Do you know whether, if I requested today, it could be backdated to 2/15 to pick up latter-half-of-February flights?

Ironically enough, I can provide insight on this, because they did do this for me - without asking.

I has flights in early Feb, and my challenge email came on 2/22, and it was backdated to 2/3/08 to go w/ earlier flights.

I did call to have it start on 2/22 because it will yield a better 90 days for me that way, but this shows it could be done....

I would work towards getting the challenge first, then requesting back dating..

Maybe I should read more than 5 pages back :) but I just talked to a MP CSR and was told the challenge also requires a $400 up front non-refundable payment.

that is the case for re-up challenges (so to speak) whereby you are trying to fast-track back to the status you just lost (eg, a former 1P drops to 2P and wants to take the challenge back to 1P).

for clarity, those coming in from other programs don't have to pay a fee for the UA status challenge, although the requirements have gone up since I matched this past summer.

That is a cheap challenge, It's on their website @ 799 I think

There are no fee's if you are status matching & challenging at the same time.

I'm going to status match to AA from Delta as a gold elite. Is it possible to then get a status match from AA to Northwest? I have a few miles in my AA account and it's been around for a while. Is there any way that NW would know that I had just gotten a status match? I plan to fly on NW primarily but from what I read I can't do a direct status match. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

For those who did the UA challenge, how soon did the *G card arrive after you did your 15k EQM? And did you have any trouble at international non-UA *G lounges

Not a challenge, but I got matched directly to 1P in 07 based on my AC*G status. I didn't have to push at all. Faxed in a statement and copy of card. Explained I moved from Canada to the US and would be using UA as my carrier from now on. Got an email in 24hrs, voila 1P.:D

Best part was I could get into the RCC on domestic tix while getting my 100% RDM bonus:D

I was comped bmi Gold in September 2007 based on AA status. I followed this information in this thread and this thread in the bmi forum.

Anyone know if I would be able to get CO Plat from sending proof of VS GOLD?

Thanks

Help!!!: Should I choose Continental or Delta from UA on a Status Match
 

Hi All,
I am a lowly Premier UA flyer and now my travel is changing drastically. Most of my travel was domestic and now I will be flying 3-4 times a year to Colombia (Medellin mostly). Neither UA or its partners fly there so I need to request a status match from either Continental or Delta or maybe American (but I doubt it) as they have the best flights from PDX. Since Delta has in its group Continental, Copa and Avianca I'm inclined to go with them (and I have some miles with Delta already) but I am booked for my first 10 flight trip in May with Continental/Copa and its pre-paid (I also have 4 of those flights inside Colombia with Avianca but they do not accrue status miles with Delta anyway only regular miles).
Would it make more sense to get a status match with Continental which I'm already booked on in May (and I see gives a 50% bonus on their flights with there lowest elite status) or Delta (which only gives 25% bonus but I'm not actually flying them this time but have miles already)? I see also that Continental's lowest elites do not get to have there travel companion's upgraded but Delta's lowest elites do.......
Oh, and I have no miles on my OnePass membership at all......I always requested Delta miles at the time I used Continental but I do fly Continental domestically as much as Delta so I can change that to getting OnePass miles of course.
And, what are the chances of being upgraded from PDX to Houston, Houston to Panama City???
Any advice would be a big help!
Thanks,
Rob

My impression was that CO had a stronger Central/South-American presence, so if you wanted to go other places that far south, would CO be your better choice?

Steve B.

You could of course ask for a status match on NW. Then you have
DL and CO in the system, watch out for CO reduced mileage accrual.
NW status gives you status with CO as well, including domestic FC
upgrades. I understand it's easier to get NW status match than with
CO.

Is there really no way to get American to match status? I have no interest in doing a challenge and won't travel with them unless I'm given status. Anyone found a way around this?

Don't think there is a way around it unless your corp travel agent can get you comp status match. Happens very rarely but it does. They need to be MAJOR acct for AA.

Got it today from NW. let's see if it works:

Thank you for contacting Northwest Airlines regarding a possible upgrade
of your WorldPerks account to an Elite status.

While you did not accumulate the necessary mileage credit through the
Northwest WorldPerks program, we would like to review your flight
activity for a possible exception. Please forward actual copies of your
most recent Delta and United Airlines mileage statements for the past
two months. We will also accept a copy of your latest six months online
Delta and United Airlines activity, provided your year-to-date Elite
qualifying miles are included.

Please send this information to:

WorldPerks Customer Service Center
Attn: Emily Hayes
601 Oak St
Chisholm MN 55719-1995

Or via fax at 218-254-7567

Please be advised that we are unable to accept the following forms of
documentation--travel agency reports, letters of Elite status,
membership cards indicating Elite status with another airline, or travel
itineraries.

Please also note, for security measures, we are not able to access or
open attachments/scanned material.

We appreciate your interest in the WorldPerks program and would consider
it a privilege to serve your future air travel needs.

If you have any additional questions, concerns, or need further
assistance, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Lee Braaten
WorldPerks Customer Service Center

If you have a choice of carriers within Colombia you can earn EQM on flights with Aerorepublica on your Onepass account, if you choose to switch to CO. That way you can fly CO or Copa (CM) to and from Colombia and Aerorepublica within.

DL status match
 

At what time does it seem safe to assume a DL status match won't happen this weekend?
According to what I read here DL status changes early Saturday morning, I assume this means US time. I have asked them for a match about 10 days ago and want to book flights, but my decision sort of depends on whether I would be statusless when flying them (or a Skyteam member..) or have status.

