Status Match: Star Alliance (Question)
 

As we know that SAS is leaving *A soon, I would like to hear what your loyalty program of choice within *A will be if it opens for a status match. If one aims to have Gold status, that is, mainly, and that is not too high maintenance in cost.

Aegean is what I am looking at. Mainly because of very generous re-qualification requirements (4 flights on their metal + 12K status miles on any *A).

We look at this in another thread.
The latest news is that Lufthansa may do a status match for EBG customers.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/36164962-post863.html

LH M&M should be fun during the status match period, but it will be super difficult to maintain it.
So, M&M is not something I would explore for now, especially when the co-brand credit card is not available in Sweden.
Or what do you think ?

I like the current offer from Marriott titanium for Krisflyer status. But unless you are Asia based, or travel a lot to Asia it is probably moot.

Aegean is a good option for European people, but the 4 flight requirement is harsh if you are on another continent.

I am sure quite a few Star Alliance programs will join the status match game as we come closer to August 31st.

I am stuck between deciding whether to maintain my BA Gold, going for TG Gold or both - I do not think both will be an option as it will be on my own dime, and as I never travel Y I am thinking whether *A would be worth the effort… Pretty annoying really, as I have no intention of flying ScrapTeam and SEA is Star Alliance territory.

Already maintain AC*G in addition to EBG so not planning to match with any other programs.

lucky you, I'd say :)

On my side, I am hoping for MM as I do a lot of CPH, WAW, and a good sampling of destinations in all LH group countries as the bulk of my traffic. I have not started to accumulate any points in MM yet. Perhaps this is a case of paranoia, but I do not want to put SK*G/EBD into the booking, or show it to the electronic readers in lounges or fast tracks. I am worried that the points land with SK at a low or null rate, even if I pay higher fares to LH, SN, or LO to qualify there. Sooner or later I will have to start flying them and crediting to MM. I would very much like that they status match first, so I can requalify while holding status. Flying myself up to LH SEN in short haul economy without benefits will be a pain.

I will go either with Aegean or Turkish, but haven't decided yet. Will also depend on any status match offers.

Aegean has the lowest requalification threshold overall, if you manage to have the 4 legs on their flights (12000 miles on Star Alliance + 4 legs on Aegean).
Turkish seem to have the lowest requalification threshold without any required legs on their own flights (25000 miles on Star Alliance) plus they give status for 2 years.

EgyptAir seems to have thresholds just as low (or lower even). Quality of the airline/customer service is iffy, of course - but as long as the system works...

I’ve already started diverting * flights credits to TK. I wonder if when they match, they take this into account or it is a blanket wholesale match. Timing? Conditions of such matches?

You can consider a status match with Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, if successful, you need to do the following.

1. The first 4 months is the trial period.
2. Before the end of the trial period, fly at least one Turkish Airlines international flight, and then the Elite membership is prolonged for 8 more months. (i.e. it remains valid for 1 year in total after the match).
3. Before the end of the first year, accumulate at least 15,000 Status Miles with Turkish Airlines, the membership is extended for 1 more year (i.e. it remains valid for 2 years in total after the match)

Well, let me break down my numbers:

• I successfully matched with my EBG in March
• Immediately I booked a round trip from Stockholm to Mexico City in the semi-flexible economy cabin in May for about 900 euros.
• This trip will be long and exhausting, but it will fulfil both requirements in one run for me (on TK metal in the first 4 months, and 15,000 miles on TK metal in the first year).
• After the trip, I will have the Elite status until March 2026.
• To requalify, I need to fly 25,000 miles before March 2025 or 37,500 miles before March 2026 regardless of which *A airline to fly, which is relatively easy to do.
• BTW, for some reason, unlike other long-haul flights by TK, choosing an extra legroom seat on this Mexico itinerary is free of charge, which is nice!

Thanks! Are these TK conditions customised to an applicant (you email them?) or posted somewhere? I already have around 25,000 TK so would be close to achieving TKG on my own but an EBG matching solution would be a nice safety valve.

I’m really looking forward to joining M&M with their new points based system as that makes it very easy to keep gold. I’m fortunate enough to have 3-4 TATL in paid biz and that should almost do it..

It's through their online customer feedback form.
Here is some instruction:
https://travel-dealz.com/deal/miles-...-status-match/

But if you already have 25,000 miles, another 15,000 miles with any *A would bring you over. Maybe just try to match the status, and obtain 15000 points during that 4-month trial period.