Would you run 26 miles to get 4,200 miles?
Listen: People have quirky ways for earning points and miles. From watching shows on Broadway to mailing flowers to your significant other, points and miles enthusiasts are innovative when it comes to earning and burning.
But did you know you can run for miles, literally?
If you're running in the Authentic Athens Marathon in Greece on Nov. 9-10 you have the chance to earn a decent amount of Aegean miles — just for participating!
Here's what you need to know.
You'll just enter your registration or bib number in the form. After completing the race, you'll earn miles depending on which run you took part in:
- Marathon Race – 4,200 award miles
- 10 km Road Race – 1,000 award miles
- 5 km Road Race – 500 award miles
That means that if you were running the Marathon race (for the non-runners out there, that's 26 miles) you'd earn 160 redeemable miles for each mile you run. While I love fun ways to earn points and miles, unfortunately, I will not be participating because the only time I run anywhere is to catch the subway.
Of course, there are some fine-print details you should know about. The promotion is valid from Oct. 7– Nov. 30 and runners may not claim their miles retroactively. Runners can only sign up for one Athens Authentic Marathon race. The miles granted are award miles and not tier miles towards Aegean status. You must be a Miles+Bonus member to participate.
Related: Book this, not that: Star Alliance award tickets
If you're not familiar, Aegean Airlines is Greece's largest airline by passenger count and fleet size. We've written before about Aegean, which is a Star Alliance member. The airline used to offer lifetime Star Alliance status, but unfortunately, that ended in 2014.
Its award chart has some spectacular values, but note the fuel surcharges on some awards. Of particular note are round-trip business-class awards within North America (which includes the Caribbean) for just 42,000 miles, and from North America to Europe and Central or South America in business class for just 90,000 miles round-trip.
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app