Start here: Royal Club — joining, earning miles, tiers, Family Club, expiry and awards

Step 1: What Royal Club is and who it suits

You will learn: what Royal Club is, the three counters it uses, and which travelers the program fits.

Royal Club is the frequent flyer program operated by Royal Jordanian, and its terms govern members' participation [1]. Royal Jordanian has the right to change or amend the terms during the life of the program, and they are governed by the laws of Jordan, with Royal Jordanian and each member submitting to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Jordan [1]. The terms, as amended from time to time, are effective as of 22 September 2018 [1].

The program uses three counters. Award Miles are Royal Club Miles earned on Royal Jordanian or oneworld partner flights, or through activities and purchases with Royal Jordanian non-airline partners [1]. Tier Miles are earned through flight activity with Royal Jordanian or its oneworld partners for progressing to a higher tier or retaining a tier, are separate from Award Miles and are not relevant to the calculation of Award Miles [1]. Segment Count is separate again: each flight from point A to point B is one segment, except flights between Amman and Aqaba, flights between Amman and Tel Aviv, and tickets issued in R class to any Royal Jordanian destination, which count as half a segment each [1].

The program fits readers who fly Royal Jordanian and oneworld: Award Miles come from both, while Tier Miles can only be earned on Royal Jordanian flights, oneworld partner flights and codeshare flights marketed and operated by oneworld carriers [1].

Go deeper: Royal Club program hub · oneworld membership and alliance history

Step 2: Joining and keeping your account

You will learn: who can join, what a new account can and cannot do before verification, and how an account stays open.

Individual membership is open to individuals 16 years old and above, who should apply online on the website pages or complete the application form and return it to any Royal Jordanian sales office worldwide or to the Frequent Flyer Unit at Royal Jordanian headquarters in Amman [1]. New members must verify their email by clicking the link sent to the address on the newly created account to complete registration, and an account with unverified email status cannot redeem or transfer miles or add family members until verification is complete, but continues to accrue miles for eligible flights and partner activities [1]. Each individual may hold only one member account number, and in a duplication every membership except the first approved is canceled together with any duplicate Royal Club Miles [1]. Membership is not transferable in any way, and the member named on the card is the only person allowed to use it or quote its number [1].

Accepted applicants receive a Bronze Sunbird membership [1]. Bronze Sunbird members become eligible to redeem, transfer, receive or buy award miles after crediting at least one flight activity to their account; the sections on purchasing and gifting miles state the same threshold as redeem or transfer for those members [1]. Silver Jay and Gold Sparrow cards are valid for one year from their date of issue, and Platinum Hawk cards for two years [1].

A member may terminate at any time by written notice, after which all accumulated Royal Club Miles are canceled, and membership terminates automatically on death with unused miles canceled [1]. After 18 months of inactivity Royal Jordanian reserves the right to deactivate the account and cancel the miles, and the terms add that after 12 months of being inactive the account status will be changed to dormant [1].

Go deeper: Royal Club program hub · Start here: the other courses in this learning path

Step 3: Earning miles and claiming missing ones

You will learn: which activity earns miles, which tickets earn nothing, and how to claim a flight that did not credit.

Award Miles earned from eligible flights or from non-airline partner accrual do not expire as long as the account is active [1]. If no activities are registered for 18 months the account turns inactive and the total award miles balance expires, and activities are defined there as award miles accruals, redemptions, miles purchase, miles transfer, donations or gifting [1]. The Mileage Expiry section states the same 18-month test as failing to add any accrual, redemption or purchase activity, so the two lists of qualifying activity differ [1].

New members can claim miles for flights up to three months before their enrollment date, and flights traveled before that do not earn [1]. All new applicants get 1,000 bonus Royal Club Miles after their initial flight activity, plus an additional 500 miles for online applicants [1]. Quote the membership number when reserving and checking in, make sure the name on the transaction matches the account name exactly, and keep original boarding passes and passenger receipts until the miles are credited [1].

Four ticket types earn nothing: award tickets, tickets with a 50% discount or more, infant-fare tickets, and discounted tickets for Royal Jordanian employees, industry and agents [1]. The Flights section instead excludes tickets with any type of discount over published rates, naming free-of-charge, charter, complimentary, agent and travel industry discount, airline staff travel, rebate and prize tickets, along with canceled flights, flights transferred to another airline beyond the carrier's control, and infants under two [1].

If an eligible flight is not reflected 48 hours after the date of activity, a claim can be made within 12 months of that date, and, if applicable, miles are credited within 30 days of the claim [1]. For flights, send the original boarding pass and a legible copy of the ticket to any Royal Jordanian office or claim online in the membership account; for non-airline partners, send the original proof of transaction to the partner [1].

