Start here: Gulf Air Falconflyer — join, earn and redeem miles, and move up the tiers

Step 1: What Falconflyer is and who it suits

You will learn: what the programme counts, what it is for, and the terms a member accepts on joining.

The programme is defined as the Gulf Air loyalty programme designed to award Gulf Air's most valued customers with traveller benefits and with Miles that can be exchanged in specified ways [1]. Miles are the currency of award accounting for flying Gulf Air on eligible fares; Loyalty Points are the currency of loyalty accounting for flying Gulf Air or Etihad Airways on any fare, and the level a member holds determines the Privileges available, usually when travelling [1].

Participation is subject to the terms, which are accepted on successfully applying online and on signature of the membership card, and a member may withdraw in writing within 30 days of receiving them [1]. All privileges and awards are subject to Gulf Air's Conditions of Carriage, to availability and change, and to any local variations; taxes, surcharges and duties arising from participation are borne by the member or traveller, and the terms are governed by Bahrain law [1]. In short, the programme suits travellers who fly Gulf Air, and membership is open to individuals resident in any country subject to local laws and restrictions [1].

Go deeper: Start here: airline miles for how mileage currencies work in general.

Step 2: How to join

You will learn: how to enrol, who cannot join, and what Family Members can earn.

An individual enrols online at gulfair.com, and membership is open to individuals resident in any country, subject to local laws and restrictions, who submit a valid, completed application form online [1]. Individuals aged between 2 and 18 must be enrolled by a parent or guardian, and Gulf Air reserves the right to challenge or reject such an application where legislation requires [1]. Corporations, organisations and other entities are ineligible, as are airline, travel agency, other travel-industry associated staff and professional couriers [1]. One person may not hold more than one account or make multiple applications, and breaches may lead to loss of awards; Gulf Air may refuse membership or amend its enrolment criteria at its discretion [1].

A member can earn miles for Gulf Air flights taken 90 days before the enrolment date [1]. A member may terminate membership by writing to the Falconflyer programme at any time [1].

Up to eight Family Members can be nominated to earn miles on a member's behalf; each gets a membership number, earns 70% of the regular mileage into the member's account, earns nothing for partner activities or codeshare flights, and receives no service benefits or privileges [1]. Members travelling on industry discounted fares are not eligible for tier benefits, and neither are members on flights marketed or ticketed by Gulf Air but operated by another airline, unless Gulf Air specifies otherwise [1]. The full conditions are in the Falconflyer Programme Terms and Conditions.

Go deeper: Gulf Air Falconflyer, the programme hub, for every Flyerfolio page about this programme.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: which fares produce Miles, what to do at booking and check-in, and how to claim missing credit.

Mileage awards are earned on Gulf Air flights at eligible fare levels only: published Falcon Gold, full Economy and Economy Excursion fares qualify, certain promotional or discounted fares earn a reduced award, and most other discounted fares — including bulk or other unpublished fares, travel-industry discounted fares and redemption tickets — are not eligible at all [1].

Crediting relies on an automated activity tracking system driven by capture of the membership number, so the number should be given at booking and the digital card produced at check-in even if the number was already given at reservation [1]. If a flight does not appear on the account, a retroactive claim form is available in the member area, claims must be made within six months of the flight or partner activity, and members should retain original boarding passes and a legible copy of the passenger ticket in case these are requested [1].

Partner miles are earned as the individual partner pages specify; miles from partners are added to accounts with identical first name, last name and date of birth, retroactive claims for partner activity go directly to the relevant partner, and accrual may take up to two weeks [1].

Go deeper: How to earn miles for missing-credit claims and crediting practice.

Step 4: How to redeem miles

You will learn: who a redemption ticket can be issued for, the fees to change or cancel one, and the limits on buying, gifting, transferring and extending miles.

A member may issue redemption tickets for themselves or any family member on their family list, without a maximum limit during the year, against miles deducted from the main member's account, on operated Gulf Air flights and those of Gulf Air's airline partners [1]. The miles needed depend on destination and cabin and are shown by the mileage calculator in the member portal [1]. All redemption tickets are subject to availability, with a limited number of seats on each flight; Gulf Air may impose blackout periods in which no redemption tickets are available, and may withdraw, replace or substitute any redemption ticket at any time without notice [1]. Children's redemption tickets require the same miles as adult tickets, the passenger name cannot be changed once the ticket is issued, and redemption tickets do not earn miles or Loyalty Points [1].

