I want to tell you one very interesting and exciting story.
How I bought air tickets from s7.
So, to begin with, I previously preferred to use the services of this particular company. The service was no worse or better than others, but the fleet consisted of only European aircraft. It made me happy. When buying tickets via the Internet, sometimes difficulties arose, but previously they were always solved.
More than a year ago, I decided to join the s7-priority program and started saving miles. The moment came when the number of miles was enough to buy a ticket. From this moment on, an exciting show begins.
It is impossible to find instructions, a link and any mention of the possibility of buying a ticket for miles on the s7.ru website. There is a "Spend Miles" page with textual information that you can spend them.
After spending 10 minutes searching, using all the options for search queries on the s7 site and in Google, studying the faq section and finding nothing, I called the call center.
After waiting 10 minutes and explaining the situation to the specialist, he received an offer to write down the phone number of the call center s7 priority. He asked to connect me to a new call center. After waiting another ten minutes and telling about my problem, I got a question literally: “Have you ever been to our site ?!”. After some time, they helped me and guided me: we buy tickets for miles on the "Order an award" page.
OK. No problem. Already at this stage, suspecting something was wrong, I asked the specialist in detail about my further actions.
Gentlemen, sit back and listen :-) You won't find this information anywhere on the Internet.
Steps on how to buy a mileage ticket from s7:
1. Go to the interface for buying tickets to the s7 website in the usual way
2. Find the flights you want
3. Call the call center (here it is very useful to write down the direct phone number of the call center. :))
4. Find out if there are tickets under the s7 priority program for the flights you need. If not, it's best not to hang up :)
5. Next, go to the website in the S7 priority section on the "Order an award" page
6. On the page, enter everything manually about the route and the passenger (not tired yet? It's just beginning :))
7. Within 24 hours you will be sent a mail, which will contain your data and the cost of the ticket, which must be paid. Yes! You heard right :) According to experts, this is the cost of airport taxes. In my case, the letter contained 1,980 rubles. OK. The letter also contains an offer to choose a payment method. There are few options: Call the service center and announce the details of your bank card, or pay the payment in the Svyaznoy salon or in the Qiwi terminal.
I decided not to tempt fate with voicing props over the phone. This payment method caused me concerns.
8. Send a reply letter with a payment option. Wait for a response with a payment ID.
9. We are trying to pay for tickets through the qiwi-wallet website. S7 -> payment for the reservation. Result: System error.
10. We call technical support. We find out that payment via the qiwi Internet service is not possible. Only through the terminal.
11. We go to the Messenger. The cashier's employee is trying to make a payment. Function S7 -> payment for reservation. Result: there is no connection with the provider. I ask the employee to read the letter. He has been looking for a payment option at the checkout for a long time. Booking ID and Payment ID contains letters. All Kiwi services support the introduction of digital identifiers only. In the end, he finds an interface in which you can drive in the payment identifier and announces the cost of the payment of 880 rubles. The system interface does not give out any more details. We compare together the cost of the payment from my letter (1980 rubles) and decide that it is not worth paying.
12. I go to the S7 office. 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya, 28. There are no signs, banners with a combination of the cherished S and 7 on the house.
13. I am looking for the office phone number on the website - they explain to me that I need to find a shop selling kitchen utensils, go through the shop hall to the second floor. The s7 office is one of 5 tables from different airlines in a small, shabby room.
14. I start communicating with an employee of the s7 company. The employee sincerely wants to help me. In her system, you can see that the ticket price is 880 rubles. But the letter says a different amount. This confuses her, and we call the call center. The call center explains to us that it cannot accept payment to the office of s7, because this ticket of s7 is a priority.
I have a persistent feeling that someone does not understand something. I insist on making the payment. To which an employee of s7 who sincerely wants to help me explains to me that s7 airlines is a large holding. She has an s7-tickets company that sells tickets, there is an s7 priority, and there is also a company that transports animals. And "s7 tickets" cannot be engaged in transportation of animals, and "s7 priority" company tickets. OK.
