Alitalia is the national airline of Italy, serving more than 100 destinations in over 50 countries. In the United States, the carrier flies to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.
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Millemiglia is Alitalia’s frequent flyer program with easy-to-earn miles through rewards program partners and great deals on flight awards with partner airlines. For everything you need to know about Alitalia Millemiglia, keep reading.
| Hubs | Rome |
| Alliance | SkyTeam |
| Redemption Options | Alitalia and partner flights, upgrades, coupons & vouchers, donations |
| Average Point Value | $0.0041 |
Millemiglia Elite Status
Similar to other frequent flyer programs, Millemiglia elite status has tiers, which they refer to as Exclusive Clubs – Ulisse, Freccia Alata and Freccia Alata Plus. To move up in clubs, you need to earn a certain number of qualifying miles or qualifying flights in one calendar year:
| ULISSE | FRECCIA ALATA | FRECCIA ALATA PLUS |
| 20K qualifying miles | 50K qualifying miles | 80K qualifying miles |
| 30 qualifying flights | 60 qualifying flights | 90 qualifying flights |
Club members enjoy the following benefits:
| Status | ULISSE | FRECCIA ALATA | FRECCIA ALATA PLUS |
| Miles bonus | 25% | 50% | 75% |
| Priority check-in, boarding & wait-listing | X | X | X |
| Priority security lanes | X | X | |
| Access to Alitalia Lounges | Paid | X | X |
| Free extra baggage & sports equipment | X | X | X |
| Free one-way upgrades* | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Free Comfort seats | X | X | |
| Upgrade onboard with miles** | X | X | |
| Gift Freccia Alata Club status | 1 | ||
| Dedicated member services phone number | X | X |
*On medium-haul international flights.
**Valid until June 30, 2021.
Those who hold Freccia Alata Plus status for at least 10 consecutive years get the Freccia Alata Plus Per Sempre Card with unlimited membership to Freccia Alata Plus, as well as:
- 4 additional upgrades to superior classes.
- 2 guaranteed bookings for award tickets in one year.
- Wait listing for Millemiglia award tickets 60 days prior to the date of departure.
Earning Millemiglia Miles
Like many frequent flyer programs, the miles you earn by flying on Alitalia will depend on distance flown and booking class. You can also credit flights from partner airlines to your Millemiglia account, including:
- Aeroflot
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Air Europa
- Air France
- Air Serbia
- ANA
- China Airlines
- China Eastern
- Korean Air
- MEA
- Saudi Arabian Airlines
- Tarom
- Vietnam Airlines
- Virgin Australia
- Xiamen Airlines
You can also collect miles when you travel or shop with Millemiglia partners.
- Hotels, including Accor, Best Western, Hilton, IHG, Marriott and more.
- Booking sites, like Booking.com and Rocketmiles.
- Rental cars from Avis, Budget and more.
- Taxi, transfer and parking services.
- Insurance companies, such as Chubb.
- Shopping at Hugo Boss, Interflora and more.
- Supermarkets like Coop.
- Culture and entertainment.
If you need to top off for an award, purchasing Millemiglia miles is also an option. Buy up to 70,000 miles per year, in multiples of 2,000 miles, for EUR 50 every 2,000 miles. Discounts are applied for miles purchases of 8,000 or more.
Earning Millemiglia Miles with American Express Membership Rewards®
One of the easiest ways to earn Millemiglia miles is by transferring your Amex Membership Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio. Credit cards that earn Amex Membership Rewards include:
THE PLATINUM CARD® FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Platinum Card® from American Express has a special offer for 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in purchases within your first 6 months.
Membership Rewards® points are some of the most valuable in the market. Redeeming these points by booking travel through American Express or by redeeming for gift cards will give you a standard 1 cent per point value. The 100k bonus points are worth $1,000 going this route.
You can potentially get more value by transferring your points to Membership Rewards travel partners. Using this strategy can get you up to an average value of 2 cents per point. Get around $2,000 in value with 100,000 points this way. Read more on this here.
With this card, earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
The biggest drawback to this card is the $695 annual fee (see Rates & Fees, Terms Apply), which puts it in the premium class of credit cards. The card has a market because it offers premium travel benefits, such as 5X points for flights (up to $500,000 on these purchases) and eligible hotels, access to 40+ Centurion Loung and Studio locations worldwide, up to $200 airline fee credit annually, and an annual Walmart+ membership. These benefits are given as statement credits.
