The Status Match Master Thread
 

As we approve the end of a benefits year, airlines are beginning to reveal changes to their frequent flyer programs for 2004. They want more revenue at a lower cost. Their static models probably predict that their changes will accomplish this. Some may, some may not.

But I believe it's important for us to remember that while they're doing their job, we don't have to be sympathetic. After all, we're customers. And we have every right to seek out the product that best fits our needs. If an airline program offers a better deal for our flying and buying patterns, by all means we should take advantage of that offer!

And many airlines make it easier for us to do so -- by matching our current status with elite privileges in their program.

One of the most frequently asked questions on Flyertalk, throughout the various forums, is "Will airline X match my titanium status in the Infinite Airways program?" or something to that effect. And since fellow flyers are beginning to think about their plans for 2004, I thought I'd take a stab at summarizing the "who will match what? and how do I do it?" conventional wisdom.

Of course, this is general advice. It doesn't work in every case. And my knowledge may be superceded by better and more recent information. But this is what I've collected over time. If you would like to correct me, please do so. It will only make for a better information summary. And thread links are welcome!

So here goes ---

Continental

Will match status, generally to equivalent level up to Platinum (top tier)

They seem concerned about fraud, so require a bunch of information:

• A copy of your current elite status card.
• A copy of your latest elite statement.
• A copy of your current One Pass Membership Card.
• A copy of your current One Pass statement.

Along with a note explaining you'd like to shift your busy to them if they'll match your current status.

Update 1/21/06: Per post # 429 in this thread:

OA Match Request
P.O. Box 4757
Houston, TX 77210-4757

Fax: 832-235-2713.


United

Will match status, generally to equivalent level up to Premier Executive (mid-tier)

Send a copy of your current elite statement or elite card along with a note explaining you'd like to shift your busy to them if they'll match your current status to:

(Updated fax # 5/19/06)
(Updated fax # 10/20/06)

America West (defunct, contact info deleted)


Delta

Will match status, generally to equivalent level up to Gold (mid-tier)

Send a copy of your current elite statement or elite card along with a note explaining you'd like to shift your busy to them if they'll match your current status to:

[Edit] There are recent reports of Delta offering "challenges" in response to status match requests -- that is, fly x segments in y days for status.

American

American will consistently match United status to equivalent level up to mid-tier (Platinum). They are quirkier about matching status from other carriers. Sometimes they'll offer Gold status. Sometimes they'll just ask you to complete a challenge (miles flown in 90 days). Sometimes they'll offer Gold status and a challenge for Platinum.

For the best consolidated discussion of challenges, see this summary by FewMiles.

Alaska

Will match status, generally to equivalent level -- with midtier on most carriers being equivalent to Alaska's MVP Gold (top tier)

Fax a copy of your current elite statement or membership card to:
Northwest

Northwest will match status, but they're quirky.

Sometimes they'll match to equivalent level up to Gold (midtier). Other times they reject status match requests outright. I'm not an expert as to why.

Send:
Your WorldPerks account number
Copies of your most recent (2) elite mileage statements

They will not accept:
Travel agency reports
Letters of elite status
Membership cards indicating elite status with another airline
Travel itineraries.

Mail information to:
USAirways

[b]Update:[/b} As of late 2007 USAirways will no longer match status. They will sell you temporary status and a fast track instead.

Outdated information:
Will match status, generally to equivalent level up to Chairman's Preferred (top tier)

Send a copy of your current elite statement or elite card along with a note explaining you'd like to shift your busy to them if they'll match your current status to:

Mexicana

Will match status, generally to equivalent level up to Gold (top tier)

You can make your request by emailing <[email protected]> and saying that you'd like to move your business to Mexicana if they'll match your status.

You will be requested to provide proof of your current elite status by forwarding a copy of your current airline elite card or elite statement. A scan attached to an email reply will suffice.