15. I go to try my luck in a coherent one. I hope for a miracle. Alas. Attempts by Svyaznoy's sellers to accept payment end in failure. Communication error with the provider.
16. In another office of Svyaznoy, the situation repeats itself.
17. Last attempt - Kiwi street terminal: Pay for tickets -> Air carriers -> S7 -> I enter a phone number (the call center confirmed this payment method). 3-minute wait and go to the main page of the service. I try 3 times. They all fail.
Curtain.
I want to believe that our excellent aviation company has problems only in this process.
Results: 5 hours of time spent, tickets were not purchased.
I am afraid to use the second payment option - it would be very rash on my part to dictate credit card details to someone from THIS company by phone.
S7 Airlines started selling additional miles for miles paid services: now members of the S7 Priority program can spend miles to choose a regular or comfortable (Extra Space) seat, as well as extra baggage... Other's Russian airlines There is no such possibility: additional services are sold only for money, but this practice is common, for example, among the airlines of the oneworld alliance, which includes S7. So here are the details:
The cost of choosing a regular seat is 1000 miles, and a seat superior comfort- 2500 miles. One piece of baggage costs 5,000 miles. How much is it in money? It's very simple: for money, choosing a seat costs 350 rubles on the website and 500 rubles at the airport, Extra Space - 1000 rubles, and excess luggage, depending on the direction, is 2000-3000 at the airport or 1600-2400 rubles on the website, respectively.
That is, one mile is equivalent to about 32-36 kopecks, for baggage payment on long flights its “face value” reaches 48 kopecks. This is close to the cost of S7 Airlines miles on the black market: officially, the airline does not allow the sale of miles, and upon detecting such actions, it cancels the membership in the bonus program, but allows it. However, the cost of transferring miles is 75 kopecks per mile, which makes transferring them for the purchase of additional services meaningless. There is even less sense in buying miles: in this case, one mile costs from 1.30 to 2 rubles.
But it makes sense to spend bank miles on additional services: qualifying, that is, giving the opportunity to obtain a status, they are not, and in some cases they can be obtained in sufficient large quantities, "Scrolling" the money over. However, at high turnovers on a number of cards, S7 gives free silver status, and with it you can choose places of increased comfort, and take one piece of luggage for free - including on baggage-free fares.
It is interesting that if you buy the listed services for money, it brings additional miles - from 50 to 400, depending on the cost of the service (or from 1000 miles for a paid upgrade to business class). You can also earn 50 miles for free online check-in.
You can buy a seat selection or S7 baggage for miles during check-in, both at the counter and on the website. At the same time, you need to have at least one S7 Airlines flight (at a fare that participates in the accrual of miles) in the current or previous year. Miles will be automatically debited from the account at the time of service registration. Miles from other oneworld airlines cannot be redeemed.
The purchase of additional services for miles is intended for those who do not fly so much in order to save up for a mile ticket or do not need it, since they still fly on business trips at public expense. “New opportunities will allow passengers to quickly see the benefits of participating in the S7 Priority loyalty program. Even if you have not accumulated enough miles to issue an award ticket, you can already use miles and receive Additional services making your trip even more comfortable. Participation in the loyalty program is beneficial even for those members who have only 1,000 miles on their account, ”notes Natalya Nikolaeva, S7 Priority loyalty program development director.
Under a similar sauce, Utair recently upgraded its bonus program: in it, and not save up to full. However, additional services can still be paid only in cash.
Today's review from our reader Sergio, the material of which was being prepared for publication back in November, but it turned out to be published for technical reasons only now. The most recent December changes to the S7 program have been made to the text.
I have been in the S7 Priority program since 2011, this is generally my first mile program. Now I have a gold status in it, which I actively use. I also have two co-brands out of three possible. During these four years he flew a lot, both for money and for miles.
