On Tuesday came the news that SAS will have new owners. The airline is thus leaving the Star Alliance, and will join Air France KML’s alliance SkyTeam by the summer of 2024. – This was the outcome we bonus hunters had least hoped for, says 26-year-old Markus Olsen. He has been a member of SAS’s loyalty program since he was 18, and is behind the website Poengreise.no, where he, among other things, helps people book trips with their EuroBonus points. Now he fears that the points will become less valuable. Facts about EuroBonus points EuroBonus points are points you earn by either flying with SAS or their alliance partners, and/or by using a credit card when you shop. You can earn two types of points. Basic points and extra points. You only get base points when you fly. Extra points are points earned on purchases. As, for example, when trading in a shop. The purchases must be made with EuroBonus credit cards, which are Mastercard and American Express. You can reach different membership levels, based on how many points or trips you have in the year. The more you fly, the higher level you reach. The higher membership level you reach, the more benefits you will receive. The lowest is member, then there is silver, gold and diamond. Diamond customer is the highest level you can achieve. If you have been a gold member for 10 years in a row, you become a gold member for life. There is a level above diamond called Pandion, but you can only get that by personal invitation from the CEO of SAS, Anko van der Werff. In other words, it is not a level you can earn your way up to. Rescued customers get in touch Olsen believes that significant devaluations will result if the EuroBonus members of SAS are converted to Air France KML’s Flying Blue benefits program. This means that the point value will be lower. He also believes that the airlines that you can book through Sky Alliance now will most likely be unavailable before next summer. He therefore encourages all EuroBonus members to use up the points before the transition next summer. And he is heard. Since the news about SAS’s new change of ownership came out, he has been contacted by many people who want help booking trips with their EuroBonus points. – There are people who want to book trips that they hadn’t planned in the first place, and people who want to embark on a trip earlier than planned, he explains and adds: – We know what we have now, but not what’s coming . What is an airline alliance? An airline alliance is an association of airlines that work together. For example, when you want to book a trip with your EuroBonus points, you can in theory book with all the airlines in the Star Alliance, of which SAS is a part. If something unforeseen happens, such as your journey being delayed or cancelled, a company that is part of an airline alliance can be helpful in rebooking you with an alliance partner. Now that SAS is now withdrawing from the Star Alliance, they are withdrawing from the largest airline alliance in the world, which they themselves helped to found. If they are to join Air France KLM’s alliance SkyTeam, they will become part of the smallest alliance. – The worst thing that could have happened – When we leave Star Alliance and join SkyTeam, we must ensure that we take good care of our EuroBonus members, said SAS CEO Anko van der Verff during the press conference on Tuesday. Olsen is very skeptical of that claim. – I have hope that it will be good, but I have serious doubts. I am very pessimistic, he says. – Among the bonus hunters, the hope was that Lufthansa would become the owner. Then SAS would have been kept within the same alliance, Star Alliance, and we would have seen less drastic changes than we are going to do now, says Olsen. – 5-star airlines – There can always be updates and development of loyalty programs, as we have seen continuously since EuroBonus was founded, says Tonje Sund, press manager at SAS in Norway. She explains that despite a close and good collaboration with Star Alliance over many years, the company is happy about Tuesday’s announcement and the long-term value this will bring to SAS and their customers. – We believe there are exciting opportunities as part of SkyTeam, with an attractive and extensive route network – served by several 5-star and global airlines that are recognized for their products, says Sund. Press manager at SAS in Norway, Tonje Sund, says that ordering Star Alliance bonus tickets will be allowed until SAS leaves the alliance. Photo: NTB The exact design of the loyalty program for SAS after they have joined Skyteam, she says it is too early to answer in detail. Markus Olsen does not think the answer from the press manager is convincing. – We can hope they stand by what they say, but as said earlier, most people fear that we will come out on the other side with a worse loyalty program, he concludes.
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Encourages members to use up their EuroBonus points – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
