I recently had a status match to Scandinavian Airlines approved. Part of the deal is that the EuroBonus Gold is valid through to March 2025, unless I take five SAS flights before then.
Doing that means the status will be valid through to 30 September 2026. That’s an extra 18 months tacked on to the validity, which seems like a pretty good deal in my book.
Five SAS Flights
On a popular frequent flyer forum, someone suggested an itinerary from London to Helsinki, via Copenhagen and Stockholm. I’ve been to Helsinki twice recently on Finnair (to snag their new A350 business class) so that did not appeal to me.
Instead, I had a look at places in Sweden and came across Umeå. It seems that this is about an hour from Stockholm and was served by an A320neo as opposed to some kind of turboprop.
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- The SAS A320neo cabin is nice!
Searching for the lowest priced itinerary, I found a pretty decent mid-week deal. I could fly London Heathrow to Oslo, Oslo to Stockholm and Stockholm to Umeå on a Tuesday, then fly back Thursday morning Umeå to Stockholm and on to London, for the princely sum of €165.00 all in. A bargain for five flights!
I was so happy with the price that I pre-booked meals on three of the five flights (the three where it was offered) for another €35. Having flown Scandinavian Airlines in the past, I know what to expect, so I am looking forward to it.
Overall Thoughts
While I will have to pay for two nights hotel in Umeå, that does not look like it will be a big deal. I’ll have my five SAS flights and get to see a new place at the same time.
Of course, I am going in January, so it is sure to be absolutely freezing cold up in Sweden at that time of year. I’d best rug up warmly, otherwise it will be rather uncomfortable.
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Features image by Colin Cooke Photo on Flickr via Wikimedia Commons.
That is a clever and cheap use of your 5 needed flights. It should be a fascinating experience.
I first did a mileage run between Dublin and Derry/Londonderry for no reason other than cheap eligibility for BA Gold status to milk for lounge access even on domestic/“domestic” US flights with American Airlines.
That’s very savvy of you, and a route that I myself have flown back in the day, literally to have flown it… and to see Derry’s city walls. Thanks for that!
If you were doing this in June it would be a home run. In the dark of winter… yikes… but gets the job done and any visit to Sweden is always fun!
The dark of winter in these parts isn’t all that dark if there is a lot of snow on the ground and having unobstructed moonlight or street lights around. It’s probably my favorite time of the year in this country as I love the crisp cold air and bright snow when its “dark” at 2:45pm.
It will certainly be an experience, that’s for sure!! 🙂