Thank you so much for the detailed response. Just one point of clarification, did you status match off of a status that was expiring at the end of January 2019 or something that was valid for a longer period?
Originally Posted by
muaddib89
I
think you should be ok, and based on my experience of doing a DL challenge earlier this year, here's why:
- Your trip ends March 28, so you'd need the challenge to end after March 28.
- Challenges start the day that they process your request, not the day you apply.
- It took about 5 days for my request to be processed (I applied on January 31st and the challenge began on February 5). Their language in the automated email after I applied said "Status Match Challenge requests are usually reviewed within 5 business days, but please allow up to 2 weeks."
So if you apply on 12/28 and end up having a ~5 day lag between applying and DL processing it, your challenge would begin in the first couple days of January, putting your March 21-28 trip well within the 3 month period of the challenge.
FYI, here's the email I received on February 5th after applying for the challenge on January 31: