ratechaser

Basic rationale is that I have zero status with and am not even enrolled in any Star programs. But with my family TAP jaunt coming up in the summer, I thought it might be worth a look.

So ideally, has anyone here got TAP to match their own BA status, or alternatively any other alliance member that would mean I'd still get benefits like priority check in, boarding etc?

thanks
RC

atcer28

Looking at status matcher http://statusmatcher.com/ it looks very unlikely. You may have more luck with some of the other Star Alliance carriers but most of them require you to have booked or complete a certain number of flights to extend it beyond an initial short period.

Firemin

Avianca Brasil were doing a status match last year, they matched my silver to gold.

Don't think it is available anymore though!

YacozA

United offers one for US carrier matches, and may be inclined to match from BA.

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/app...omoCode=TB8230

ratechaser

Thanks all. In the absence of any slam dunk easy options, perhaps I'll start with a nice email to TAP explaining how I'm considering shifting my travel to them in light of BA going down the pan (IMO) with BOB, evidencing my 8 person booking, and wondering if they will match my status.

What the hell, if it's a no, it's a no. Nothing ventured etc...

corporate-wage-slave

TAP is a great airline, I've always enjoyed their services. However their Silver equivalent doesn't give lounge access on shorthaul economy, you need to be Victoria Gold, a Star Gold level, which isn't unusual in that Alliance, and that typically requires a return European trip in economy every fortnight. So even if they matched you at their Silver equivalent, it won't get you into the lounge. They do have an Amex Card that gives lounge access though, and judging by the people I see in OPO and LIS that is a popular way of getting lounge access. You can also buy lounge access via your TAP booking, however it's not in the Star Alliance lounges, it's Plaza Premium.

Grass not always greener, etc, but I presume getting all 8 passengers into a BA lounge would have been a stretch too.

Smid

Just read in another thread the fact that TK status matches gold for *A, but not sure of silver:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27969328-post1259.html

Jetstreamer

I got a TK status match last year from AB gold. Around the same time by OH tried with BA silver (equivalent to AB gold) and was rejected. Seems they do want a gold coloured card regardless of its actual value! Would be a lot easier in these scenarios if BA went silver, gold, platinum instead of bronze, silver, gold ...

ratechaser

Oh yes, lounge access wasn't even on my radar for this one. Same thing last year when it was 9 of us, and only me with a gold card - it got me as far as First check-in (which for once was less busy than the 'normal' desks ) and also priority boarding, which for the nervous flyers in the group was very useful. Plus I bagged all 6 exit row seats for both legs. But if I'd tried to blag 9 of us into GF, I think I'd be the next story on the DYKWIA thread!

I just think that all things being equal, better to travel with some level of status than none, even if the benefits are marginal. And in the unlikely event of IRROPS, it would hopefully mean I'm not last in line...

zeer0

I think there's a misunderstanding here. BA silver is a midtier status, equivalent to Star Gold. Star silver would be equivalent to BA bronze. So if you were to get a status match, it would in fact be to Star gold. So you should definitely try, and I'd suggest Turkish to start with. They've been status matching on and off for a while. You could also try United, though they'll often offer a challenge instead where you have to fly segments on them specifically to earn status.

SPlDER

According to statusmatcher BA Silver is worth nothing for TK. They match BA Gold only.

LuoboTiX

No difference. Though mid tier status in fact, other airlines would consider it as a lower level elite status because usually they calculate it from Emerald down to Sapphire when doing status match to OW. Thus, Emerald->*G, Sapphire->nothing valuable

FT-Diplomat

ratechaser what did TAP come back with in the end?

I managed to status match BA Silver > TAP Silver when BA absorbed BMI (I had *S with BMI as well), but that was 6 years ago and I was already showing a 6 month trend of flying a return flight with TAP every month at that stage. I remember it did require some back and forth with the team and get it escalated though.

It may be a case of some back and forth with them if you can justify not just one booking but future revenue / actual frequent flyer trend. Otherwise I would say don't waste your time for TP*S if you're not actually going to fly TAP regularly.

zeer0

You could try Copa and Avianca Brazil. Off the top of my head they've been the latest *A programs to status match.