God of the Sun • EgyptAir was established in May 1932 and was one of only seven carriers worldwide at the time. Currently, the Cairo-based airline flies to 75 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. The airline is a member of the Star Alliance, having joined the global airline alliance in July 2008 with Lufthansa as the sponsoring airline.

Although a state-owned company, the airline is self-financing. EgyptAir also owns EgyptAir Express and Air Sinai and partially owns Air Cairo and Smart Aviation Company. The airline’s logo features Horus, the winged god of the sun in Egyptian mythology.

Earning Ability
Members flying EgyptAir earn miles that vary according to the distance traveled, the class of service and the members’ EgyptAir Plus membership status. Roundtrip flights for Blue (non- elite) members between Cairo and Luxor earn between 300 and 1,500 miles in economy, 2,000 miles in business class and 3,000 miles in first class. A roundtrip flight between Cairo and Paris earns between 996 and 5,980 in economy, 7,972 miles in business and 11,958 miles in first class. When flying between Cairo and New York, members earn between 2,804 and 16,824 miles in economy, 22,432 miles in business and 33,648 miles in first class. Some classes of travel, like those discounted more than 50 percent, do not earn miles. There are minimum mileage amounts that range from 150 to 1,500 miles for domestic and international flights.

There is an online mileage calculator to help members know in advance the mileage that they’ll earn for flying. Miles earned on Star Alliance airlines vary by airline as well as distance and cabin class. In addition to flying, members can earn miles with one car rental partner and through a hotel booking website. A family membership is offered.

Award Choices
Members can redeem miles for roundtrip award tickets and one-way award tickets for half the amount of a roundtrip ticket on EgyptAir and Star Alliance airlines. Upgrade awards are available on EgyptAir and Star Alliance flights and excess baggage awards are available when flying EgyptAir.

Awards are divided into redemption regions including Middle East (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria), Europe 1 (Cyprus, Greece, Turkey), Europe 2 (many other European countries), Gulf Countries, North Africa, East and West Africa, Southern Africa, Indian Continent, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Far East, North America, Central America and Carib- bean, South America, Hawaii and Australia/New Zealand and Oceania.

Roundtrip domestic flights in Egypt are 20,000 miles in economy, 30,000 miles in business class and 40,000 miles in first class.

Roundtrip flights between the Middle East and Europe 1 are 25,000 miles in economy, 38,000 miles in business and 50,000 miles in first class; the amounts for roundtrip flights to Europe 2 are 40,000, 60,000 and 100,000 miles respectively in economy, business and first class. Within Europe 2, the amounts are 30,000, 45,000 and 65,000 miles.

Flights between the Middle East and Europe 1 to North America are 80,000 miles in economy, 120,000 miles in business and 180,000 miles in first class. Flights within North America are 30,000, 45,000 and 65,000 miles.

Flights between the Middle East and Europe 1 to Europe 2 are 40,000 miles in economy, 60,000 miles in business and 100,000 miles in first class. Flights within Europe 2 are 30,000, 45,000 and 60,000 miles.

Round-the-world award tickets are 180,000 miles in economy, 280,000 miles in business class and 400,000 miles in first class.

Upgrade awards on EgyptAir are available from economy to business class and from business to first class. For example, an upgrade within Europe 1 and the Middle East is 8,000 miles when going from economy to business or from business to first class. To upgrade from the Middle East to North America is 30,000 miles for economy to business class and 40,000 miles for business class to first class. Members can also spend their miles to upgrade on Star Alliance flights—between 12,500 miles and 80,000 miles.

A relatively recent way to spend miles is for excess baggage on EgyptAir flights. You can get one extra piece of checked luggage for flights from New York to the Middle East for 20,000 miles, or from Europe 2 for 15,000 miles—rates vary by region.

Members can spend their miles only on flights, flight upgrades and excess baggage. There are no other awards.

Partnerships
Along with the Star Alliance airline partners, EgyptAir partners with banks, car rental companies, a telecom and others. Mobinil SPECIAL customers can exchange their SPECIAL points for EgyptAir Plus miles. Avis and Sixt offer discounts for EgyptAir members and members can earn 500 miles with Sixt rentals and 1,000 miles for every transfer with Sixt limousine service (Avis rentals to not earn miles). Several banks are transfer partners but the program does not offer a co-branded credit card with which to earn miles. The National Bank of Egypt offers interest-free flight purchases for five months with domestic flights and 11 months with international flights, but again, no miles with purchases. Members get Duty Free and travel discounts. Another partner where members can earn miles is through the HRS hotel reservation system. EgyptAir Plus members earn 250 miles for the first two nights and 100 miles for each additional night when booked through HRS.