If you don't hear back in a few days, email again. Mexicana is just like that. But Enrique is a nice guy. [Edited to say that per kempis, Enrique is no longer at MX. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif )


Airtran -- Updated 11/27/03

From December 1 to December 31, 2003 Airtran is offering a formal elite status match program.

Just print their elite status match form, provide your Airtran account information and your competitor elite status information, include a frequent flyer statement (July 1 2003 or more recent) and fax it all to 1-912-966-6378, attention: Elite Matching Program. You should receive an elite card in 3-4 weeks.


Frontier -- Updated 11/27/03

Send your name, EarlyReturns number, and most recent airline elite statement to [email protected] or fax to (720) 374-4375 (attn: Quick Ascent).

Accounts with matched status also earn 5000 bonus miles for each flight (up to 15,000 bonus miles) for flights taken by January 31, 2004.

Update 1/21/06: Reply #13 in this thread reports that the 'QuickAscent' program was discontinued 12/31/05.


British Midland

IBritish Midland may be the only non-North American program with a regular status match program. Full details can be found in this thread.


Airlines that will not generally match status:

• Air Canada
• Lufthansa
• British Airways - with some exceptions for very significant revenue or through a corporate contract
• Air France (per dctorres)
• Cathay Pacific
• Singapore

There are exceptions to every rule, as I'm reminded by this thread which reports that Lufthansa is easy to get a comp from if you're in Turkey or China. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Bear in mind that status matches are generally one-time only affairs -- so only request the match if you plan to use the status and requalify. Otherwise it's a future opportunity wasted.

[Edit] Per suggestions below, let me also note that getting comped from one airline in an alliance to another airline in an alliance is usually much harder. Airlines often have "no poaching" rules, so that United is usually unwilling to match Lufthansa status, and Continental and Northwest are generally unwilling to match each others' status. There are documented exceptions, of course, and the closeness of the alliance is often a factor here. But showing elite status outside of an alliance often produces better results.

It would be great if folks would help keep this up to date. Then, when posters ask about comping procedures, we could just link a single thread...

Best regards,
Gary

------------------
View from the Wing: A blog about Free Miles and Free Markets

[This message has been edited by gleff (edited Nov 27, 2003).]

Members of the CO/DL/NW alliance will generally not comp each other's members as part of an anti-poaching policy.

Good info here. Printed out my UA request tonight; will mail it in tomorrow. 98% chance it's bye-bye OnePass.

The most helpful and useful thread I have seen all week gleff. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

Have bookmarked it, as you are correct - this gets asked a LOT on FT.

And I'd like to reinforce your accurate observation:

Bear in mind that status matches are generally one-time only affairs -- so only request the match if you plan to use the status and re-qualify. Otherwise it's a future opportunity wasted.

I have seen instances where newbies have found FT, get all excited, run around to 4 airlines and get a shiny Gold card for no good reason other than they "can" and of course all 4 expired a year or so later. When they REALLY need the comp due to relocation etc, they are SOL. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Just one GENERAL observation - the Star Alliance airlines will NOT typically get excited about comping a top Elite from another Star Partner unless for a good reason - like proven relocation etc. In short a kind of unwritten "Anti-Poaching" agreement.

i.e. if I wrote Singapore Airlines with my 1K card details it is not likely they'd embrace me NEAR as much as say a Cathy Pacific top elite. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Have no idea what the One World members policy is on this.

------------------
~ Glen ~ From exit row seat 15A on a United 747-400 near you SOON!

Great thread, great post.

Like to add that UA turned me down (SkyTeam Elite Plus) because they said "we don't do match programs with AF".

Edited to add: I have been hearing a lot of reports of DL only doing challenges now. Are they still doing comps?

[This message has been edited by dctorres (edited 10-03-2003).]

dupe

[This message has been edited by dctorres (edited 10-03-2003).]

This is not true. It may be true for NW/CO, but NW comped me Gold Elite based on my DL Gold Medallion status in August.

