yes I am talking about TK flights, many classes of biz tickets posting as discount economy and the like.

TK will do status matches. I am Delta Diamond and the matched me as TK Gold/Elite for the next two years (don't even have to do a challenge to maintain that status). Just email [email protected] and they will ask for your most recent statement and copies of your current card

Looks like they are desperate to broaden their membership number and have caught up with the idea of status matching:D

How long did you wait for the process? I hope they can match my FB gold card to TK gold :-)

Other than the new style cards, does the phrase "new miles, new smiles" mean anything you think?

It took them initially a month to respond to my request. Once they responded it was all finalized within a couple of weeks. From their initial response below it may seem they will match with other Star Alliance Gold plans as I told them I was Delta Diamond yet they were requesting a copy of my Gold membership card. So it may be a cut & paste response that they send to Gold SA members. Email below:

We have received your e-mail message dated 19.01.2012.

In order to evaluate your request about Gold membership status match, we would like you to send the copy of your Gold memberhsip card together with the copy of your membership statement to following e-mail adress; [email protected]. On the otherhand, please keep in mind that status match is just valid for Miles&Smiles Elite card membership according to Agremeent between Airlines. Therefore it is not possible to change your card status as Elite Plus card.

Thank you for choosing Turkish Airlines on your flights.
Kind Regards,

TURKISH AIRLINES INC.
CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT

Apparently they give out cars once you hit SA Gold status with them (email with their typo below :))



Please be informed that your Miles&Smiles membership has been updated as Elite card level and your membership car has been sent to your adress.

Kind Regards,

TURKISH AIRLINES INC.
CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT

Thank you for the tip! I enrolled in M&S and tried the same but got this strange reply after 1 day, should I try again with changed wording? Could it be it is only offered to Turkish residents? Tried to match from my Skyteam account.

I would certainly try again. You might want to detail why it is in their interest to have you as a customer. Also include a copy of your most recent statement (don't wait for them to ask; show them you mean business) Here is the original email I sent them if you want to use it as a guide:

Dear Miles & Smiles,

My name is ________ and I am a Diamond Medallion with Delta. I have been living in Istanbul for the past nine years and until now have been loyal to Delta and Skyteam partners. The past year I flew a combined 200,000 + miles with Delta and Emirates. The company I work for in Istanbul is Australia-based, meaning I will travel probably two times a year to Australia, as well as several times a year to America and Duabi (our regional headquarters). I would be interested in switching my allegiance to Turkish Airlines and the Miles and Smiles program. However, I commit to doing so I would like to inquire about your ability to match my current Diamond Status that I hold with Delta. I know that I will continue to fly 125,000 plus miles a year and I would like to do it with Turkish Airlines as it would make my traveling much easier. My company tends to pay for business class fares on long haul flights, so I know that I could be a nice source of revenue for you if you are willing to do a status match. Your immediate response would be appreciated as I would like to book my upcoming travel with you if you are willing to match my status.

I have attached a print out of my flight activity with Delta from the previous year for your review.

Thank you, I will try again and report back.

Just incompetent agent sending copy paste reply. Probably he/she doesn't know what status match means.

Just got notification of status match acceptance today and found my Miles&Smiles account upgraded to Elite (thank you siberslava!) - whole process took less than a week. Planning on flying TK later this year to see what they're like.

Very generous offer on TK's part with a full two years (and 25K miles within one year to requalify should be easy). Not so clear about the "Otherwise, the membership status will be renewed as "Classic Plus"" message on the benefits page though. Does this mean that even if I fail to requalify for Elite I will still get Classic Plus (i.e. a soft landing)?

If so, Miles&Smiles is very very generous.

Congratulations on your membership and welcome to the club:cool:

Yes, It means a soft landing.

Does TK Status Match?
 

Buying status miles if you are short is not bad at all

I was matched today as well :) Took just a couple of hours actually!

How many miles do a Elite Card holder need to fly in order to obtain a Elite Plus Card?