Malev status match - worth doing?!?
 

Hi all.

Am a QF WP (OW Emerald) and am flying Malev next month and just noticed this very interesting offer on their website.

https://www.malev.com/offers/fly-at-a-higher-level

Travel on any Malév scheduled flight between 1 April - 30 June 2010 and if you have a premium tier loyalty card with any other airline Malév Duna Club will match it, thus entitling you to even more benefits from our loyalty programme

Firstly this may be of interest to others, but secondly the bit that interests me is the words "any other airline": this implies that they will status match from other OW airlines. Can this be correct?

If so, I was wondering if there was any point me matching my QF status to get equiv. in Malev - generally speaking I would not bother, but from what I can gather on their website their top-tier comes with both free upgrades (on MA metal of course) and "gold card for a family member" (with no conditions stipulated).

The upgrade thing seems to be confirmed on FLYGVA's Emerald Status chart, but there is no mention of the 'gold card [OW Sap.] for family member' benefit.

Can any here familiar with the Malev Duna Club prog. (as there seems to be no Malev forum on FT) advise whether these two benefits are as I described, or if it is not quite so exciting when you look at the fine print! ;)

Thanks!

The only thread that describes the Malev FFP and elite levels is here.

While it might help you (a little) upgrade while on MA metal, the last sentence of the OP seems to sum it up: .

YMMV, but free elite status can never hurt, right?

Thanks wonderbret
And this is the point - if indeed I can get matched to a status that allows me to gift their Gold card (OW Sap. i.e. lounge access status) to a family member that would be fab. (Thus my interest in this particular feature of their Platinum status).

Aisle Seat H,
I think it might be worth a try, but my expectations would be pretty low when it comes to Malev. I've had a fair bit of trouble with them lately (their customer service both at the airport and via the internet leaves a lot to be desired) and I have pretty much closed my Duna Club account and shifted earning to BA. And right now I am boycotting them for travel to Budapest. But if they give the benefit as stated, a free gold card for family member(s) seems like a fantastic deal. The one thing their offer doesn't mention is validity--how long gifted status is good for. But it doesn't specifically exclude other oneworld airlines, so you never know. Again, I would try it since you are flying them anyways and if it works out, great.

My one caveat (I don't know oneworld rules for lounge access very well) is would you be required to credit your miles to Duna club in order to take advantage of the benefits? Probably yes. For you if you're flying a short hop on Malev it's probably worth giving up the miles to upgrade to biz, since all of their flights are short regional flights. But if you're gifting the card to a family member in order for them to use the lounge on a longer flight, I don't think it would be worth it.

Thanks eefor jfp ^

I guess I'll just give it a go and see what happens.

As has been said I have nothing to lose as will still have my QF FF status anyway - but if it works a family member will get a Gold card too ^

The funny thing is, that on the Hungarian version of the site, this promo has been out since 22/Jan and does not mention any limitations on when the travel must be done!

For those who can read Hungarian

http://www.malev.hu/dunaclub/hirek?C.../tier-matching

Going deeper into the Duna Club news

- you can easily achieve status by segments flown on MA and OW (!) (30 for Gold, 80 for Plat)

Free Gold membership to family comes with Plat and I REALLY wonder if they will match to Plat (T&C unclear)

And if you are an AA Platinum or Executive Platinum you can get lounge access on itineraries within North America which your AA status does not allow. Probaly worth one flight on Malev - if you are in the vicinity:p

We will see! ;)

I'll revert in a few weeks (maybe more) once I've submitted my app. and they get back to me.

The cost for that would drive MA into the abyss. ;)

I have been matched Gold in January by Malev!
I do not think is a very effective FFP because everything must be done through call-center but I go often to Budapest and biz-check-in (yes, maybe I'm one of the few still too lazy to make check-in online) and fast-track are quite appreciated.
Lounges in BUD are small but in a crowded airport is also a nice experience.

I wouldn't count too much instead on upgrades and awards which are relatively expensive.
I do not travel as much as I would like to UK but exploiting some BA services can be also a good gift.

On the other hand I read in the inflight magazine that status matching was for other airlines FFP's members and up to Gold status.

How was the matching process - easy, smooth or ...?

I have an unexpected MA flight in June, so why not grab this offer? (and thus achieving Sapphire level in 3 OW airlines :D) I asked their e-mail contact if I can credit this flight to another OW FFP and still be eligible, but no answer yet.

Very smooth. I discovered my status match through Internet after 21 days...and then 2 weeks later I got my Gold card.

On the other hand beware they are very strict on crediting points on that card/your Malev profile in order to get all benefits.
I wouldn't risk at your place to not getting matched...

Status match indeed was very smooth - sent the docs today in the morning, online status shows Gold by the evening. ^ I explicitly entered NO FFP number during booking and check-in, one short flight with no status recognition is not too bad :D EDIT - flight ended up posting to both my new MA and AY account ^

I had them match my LH SEN card, didn't want to try my luck with AY Gold (OW, as is MA)

And to renew status, you only need 30 legs on any OW airline!

Matched to MA Gold today after a day return to Budapest on Saturday.

Even though the promotion uses words like "match" and "tier equalisation", they would not match NZ Gold Elite (the NZ Airpoints top tier above *Gold) to MA Platinum. A previous poster mentioned something in the MA inflight magazine limiting the match to Gold, but there was no such condition in the current edition - more to the point, there were pictures of the Duna Club Platinum Card on the promo.

I've asked for a reconsideration. I'll let you know how it goes.

Congrats on the match! How long is the status-matched Gold Card valid for? Thanks.