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Europeans, and especially Greeks, do not get many exciting options when it comes to travel rewards or credit card perks. Most of what you see online is geared toward Americans, who have access to wild welcome bonuses, elite lounge access, and cards that practically pay for themselves if you blink. (yes, I’m jealous!)
For the rest of us, the choices are limited. This is why the Aegean Miles+Bonus program, along with the credit cards and debit card that connect to it, was so appealing.
It is one of the few travel reward systems that actually make sense. You can use it, grow with it, and if you are even a semi-regular traveler, build real benefits over time. Add to that the fact that I run a business with recurring expenses, and it started to feel smarter to put those payments through a card that gives me something back.
The program is not overly hyped but for Europeans and Greeks looking for a reliable and simple way to earn travel perks, it actually holds up.
In this post, I will share my honest review, why I think it makes sense for certain people, the breakdown of the tier system and how to to advance fast, and smart moves you can make to use the cards well.
This is not a sponsored or affiliate post. I have no partnership with Aegean Airlines or Alpha Bank and I do not earn anything if you apply for the card. This is my personal review based on real usage and honest impressions.
What Is the Aegean Bonus Visa
The Aegean Bonus Visa is a credit card that lets you earn award miles through everyday spending. It is issued by Alpha Bank, and it connects directly to your Aegean Miles+Bonus account, which is the loyalty system used by Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air. Both airlines are part of the Star Alliance network.
✨ If you do not already have a Miles+Bonus account, it is worth creating one first to understand the system. You can start earning miles even without a credit card, just by flying or using partner services. The program works in two ways: it gives you award miles for spending, and tier miles that help you unlock elite status. We’ll discuss all of that in a second.
There are two credit card options, along with one debit card:
The photo below is from the current prices and perks included, but please note these are always subject to change.
Both credit cards allow you to:
- Earn award miles automatically through purchases
- Redeem miles for flights, upgrades, and add-ons
- Use your miles with Aegean, Olympic Air, or Star Alliance partners
- Combine flight miles and credit card miles in one account
Why Tiers Matter: Silver and Gold in the Miles+Bonus Program
Before getting into the bank details, it helps to understand what you are actually working toward. The Miles+Bonus program has three levels: Blue (default), Silver, and Gold.
Blue: everyone starts here
Silver: first elite level with a few upgrades and priority services
Gold: the top level. This unlocks extra baggage, free lounges, upgrades and most importantly the Star Alliance Gold Status, which apples to dozens of airlines around the world.
How to Earn and Keep Your Status
To move up through the tiers, you need two things: tier miles and a minimum number of flights with Aegean or Olympic. The exact requirements change depending on whether you are earning a tier for the first time or keeping it for another year.
The information below is subject to change, so check out this page as well if you want:
| Status | Earn With: | Maintain With: |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | 12,000 tier miles + 2 flights | 8,000 tier miles + 2 flights have to be with Aegean/Olympic |
| Gold | 24,000 tier miles + 4 flights | 12,000 tier miles + 4 flights have to be with Aegean/Olympic |
You can also qualify without flying Aegean or Olympic, but the required tier miles jump significantly — up to 35,000 for Silver and 70,000 for Gold. That is not easy unless you are constantly flying long-haul with Star Alliance.
So… while you’re playing the tier game, you’re also playing the collect-miles game. These are called award miles, and they build up separately through your spending especially if you’re putting regular monthly expenses on your credit card.
For example, if you spend around €1,000 a month and put that on your Bonus Visa, you’re collecting thousands of award miles over the year. These miles are what you redeem for flights, called award tickets.
Aegean has a dedicated award ticket calculator that lets you check how many miles you need to book a flight. It varies depending on the airline, destination, and season — but it’s a helpful tool to see what your miles are worth. You’ll have to scroll to the bottom of the page to see it!
✨ You need to fly with Aegean or Olympic each year to reach or keep status at a realistic threshold. This is one of the reasons the program is especially attractive for people based in Greece or Europe, and why it is difficult for travelers from abroad to game the system just by flying with other airlines.
What Star Alliance Gold Actually Means
When you reach Miles+Bonus Gold, you also get Star Alliance Gold and that is where things start to feel different.
