Air Serbia will officially unveil its new Elevate frequent flyer programme this evening at a launch event in Belgrade.
More details on the carrier's new loyalty programme are available here. Air Serbia will roll out additional features and benefits of the programme over the coming days and weeks. Air Serbia CEO, Jiri Marek, has previously stated that the aim of the new frequent flyer programme is to drive profitability and strengthen customer loyalty. With the launch of Elevate, Air Serbia has ended its final commercial ties with former shareholder Etihad Airways, whose Etihad Guest programme it had used since 2013
Loyalty programme app
The new Elevate loyalty programme will feature its own stand-alone app. Its release for iOS and Android devices is expected in the coming days
Point accural on partner airlines
Air Serbia will enable accural of points by flying on partner airlines, the carrier's CEO has announced. Those airline partners will be added in the coming weeks and months
Second bank partner announced
Alta Banka has been announced as the second bank partner for the loyalty programme, complementing Banca Intesa. Co-branded debit and credit cards are expected to be issued from October onwards
Sign-up bonus
Registration for the new programme has already opened on the airline's website, with members receiving a 100-point sign-up bonus
Frequent flyer launch event to begin
The official launch event is about to begin where more details will be revealed
Four tier system
The new frequent flyer programme will have four tiers - Blue, Brozne, Silver and Gold - with varying benefits, which can be viewed below (click to enlarge image)
As previously reported, the new loyalty programme will give travellers greater flexibility in how they earn and redeem points across a network of travel, retail, lifestyle and financial partners. The airline will utilise Loyalty Juggernaut’s GRAVTY platform, enabling real-time, data-driven customer engagement. Banca Intesa, Serbia’s largest bank by total assets, will issue a co-branded Air Serbia VISA debit and credit card in October, which will be linked to the loyalty programme. This will enable point accrual, which is not exclusively linked to travel, but rather everyday shopping.
Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteBravo JU 🇷🇸
ReplyDeleteYaaaay 🥳
ReplyDeleteHey Admin, will you be doing any live broadcasting this evening?
ReplyDeleteIt says "EX-YU Aviation News will bring you the latest updates from the launch event. Please refresh this page from 20:00 CEST onwards for the most up-to-date information."
DeleteI meant in video format. On Instagram or YouTube.
DeleteIdemo dalje .
ReplyDeleteWho will be eligible for this Visa card and what is the criteria for getting this credit card?
ReplyDeleteI would assume Serbian bank account holders who forfill the needs of the bank for credit.
DeleteIt doesn’t say it will be a credit card, so I assume it will bee regular debit card you get when you open an account.
DeleteI highly doubt that, it will be a credit card. For employees, a full-time employment contract past the sixth month mark.
Delete"Banca Intesa, Serbia’s largest bank by total assets, will issue a co-branded Air Serbia VISA debit and credit card in October, which will be linked to the loyalty programme. "
DeleteWhat kind of uptake for this would we expect to see? Tens of thousands? Or more?
ReplyDeleteNext step is joining an alliance!
ReplyDeleteNo, it definitely is not the 'next step'. That would be the death of Air Serbia. Better to stay independent and forge connections with partner airlines where it makes sense.
DeleteElevate is already alive on Air Serbia web page but with a few glitches at the moment. Hopefully it will be fully operational soon.
ReplyDeleteI've got my first 100 points for completing the profile! Love it and cannot wait for full rollout.
DeleteAnd I am inpatient for my next flight which is a bit less than a month from now 😁
Delete*iMpatient
Delete*iMpatient
DeleteSo what if one can't get a credit card that means that they will not be able to collect miles/ points?
ReplyDeleteNo. It's just in addition to the programme.
DeleteIf there is someone who cannot get a credit card, I really wonder how that one will travel at all! With cash in their pocket or gold maybe?
Delete@16:02 credit cards make money for banks at your expense. Avoid. The whole aviation points thing is useless for most people who fly and this will be similar. I say most, not all.
DeleteIt says it's both credit and debit cards.
Delete"The whole aviation points thing is useless for most people who fly"
DeleteSour grapes much? I've flown 6 intercontinental flights in Business with nothing but points generated from my revenue flights and everyday spend in the last 5 years.
@17:27 So arrogant of you! What if one works in another country and has a credit card from a non Srb bank but can't get a card in Serbia as he doesn't work there!?!?
Delete@20:22 not at all. I fly a huge amount also. But most people do not and is therefore useless. Good for u re business and being rich enough. Good for you sir. Go get 'em.
Delete@Anon 21:50 Well this is something that we all face when joining FFPs, isn't it? I am, as Serbian resident, at a huge disadvantage when collecting points in any FFP out there, as we don't have these co-branded credit cards at all. See any airline out there...
DeleteBut, the point is not to place "foreigners" at a disadvantage, it is to bring profits to the airline by encouraging card users to choose JU branded cards. And at this point, Serbian banks find this attractive as they believe this arrangement will bring them new clients or strenghten loyalty with existing ones. I hardly believe impact of JU FFP in any other country is of any significance for any bank to compete for this. Maybe Montenegro, just guessing.
Therefore, yes, you do need to be "better off" (i.e. able to take out a credit card) and you need, at least for now, to be a Serbian resident, to benefit from this. This should be no news to anyone, this is how FFPs work.
I wonder how they're going to treat exisiting airl mile balances that current Etihad Guest holders have accumulated?