S7 Airlines overview
S7 Airlines(Siberia Airlines brand) has a wide network of domestic routes. S7 Airlines also operates regular flights to the CIS countries, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
The S7 fleet consists of 58 aircraft, of which 20 A319 (C8 Y126), 19 A320 (C8 Y150 / 156), 4 A321 (like all C8 Y189s, but I haven't flown them, I heard that there seems to be some kind of economy board only), 13 B737-800 (C12 Y154 / 156) and two oldies B767-300 (C12 Y240 / C18 Y222). The sides are generally unified, no "surprises". You can in 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.
Service classes
With this, the S7 is doing very badly. Bad economy and bad business.
As a statistician, I certainly am not complaining, always flying for money in the third row in the A319 / A320 and the fourth in the B737 and in the first row, flying for miles. But without the status, the layout certainly needs the best. There are generally bad places, such as a non-folding row in front of the emergency 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, quite tolerable sucks. 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 for the attention of the S7 management, hear me! I see how the AK is changing, "Priority" is now the best program available to Russians, the site has become quite functional. Promote your 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 places in the economy, and the chairs in business, although covered with gray hair, are quite comfortable for themselves. But the service there stably sucks, no surprises. For example, you can easily run out of water in the bathrooms towards the end of the flight, and caring flight attendants will put a pack of wet wipes. You will not get the addition of tea, you have to beg for water.
In business, everything edible can easily end, and you have to suffer with a brick that was mistakenly put in place of a steak. Any request is a personal favor.
Alliance and partners
// or rather, the only partner for today //
This is where S7 is at its best. For five years, AK has been a member 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 the status support in this case is a small, but very offensive embarrassment.
Changes in the S7 Priority program
Over the past year, the program has undergone many changes. Mostly, of course, negative ones. But there are also pluses. Extensive changes introduced from December 2015.
First, the possibility of issuing a transfer carriage for miles was canceled. Then they partially returned it, but it didn't get any easier. The list of exceptions is ridiculously small.
Horse fees have been introduced in some areas. Try to take Beijing-Krasnoyarsk for miles, for example, you will be very surprised.
Introduced a new zone "Near Abroad countries".
Set up with the introduction of a new zone "Russia 4".
Now you need to fly at least once every two years for money in order to be able to spend miles.
Accruals for co-brands have been cut very much.
It is no longer possible to upgrade for miles with Promo tickets.
It is no longer possible to convert Svyaznoy Club pluses into miles.
On the plus side, they introduced a charge of 300% for a business. Together with the business pass, it was not very bad. Then they cut it to 150% or 250%.
There is a discount for award ticket for children.
Children can now also earn miles for their flights.
You can apply for an award on Emirates (but the fees are killing).
Now it is 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 Transaerovsk. This was my favorite lounge. It is a pity that the C7 spoiled it. Food appeared, but space completely disappeared. It has become a kind of "enhanced comfort waiting room."
There are various promotions, for example, “how many years, so much and a discount” - the experienced members were very good at adding miles for the flights on their own flights.
Or do you remember when you caught planes on iPhones? And now they give out 1000 miles on Facebook (I heard that with a wrap and much more it was possible).
Or the promotion has just ended - a 10% discount on the tariff for S7 Priority members.
Well, and the main changes introduced from December 01, 2015. This is the rare case when the changes are positive, not negative. A new tariff schedule has been introduced, now for most economy tickets 100% of the distance is charged, at least 500 miles, with the exception of bagless fares, which are 50%. Well, actually these bagless tariffs have been introduced. So far, the price has become cheaper. Although, of course, low price- only the potential for further growth.
Registration in the program
After registering online on the website, you will receive 500 miles to your bonus account. The most interesting thing is that if you check in after the flight, then within 6 months you can restore the earlier flights. But partners' flights cannot be retroactively restored ( flew an S7 to Moscow for Avangard miles - in December they were credited upon registration with S7 Priority - approx. Shtirlitz).
After the first flight, a basic level card will be sent by mail. Taking into account the binding of some of the company's shares to the experience in the program, I recommend everyone to register right now - it will not be superfluous.
