yyj9

I do a little bit of flying on BA and will be on Qantas this year, but do not have status. Anyone know of any one world member that will status match an SE high enough for lounge access? I've contacted CX, but don't know what my chances are.
Thanks

Crampedin13A

Why not get the AMEX Plat card which gives you CX Gold which is OW Sapphire which gives you lounge access among other benefits?

shuuy

Depends what airline as well you want to fly in the US. Oneworld isn't as good as *A for cross-member benefits.

With my CX Gold, I don't get any additional baggage allowance, or priority boarding on QF (I do get lounge access and semi-priority seating).

yyj9

Haha, I don't want to fly ANY airline in the US. When I do, I usually manage to stay on air Canada. I'm not looking to switch programs, just want pleasant travel this year if I can get it.

I imagine the Amex platinum comes with a hefty fee? Not sure I want lounge access bad enough to pay too much for it. Any idea what it is? (Just being lazy, I'll go look)

Thanks

YEG USER

Fee is $699/year but it also comes with a bunch of other benefits such as Priority Pass, status with Starwood Hotels, fast track Fairmont Status, access to Fine Hotels and Resorts and others benefits.

Included is also a $200 annual travel credit when booking though the Amex TA (no booking fees for platinum cardholders) which basically brings the annual fee down to $499).

Price is steep, but I find I make good use of the benefits offered by the card, and I haven't even applied for CX status yet.

sp4294

I have been thinking about the best use for this. Thoughts?

YEG USER

Any regular priced air travel with a value greater than $200. It's not like a points redemption where you are trying for a greater CPM. $200 is $200.

smarsh102

I believe it's any travel (not just air) arranged through the Amex travel agents. I know it applies to hotel stays.

YEG USER

Interesting. I did not realize that. How does it work? For things such as a FHR stay you pay the hotel directly, so is the credit applied after your stay?

When I said "regular priced air fare" I meant that if someone had an AC discount code (which AFAIK they can't use via Amex) they would always be better off to purchase the ticket direct via AC instead of paying regular price via Amex, and save the $200 credit when they couldn't find a website discount elsewhere.

Santander

It's pretty easy to get a SL match on CX for lounge access while flying CX but it doesn't do much for you if you fly QF. LA will status match to mid-tier, but I think you need to have travel booked on them first. AA has a status challenge, it's 10k EQP to Plat (OW Sapphire). 10k EQP is equivalent to 20k EQM on cheapo fares though, so it's not quite as easy as it sounds but recent reports say that they do advance you Gold status if you have travel booked. BA/QF/IB are all easy to get status on if you fly longhaul C, so if your first planned OW flight is longhaul C, you'll probably be halfway to the respective Sapphire tier after only one r/t flight.

If all else fails, get an Amex Plat (Personal only! Us Business Plat people get shut out) for CX Gold or buy QF Club membership.

KenHamer

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Pretty much all of this contradicts my experience:

1. Unlike many *A airlines that seem to think members of *other* programs are interlopers (ie SQ + LH lounge access or lack thereof, no E+ on UA, etc) ow airlines do a much better job of preferential treatment for status passengers.

2. With mid-tier status on BA and later AA QF offered me priority check-in, priority boarding, better handling during IROPS, waived $200-$300 in excess and overweight baggage fees per segment, and threw in extras like blocking a middle seat for me on oversold flights.

3. Lounge access, of course.

It's been almost two years since I last flew QF so things may have changed. But for those brief periods where my ow status had lapsed, the differences (lost benefits) were huge.

KenHamer

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I've never understood this siiliness of spending as little as possible (and doing it several times over, not too mention needing to fly 3 times as far) when doing mileage runs. There are lots of AA routes where an F fare can be had for $800 or less, and earn enough for AA's Platinum challenge on a single trip. And if you don't want to spring for F higher (M, B and Y) fares also earn 1.5x COS.

mileageking

Are you able to share any F routes?

RooFlyer

I agree with the above, but that doesn't help the OP very much, sorry.

I'm not aware of any *A or OW airline that will status match you from the other alliance for a one off (or even 2-off) trip. It would rather cancel out what they are trying to do with 'loyalty perks'.

I gather you won't be flying J on QF? If you were, status match wouldn't be required of course.

If we are talkimg about AMEX plat cards, is there any type that doesn't require Canadain or USA residency, or a SIN/Social Security number? I can manage a Canadian address and a bank account at a pinch, but I usually come to a halt when it asks for a Social Security etc number (Aussie citizen and resident).

KenHamer

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There is now no longer a requirement to provide a SIN on Canadian credit applications. Creditors *may* ask, but they must explicitly state it is optional, and may not use it in credit granting decisions.

In North America comps and/or challenges are common across alliances but rare within an alliance.