GOL, short for GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, is based in Rio de Janeiro and is well-known for its ridiculously cheap fares. The carrier captures 37.7% of the domestic market share, making it the largest domestic airline in Brazil. GOL serves a total of 62 destinations in 13 countries.
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Smiles is GOL’s frequent flyer program. As a member, you’ll earn miles for every flight with GOL and any of its partners, which you can later redeem for flights and more. We’ll get into all the best ways to earn and burn GOL Smiles Miles below.
| Airline Alliance | None |
| Hubs | Brasilia, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Sao Paulo |
| U.S. Destinations | Miami, Orlando (both suspended at the moment) |
| U.S. Credit Cards | None for U.S. residents |
| Transfer Partners | None |
| Redemption Options | Flights, hotel stays, rental cars, merchandise, Uber credits, donations |
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GOL Smiles Elite Status
When you first join GOL Smiles, you automatically receive Smiles status. Above that are three elite tiers: Silver, Gold, and Diamond. To move up a tier, you need to earn a certain amount of qualifying miles or qualifying segments:
| SILVER | GOLD | DIAMOND | |
| Qualifying miles needed | 10,000 | 18,000 | 30,000 |
| Qualifying segments needed | 10 | 18 | 30 |
Elite status benefits include:
| SILVER | GOLD | DIAMOND | |
| Bonus miles | 25% | 50% | 100% |
| Free baggage | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| GOL Premium Lounge access | – | Yes | Yes |
| GOL courtesy ticket | – | – | Yes |
| Diamond special rate | – | – | Yes |
| Miles expiration (GOL flights) | 6 years | 8 years | 20 years |
| Miles expiration (other than GOL flights) | 3 years | 4 years | 10 years |
| Minimum accrual on domestic GOL flights | – | 500 miles | 1,000 miles |
See GOL Smiles elite status details here.
Earning GOL Smiles Miles
Unfortunately, GOL Smiles does not have co-branded credit cards for U.S. residents, nor transfer partners like American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy. So the easiest way for Americans to earn GOL Miles is by flying with GOL and their airline partners:
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Aeromexico
- Air Canada
- Air Europa
- Air France
- Ethiopian Airlines
- KLM
- Korean Air
- South African Airways
- TAP Air Portugal
Other ways to earn GOL Miles include:
- GOL airline purchases.
- Booking rental cars with Hertz.
- Booking cruise vacations with Smiles.
- Purchasing prepaid credits with Uber and Uber Eats.
- Shopping via the Shopping Smiles portal.
- Referring friends to Smiles Club.
There are more opportunities to earn GOL Miles, but they’re not as relevant to those living in the United States.
Redeeming GOL Smiles Miles
Most GOL Smiles members use their miles for award flights with GOL and their partner airlines:
- Aegean Airlines
- Aer Lingus
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Aeromexico
- Air Baltic
- Air Canada
- Air Europa
- Air France
- Alaska Airlines
- Alitalia
- All Nippon Airways
- Amaszonas
- American Airlines
- Avianca
- Bahamas Air
- Bangkok Airways
- Blue Panorama Airlines
- British Airways
- Brussels Airlines
- China Eastern
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- Emirates
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Fly Safair
- Garuda Indonesia
- Hahn Air Systems
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Hong Kong Airlines
- Iberia
- Jetstar
- Juneyao Air
- Kenya Airways
- KLM
- Korean Air
- MEA
- Paranair
- Royal Air Maroc
- S7 Airlines
- SAUDIA
- Scoot
- Sky Express
- South African Airways
- SpiceJet
- TAAG
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways
- Virgin Australia
- Voepass
- Volotea
- Vueling
- Westjet
If you don’t have enough miles, you can combine miles and cash to pay for award flights. GOL Miles can also be used for:
- Booking hotel stays via Smiles.
- Renting a car with Hertz.
- Shopping via the Shopping Smiles portal.
- Credits for Uber and Uber Eats.
- Charitable donations.
There are more ways to burn GOL Miles, but they’re not as useful to United States residents.
Smiles Club: Buy & Burn Miles
Smiles Club is a paid membership with plans that vary in how many GOL Miles you get per month. Obviously, the more miles you opt to receive, the more the plan costs. At the time of writing, Smiles Club plans, promotions, and pricing are as follows:
| PLAN | PROMO* | COST |
| Flat 1,000 1,000 miles/mo | 7,000 bonus miles (for your first month) | USD$7.82/mo USD$84.48/yr |
| Flat 2,000 2,000 miles/mo | 8,000 bonus miles (for your first month) | USD$14.53/mo USD$156.89/yr |
| Flat 5,000 5,000 miles/mo | 5,000 bonus miles (for your first 3 months) | USD$30.17/mo USD$325.84/yr |
| Flat 7,000 7,000 miles/mo | 7,000 bonus miles (for your first 3 months) | USD$40.79/mo USD$440.49/yr |
| Flat 10,000 10,000 miles/mo | 10,000 bonus miles (for your first 3 months) | USD$55.68/mo USD$601.40/yr |
| Flat 20,000 20,000 miles/mo | None | USD$1,647.27/yr |
*Bonus miles are valid for new members only. To qualify, you must purchase your subscription from this Smiles Club page.
All subscription plans come with the following benefits:
- Service fee waived on 5 award reservations
- Earn qualifying miles
- More bonus on purchases
- More bonus on miles purchases
- More bonus on miles transfers
- More bonus on miles reactivation
- Exclusive redemption discount
- Viaje Facil discharge bonus
- Miles valid for 10 years
- Bonus miles for referrals
Flat 20,000 members get additional perks, including:
- Automatic Diamond elite status
- Miles accumulation bonus
- GOL courtesy ticket
- Free luggage
- GOL Premium Lounge access
- Diamond special rate
- GOL guaranteed rate
- Hotel perks
- 24/7 service
Please note, Flat 1,000 to Flat 10,000 require a minimum 6-month membership. Flat 20,000 requires a minimum of 10 months.
GOL Smiles Miles Expiration
GOL Miles expire after 36 months for Smiles members. As we mentioned before, having elite status or Smiles Club membership extends the validity of your miles.
GOL Smiles Tips & Tricks
American Airlines partnership. In September 2021, American Airlines announced that they will form an exclusive partnership with GOL. Both AAdvantage and Smiles elite members will benefit from the enhanced loyalty partnership with greater luggage allowance, lounge access, priority check-in and boarding, preferred seats on the plane, and more ways to earn and burn miles. If you’re an AAdvantage member, you might want to keep an eye on this development.
Best redemptions. Using GOL Miles for award redemptions is generally not a good idea, because Smiles award pricing is often much higher compared to partner airline loyalty programs for the same flights. The best redemption option is to pay for your award flight with both miles and cash, especially for business class. You’ll get the most value for your GOL Miles this way.
Family account. If you’re a Smiles Club member or a Diamond elite member, you can have up to six people on one GOL Smiles account. This means you can earn GOL Miles up to six times faster.
Promotions. We recommend checking the GOL Smiles promotions page regularly to stay up to date on the latest offers.
Bottom Line
If you live in the United States, GOL Smiles doesn’t have a whole lot of ways to easily earn and burn miles. We suggest joining the airline loyalty program only if you travel within or to Brazil frequently. If that’s not you, you’ll want to consider another frequent flyer program.
Avianca LifeMiles is another airline loyalty program based in South America. They’re a Star Alliance member, and their transfer partners include American Express Membership Rewards and Capital One Rewards.
Check out our complete guide to domestic and international frequent flyer programs here.
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