Benefits of statuses
There are four levels of participation in the program - basic, silver, gold and platinum. Starting from the silver level, you can get additional baggage, access to the lounges, choose any seat in the cabin for yourself and your fellow travelers, for double payment with miles, you can take tickets, even if there are no seats for miles. Well, I will not dwell on this, the status workers already know everything.
Earning Miles & Banking
Accumulating miles by flying 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 - when flying to Minsk, for example, on BelAvia.
Earning with partners - you can get 500 miles for renting a car, you can also get miles for booking hotels on ostrovok.ru. I put the rent for a car in another place, so I can not comment on anything. But "monogamous" is probably comfortable. 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 nights, 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 some reviews for the flight. Earn up to 1,500 miles per month. There are a lot of restrictions.
There is also an opportunity to open a deposit in alpha and get miles instead of money. But this is for those who are really bad with math. The conditions are not favorable, I do not think that anyone uses it 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 consider each in detail.
Alfa Bank
Credit and debit cards are issued. Debit only within service packages.
There is an interesting way to get an expensive credit card by issuing it in addition to a cheap credit card. But not everyone succeeds. Perhaps even no one will succeed now, but earlier this trick took place.
Accruals: for a standard mile for 60 rubles, gold for 48 rubles, platinum for 40 rubles, black 34 rubles (on credit, debit 40 rubles). For all the most interesting things are not poured, so any 4900, 4814, 4812 - no miles.
Also, on debit, regardless of the category of the card, when the card is linked to accounts in euros and dollars, one mile is credited for spending 1 euro or 1 dollar. But then there are no problems with the conversion.
I myself have been using debit gold alpha for many years, in principle, I am happy with everything. Everything is logical and understandable, the most convenient Internet bank, it is very convenient to link one card to different accounts - it’s strange that all banks don’t do that, it’s very convenient to connect SMS informing on different cards to different phone numbers.
In the S7 personal account, miles are reflected in the first days of the month, with the total amount for spending in rubles, a separate total amount for spending in dollars and a separate total amount for spending in euros. Despite the worst of the conditions among co-brands, I continue to use cards from alpha (I have two of them, one in my name, the second in the name of my wife, with her number S7), since in terms of service neither Bank of Moscow nor Unicredit with Alpha is not near.
UniCredit Bank
Credit cards are issued. It is possible to issue a credit card with a zero limit. Accruals: standard - a mile for 60 rubles, gold for 48 rubles, platinum for 40 rubles (or for 48, but with rather stupid "additional benefits").
Internet banking is very inconvenient. Perhaps even the worst of them all. In terms of the number of ATMs / branches, everything is terrible. Especially with regard to ATMs with a cash deposit function.
I cannot disclose the topic of charges in sufficient volume, since I do not actively use the card and do not willingly. But all the most delicious passes by.
I have a standard credit card with a microscopic limit. Released for free under the action (I don't even remember whether the action was carried out on Facebook or VKontakte). Taking into account the terrible service and such a small charge, I do not think that this card will be of interest to anyone.
Sometimes there are interesting promotions for additional accrual of miles. I hold the card for these promotions. Miles in your personal account are reflected at the beginning of the month, in a separate amount for each operation. Another significant disadvantage is that you have to pay for withdrawing your own funds from a credit card.
Bank of Moscow
In terms of charges, the bank is the best. Issues debit and credit cards.
For the classics, a mile for 40 rubles, gold for 32 rubles, platinum - ~ 22.85 rubles. per mile (1 , 75 miles for every 40 rubles spent on the card).
I do not use a card from BM, according to the owners' reviews, you should not expect anything good in terms of charges, 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 aimed at the client, the service is terrible.
There are promotions for the free issue of cards. But I was not attracted even by these promotions. The only one interesting option- a card for 20 thousand a year, according to which you can upgrade two tickets to business, and tickets can be on a rather complicated route, with several stopovers. But there are a lot of restrictions on such an upgrade.