Elite-Level Program
EgyptAir Plus features a three-tiered elite program. The Silver Card is obtained at 30,000 miles earned from EgyptAir or Star Alliance flights and comes with priority reservations waitlisting, priority airport standby and on EgyptAir flights only, priority airport check-in at business class counters, priority baggage handling, 50 percent discount on third piece of luggage and a 20 percent mileage bonus. To maintain Silver, you must earn at least 15,000 flown miles or 16 sectors within two years from the date of earning Silver status. Silver members receive Star Alliance Silver benefits.

The Gold Card is earned at earning 30,000 flown miles within two years of earning Silver status. Along with the benefits of Silver status, Gold members get one extra piece of free checked baggage, check-in is available at the first class counter, priority boarding and airport lounge access for you and and a friend when traveling on any Star Alliance member airline regardless of class of travel, and your friend must depart on a Star Alliance flight, not necessarily on the same flight as the elite-status member. Gold members also get 30 percent more miles on EgyptAir flights and first class shuttle buses to the aircraft and can transfer miles to another member’s account at a minimum of 5,000 miles to a maximum of 50,000 miles. To maintain Gold, you must earn at least 30,000 flown miles or 32 sectors within two years from the date of earning Gold status. Gold members receive Star Alliance Gold benefits.

The top level, the Platinum Card, is earned when the member’s account reaches a total of 1,000,000 miles and is valid for life. Along with top priority for benefits like check-in, standby and boarding and Star Alliance Gold benefits, Platinum members get a 40 percent mileage bonus on all EgyptAir flights. Other benefits Platinum members receive include personal assistance at Cairo airport, exclusive service hotline, vouchers from EgyptAir partners, bonus miles for birthdays and marriage, miles do not expire and complimentary upgrades are available one hour prior to departure when available.

Rules and Conditions
Miles expire 36 months from the date of the flight unless you have Platinum status. You must be at least 18 years old to join unless you are in a family membership. No mileage is earned for flights taken before joining EgyptAir Plus. Missing miles can be claimed for EgyptAir and Star Alliance flights up to 12 months from the flight. Award tickets can be claimed for the member and family members only. Flight upgrade awards are available for member and family members only on Y, B, M, H, Q or K fares only. Miles can be purchased at a 1,000 miles minimum, up to a maximum 20,000 miles for between $50 (1,000 miles) and $575 (20,000 miles). If you cancel and redeposit an award flight, five percent of the miles will not be returned into your account. If you need to change the name on your EgyptAir account, 500 miles will be deducted from your account with the name change request. If you lose your card and request a replacement, 500 miles will be deducted for a new membership card. In case of member’s death, the membership will be terminated and the miles cannot be transferred to anyone else.

Up to five immediate family members can credit their miles flown into the main member’s account. Members must be at least two years of age. Changing the name of a family  member is allowed once per year with a deduction of 1,000 miles per change. If a family member wishes to quit a family membership to start his own account, he cannot transfer any miles into the new account.

Service Support
EgyptAir Plus members can reach customer service representatives through email or phone. Phone service is available from 9:30am to 3:30pm Cairo Local Time, Sunday through Thursday so members have a rather limited time that they can call for customer service requirements. We emailed a question on a Monday afternoon and received an answer to our question by Wednesday.

Online Services
Members can claim missing flight miles through the website by entering the flight number, flight date, class of travel, departure/arrival dates and ticket number. Award tickets cannot be booked online, but must be claimed in person at an EgyptAir sales office. Members cannot see their progress toward Platinum lifetime status when logged in. EgyptAir members can access a mobile site at www.egyptair.mobi.

[+] Plus Features
The program’s biggest “plus” feature is its membership in the Star Alliance. This allows members to earn and redeem on a vast airline network reaching throughout the world. For families with small children, especially, the family membership is a good feature, making it easier to reach award levels by all of the miles earned from family travel going into one account.

[-] Minus Features
Partnerships are a weakness of EgyptAir Plus. Although it’s great to be a member of the Star Alliance, members could benefit from partnerships with hotel groups along with other partners where they can earn and spend miles. Although the website has improved quite a lot over the last few years, the functionality is still a bit primitive compared to other frequent flyer programs. Elite members complain that they do not always receive the benefits they are due because of their status and members are only offered free flight upgrades after earning one million miles.

[box]InsideFlyer Rated

Overall Score: 6.93

Earning Ability: 7.0

Award Choices: 7.0

Partnerships: 6.5

Elite Level: 7.0

Rules and Conditions: 7.5

Service Support: 7.5

Online Services: 6.0
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Program Information:
EgyptAir Plus
EgyptAir Complex
South Building, 2nd Floor
Airport Road Cairo, Egypt
[email protected]

www.egyptair.com