topbonus - airberlin

Program Review

Air Berlin is Germany’s second largest airline after Lufthansa, and Europe’s seventh airline in terms of passengers carried. It maintains hubs at Berlin Tegel Airport and Dusseldorf Airport and operates a route network that includes a total of 17 German cities, some European metropolitan and several leisure destinations in Southern Europe and Africa, as well as intercontinental services to destinations in the Caribbean and Americas. You will find that this airline is a member of the Oneworld alliance, and owns the subsidiary Belair in Switzerland while the sale of its 49% stake Austrian subsidiary NIKI to Etihad Airways was announced back in December of 2016. This airline’s rewards program, Topbonus, offers its members the ability to accrue points/miles that can be used for award flights, hotel bookings, car hire, and other things. It is very important for those who regularly fly with this airline to look into this rewards program to see what exactly it has to offer.

Topbonus Program

The Topbonus program by Air Berlin has thousands of members that enjoy a variety of perks and benefits. You will find that this rewards program is completely free to sign up for, and you will have the potential to earn points that you can eventually redeem for free flights, cabin upgrades, and a number of other things. There are also numerous Elite levels that you can get to by simply earning enough points, with a variety of benefits for each one. Many people enjoy this program because of its many benefits, and it’s important that you take the time to look into it as well.

Earning Topbonus Points

Members of topbonus can collect miles when they fly with airberlin, oneworld member airlines, or other airline/travel partners.

Paid Flights: Earn miles whenever you fly with airberlin by entering in your topbonus member number during the booking or check-in process. Check their website to know more about the number of miles that you can earn for your flight.

Partner Flights: airberlin is part of oneworld, which allows flyers the ability to earn points for flights flown with alliance airlines. They are also partners with non-alliance airlines like Bangkok Airlines, Etihad, Hainan Airlines, Jet Airways, and Virgin Australia. The number of miles you earn from each partner varies, so it’s best to refer to airberlin's site to understand the number of miles you can earn from your upcoming flight. 

Credit Card Spending: For German residents, you can earn more miles when you use airberlin and NIKI Visa Card or airberlin Visa Card. Airberlin is also a transfer partner with SPG, which has a couple credit card offerings for US citizens; see section below for details.

Travel Partners: Book your stay at partner hotels at all the main hotel programs to earn more mileage. You may also rent a car with partners such as Alamo or Avis, file newspaper subscriptions, or transact with other airberlin partners to collect miles.

Promotions: The airline occasionally offers promotions that provide members the ability to earn additional points. For the latest list of promotions, visit the topbonus News & Offers page.

Redeeming Mileage Points

Go to the airberlin homepage and click on “log-in” in the upper right corner. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be met with the welcome screen. Go to the “topbonus” tab at the top and then select “redeem miles”. The next screen gives you several options for redeeming your miles. In addition to booking a flight, you can book a companion ticket, look for top deal tickets, transfer your award flight to another person, or upgrade to business class. You can also shop at the topbonus Shop, but that redemption option does not typically offer a good value for miles. If you know what airline you want to use, click “airlines.” Remember that if the airline you want is not bookable online, you’ll have to call. If you’re not sure which airline you want to book, there is an option on the right called “book an award flight” that lets airberlin decide the best way for you to fly to your destination. If you’re looking for a transatlantic flight, remember that airberlin and some of its partners impose hefty fuel surcharges on long flights. So watch out for the extra charges when you’re booking. On the New York to Munich round-trip flight below, they’re charging over $500.

Routing Rules

When you fly with Air Berlin you are allowed up to two stopovers per one-way flight, depending on the total distance traveled.

Booking Fees & Charges

You will find that there is an $80 fee charged for rebooking flights. If you choose to cancel an award, the redeemed miles will not be credited back to you.

Redeem on Upgrades

Topbonus members have the option of using the points/miles they accrue for flight upgrades. The number of points that you will need for an upgrade will be shown in the calculator on the official Air Berlin website. You can use this calculator to determine how many points you need for an upgrade on your booked flights.

Elite Levels

Each subsequent level includes the perks of the previous level unless stated otherwise.

Silver: Oneworld Ruby status, priority check-in, security fast lane, free seat reservation, 20% bonus award and status miles, double miles on select routes, waiting list priority, discount on XL seats, additional baggage allowance, exclusive waiting and parking areas at select airports

Gold: Oneworld Sapphire status, business class and frequent flyer lounge access, free access to phone agents, priority seating, guaranteed booking 48 hours in advance, miles don’t expire, seat next to member’s seat will be held free as long as possible, free XL seats for member and companion, two free carry-on bags, pre-boarding at select airports

Platinum: Oneworld Emerald status, two business class upgrades, access to Platinum phone agents, gourmet menu and drinks on select flights, guaranteed booking 24 hours in advance, oneworld First Class Lounge access, Silver status for a companion

Benefits of Air Berlin Topbonus Program

When you take the time to look into the Air Berlin Topbonus rewards program, you will discover that there are quite a few benefits you will enjoy as a member. The liberal stopover and open-jaw policy of this airline is just one of the many benefits you will be able to enjoy. There is also the fact that earning points/miles through this program is very easy. There are a number of different ways to earn and redeem points, so you shouldn’t encounter any issues there. Topbonus members will receive seasonal awards for as low as 1,500 miles one-way. Anyone who flies with Air Berlin often will definitely need to keep this in mind before making a final decision.

News

After Etihad stopped financial support of Air Berlin, Air Berlin entered insolvency procedures on 15 August 2017. On 9 October 2017, Air Berlin announced to its staff that it would cease all remaining operations under its own AB flight numbers due to its negative financial outlook and bankruptcy proceedings.

The Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG’s flight operations under IATA airline code AB is ceased.