Status match with other elite programs
 

I will reach 1K next week. I am thinking of asking FlyingBlue/Delta and maybe a third alliance member if they will status match, as I sometimes need to fly other airlines within Europe/Asia/North America.

Does it matter if I ask for the status match before Jan. 1, or can I do it after?
Any programs that I should definitely ask or avoid? Thanks,

fduvall

Although there are hundreds of posts to wade through, I recommend looking at the "Status Match Master Thread" to attempt to answer your question: http://www.flyertalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9558

I am going to move this to Miles Buzz where it is more apt....

cblaisd
Moderator, United

Just remember that status-matching is usually a once-in-a-lifetime type deal. Do it once and you've used up your shot at that airline.

Say if you had 1K, and were comped elite on DL or something- would you still be a 1K with UA?

Yes. What Delta does is its own business and doesn't affect UA. It's not like you might lose your citizenship in some countries if you swear allegiance to another one. (That doesn't happen as much as it used to, either.) It's just as if you earned your UA status, then flew enough on DL to earn theirs.

(That happened to me when AA comped me Platinum several years back to get me to switch from DL. It worked, I didn't fly Delta much any more, but I didn't lose my status and had some DL elite level for a while after that based on dropping just one level per year.)

There are likely ways around the once-in-a-lifetime stipulation, but they're probably not worth the time.

E.g., you get comped NW plat from AA EXP. You maintain AA EXP but lose NW plat. But the next year you're going to fly NW a lot and really want plat again (and you'd rather have NW plat than CO or DL status). So you use your AA EXP to get comped to US CP and then use that US CP to get a new NW account (with different address) comped again to NW plat.

not really once in a lifetime... just sign up for a brand new frequent flier card with a new address and use that to match.

Ugh, this reminds me that I'm going to have to give up on my Korean citizenship for an American citizenship. No-dual citizenship rule in S. Korea is such a pain,