Very nice work Gleff! Our friend Enrique at MX is not working there anymore http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Edited for recent reports about Delta offering challenges rather status matches, to note mixed results (at best) for matches within an alliance, and to note that Enrique no longer is at MX. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Another that won't do a status match is BA.

They are known to give a comp. membership based on corporate spending (think in the 10's of thousands, nothing like the "big spenders" on UA that rack up $5000 a year for 1K).

Updated, Scott.

Perhaps someone else would like to start a similar thread for hotels? (While I suppose I could do searches in all the hotel forums and read lots of threads) I just don't feel like I'm currently a sufficient expert on the subject...

Another useful piece of information to add to this thread would be information about status EXPIRATION policies/tier drops on the various airlines:

For example, even if I make NW platinum this year (flying 75,000 EQM), if I fly almost no miles on NW the following year my status will drop to nothing. But I've heard that on some other airlines (I think AA) you only drop one elite level per year, so it gives you at least a couple more years of SOME status on that airline, which could be important to some of us.

Does anyone have a quick summary or link to various airline tier-dropping policies?

Thought I mentioned this earlier, but didn't -- AF does generally not comp (in fact, I've only heard of one instance of it happening).

Right NOW United drop you totally if you do not fly AFAIK.

i.e. if a 1K during 2003 did not fly they'd likely be a ZERO status for 2004.

As a further addition to gleff's initial post, maybe a footnote under each plan to folks as to the OPTIMUM time to apply for a comp would greatly assist new comp seekers.

Some plans comp you only to end Feb 2004 if you are approved by Date x, but to end Feb 2005 if approved a week later.

Such dates are WELL worth posting!


------------------
~ Glen ~ From exit row seat 15A on a United 747-400 near you SOON!

Based on anecdotal evidence, US generally does not comp to Chairman's Preferred, though it is known to happen.

Excellent info http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Anyone know what hotels policies for matching are?

My only experience with requesting a comp from US was for a friend of mine out of NYC (early 2003). She faxed in her DL Plat and received US Chairmans. No problem, no questions. That's why I didn't qualify my statement. But of course YMMV, and more data points here are useful.

A quick note on bmi's comping policy:

As it currently stands, they will match BA Status like for like (i.e. BA Silver comped to BD Silver, BA Gold comped to BD Gold).

Just fax in a request, along with a printout from the BA site showing your status, or a BA statement showing your BA status.

Regards,
Alex

Gary,

Thanks, great thread.

It would be nice to have an up-to-date spread sheet of what each plan offers

qualification (ie miles, segments, mileage multipliers, etc.)

Benefits

Quirks (ie DL waives charges for some overweight bags for elites etc.)

Hilton - Comp anyone with a pulse
Starwood - Will match Hilton
Marriott - Depends on who you talk to(I got a gold comp through 2005 from a Hilton Diamond without docs) -

Made this mistake with Delta a couple of years ago got comped a year before I really needed it and ended up connecting in Bush since I had status when Delta would have gotten me there non-stop

Unless someone knows different right now would probably only get you status through February 2004 with very little time to earn status for the following year.

There is some magical date (< January 1, 2004) where the status will be extended through 2005. At that point you could make the decision to fly and earn on the program that makes the most since in the total travel package

I have no personal experience with this, but some past threads here seem to imply that the "once in a lifetime rule" doesn't always apply.

Can someone verify?:

(*) United will continue to comp high elites from competing airlines. (In other words, they will comp a DL Platinum to PremEx every year, if asked, even with minimal UA activity).

(*) Alaska will comp every other year.

To further expand on what ScottC stated, BA does comp/status match, whatever, but want one of the following:

1) For you to be from a market that they are "hungry" in (I would think for example that Holland would be a target for them at the moment).

2) That you can demonstrate that you are a big flier (just hitting 100k a year isn't enough as Scott correctly notes, however if you can show that it was all flying J, you'll get it)

Thanks for the info!

