In search of an airline standing match? Our information to airline standing matches and challenges in 2024

Whereas most loyalty applications don’t provide a solution to prolong elite standing past the present yr, a workaround is accessible: By matching your expiring elite standing to a competing loyalty program, you may probably preserve your advantages by deciding on totally different carriers.

Quite a few airline loyalty applications present the chance to match elite advantages from different applications. For example, in case your Delta Air Strains Medallion elite standing will expire subsequent yr, you may have the ability to match it to a competitor’s program. This sometimes grants you momentary elite standing with the competing program, which will be prolonged by assembly particular flight or income necessities.

Subsequently, if you happen to qualify, you may achieve complimentary elite standing with one other airline. Maintain studying to be taught extra about present airline standing matches and challenges you may snag in 2024.

What to learn about getting an airline standing match

There are some necessary methods and ideas to recollect when initiating a standing match or problem.

For a standing match, you should sometimes present a photograph of your membership card and a mileage assertion to show your standing. It’s essential to keep away from altering or falsifying your credentials, as this may end up in extreme penalties, together with account suspension.

However, a standing problem might or might not require you to have present standing. The airline will specify the variety of elite qualifying miles or {dollars} you should earn inside a selected timeframe to realize a specific elite tier. It’s important to completely perceive the necessities and which actions rely towards the problem, as some cobranded bank cards or associate airline tickets could also be excluded. Do not forget that standing matches and challenges are sometimes restricted to as soon as per lifetime, per account, though some carriers have exceptions.

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It’s often suggested to finish a match or problem after June to take pleasure in standing for the remainder of the yr and probably retain it for the next yr. Nonetheless, latest airline standing match challenges, just like the one Delta started providing in 2024, will permit you to preserve standing via January 2026.

Moreover, it is price mentioning that airways might not at all times publicize their standing match and problem alternatives. Chances are you’ll have to name or e mail the airline’s customer support and test web sites like StatusMatcher. Do not forget that your request’s consequence might range relying on the agent processing it.

Associated: Is airline elite standing nonetheless price it?

Alaska Airways standing match

Alaska Airways used to supply easy standing matches; nevertheless, the present standing match course of now features a problem part.

Alaska will match elite standing from the next applications:

• Aeromexico Rewards
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• American Airways AAdvantage
• Delta SkyMiles
• Frontier Miles
• HawaiianMiles
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Southwest Speedy Rewards
• United MileagePlus

Once you request a standing match, you may be granted the corresponding standing degree within the Alaska Airways Mileage Plan program for 90 days. To retain this standing past the preliminary interval, you should fly a selected variety of miles on flights marketed and operated by Alaska Airways, Horizon Air or SkyWest Airways, relying on the tier you match.

The required flight thresholds are as follows:

• MVP: 5,000 miles
• MVP Gold: 10,000 miles
• MVP Gold 75K: 20,000 miles

Sadly, Alaska’s MVP Gold 100K tier has no standing match alternative.

To submit a request, go to the devoted standing match web page and supply a screenshot of your present mileage assertion displaying your identify, standing and miles earned this yr or flown within the prior yr to realize elite standing.

If matched to MVP Gold 75K, you will not be eligible for the 50,000 bonus miles related to qualifying for that standing, even if you happen to efficiently attain the 20,000-mile threshold. Nonetheless, if you happen to match to MVP Gold and fly sufficient to maintain that standing, you’ll obtain 4 MVP Gold visitor upgrades. In the meantime, those that full the MVP Gold 75K problem will obtain these upgrades, plus 4 Alaska Lounge daypasses and the power to appoint somebody for MVP standing.

Should you request a standing match by the tip of June and fulfill the necessities, your new standing will probably be legitimate till the tip of the calendar yr. However, if you happen to provoke your standing match on or after July 1 via December and fulfill the necessities, your standing will probably be legitimate till the tip of the next yr, so making use of for it in July or August of this yr would maximize the size.

Associated: Alaska Airways MVP elite standing: What it’s and how one can earn it

American Airways standing match

American Airways gives a standing problem program referred to as Immediate Standing Move to Delta SkyMiles Platinum Medallion and Diamond Medallion members and United MileagePlus Premier Platinum and Premier 1K elite members. To take part, you may apply on aa.com and be matched to both AAdvantage Platinum Professional or Govt Platinum.

