A special double miles offer is being made to cardholders of all oneworld member airlines’ frequent flyer programmes – including those of airberlin’s topbonus programme – to mark the addition to the alliance today of Germany’s second biggest airline, along with its group member Austria’s NIKI.

topbonus members will receive double topbonus award miles when flying on any oneworld partner from today until 15 May 2012 – as long as they register first at airberlin.com/miles. Similarly, members of existing oneworld airlines’ loyalty programmes will receive double mileage awards when flying on airberlin from today until 15 May 2012. For further details, see member airlines’ websites.

topbonus Silver and Gold cardholders – along with members of its new Platinum tier for its most frequent flyers – have been mailed new membership cards, bearing the oneworld logo and the alliance’s “gemstone” tier status symbol, to ensure that they receive the alliance’s full range of services and benefits when travelling throughout the entire oneworld network from today.

The new topbonus Platinum Card is equivalent to the alliance’s Emerald frequent flyer top tier.

That means that its cardholders and a guest can now access any of more than 550 First or Business Class lounges offered by oneworld’s member airlines – American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines and their 20 or so affiliated airlines - worldwide when they travel on any oneworld flight, no matter in which class they are booked.

Those lounges include many judged among the best in the world in the various airline industry award schemes.

oneworld is the only alliance to offer top tier frequent flyers access to First Class lounges when they are not booked to travel in the First Class cabin.

topbonus Platinum cardholders will now also be able to check-in at the First Class counters of the oneworld airlines, even if they travel in Economy or Business class.

airberlin’s topbonus Gold Card is equivalent to oneworld Sapphire, enabling cardholders, accompanied by a guest, to use any Business Class or Frequent Flyer lounge offered by oneworld’s member airlines worldwide when they travel on any oneworld flight, no matter in which class they are booked.

They can also check-in at Business Class desks when they depart on any oneworld flight, no matter in which cabin they are travelling.

As oneworld Emerald and Sapphire frequent flyers, topbonus Platinum and Gold cardholders can now board any oneworld airline’s flight when they choose, rather than wait for passengers in the cabin in which they are booked to be called for boarding.

topbonus Silver cardholders have become oneworld Ruby frequent flyers.

Like oneworld Sapphire members, they can check-in at Business Class desks when they depart on any oneworld flight, no matter in which cabin they are travelling.

All three oneworld tiers – Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby – are also offered priority standby and waitlisting on any oneworld airline, if the flight they want to travel on is fully booked.

In addition, they can pre-reserve their preferred seat on any oneworld flight, whenever this service is available.

Another key change for topbonus cardholders now airberlin has joined oneworld is that they can earn topbonus status miles when they fly on any oneworld member airline, helping them move up to a higher tier, with more services and benefits, or retain their existing status.

Since it was invited to join oneworld in July 2010, airberlin has developed frequent flyer links with a number of the alliances carriers – American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, LAN, Royal Jordanian and S7 – enabling topbonus cardholders to earn miles when flying on those airlines and to redeem them on those carriers. Now that has been extended to cover all oneworld members – Iberia, Japan Airlines and Qantas and their affiliates.

That means that topbonus members can now earn and redeem miles across a network serving some 800 destinations in 150 countries.