Purchase miles
On the S7 website, you can buy missing miles, up to 15,000 miles per year, at the price of 1 mile for 1 ruble, in blocks of 500 miles. To be able to buy miles, there is a condition for a paid 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 r / mile.
Spending miles
For 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 that these are the most ordinary things - but a year ago one could only dream of it. For your own flights, you can get a round-trip or one-way ticket - for half the cost (which is very nice, in the same Aeroflot there is a surcharge for one way).
Here is a table of premiums:
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-Altaysk, 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 cost is indicated for a round-trip ticket, one segment in each direction. If the ticket is with 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 an additional table, from the same Nizhny Novgorod, via Moscow, but to a more expensive zone, to Tivat, the ticket will cost 12,500 miles.
Now the most interesting waste (in my opinion) on own flights is business from Moscow to Spain (if you find seats available). Fares 20,000 miles one way.
Another profitable way to spend miles is the OVB-DXB business, 22,500 one way.
For triple the amount, you can take a ticket for miles, even if there are no seats in the respective classes. And for status participants- for only double the cost.
Also for tickets for children from 2 to 12 years old there is a 30% discount from the mile fare.
It is also possible to upgrade for miles to business. But there are a lot of restrictions, so such a waste of miles is hardly reasonable now. You cannot upgrade a ticket for Promo fares, 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 in the Standard group is almost equal to the cost of tickets in Business.
Situations vary, of course, and sometimes upgrading for miles won't be a bad waste either. The upgrade is done upon written request through the website, the ticket to be upgraded must be a verse directly in S7, miles for a paid ticket are credited upon request. If you want to fly exclusively in business, then a mile upgrade is the best option for making the required paid flight.
A paid transfer of the departure date is possible (subject to the availability of seats in the corresponding fare). No refunds, no change of destinations.
Spend miles on partners
Here is a table of awards.
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, 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, Sania (China), Taiwan, 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, CAR, Cote d- Ivoire, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comorrah, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Liberia, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, San Rheyunion and Principle, 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 (US), Santa Lucia, Saint 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, refunds are prohibited, from changes only date changes are allowed. A ticket can be issued only for one of the partners, one way tickets can be issued only for Japan Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways and Qantas, for all others only RT. There is no discount for children.
Fees can be either quite humane, for example, on American Airlines and Cathay Pacific (both do not fly to Russia), or simply extortionate, for example, on Emirates. But when flying with the 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 taxes will amount to “only” 24,000 rubles.
From the economy, the most profitable routes are distant Europe - the Canary Islands, Iceland. From business - as I have 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 in taxes, business 45,000 miles + 2,000 rubles in taxes).
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 of these programs, as each has its own purpose. First class cannot be issued for S7 miles. S7's route network is much smaller than that of Aeroflot. S7 has far fewer mileage partners than Miles & More. Therefore, a lot goes from S7 to competitors.
Well, I will repeat my thought, which I have already mentioned many times in the comments - to save miles - to fly in business. The only way. Otherwise, why is all this necessary? And for economy flights there are other tools - “pseudo-ticket offices” - the best for today - the World Map from VTB24, iGlobe from Gazprom and the Travel option from MTS Bank.
Large banks and airlines are fighting for the attention of the consumer, luring him with various gingerbread. From literal sweets to other freebies, they try to win you over, and s7 is no exception. So, there are special s7 miles, identical to bonus programs, which are available at almost every major bank. But in their acquisition and use, there are some features that can mislead an unprepared user.
The company itself is a member of the international alliance "Oneworld", and what it is and what advantages it brings for you, we will describe below. It already includes more than 15 different airlines, but besides them, c7 has other contractors around the world, most of them travel agencies.
By paying for the services of the company itself or its counterparty, you receive a small percentage deduction - bonuses, which, in fact, are cashback from each operation performed by the user. It can be combined with bonus cards and get even more profit, but such credit cards there are also disadvantages. Let's see what kind of bonus program and how to get the most out of it.