I haven't heard back from them at all so far.

I requested mine on a friday and it showed up the next friday night (1 week later)... if you don't see something today, you may wanna write a letter and Fed Ex it as that option seems reliable.

Yeah, I'll write them a letter. I am just not sure whether I should send it to the European or US customer service center?
I'll probably go for the US one, as the letter should be on the way just a bit longer and I suppose they would have more authority on these things.

Fax No for Status Match
 

Hi,
I'm planing a Status Match from LH FTL to bmi *S. Does anyone know how to do that?

Is there a fax no. available?

Markus

SkyTeam Elite Plus
 

Are there any SkyTeam airlines other than CO who might potentially match up to top-tier, Elite Plus level. I'm coming from Air Canada Super-Elite and also have BA Silver.

Status matches to bmi are covered extensively in this thread in the bmi forum. It also gives the fax number several times.

However, as noted as early as the third post in that thread, bmi do not generally match within *A. Most airlines don't match partners, since a status match is an attempt to get a customer away from a competitor and this is considered bad manners within an alliance. You may be able to justify an exception if, say, you are moving from Germany to the UK, but it will be an exception. If you explain in your initial request why your situation justifies such an exception, your chances will improve. Otherwise, you run the risk of being turned down before you have a chance to explain. It will be harder to persuade them to reverse themselves, once they're on record as having said "no," than to justify a "yes" from the start.

Hi there,

apparently my previously sent faxes weren't lost entirely, when logging in today (Thursday) I was greeted as Silver Medallion. Too bad my shot for GM by mentioning previous year's 60,000 EQM on LH didn't work out. :D
I suppose my letter I sent two days ago was superfluous now, but oh well..

BMI Status matching?
 

Hi all

In the past i know that BMI status matched to other airlines such as KLM (af) ..after a phone call to the DC line today the agent who i spoke to said that they only match to BA now?

Has anyone else recently had any luck status matching to them ?

Thanks


P.

I don't know how you define "recent," but I know for a fact that they matched AA status on at least one occasion as recently as September 2007 (six months ago).

How long did it take to get the status match on NW? I faxed my info in earlier this week. Should I also be calling CS or someone, because I just followed the instruction at the beginning of this thread.

I did it 2 weeks ago. no reply yet. I emailed them again few days ago. No reply yet.

Thank you for contacting Northwest Airlines in regard to upgrading your
WorldPerks account.

A variety of criteria, including information from your Delta Airlines
mileage summary, is considered when evaluating requests from members to
match elite status from another airline. After reviewing the
information provided to us on your SkyMiles account, your Northwest
WorldPerks account has been upgraded to Silver Elite status. This
one-time complimentary membership upgrade will remain valid through
February 28, 2009.

Your credentials are now being processed and will be mailed to the
address on file. You may expect to receive your Silver Elite kit in
approximately three weeks.

al613,

Did you use the fax number from this thread? (218) 254-7567?

Status match to NW Gold occured today, March 29. Haven't received an e-mail yet, but logged on today and saw my new status. Just in time to make plans for a business trip to MCO next week. Took less than 2 weeks.

HA To Status Match AQ Thru 2008
 

This is pretty cool: with the demise of Aloha Airlines effective 4/1/08, Hawaiian Airlines will status match any AQ elites who care to do so, with the ease of a simple fax.

AQ Silver and Golds will be status matched to HA Gold; AQ Diamonds will be status matched to HA Platinum; status good for the rest of 2008.

Details: http://www.hawaiianair.com/Specialof...PassElite.aspx

I told a colleague about this thread and he just got matched to UA Prem Exec from BA Gold. However this is only a 90 day status match and includes a 15,000 mile/18 flight challenge! What is interesting is the fact that UA won't send him a card until after he passes the challenge. I found this a bit confusing as I'm sure it is *A policy to insist on seeing the actual *G card for lounge access?

Your friend must be confused. It seems to be a challenge, not a match.

You would think. But I literally sat next to him as he showed me the email. It congratulated him and said he was now a prem exec for 90 days and to keep this he must fly x miles on UA metal. He even logged into his account and it shows Prem Exec status.

I know that *A airlines will automatically print "*G" on your boarding pass if you have the status, but every time I have been into a lounge, I always get asked for my *G card.

Does anyone has an idea about a statusmatch from LH FTL to TY Silver?
With an C flight and the additional 50% for a C flight (as a silver member) the 40k should be done easy.
What do you think?

M

I will be moving to ATL and have to move from AA to DL. Will try to get my PLT matched. Does anybody know what the magic "cutoff" for a request is to get status for the full year 2009? Presumably sometime around June, but the earlier the better (as I am already flying DL now quite a bit).
Thanks!

Typically July 1 or later to get the entire following year.

It really is not a match. If your friend does not fulfill the mileage requirement he will be base again. So you may call it a challenge in disguise as a match. UA does not have any matches, you will be hard pressed to find any carrier flat out matching.

This isn't unique to *A. OW does the same thing, with BA being the most notorious for not accepting anything in lieu of a real card. Airline computers often print the status a ticket-holder had when the ticket was booked, which may no longer apply. Also, it's easy to alter a boarding pass to show status: check in at home, get a PDF instead of printing directly, and alter it in a graphics program - or any of several other ways. (If you're concerned with using a falsified document to board a plane, print two: one legit, one that says you're super-diamond-platinum with three oak leaves.) Combined with these is the fact that the staff of many lounges can't check partner airline status via their computers. Bottom line: things will probably stay this way for a while, so carry the card or be prepared not to be let in.