For frequent travelers, the added benefits make sense in terms of value and added luxury.
AMERICAN EXPRESS® GOLD CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The American Express® Gold Card has a welcome bonus for 60,000 Membership Rewards Points when you spend $4,000 within 6 months.
Membership Rewards Points have great flexibility. We value each point to be worth up to an average 2 cents per point. At this value, 60k Membership Rewards Points can be worth up to $1,200.
The Amex Gold Card has plentiful perks. You’ll get:
- Choice between Gold or Rose Gold.
- 4X points at restaurants, including takeouts and deliveries in the U.S.
- 4X points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per year in purchases (1X thereafter)
- 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- Up to $120 in annual dining credits (get up to $10 monthly statement credits)
- No foreign transaction fees
The annual fee is $250. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
THE BUSINESS PLATINUM CARD® FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has a welcome offer for 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. We value 80k points to be worth around $1,600.
This card earns 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (amextravel.com). Also earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else. Cap applies.
This is a premium business card with a $695 annual fee. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
AMERICAN EXPRESS® BUSINESS GOLD CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
For a limited time, the American Express Business Gold Card has an offer for 70,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
This card earns 4 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on 2 select categories where your business spent the most each month. These 4X points are capped at the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year.
Other card benefits include an Airline Bonus, where you’ll get 25% points back after you redeem points for all or part of an eligible flight booked with Amex Travel. This is capped at up to 250,000 points back per calendar year.
The annual fee is $295 for this card. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
Other transfer partners include:
| REWARDS PROGRAM | TRANSFER RATIO |
| Best Western Rewards | 5:1.6 |
| Capital One Rewards | 2:1.5 |
| IHG Rewards Club | 5:1 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 3:1* |
*With a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred.
Redeeming Millemiglia Miles
Millemiglia miles expire after 24 months of inactivity. To keep your account active, make sure to earn or burn miles at least every two years.
Alitalia offers four types of award tickets: Standard, Elite Award, Flex and Superflex. Standard tickets begin at 20,000 miles roundtrip within Europe. Elite Award tickets are only available to those with status. Flex awards are only available in economy and come with additional baggage allowance and free changes. Superflex awards are for upper classes and must be booked via phone.
Partner awards are also available, for SkyTeam and non-SkyTeam partners. If you’re low on miles, opt for a Cash & Miles award starting at 5,000 miles for up to 25% off the purchase price.
Other notable award flight perks include:
- Open jaws are permitted within the same region
- One stopover permitted on partner awards
- Lots of award availability, even in upper classes
- Award itinerary holds available
- Free date and time changes on all awards
- Round-the-world awards available
Please note that you do have to book partner awards over the phone.
Redeem your Millemiglia miles for upgrades on Alitalia flights. The amount of miles required depends on the fare class of your paid ticket, but can be as low as 12,500 miles for an upgrade to Premium Economy from the U.S. to Italy.
You can also use your Millemiglia miles for coupons and vouchers, as well as charitable donations.
Millemiglia Tips & Tricks
Before you look for flight awards, keep the following in mind:
- Fuel surcharges on both Alitalia and partner award flights.
- One-way awards cost 60% of a round-trip ticket.
- No one-way awards on partner airlines.
- Only 2 connections allowed per award.
- No stopovers permitted on Alitalia awards.
- 5,000 mile or EUR 55 fee for changes made by phone or to the carriers.
- Partner awards on Korean Air, China Airlines and China Southern have a lot of blackout dates.
To Italy. Awards from North America to any destination in Italy are just 30,000 miles each way in economy. Yes, that includes itineraries from Los Angeles. If you’re already in Europe, consider taking a side trip to Italy in business class from just 20,000 miles each way.
Within Italy. Domestic awards start at 10,000 miles each way in economy, and business class is 15,000 miles.
To Hawaii. Awards from North America to Hawaii are only 40,000 miles, round-trip. Plus, there are no fuel surcharges.
Bottom Line
The Alitalia Millemiglia program might not be the most rewarding SkyTeam member out there when it comes to flight awards, but there are some sweet spots that will give you great value. Plus, you can transfer points from popular loyalty programs like American Express Membership Rewards®, Capital One® Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
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