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Having airline status can significantly improve your travel experience. Frequent flyer programs reward you with perks like priority boarding, check-in, and lounge access. Some programs even offer free upgrades to business class!

Even if you’re happy with your current frequent flyer program, there might be times when you have to fly another airline or alliance (Star Alliance, Oneworld, SkyTeam). This is where status matching comes in.

Status match explained

Status matching allows you to leverage your existing frequent flyer status with another frequent flyer program. Airlines use it as a way to attract loyal customers and give you a chance to experience their program. Therefore, a status match allows the customer to trial the status of a competitor.

Status match have been offered in several ways currently and in the past. Essentially the common different ways are listed here:

Free & direct status match: You receive an equivalent or lower status level in the new program for a set period.
Paid status match: you receive an equivalent or lower status level in the new program for a set period and you pay a fee (usually to statusmatch.com) for the match.
Status Challenge: you’ll receive a certain status level at the competitor for a short trial period and can be extended after completing the requested challenges by the competitor.
Hotel status match: sometimes, an airline allows to status match a hotel status for attaining an airline status.

Example of a status challenge:

Example of a hotel status to an airline status match:

Typically, the competitor who you’re requesting a status match to may ask a photo of your membership card, a statement of your flight history or even your ID or passport. The details and terms to be eligible are all unique to the current status match offered. Only certain programs may be eligible for status matching, or the status match could be limited to a geographic region (e.g. only American citizens).

It is important to think before you match though, as some programs will only allow a once in a lifetime status match. This means that it is recommended to only match when you have a plan or when you really need a benefit of a certain airline frequent flyer program.

Statusmatcher.com is a community website where people can share their experience when trying to request a status match. The information can be useful to see the latest available status matches.

Examples of status matches and their advantages

Status matches that have existed for a long time:

We’ll explore some popular status matches and their benefits in the next section:
Air Baltic
Matches to: Air Baltic VIP status
Matches from: Miles & More Senator or higher, Finnair Plus Gold or higher and SAS Eurobonus Gold or higher
Link to status match: Air Baltic
My experience: I was able to match my SAS Eurobonus Gold card to Air Baltic VIP. The VIP status gives me lounge access and 2 free upgrade vouchers to business class. I was able to book a return trip from Brussels to Tallinn later to Riga for just 40 euro both during a great promotion last year so this status match perfectly fits my plans.

Turkish Airlines
Matches to: Miles & Smiles Elite (Star Alliance Gold equivalent)
Matches from: British Airways Gold, Aegean Gold, United 1K MileagePlus, FlyingBlue Gold or Platinum, Finnair Gold, Garuda Indonesia Platinum, ITA Volare Elite Plus, Qatar Platinum, Lufthansa Senator, Delta Gold Medallion, Emirates Skywards Gold, EtihadGuest Gold, China Eastern Gold, Qantas Platinum, Air China Phoenixmiles Gold, American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum Pro, SAS Eurobonus Gold, Singapore KrisFlyer Gold, Kenya Airways Asante Rewards Platinum
How to status match: Become a Miles & Smiles member, Create a request through this link and attach ID/Passport, proof of status and screenshot of your account (including last flights).
My experience: A great way to get Star Alliance Gold status from almost any other frequent flyer program. The status is only valid for 4 months but will be extended to one year if you fly once with Turkish Airlines. If you earn 15,000 miles on Turkish Airlines, you’ll get extended another year so this status match can give you 2 years of Star Alliance Gold status for just a limited of flying with Turkish Airlines. Other benefits: you’ll earn 25% award and tier miles on Turkish Airlines, invite a guest to the lounge in Istanbul (even on a different flight), etc.

Temporary status matches:

Lufthansa Group / Miles & More
Matches to: Miles & More Senator (Star Alliance Gold equivalent)
Matches from: SAS Eurobonus Gold or higher
Link to status match: Status match
My experience: 6 months of Senator status – extended to one year if 6 flights are made with Lufthansa Group members. Senator allows you extra benefits above the Star Alliance Gold with Miles & More and Lufthansa Group such as: First class check-in counter use, 2nd ticket of companion discounted at 50% for bookings with Miles & More miles, Senator hotline, etc.
Benefits that are not eligble for status match: 2 upgrade vouchers, physical luggage tags & status card.