In the travel enthusiast community, it seems we can barely go a few weeks without an announcement of some sort of award chart devaluation or benefit reduction in one of our favorite programs. So any time we can actually announce an improvement to an award program, it comes as a big relief.
Alitalia, the flagship carrier of Italy, has announced that it aligned its’ reward program benefits across all Etihad partner airlines. This is great news because Alitalia has a relatively small network for flights on its’ own metal, so being able to use your benefits on partner flights will significantly expand the number of destinations you can reach while still enjoying elite perks.
Alitalia is an airline that has had many struggles historically. They have repeatedly been on the verge of bankruptcy and required multiple bailouts over the years. This all changed at the end of 2014 when Etihad purchased a 49% stake in the company. Etihad’s investment allowed them to make significant changes to the Alitalia’s operations and put them on a path to success.
Since many readers are likely unfamiliar with Alitalia’s MilleMiglia program, we will detail the qualification requirements and benefits of this program before getting into the new reciprocal benefits with Etihad partner airlines.
Qualifying for MilleMiglia Elite Status
The MilleMiglia program has 3 levels for annual elite status qualification (there is also a 4th level for those that have achieved top tier status for at least 10 consecutive years, but this is not relevant to our discussion of reciprocal benefits). The table below summarizes the levels of status and the qualification requirement for each.
| Status Level | Qualifying Miles | Qualifying Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Ulisse / Silver | 20K | 30 |
| Freccia Alata / Gold | 50K | 60 |
| Freccia Alata Plus / Platinum | 80K | 90 |
In order to qualify for status you only need to meet either the mile qualification threshold or the flight qualification threshold, not both. These both apply per calendar year. The benefits of each level of elite status are summarized below:
Ulisse Status
- Earn a 25% mileage bonus on flights
- Easier check-in
- Priority boarding
- Paid access to Alitalia lounges, with complimentary access for one guest
- Extra baggage and sports equipment transportation free of charge
- Priority waitlist during booking
- SkyPriority benefits via SkyTeam
- Up to two upgrades from economy to business class on medium haul flights
Freccia Alata Status
If you make it up to the 2nd tier status, you receive all benefits from Ulisse status, plus the following enhancements or additional benefits:
- Earn a 50% mileage bonus on flights
- Complimentary “Extra Comfort” seats
- Complimentary access to Alitalia and SkyTeam partner lounges
- Guaranteed booking for full fare economy class tickets
- Up to four upgrades from economy to business class on medium haul flights
Freccia Alata Plus Status
If you make it up to the top tier status, you receive all benefits from Freccia Alata status, plus the following enhancements or additional benefits:
- Earn a 100% mileage bonus on flights
- The ability to gift a Freccia Alata (Gold) status card to someone else
- Qualifying mile rollover (any miles earned in excess of the amount needed for top tier status will roll over into the next year to jumpstart your qualification)
- Free special baggage in addition to the free piece of standard baggage (sports equipment, surfboard etc.)
- Access to Etihad partner lounges
- Up to four upgrades to a higher class
Alignment of Benefits across Etihad Partner Airlines
Now that we have covered how to qualify for MilleMiglia status and the benefits that come with each level of status, we will describe how each of these status levels translates into reciprocal benefits across the 8 Etihad partner airlines.
| Benefit | Ulisse / Silver | Freccia Alata / Gold | Freccia Alata Plus / Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priority check-in | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Priority boarding | * | Yes | Yes |
| Lounge access | Al Reem Lounge Abu Dhabi | Business Class Lounges across the Etihad Airways Partners network** | First Class Lounges across the Etihad Airways Partners network** |
| Excess baggage (weight concept)*** | 10kg | 15kg | 20kg |
| Excess baggage (piece concept)*** | 1 x additional bag up to 23kg in Economy Class 1 x additional bag up to 32kg in First and Business Class | 1 x additional bag up to 23kg in Economy Class 1 x additional bag up to 32kg in First and Business Class | 1 x additional bag up to 23kg in Economy Class 1 x additional bag up to 32kg in First and Business Class |
| Tier bonus miles | 25% | 50% | 75%**** |
* The MilleMiglia Program offers Priority Boarding to its own Ulisse Members.
** Entitled to one guest except in Jet Airways lounges.
*** Baggage allowance is based on a piece and weight concept and is dependent on airline and destination.
**** The MilleMiglia Program offers 100% Exclusive Bonus to Freccia Alata Plus Members up to December 31st, 2017.
Etihad Partner Airlines
There are 8 Etihad partner airlines across which elite benefits from the MilleMiglia program will be shared. The table below displays these airlines and the country in which each is based. The last column displays if each airline is a member of any of the three major airline alliances (Star Alliance, OneWorld, or SkyTeam).
| Airline | Country | Alliance |
|---|---|---|
| Etihad Airways | Abu Dhabi | None* |
| Jet Airways | India | None* |
| Airberlin | Germany | OneWorld |
| Niki | Austria | OneWorld (affiliate) |
| Etihad Regional | Abu Dhabi | None* |
| AirSerbia | Serbia | None* |
| Air Seychelles | Republic of Sychelles | None* |
| Alitalia | Italy | SkyTeam |
*The airlines that are not part of one of the major alliances are all part of the Etihad partner alliance and some are also members of smaller regional alliances.
Credit Card Partner
MilleMiglia is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards. This means you can transfer points from cards such as:
- The Platinum Card
- Premier Rewards Gold Card
- Amex EveryDay Preferred Card
- Amex EveryDay Card
- Premier Rewards Gold card
Amex is currently running a promotion on point transfers to MilleMiglia. Normally 1000 Membership Rewards convert to 1000 miles, but now through 10/31/16 they are offering a 25% bonus, so 1000 Membership Rewards convert to 1250 miles. If you think you may want to transfer miles to this program in future this may be a good time to jump on a limited time offer.