This system consists of three phases, every lasting 4 months. Upon registration, you’ll instantly take pleasure in the advantages of the chosen standing tier. To keep up the momentary standing for an additional 4 months, it is advisable to earn a prorated variety of Loyalty Factors, which is round one-third of the total requirement for a yr.

The Loyalty Factors required for every tier are as follows:

• AAdvantage Gold: 13,000 Loyalty Factors
• AAdvantage Platinum: 25,000 Loyalty Factors
• AAdvantage Platinum Professional: 42,000 Loyalty Factors
• AAdvantage Govt Platinum: 67,000 Loyalty Factors

Throughout every part, you may earn Loyalty Factors via qualifying actions with American, its companions and cobranded bank card spending. All these actions rely towards your standing problem.

The standing you obtain within the first part determines your place to begin within the subsequent part. Which means that whatever the preliminary tier you registered for, you’ll start the second part with the advantages you unlocked within the earlier part.

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Delta Air Strains standing match

Delta SkyMiles is at the moment providing a standing match, as much as Platinum Medallion, to elite members of assorted airline applications, together with worldwide applications like British Airways Govt Membership, Lufthansa Miles & Extra, Virgin Australia Velocity and main U.S. applications.

After submitting your info and proof of your present standing, you may be matched to the corresponding Medallion tier for 3 months.

With Medallion standing transferring to the Medallion Qualification Greenback-earning system in 2024, extending the standing past the preliminary three months requires incomes the next:

Should you qualify and full the problem’s extra necessities, your Medallion standing will probably be prolonged via Jan. 31, 2026.

Associated: Delta Medallion standing: What it’s and how one can earn it

Frontier Airways standing match

Whereas not but accessible, you may be part of the waitlist for Frontier Airways’ 2024 standing match. The touchdown web page does reveal some particulars of the brand new match program, together with that:

• You’ll be able to match from 45 totally different airways, lodges and cruise traces.
• A brand new Elite Silver tier will present 12 factors per greenback spent and Zone 2 precedence boarding.

Though additional particulars haven’t but been launched for 2024, Frontier has beforehand charged members for the «administrative prices» of approving a standing match.

Associated: I used to be provided top-tier airline elite standing for $499 — here is why

Hawaiian Airways standing match

Whereas not publicly marketed, HawaiianMiles has beforehand provided standing matches as much as top-tier Platinum standing on a case-by-case foundation by way of its on-line contact type. It would not harm to ask.

To ask for a standing match with Hawaiian Airways, the corporate sometimes requires two issues:

• Proof of present elite standing
• Documentation of flights accomplished that earned the elite standing, together with flight exercise to not less than one in all Hawaiian’s locations

Matches are often good for one calendar yr from the time of improve.

Associated: Methods to improve your seat on Hawaiian Airways

Whereas JetBlue beforehand provided a limited-time standing match for disgruntled Delta Medallion members following the broadly controversial modifications introduced in 2023, that supply has now ended, and JetBlue at the moment has no publicly accessible standing match provide.

Lufthansa standing match

Lufthansa’s Miles&Extra program has launched a standing match provide to elite members of Scandinavian Airways’ EuroBonus program. This match is accessible till Sept. 30, shortly after SAS leaves Star Alliance (to which Lufthansa belongs) and joins the SkyTeam alliance.

For any EuroBonus Silver, Gold, Diamond or Pandion members who would favor to remain inside the Star Alliance ecosystem, they will apply on-line for the match to Miles&Extra, offering a duplicate of their present standing membership card in addition to their Miles&Extra quantity, the place their standing will probably be upgraded till Feb. 28, 2025, as follows:

• EuroBonus Silver members will probably be matched to Frequent Traveller
• EuroBonus Gold, Diamond and Pandion will probably be matched to Senator

These matched to Frequent Traveller who full two flight segments on Lufthansa Group or Miles&Extra airways by Nov. 30, 2024, could have their matched standing prolonged by 12 months to Feb. 20, 2026. These matched to Senator who full six flight segments could have their standing prolonged by 12 months as nicely.

The listing of airways with eligible flight segments is beneficiant:

• Air Dolomiti
• Austrian Airways
• Brussels Airways
• Croatia Airways
• Uncover Airways
• Eurowings
• LOT Polish Airways
• Lufthansa
• Lufthansa Metropolis
• Luxair
• Swiss

There isn’t any cost for this standing match.

Southwest Airways standing match

Beforehand, it was tough to find Southwest Airways’ standing match and problem applications as they weren’t broadly marketed. Nonetheless, the airline has now made these applications extra accessible by offering all of the phrases and circumstances on its web site.