ReplyDeleteYou just have to read the text to get your answer.
DeleteAs of this point, website seems largely unfinished. And no clue about partners, "Intesa", "Visa", etc.
ReplyDelete€4700 to Gold (the only tier with any value) I assume only fare plus YQ, I am including the bonus for direct booking.
ReplyDeleteDo the miles rolling expire or does activity reset every time?
Renewal is the same as earning?
Validity one year?
I don’t believe Elevate is going to be giving Carsten Spohr a sleepless night…
I wonder which consultancy came up with this for them?
What are you talking about? What you wrote is completely unrelated to the chart published. Actually it is much easier to obtain gold than it was with Etihad Guest
DeleteYou okay bro? It's actually way too easy to get to Gold and the perks are too many, if you ask me. Not complaining, Serbia is a small and not rich market, but this is very hardcore.
DeleteBenefits per every single tier actually match or outperform almost any FFP out there. Silver tier has excellent benefits as well. And from my quick calculations, it is almost enough to take one C flight to qualify for Gold. While good for flyers, it may be too easy... I think we are looking at some tightening once they have a decent amount of members.
Delete...intercontinental C flight, that is.
DeleteWell the points shown are award points, it doesn't say anywhere how many tier points will be given per flight, maybe that's where they have some tightening built in
DeleteWhen you login, they show a progress bar to next tier with "points" only. They don't seem to distinguish between the two.
DeleteThe Gold benefits are significant!
ReplyDeleteIs there a platinum level?
ReplyDeleteNo, but there is a sodium one
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you can claim points retroactively only for the past 90 days so a minority of my flights are out of range, but let's see if it'll really take them only 3-5 business days to issue the credits for recent ones. Eagerly waiting for details about a Visa card, as a dedicated Intesa customer, I'll probably sign up for it once I get the details. Finally, a proper FF program, well done Air Serbia!
ReplyDeleteI claimed two flights so let's see how long it takes
DeleteQuestion not answered on the website: will family pooling be allowed? Also, initially they should allow a much longer retroactive claim window, since their own airport reps have been refusing to insert Etihad Guest numbers under the premise that JU is about to launch their own programme
ReplyDelete2nd bank! Wow! I hope more to come!
ReplyDeleteAnd partner airlines! Who could those be? Air Montenegro?
Alta Bank? Seriously? Unbelievable.
DeleteWell, SNS needs to have their thing, JU cannot be immune unfortunately...
DeleteWhat's the problem with it?
DeleteI got this searching internet "Alta banka spada u red srednje velikih banaka u Srbiji i važi za najbrže rastuću banku na domaćem tržištu." (Source Beta.rs)
If you ask yourself why is it a fast-growing bank, you'll have your answer.
DeleteBut I suppose good news is other bank may be incoming, such as Raiffeisen
DeleteExactly, anon 21.13, but some people prefer to complain on whatever. If they said each one put of 20 banks operating in Serbia will issue the cards, they would say why only Visa and not MasterCard, or American express or even Dina.
DeleteCheck Alta's financial performance. It's anything but good and stable.
DeleteI want to thank admin for great work again. No mention of any of this anywhere. Really happy a site like this exists. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteHighly appreciated at always, thank you so much to take so much effort! 🙇
DeleteFinally, after a long wait, thank you! Important first step, now let's hope phone support for Elevate will be world class as well.
ReplyDeleteSo based on my calculations JU would be lookikg around 900 to 1,200 Gold members once this all beds down. 36-58,000 in the next tier and anything from 400-540,000 entry tier. That would be based on 10-15% pf flyer signing up.
ReplyDeleteAnd your calculations are based non what
DeleteIf 10-15% of JU's passenger number sign up for this.
DeleteI don’t think that’s the assumption they were wondering about
DeleteAlta Banka...of course
ReplyDeleteIf credit card converts 100rsd to a single point, that means you need to spend 1.5 million dinars annualy to reach Gold status.
ReplyDeleteIn a 12 month period that is highly doable, I better get started as it seems they were a bit too liberal with perks
It's at least 4 points per 100 RSD for air tickets, and double that for Gold members, plus any "multiplicators", such as extra % for business class tickets or 5% for buying directly from JU. I guess any random expense on JU branded cards will be 1 point per 100 RSD.
DeleteWhat we don't know at this point is whether there is (or will be) a ratio of points needed to achieve a higher tier. I am guessing some flying will be required, but how much, or only points earned with JU flight will count towards status, while all of them will count towards redemption...
Great move from JU. Super ugly logo however. Rather 80s.
ReplyDelete80s are the best decade ever.
DeleteI'll take this logo over the JU eagle logo any day...
Im the reverse. I like JU's logo alot. But this looks cheap as F.
DeleteI guess they are matching EY Guest levels not according to color, but to actual level :) So, EY Silver will be JU Bronze, EY Gold will be JU Silver, and EY Plat will be JU Gold.
ReplyDeleteIm eager to know that, will they match color to color, or as you said.I wonder is there match with skyteam, oneworld, miles and more.... I wonder when will matching start.
DeleteI just entered my ticket in 3 days, to see if I can put my new ELEVATE FFN, and finally there is ... add a frequent flier number button, but OMG surprise, surprise.......only FFP available to enter is ETIHAD GUEST :)))))
ReplyDelete