My first miles run of 2022: Flying Blue Gold goal achieved

The past two years have been horrible for the aviation world, instead for frequent flyers - lockdowns and border closures aside-they have been a real boon. One example is the status renewed ex officio: in fact, today possesses an elite level even those who would have lost it in 2020 due to not getting renewal in 2019. Airlines and hotel chains they saved everyone, without nitpicking.

Now things (seem) to be moving toward a slow return to normalcy and, if the status is to be maintained beyond 2023, it will have to be earned in the field. I have already explained in an article what are miles run and how they work, today it is time to take off for the first tour de force of 2022.

My itinerary was slightly altered from the original ticket, but in these times that is the least one can expect with airlines constantly seeking route optimization and fill rates. In this exchange I lost 10 XP points and a thousand FB miles on the way, in return I got my "first time" with Air Europa.

Objective Gold Flying Blue

We have explained it very well, one of the basic rules of the reward travel is to have goals accurate and not scatter points and/or miles on the road.

In this case my mileage race. Was more of a race for XP points, the currency with which the Flying Blue program assigns elite levels.

One of my 2022 goals is to detach one award ticket in La Premiere class, that is, Air France's first class. Of course, not will be like flying into the Singapore suite, however, the experience that the French carrier "gives" to the lucky few who travel first class is believed to be the best in the world.

In order to detach this ticket, which paid cash costs close to 10k euros, it is necessary to have many FB miles, but most importantly. you must be in possession of Gold status In the Franco-Dutch loyalty program.

So the first real result was to Obtain the Gold level, which is also valid on the entire SkyTeam alliance And more importantly, if as it seems, ITA Airways will leave this consortium to follow Lufthansa In Star Alliance.

Before this trip I was only two points away from the goal, but between restrictions, closed borders, and especially few seats aboard the 777 AF, I wanted to give myself as much time as possible and having the status even through 2023 was a prerequisite. This miles run therefore happens to fit the bill.

My trip to São Paulo

I'll say this now for those who were thinking "travel to Brazil is prohibited" , this site does not è a hobby, for us at TFC it is a job, so this move falls squarely within the requirements of Italian regulations.

The itinerary, all business class, as mentioned was slightly modified and ended up as follows:

• Barcelona -> Madrid with AirEuropa (I was originally supposed to fly to Amsterdam)
• Madrid -> Mexico City with Aeromexico
• Mexico City -> Sao Paulo with Aeromexico
• Sao Paulo -> Mexico City with Aeromexico
• Mexico City - Amsterdam with KLM
• Amsterdam - Barcelona with KLM

All flights except the last leg were aboard 787s. With Air Europa in the smallest variant the /8, all others with the /9 i.e. the largest.

The final cost of this ticket was just under 950 euros. Having booked on the American Express travel site and paid with my Platinum card, I also accumulated MR points, as well as activated all the insurances provided for cardholders.

Why I booked this ticket

The Flying Blue program, as we have already explained several times, is based on two separate scores: the XP points which are the ones you need to get statuses and level up. And then FB miles The ones you use to book award flights.

The number of XP points that you accumulate is, net of specific promotions, indifferent from the company you are traveling with or who "sold" the ticket. Mileage accumulation, on the other hand, changes whether the ticket was sold by AF/KLM or by a partner airline. In the former case, the accumulation is based on the price of the ticket multiplied according to the level held. In my case, being Silver before this trip, I would have earned 5 points for every euro spent on the ticket. Pittance.

Conversely, if the ticket is issued by a partner company, in this case it was Aeromexico, FB mileage accumulation occurs based on distance traveled and not on the rate spent. And the total bill goes from just under 5,000 miles to more than 43,000 miles

The final balance

The final balance of this experience was more than positive, since I was able to fly for the first time with AirEuropa and Aeromexico. In addition, the flight between Barcelona and Madrid was aboard a 787/8. Flying such an aircraft on a route of just under 80 minutes was a bonus experience, similar to the one made with Singapore from Rome to Copenhagen.

I got 152 XP points and over 43 thousand FB miles, enough for an award ticket to the USA. Now I am only 35 XP points away from having the level secured until January 2024, which is almost 2 full years of privileges on all Skyteam carriers.

Now that I have obtained the Gold level  I can also begin the hunt for one of the most sought-after tickets for air travelers: Air France's La Premiere. It's just too bad. Have suspended the mailing of cards And luggage tags, I am an avid collector Of this junk of the skies.

• Flying Blue
• miles run skyteam