You will need to have standing with one other home airline to qualify for a Southwest A-Listing standing match. Any standing degree appears to be accepted. To provoke the method, e mail southwest.statusmatch@wnco.com together with your full identify, Speedy Rewards account quantity and proof of elite standing.

As soon as your request is processed, you’ll obtain promotional A-Listing standing for 90 days. Sometimes, Southwest grants this standing inside 12 enterprise days of submission.

To increase your A-Listing standing for a further 12 months, you should e book and full three qualifying round-trip flights (or six one-ways) inside 90 days. These flights should be paid fares, not award tickets. Present A-Listing members with expiring standing are usually not eligible for a standing match.

It is necessary to notice that in keeping with the phrases and circumstances, your flights should be booked and accomplished through the 90 days. Whereas present bookings might not rely, Southwest permits simple cancellation and rebooking with out penalties. This implies you may convert present bookings into new ones if the fare has not elevated considerably.

To qualify for the Southwest standing match, you should not have acquired promotional A-Listing standing from any program, together with standing matches and challenges, inside the previous 12 months.

Associated: Southwest A-Listing standing: What it’s and how one can earn it

Spirit Airways standing match

Much like Frontier’s providing, the Spirit Airways standing match is at the moment unavailable. You’ll be able to register on Spirit’s web site to affix the waitlist or apply as soon as it turns into accessible once more.

Traditionally, here is how this system has labored.

These with elite standing on many North American carriers had been eligible for a 90-day standing match to Spirit’s Silver or Gold tier, relying on their present elite standing.

Here is a have a look at elite statuses which were eligible for Spirit’s standing match up to now:

Prior to now, you can prolong your standing by fulfilling the next necessities within the 90-day window:

• Free Spirit Silver: Earn 500 standing qualifying factors by flying Spirit or spending on a cobranded bank card.
• Free Spirit Gold: Earn 1,250 SQPs by flying Spirit or spending on a cobranded bank card.

Silver and Gold elite members obtain waived charges for extras like seat choice, plus precedence boarding and same-day standby. You are even eligible for a free checked and carry-on bag on the Gold degree.

We’ll replace this story when (or if) the Spirit Airways standing match returns.

Associated: Every part you must know earlier than flying Spirit Airways

United Airways standing match

United Airways has relaunched its MileagePlus Premier Standing Match Problem promotion in 2024; members can register and obtain complimentary standing for 120 days.

Here is a have a look at how a number of in style airways’ respective statuses would translate to United MileagePlus standing:

In response to United’s web site, that is solely a partial listing. A full listing is accessible on the Premier Standing Match Problem type.

After enrollment, members have 120 days to earn a set variety of Premier qualifying flights and Premier qualifying factors to increase their elite standing. Should you earn Premier standing on or after July 1, your elite standing is legitimate via January 2026. Should you earn standing earlier than July, your Premier standing is simply legitimate via January 2025.

Be aware that the flights should be operated by United or United Categorical — associate flights (together with these on Star Alliance carriers) aren’t eligible. Challenges are restricted to as soon as each 5 years per MileagePlus account.

Associated: United Premier standing: What it’s and how one can earn it

Virgin Atlantic standing match

Virgin Atlantic gives a publicly accessible standing match to members of choose competing applications.

Relying in your present standing tier, you are eligible for an instantaneous match to Second Tier (Silver) or Prime Tier (Gold). Nonetheless, those that match to Gold will need to have a future paid flight booked in Higher Class or premium economic system to be eligible. In the meantime, these matching to Silver will need to have a flight booked in any cabin to be authorised for a match. As soon as authorised, your standing match will probably be legitimate for 12 months from the account’s improve date.

Here is a have a look at what applications and standing tiers are eligible:

As soon as your standing is upgraded, you may take pleasure in your standing for 12 months. Here is what you need to earn within the 12 months to retain your standing:

• Silver: 400 tier factors
• Gold: 1,000 tier factors

These with Virgin Atlantic standing profit from flying with the airline and its companions. On Delta flights, Gold members obtain precedence seating, lounge entry on choose flights, precedence baggage and different advantages. Plus, they obtain advantages on SkyTeam airways, together with Air France, KLM, Korean Air and China Jap Airways.

Sadly, since Virgin Atlantic is now a member of SkyTeam, you may’t use your Delta standing for this match.

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