Free flight with s7
Allows you to get a free flight by paying full cost ticket at the expense of cashback. However, this is not the only use of the accumulated funds. And there is a small nuance here, because you can pay only 99 percent of the ticket price using miles, the rest will be debited from your card.
Aboutneworld + Emirates air ticket
But why do you need a bonus program that will restrict you to a single airline, if you can apply for a card at a bank, with the possibility of spending bonuses at your request?
First, mileage deductions come at much higher rates than you will find on c7 competitors. Secondly, bonuses can be spent in all airlines and contractors of the Oneworld program. These are flights to more than 100 countries of the world, as well as 14 other airlines that can be used as a connecting point.
As a result, you get the opportunity to accumulate and use points all over the world and on any air travel. Thus, you can pay for flights not only within OneWorld, but also under the Emirates program, which allows you to travel almost all over the world.
Economy Class Upgrade to Business
Surely, many people do not like flying in economy class for many reasons, but they have to do this due to the fact that paying a few thousand extra for business class seems like a senseless waste of money. However, you can give back part of the bonuses received from flights, namely 6.5 thousand, and increase the class indicated on the ticket. This allows, having taken off on vacation and having bought the tickets back, to fly home with comfort.
This feature of the program will be especially convenient for those who need to travel frequently at the expense of an employer who pays only for economy class.
Such a system greatly simplifies the life of customers, because the ability not to buy only air tickets, but also to pay for services within the airline, allows you to literally immediately experience the program.
The higher the class of the ticket you buy, the more bonuses status you will receive for its purchase. But miles are calculated as 10-15 percent of the purchase amount, and are equivalent to 1 ruble in value. That is, all your miles can be conditionally converted into rubles, and in this case, the operations performed with their help will be much easier to calculate and control.
In addition, you can spend bonuses on any actions within the airline and the airport, which allows you not only to pay for your own food on the flight, but also to improve the flight conditions.
Transferring miles to a friend and to charity
However, if for some reason you do not need bonuses or the employer takes all the costs on himself without any questions, then the miles received can be transferred to another card and to a friend. And for those who are worried about the prosperity of other people and want to do a good deed, it is proposed to transfer cashback to a charitable organization, because it is still money in a sense.
You should not treat miles as something ephemeral and incomprehensible, because these are literally the same rubles as on your debit card. They are simply presented in the form of other units through which the airline carries out cashback from the amount of your spending.
Miles expire when the client is inactive for a long time, but they can always be transferred to a friend's bonus card. And if this function is not required, then you can simply donate the saved money to charity, thereby giving it to those for whom even a couple of hundred rubles will become a gift. All this allows the client to somehow manage the funds received so that they do not burn out without purpose.
С7 itself cooperates with dozens of charitable foundations, including the Red Cross. Therefore, if you delve deeply into the topic of charity, then in the comments to the translation, you can choose what exactly the money should be spent on. It is worth noting that the funds themselves are not delivered to charitable organizations, but only purchases made with them. This allows both customers and the airline itself to be sure that money will not be stolen or used for unnecessary things.
Additional features of S7 Priority
When there are enough bonuses, you can either spend it in one of the partner companies. c7 cooperates, among other things, with services for booking accommodation, as well as car rental, so a free flight is not the only thing you can count on. The bonuses themselves are of two types:
- Status. They affect your conditional level, and the higher it is, the better service and flight conditions will be provided to the client. Naturally, the highest level also affects the percentage of bonus deductions for the miles program.
- Miles. Cashback itself, which allows you to spend coins equivalent to 1 ruble on any services associated with the airline. There is only a small caveat - you cannot pay the full cost of the goods or the flight using bonuses, as this will prevent you from concluding a purchase and sale agreement. Therefore, with the help of miles, you can pay only 99 percent of the value of your purchase, and the rest will need to be deposited from your wallet.
Status points increase your priority as a customer of the company. The higher it is, the better service is offered to the client. Milli can be used to extend it if you do not use S7 services for a long time, or to increase it for a short period in order to experience all the delights of a full-fledged business class on one or two flights and understand whether you need it or not.