Taxes and additional expenses such as airport fees and surcharges are paid by the member and are non-refundable; redemption tickets are valid for 12 months from the date of issue, cannot be extended or left open, and must be used in order, with itineraries neither abandoned nor used in reverse [1].

Before a ticket is issued, changes and cancellations are free for all members; once issued they must be made up to four hours before the flight, and the fees vary by tier [1].

A no-show is counted as four hours before flight time, and a member who fails to show up for a booked flight forfeits the ticket and all related charges [1].

Buying, gifting, transferring and extending is capped at 50,000 miles a year on a rolling 365 days rather than a calendar year; buying, transferring and gifting are in blocks of 1,000 miles, with a minimum of 1,000 and a maximum of 50,000 miles per transaction, and need an account at least one month old [1]. Buying requires at least 3,000 miles and 200 Loyalty Points in the account; purchased miles are valid three years from the transaction date and cost US$25 per 1,000 miles [1]. Extended miles are valid 12 months from the transaction date, only miles due to expire within six months can be extended, at US$0.015 per mile and within the same 50,000-mile rolling limit [1].

Go deeper: Booking Gulf Air Falconflyer awards, how to redeem miles, and the award vs cash calculator.

Step 5: Levels and keeping your miles

You will learn: how the four levels work, how promotion and renewal are worded, and how long miles and points last.

The levels are Blue, Silver, Gold and Black, with normal entry at Blue, and promotion from Blue to Silver, Silver to Gold and Gold to Black happens on reaching specified thresholds of Loyalty Points [1]. Loyalty Points are awarded only for the member's travel on Gulf Air flights ticketed with the relevant carrier's flight number; every flight at any fare, except travel-industry discounted fares and redemption tickets in T and P classes, is credited, and travel in Falcon Gold earns a successively higher credit [1]. Silver membership is valid for one year and Gold and Black membership for two years, renewable according to criteria of minimum annual activity laid down by Gulf Air at its discretion [1]. Promotion happens as soon as the account shows the cumulative total required and a new card is issued; before a card's expiry date the points earned are compared with the level required, and the card is renewed at the same level if enough have been earned or at the relevant lower level if not [1]. Gulf Air reserves the right not to renew a card where no Loyalty Points have been earned over the previous 12 months for Silver and 24 months for Gold and Black [1].

The terms give the qualifying windows in wording that does not agree from one section to another. Section 5 states that the number of Loyalty Points required for promotion is given on the website, with "12 months for Silver and Gold and 24 months for Black beginning from the issue of the first Membership Card" [1]. The same section states that Loyalty Points have a validity of "12 months for Blue & Silver membership and 24 months for Gold & Black membership from the first flight date", after which they expire and can no longer be counted in the cumulative total [1]. Section 6 states that the total is compared using points "earned during the previous 12 months or less for Silver & Gold and 24 months for Black", and separately that renewal depends on points earned "over the previous 12 months for Silver and 24 months for Gold and Black" [1]. Those statements are not consistent with each other, and this page reports each as printed in its own section rather than adopting one reading. The airline scope also differs: section 1 defines Loyalty Points as the currency for flying "Gulf Air or Etihad Airways on any fare", while section 5 awards them only for travel on Gulf Air flights ticketed with the relevant carrier's flight number [1].

Miles are valid for three years from the date they are credited to the account [1]. Blue membership itself has no expiry date, but an account with no activity shown over a three-year period is automatically deactivated [1].

Go deeper: the status tool and the mileage expiry calculator.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: the five things to do in your first week as a Falconflyer member.

1. Enrol online at gulfair.com with one account per person, accepting the Falconflyer Programme Terms and Conditions on application [1].
2. Claim any Gulf Air flights taken in the 90 days before you joined, using the retroactive claim form within six months of each flight [1].
3. Give your membership number on every booking and show your digital card at check-in, keeping boarding passes and a legible copy of the ticket [1].
4. Note that miles last three years from crediting, and that three years without activity deactivates a Blue account [1].
5. Before redeeming, check the tier change and cancellation fees and the four-hour deadline for changes and cancellations once a ticket is issued [1].

Next: read Booking Gulf Air Falconflyer awards before your first redemption, then keep the Gulf Air Falconflyer hub open while you plan.