Mirny, Norilsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Yakutsk.
Russia 4: Adler, Anapa, Vladikavkaz, Mineral water, Simferopol.
CIS countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine.
Europe: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Croatia, Montenegro, Czech Republic.
Near East: UAE.
Far East: China (excl. Hong Kong), South Korea(Seoul), Japan.
Southeast Asia: Hong Kong (excl. China), Thailand.
The price is for a round-trip ticket, one segment in each direction. If the ticket has stops, then the cost is taken as for two separate tickets (with a number of minor exceptions). For example, GOJ-DME will cost 7,500 miles, and within the same zone, but with a stop in Moscow, GOJ-DME-AED will cost 15,000 miles. But, according to the additional table, from the same Nizhny Novgorod, through Moscow, but to a more expensive zone, to Tivat, a ticket will cost 12,500 miles.
The most interesting expense for own flights now (in my opinion) is business from Moscow to Spain (if you find seats available). Cost 20,000 miles one way.
Another option to profitably spend miles is business OVB-DXB, 22,500 one way.
For triple the amount, you can buy a ticket for miles, even if there are no seats in the corresponding classes. And for status participants - for only double the price.
Also for tickets for children from 2 to 12 years old there is a 30% discount on the mileage rate.
It is also possible to upgrade using business miles. But there are a lot of restrictions, so it’s unlikely that such a waste of miles is now reasonable. A ticket at Promo fares cannot be upgraded, the cost of an upgrade for the Economy fare group is almost equal to the cost of a full ticket for miles, and the cost of tickets for the Standard group is almost equal to the cost of tickets in Business.
Although situations, of course, are different, and sometimes an upgrade for miles won’t be the worst waste either. An upgrade is made upon written request through the website, the upgraded ticket must be a verse directly in S7, miles for a paid ticket are credited upon request. If you want to fly exclusively for business, then a mile upgrade is the best option for making the necessary paid flight.
It is possible to reschedule the departure date for a fee (subject to availability of seats in the appropriate fare). No returns allowed, no changes to destinations allowed.
Spending miles on partners
Here is the bonus table.
Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan.
Europe: Austria, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Georgia, Denmark, Cyprus, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Libya, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Svalbard and Jan Maen, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Faroe islands, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Montenegro, Sweden, Switzerland.
Near East: Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran, Oman, Iraq, Sudan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Yemen.
Far East: China (excl. Hong Kong), Japan, Korea.
Southeast Asia: Hong Kong, Sanya (China), Taiwan Island, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Guam, Palau, Brunei, Christmas Island, Cambodia, Philippines, Laos.
Australia and Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji (Nadi), New Caledonia(Noumea), Vanuatu (Port Vila), Papua New Guinea, Norfolk Islands, Nauru, French polynesia, Solomon islands, Tonga, Samoa, Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Northern Mariana Islands.
Africa: South Africa, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Uganda, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, Chad, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Togo, Mauritius, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cote d'Etat Ivoire, Congo, Democratic Republic Congo, Comorres, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Liberia, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Reunion, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles.
North America: USA, Canada, Greenland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
Central America: Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Grenada, Montserrat, Martinique, Turks and Caicos Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Virgin Islands(UK), Virgin Islands (USA), Santa Lucia, St. Kitt and Nevis, Cocos Islands, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Antilles (Netherlands), Anguilla, Hawaii.
South America: Suriname, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Falkland Islands, Paraguay
India: India, Maldives, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan.
There are a lot of restrictions - no more than two segments in each direction, stopovers cannot be made, OJ is prohibited, returns are prohibited, the only changes allowed are changing the date. A ticket can be issued only for one of the partners; one-way tickets can only be issued for Japan Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways and Qantas, for all others only RT. There is no discount for children.
The fees can be quite humane, for example on American Airlines and Cathay Pacific (both do not fly to Russia), or simply extortionate, for example on Emirates. But, flying Emirates business to the Maldives (DME-DXB-MLE-DXB-DME will cost 75,000 miles in business), it’s not a sin to pay about 50K rubles in fees. Although on this route it is better to choose Qatar Airways, which is not inferior to Dubai, the fees will be “only” 24,000 rubles.
From economy, the most profitable routes are distant Europe - the Canary Islands, Iceland. From business - as I already indicated - the Maldives. Residents of the Asian part of Russia may be interesting route PEK-HKG-CEB-HKG-PEK (Cathay Pacific, economy 30,000 miles + 2,000 rubles fees, business 45,000 miles + 2,000 rubles fees).
Comparison with other loyalty programs
Here I will write very briefly. In Russia, I see only two competitors for the S7 Priority program - Aeroflot Bonus and Miles&More. I have to accumulate miles in all these programs, since each has its own purpose. You cannot buy first class with S7 miles. S7's route network is much smaller than Aeroflot's. S7 has much fewer partners for accumulating miles than Miles&More. Therefore, a lot is moving away from the S7 to its competitors.
Well, I’ll repeat my thought, which I have already mentioned many times in the comments - accumulating miles - flying in business. The only way. Otherwise, why is all this needed? And for economy flights there are other tools - “pseudomiles of ticket offices” - the best for today - World Map from VTB24, iGlobe from Gazprom and the Travel option from MTS Bank.