Even if you are flying economy, you can still check in at the business class counter, use fast track security, board earlier, and relax in airport lounges. You usually get extra baggage and your suitcase comes out faster too. There is even a free upgrade on the Heathrow Express if you are flying out of London.
✨ This is the reason a lot of people try to reach Gold. It is not so much about luxury, it is about having a few more options that make travel easier and less stressful. If you are already flying Aegean a few times a year and using a credit card for your everyday spending, working toward Gold can actually fit into your normal routine without much extra effort.
So You Got the Card — Now What
Ok, so let’s say you’ve applied for the Aegean Bonus Visa and got approved. What now?
Every time you use the card, you’re collecting award miles. That means your supermarket runs, bills, travel bookings, or even late-night delivery all start turning into miles in your Miles and Bonus account.
How many miles you earn depends on which card you have:
| Card Type | Bonus Points Earned | Conversion to Award Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Debit | 4 points per 1 euro | 4 points = 2 award miles |
| Bonus Visa | 4 points per 1 euro | 4 points = 4 award miles |
| Premium Visa | 4 points per 1 euro | 4 points = 5 award miles |
So with the Premium card, you are getting slightly more miles for the same spend. This matters if you use the card a lot or want to make the most of your everyday expenses.
These are award miles, which means you can use them to:
- Book flights with Aegean, Olympic, or partner airlines
- Get upgrades to business class
- Pay for add-ons like extra baggage
- Redeem flights through the Star Alliance network
They won’t help you earn Silver or Gold status, since those require tier miles, but they will help you fly for free or get better seats.
This is important to understand before we go into which card you want to get, because it helps to understand how to use them.
So Which Card Should You Get
This really depends on how often you travel, what you spend each month, and how far you want to go with the Miles and Bonus program.
If your goal is just to collect award miles, the standard Bonus Visa is usually enough. But if you are aiming for Silver or Gold status within a year, it might be worth thinking a bit more strategically.
Let’s look at an example.
If you get the Premium Visa, you earn 5 award miles for every 4 bonus points, and you usually get bonus tier miles just for signing up. The debit card also gives you a sign-up bonus, even though it only earns 2 miles per 4 bonus points. But when you combine them, it starts to add up.
For example:
Premium Visa sign-up: 8,000 tier miles
Debit card sign-up: 3,000 tier miles
That’s 11,000 tier miles, which already puts you right near Silver status if you also take 2 Aegean flights during the year.
With regular spending, even just moderate use of the Premium card on bills or travel could easily get you over the line.
✨ Some times during the year Alpha Bank offers a one-time bonus of tier miles when you sign up. That can make a big difference if you are aiming for Silver and already planning a couple of flights!
✨ As of July 2025, the debit card comes with a 1+1 flight offer, meaning you book one seat and get the second for free — just pay the taxes. If you also get the Premium Visa, which includes its own 1+1 ticket each year, you could end up with two companion tickets to use in a single travel season. That’s a pretty strong perk if you travel with a partner or friend.
✨ In spring 2025, the debit card came with an extra 5,000 tier miles as a limited-time offer. So just signing up for it gave you a bigger push toward Silver — even without any flights. These offers change, so it is always worth checking what the current deal is before applying.
Personally, I would not recommend keeping the debit card long term. I got it for the bonus, used it once or twice, and I will probably close it later this year. But as part of a short-term plan to reach status, it definitely helped.
The Companion Ticket: Why the Premium Card Made Sense for Me
One of the things that made the Premium Aegean Bonus Visa worth it for me was the 1+1 flight perk. You book one seat and pay the fare, and your companion flies with you — you just pay the taxes for them. It works for round-trip flights and can be used even in business class, depending on the booking conditions.
I’ve seen couples and families use this, and even friends who planned a trip together and saved a lot. You do have to be a bit strategic about the routes and booking class, but for many people, this single benefit already covers the cost of the card.
✨ July 2025: the debit card also includes a similar 1+1 ticket as part of a temporary offer. So if you happen to have both cards, that gives you two separate chances to use this perk in the same year.
Stay Realistic
There’s a lot of fine print when it comes to routes, airports, and how the perks actually apply. Lounge access depends on your status, whether or not you are flying domestic or international, the airport you are flying out of, etc. Companion tickets depend on availability. Some airports have more options than others.