You never know how your situation will change and what airline you'll need. With the once in a lifetime comp in mind, I'm going to start printing out all of my year end statements for all airlines and hotels.

I was going to try and score a status match from Northwest a few months ago and they asked me to fax in current AND year end statements. From the web I could get the year end statement from 2002 from United but not from USAir, they only go back 6 months, and I really didn't feel like calling them.

Again, thanks for the list!

Peace

Might be a good topic for a new thread.

So far as I know:

Lufthansa Miles and More will drop you only one level if you don't requalify (however, they give you two calendar years to requalify - but you must requalify in one of them, can't carry status miles over from one year to the next).

KLM Flying Dutchman drops you one tier at a time, at least for the moment.

NOTE that these policies can change - without prior notice.


[This message has been edited by Counsellor (edited 10-04-2003).]

When National went under, America West gave us Silver with a challenge for Gold.

QL

UA (PremEx) and AA (Plat) have comped me three years running, along with Delta (Gold) and CO (Plat) twice. These were tied to our corporate contracts so I don't think I've burned my one-in-a-lifetime with them. I just sent a copy of my US CP statement with 225K YTD miles to our travel agency and they handled the rest.

when continental started the HoKey nonsense, I sought a comp from American. They comped my platinum continental status (at the time i was flying about 110 segments and 90-100K miles on CA) to platinum (mid-tier).
it was straightforward and consisted of faxing a recent month's continental statement

Any knowledge (links, especially) regarding:
Airtran, ANA, TG, SQ, CX, NZ, QF, Frontier, SAS..?

I'd love to incorporate more knowledge into the thread. Thanks! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Re: the commonly accepted "one-time only" rule

Does anyone have any experience with "friends" getting comped on an airline a second time by opening up a second account at the airline on which they want to be comped? Or do the airlines cross-reference names/addresses/etc. for a status match request?

I am very interested in getting a comp on UA (I have AA Platinum, but would like to try UA next year). If I call now, would I be comped to Feb '04 or Feb '05? If '04, then when is a good time to ask to ensure status until '05?

I'd say you'd be safe after October 15th.

Just to be sure, I'd specifically ask for Premier Executive status for all of 2004 (exp 2/05).

Don't suppose that's because they themselves know a thing or two about deception or misrepresentation, eh? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

OK, on topic, for the run-to-the-moderator grubbers: "I am happy that I got comped on United. And by the way I am a frequent flyer. Thank you."

Nice thread!

Does anyone know if US and UA will match each others program status given the alliance?

It's a safe assumption not.

However, comping within an alliance has been known to happen even after being told that it's against policy.

For instance, there are reports of a LH SEN being initially denied a status match by UA and then being granted status on appeal.

So one can always ask. But comping within an alliance is usually much harder, at least.

My guess is that its mostly american airlines who comp people. I believe that alot of airlines based outside of the US hasnt even heard of comp. I tried once with BU(Since I had KL status and they where leaving the KL alliance), they said no. I have also got no from Swissair.

On the other hand MX seems to comp everyone http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

if you have ANY elite status with an airline, starwood will be MORE than happy to give you gold status.

Will they? Or will they likely mail you Gold status unsolicited? (In other words, will they comp you upon seeing you have status, or will they just get your name off a list and possibly mail you a gold card?)

I sense the need for a hotels version of this thread..

SR actively solicited my personal business on two occasions (although I was flying them a lot but throwing everything toward DL at the time). It is my understanding that LX will comp just about everyone/everything. I do not know what BU is....

Quick Note on UA:

United's policy on upgrading has always been if you get a COMP before July you get it until March of the following year. If it is July or After... you get it for that year, the next year and expires March of the following year.

AA did not comp me based on 1K.. they gave me a platinum challenge.. no problem.. one RT flight on CX.. got me platinum. they do it with qualify points.. 5000 for Gold Challenge, 10000 for Platinum challenge, ANYONE CAN GET THE CHALLENGE.. you basically have 90 days to do it....