Go deeper: claiming missing miles, step by step

Step 4: Tiers and segments

You will learn: the four tiers, the printed qualification figures, and the periods those figures are measured over.

Royal Club has four membership levels: Bronze Sunbird, Silver Jay, Gold Sparrow and Platinum Hawk [1]. Progress between them is based on the applicable number of Tier Miles or Segments earned in a consecutive twelve months during the card's validity period [1]. The printed table sets Silver Jay at 15,000 Tier Miles or 14 segments to qualify and 12,000 Tier Miles or 12 segments to maintain, Gold Sparrow at 40,000 or 30 to qualify and 30,000 or 26 to maintain, and Platinum Hawk at 65,000 or 46 to qualify and 110,000 or 80 to maintain, with the period column printing 12 months on every row [1]. Minimum Royal Jordanian flights for qualification or maintenance are 4 for Silver, 10 for Gold and 20 for Platinum [1].

Tier Miles and Segments are valid for one membership year for Bronze Sunbird, Silver Jay and Gold Sparrow, whose tier is upgraded, downgraded or retained according to what was earned in the previous 12 months, after which the balance resets to zero [1]. For Platinum Hawk they are valid for two membership years, with retention or downgrade to Gold Sparrow assessed on the previous 24 months before the balance resets to zero [1]. That two-year Platinum Hawk treatment sits alongside the 12-month maintain period printed in the table [1].

Royal Jordanian may change the Tier Miles or Segments needed for each tier without prior notification, and may reduce a member's tier level at its sole discretion depending on what was earned in the relevant validity period [1].

Go deeper: how airline mileage expiry and status periods compare

Step 5: Family Club, expiry and awards

You will learn: how Family Club pooling works, what happens to miles when an account goes quiet, and the conditions attached to an award.

Any existing or new member aged 21 and above may start a Family Club account and add a minimum of one and up to eight members, and the member who starts it is the Head [1]. Eligible relatives are spouse, partner, children aged two and above, parents of the Head, parents-in-law, step-parents, stepchildren and one household maid [1]. Award Miles earned by the Head and the members pool automatically in the Head's account, while Tier Miles and Segments are credited to each individual member and count towards that member's own tier progress [1]. Only the Head can request redemptions or awards against the pooled miles, and Family Club members cannot transfer miles to or receive miles from Royal Club members outside the same Family Club [1]. A member aged 16 and above can de-link by email or at a Royal Jordanian office with a copy of ID or passport, and miles earned before de-linking stay in the main Family Club account [1]. Transfers between the Head and members are free online, a fixed fee of USD 10.00 per transfer applies through sales offices or the call center regardless of the number of miles, and the Head can transfer a minimum of 1,000 and a maximum of 200,000 miles per transaction [1].

For individual memberships Award Miles do not expire while the account is active, and miles expire when the account is not kept active; for corporate accounts Award Miles are valid for 24 months from the activity date [1].

Award requests go to Royal Jordanian through the website pages, call center or sales offices 14 days before the intended travel date [1]. All award travel must be completed within 12 months of the ticket issue date, and award tickets are valid for one year from issue [1]. Awards are subject to availability, and award tickets carry additional fees, government charges and taxes that the member pays [1]. Award bookings on airline partners cannot be changed; bookings on Royal Jordanian can be changed only by the member or a nominated travel coordinator, limited to date, time, route and class of service and never name changes, subject to capacity, at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the first flight, and Royal Jordanian may charge for each change [1]. Miles redeemed for an award ticket on Royal Jordanian or a oneworld partner are non-refundable, and miles are not re-credited where a booking is canceled after departure or the member is a no-show [1]. Miles may be bought in blocks of 1,000 up to a maximum of 150,000 per calendar year, and purchased miles are non-refundable and do not count towards a higher tier [1].

Go deeper: booking Royal Club awards · family points sharing across programs · searching oneworld award space · award change and cancellation fees compared

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: the five things to do now so that miles credit and stay usable.

1. Join at 16 or over, applying online or at a Royal Jordanian sales office, then verify the email through the link sent to the account, because an account with unverified email status cannot redeem, transfer or add family members [1].
2. Quote the membership number at reservation and check-in and make sure the name on the booking matches the account name exactly [1].
3. Keep the original boarding pass and passenger receipt, check in the account that the activity credited, and if a flight is still missing 48 hours after the activity date, claim it within 12 months [1].
4. Record an activity well inside every 18 months, whether an accrual, a redemption, a miles purchase, a transfer, a donation or a gift [1].
5. Before redeeming, submit the award request at least 14 days before the intended travel date and plan to complete the travel within 12 months of ticket issue [1].

Next: work out your activity deadline with the mileage expiry calculator