How to get an airline status match

You’ve done the hard miles – quite literally, flying tens of thousands of them – to land Gold, Platinum or some other level of frequent flyer status with the airline of your choosing.

This status delivers a raft of practical benefits: priority check-in and boarding to lounge access, complimentary and preferential seat selection, a higher checked luggage allowance and more.

But did you know you can use that status as your springboard to unlock the same perks with other airlines – sometimes with just one or two flights, or without setting foot on a plane?

And if that ‘other airline’ belongs to the Oneworld, SkyTeam or Star Alliance families, your newly-minted elite status will be vaid across a dozen or more additional carriers.

Making it all possible is a status match. It's the secret weapon of savvy travellers, and here's what you need to know to get in on the action.

Instant lounge access is one of the headline benefits of a status match.

What is a status match?

A status match is when one airline offers you complimentary frequent flyer status in its own rewards program, based on the status you hold with a competing airline.

This might be an equivalent or broadly-comparable tier, or to a level that’s one rung down from the status you hold with your current airline.

Some status match offers are almost instant, with no flying needed, and run for a whole year.

Others belong to the more rigorous category of a status challenge or status fast-track.

This will grant you status for a limited period – typically 90 days – during which you need to take enough flights with the airline to earn a certain number of status credits (sometimes also known as tier miles or qualifying miles) and keep that Silver, Gold or Platinum card for a full year.

SkyTeam Elite status offers the SkyPriority fast-track for check-in, airport security and boarding.

Airlines offer status matches to entice high-value passengers with a competitor to jump ship, by offering them a shortcut to status in its own loyalty program.

That lets you sample them without having to forego all the perks you’ve become accustomed to – and, in the ideal world, to fly with them again, and again.

How much does a status match cost?

Status matches have traditionally been free of charge.

However, there’s been a recent trend towards paid status matches and status challenges offered by airlines through the StatusMatch.com service.

These can cost anywhere from US$99 to US$359, depending on the airline and tier.

Are you eligible for a status match?

A status match is typically reserved for high-tier flyers – for example, Gold or Platinum – because that status is proof they travel frequently, and quite possibly in premium cabins like business class.

This makes them far more valuable to airlines than travellers who sit lower down the loyalty ladder.

Which airlines offer a status match?

Some airlines will make a status match available as a short-term promotion or an ongoing offer.

Here are some always-on status match offers:

• American Airlines AAdvantage status match
• Delta Air Lines SkyMiles Medallion Status Match Challenge
• United Airlines MileagePlus Premier Status Match Challenge
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Elite Status Match

Delta Air Lines runs a year-round annual status challenge promotion.

Other airlines prefer their status match to be an invitation-only affair, extended to a high-value frequent flyer at its discretion and assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Here are some airlines where you need to ask for a status match, with no guarantee it will be granted:

• Cathay Pacific Cathay status match
• Emirates Skywards status match
• Qantas Tier Accelerator status match

The Qantas Tier Accelerator status match unlocks Gold-grade benefits across all Oneworld airlines.

The StatusMatcher website is an excellent resource for tracking the outcome of status match requests across airlines (and hotels).

The bottom line: if you’re seeking a status match from a particular airline, the simplest way is just to ask them.

How to apply for a status match

If you’re applying for a status match or status challenge offered through a short-term promotion or an always-on campaign, the airline’s website will have an online form where you enter all your details, along with a clear set of eligibility criteria.

Expect to upload a scan or photo of your current mid- or high-tier frequent flyer card, and a copy of your activity statement showing that you have earned that status from flying.

On the other hand, applying for an invitation-only status match really puts the onus on you to prove you deserve that opportunity and would be a good catch – a customer with the potential to spend a lot of money with the airline once that gratis status is granted.

This may be based not only on how often you travel and what your future travel plans are (if you can point to an emerging pattern of travel on that airline), but also if you make travel decisions for your company or clients.

Frequent flyers, especially in premium cabins, are a prize catch for airline status match offers.

If possible, call the airline’s frequent flyer call centre, let them know your current status with a competing airline and state you’re interested in applying for a status match or challenge. (It can also help at this stage if you’ve got several trips coming up which might be booked through the airline you’re calling).

It also helps to show you’re status-savvy, by knowing that airline’s equivalent tier to your current rating.

Try to get a specific email address to send your status match or status challenge request: this makes follow-up easier than sending it to a generic email address.

(If you get a ‘Sorry, we don’t do status matches’ answer, try calling back a while later to catch a different operator – you may get a more positive response.)

Qantas offers an on-request status challenge, so make your best case...

In your email request, consider making the following points to underscore your prospective ‘value’ to the airline:

• how frequently do you travel, and on what routes, and in what classes?
• have you heard good things about the airline from friends/colleagues?
• has your company recently landed a contract which could involve a lot of travel with this airline?
• have you changed jobs or roles, resulting in a likely increase in flights with this airline?
• what are your travel plans for the next quarter, half-year or year (and can you point them to an emerging pattern of travel on their own flights?)
• do you make the travel decisions – and especially airline decisions – for your company or clients?

As a rule, you’ll need to supply a scan of your card and a copy of your most recent account statement.

Reiterate your usefulness and value to them as a customer when you send all this in – it certainly can’t hurt.

Finally, remember that a status match is for the airline to decide and to give – so don’t go in with an air of expectation.

Just make your case, play your best hand and let things take their course.