You’re the only one who can know if this fits your travel style. If you live in Athens, you’ll have more direct flights, better flexibility, and better use of the program. But even if you live in smaller cities in Greece, there are still good opportunities. Just not as many.
The key is this — do not treat this like free money. These are tools that only work if you stay on top of them. You need to be willing to read the fine print, track your flights, and know when offers change.
As a reference, let’s look at some examples of how much it costs to fly using miles. To access this, go to the miles calculator.
Using Aegean’s calculator, without being logged in, I see an average of what I am expected to spend if I want to take this route paying only with miles. But the real experience, can differ of course, which is why I’ve noted the importance of poking around to see how things work.
When searching for a flight on that date, inside the Award Ticket portal of my account, I got almost no direct routes, and a few options for different airlines, with their corresponding tax prices, which is the final cost of the ticket.
Don’t get me wrong! I think $95 is still a great price for a ticket, but it can certainly be a lot more (and a lot less) when you know which airlines to search for, and if you commit to spending time researching.
This is all to get some expectation management, on the fact that you can’t just call up or book and get your preferred route, on specific dates, without putting in some serious brain power, planning those routes.
Why Do Credit Cards Offer Perks Anyway
This is a big question, and I am not a finance expert. But let’s be honest. Companies do not give rewards unless they gain something from it. These programs are built to encourage spending. That is the whole point.
If you are not careful, it is easy to lose track. So here is how I see it — use your credit card like a debit card. Do not spend money you do not already have. Pay it off in full each month. That way, you get the benefits without the stress.
One thing I do appreciate about living in Greece is that getting a credit card is not that easy unless you can prove you have a reliable income. Credit limits tend to be low. It forces you to think a little more carefully.
If you are working toward a status goal like Silver or Gold, keep that mindset. Do not make random purchases just to chase miles. Stick to the expenses you already planned for. The perks are nice, but not if they come with a financial headache.
✨ Even if you are not eligible for a credit card right now, the debit card still puts you in the Miles and Bonus game but only if you fly often. Otherwise, the earning rate is too low to really make a difference.
And finally, a reminder that really matters none of this will help if you do not actually fly with Aegean or their Star Alliance partners. If you’re always choosing the cheapest budget carrier, like Ryanair or Wizz, you are outside the system. That means no miles, no upgrades, no progress.
You’ll need to think differently. Sometimes paying a bit more for a flight now brings bigger benefits later. This program especially makes sense if you are a business traveler, if your company covers flights to countries like Germany, France, or the UK, or if you travel regularly within Europe for work or family reasons.
And here’s something I can’t emphasize enough — read the fine print, or at the very least, skim through the general info about what your card actually includes. For example:
- When it says “travel insurance” included, what does it mean?
- How many miles do you actually need to book a ticket?
- How much are the taxes and fees on that “free” ticket?
So if you are just entering this game, stay grounded. Think about how you travel and where you fly. If you are doing regular long-haul trips or fly several times a year for work, then yes, this could work in your favour. But if you are flying once a year to a weekend destination in Europe, then a good low-cost ticket might make more sense.
Final note — these credit cards are designed for travel, but the bonus points can also be redeemed at a wide range of shops, services, and businesses across Greece. That’s another side of the system worth exploring, though it’s a bit outside the focus of this post.
Hey, if you scrolled all the way to the bottom that’s okay. 😀 Here are the main takeaways:
The Aegean Miles+Bonus program is one of the few rewarding systems for Greek and European travelers. It actually works if you fly semi-regularly and use your card strategically.
The Aegean Bonus Visa cards (and debit card) help you collect award miles on everyday spending, which you can redeem for flights and upgrades.
There are three tiers: Blue, Silver, and Gold. Gold gives you Star Alliance Gold status, which comes with perks like lounge access, priority boarding, and extra baggage and what is you are aiming for.
To reach elite status, you’ll need both miles and flights with Aegean or Olympic each year. But you can also speed it up with credit card bonuses.
The Premium Visa includes a 1+1 companion ticket each year and sometimes the debit card does too. That can save you a lot on flights with a partner or friend, so look out for the deals that Alpha Bank runs.
Don’t overspend just to earn miles. Treat your credit card like a debit card and use it for planned expenses.
This isn’t a magic travel hack, but for people based in Greece or Europe who fly Aegean semi-regularly, it can be a smart and realistic way to earn perks.
