Ethiopian Airlines, a prominent member of the Star Alliance, offers one of Africa’s most comprehensive frequent flyer programs, named ShebaMiles.
According to simpleflying.com, This loyalty program is designed to reward dedicated customers with exclusive perks, allowing them to accumulate miles through both flying and non-flying activities.
Becoming a ShebaMiles member
Ethiopian Airlines launched ShebaMiles in February 1999. By its 20th anniversary in 2019, the program had over 3 million members. The inspiration for the name ShebaMiles is also very fascinating, but we will not touch on that today. It is similar to the programs offered by other Star Alliance carriers, offering an opportunity to earn miles and move up membership tiers.
ShebaMiles is free to join and is open to all individuals above two years of age. Miles work as the program’s currency and can be earned with Ethiopian or any of its airline and non-airline partners. They can be used to purchase tickets and travel extras, book hotels, or rent a car. They can even be donated to a charity or startup.
Earning miles and progressing through tiers
Status miles and qualifying segments
The amount of miles you can earn also depends on your membership tier. Tiers allow passengers to enjoy greater benefits, such as bonus miles, extra baggage, priority services, and lounge access. To achieve a higher tier level, passengers must collect a certain number of status miles. These differ slightly from award miles.
When traveling with Ethiopian, passengers will earn status miles and tier qualifying segments. Status miles to be earned are calculated based on the distance flown, airline booked, and fare type. Qualifying segments are any flights, excluding those from award tickets. These are earned based on the airline booked and fare type.
Tier levels and benefits
The Addis Ababa-based carrier offers four membership levels – Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Upon enrollment, a member will be placed into the welcome category and start progressing to other levels. The more Status Miles one earns within a specific program calendar year, the faster one can upgrade their membership level.
To upgrade or retain your membership level at the end of the year, you must have earned the required amount of Status Miles or flown the minimum number of qualifying segments. Each Status Mile is valid within the program calendar year it is earned. Status Miles are also available for purchase to upgrade to a higher tier level. The requirements for each tier are as follows:
ShebaMiles Blue: 3,000 Status Miles or two qualifying segments
ShebaMiles Silver: 25,000 Miles/25 segments
ShebaMiles Gold: 50,000 Miles/50 segments
ShebaMiles Platinum: 100,000 Miles/80 segments
It is important to note that Ethiopian’s domestic services and all partner flights do not count towards tier-qualifying segments. As expected, the Blue tier offers the least amount of benefits, while Platinum offers the most. Some of the benefits on Ethiopian Airlines’ services include the following:
Earning miles with Ethiopian and its partners
Miles can be earned on Ethiopian Airlines flights, as well as those operated by ASKY Airlines, Malawian Airlines, GOL, and all Star Alliance carriers. Star Alliance is the world’s biggest airline alliance, with 26 members, including United Airlines, South African Airways, Lufthansa, Air India, and Air New Zealand.
The amount you can earn is based on the distance traveled, booking class on eligible flights, and tier level. For example, a blue-tier member traveling from Addis Ababa (ADD) to New York (JFK) in business class (C), can earn up to 13,934 award miles and 10,451 status miles (one-way).
A blue-tier passenger taking the same flight in economy class (E, O, & W) can only earn up to 1,742 award and status miles. However, a platinum-tier member in business (C) can earn up to 20,901 award miles. In economy (E, O, & W), they can earn a maximum of 8,709 award miles.
Miles can also be earned by staying at any of Ethiopian Airlines’ hotel partners. This includes its very own hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Skylight, as well as Constance Hotels and Resorts, Golden Tulip, Regal Hotels, and several others. The same applies to shopping in partner stores, dining at specific restaurants, visiting spas, and renting a car with Europcar and Sixt.
How can you spend your miles?
Award tickets
Similar to earning, ShebaMiles can be spent on airline and non-airline partners, including Star Alliance members and Ethiopian Airlines’ subsidiaries. Passengers have access to over 1,000 destinations operated by Star Alliance carriers. ShebaMiles members can redeem miles for an award ticket with any member airline and only need a single reservation, even when there is more than one carrier on the flight itinerary.
Many airlines offer connecting passengers an option to stay in their cities for a day or two. With ShebaMiles, a stopover is permitted for one-way and roundtrip awards with extra miles. Onward connecting flights within 24 hours are not considered as stopovers. After an award ticket is issued, dates and flights can only be changed at an additional cost of up to $50.
However, silver tier members are granted one free rebooking request, while gold members are granted two. Platinum members are entitled to unlimited rebooking requests. All Star Alliance miles are valid for 12 months but are not eligible for earning miles and tier qualifying segments.
Upgrades and travel extras
ShebaMiles members can use their miles to upgrade their travel class on Ethiopian Airlines flights, starting from 15,000 miles. However, this is not available on domestic services, codeshare flights, or award tickets. After upgrading, accrual of miles will be based on the original ticket’s booking class. On Star Alliance partner flights, upgrades are available from 10,000 miles.
Miles can also be spent on various travel extras, like purchasing extra baggage allowance, accessing Ethiopian’s ShebaSkyConnect, and choosing your preferred seat. Furthermore, miles can be donated to the following charities to help their causes: Ethiopian Airlines Group Foundation and the Ethiopian Red Cross Society.
