Take advantage of Delta's status match to get free upgrades and lounge access
Companies are always looking for new customers and stealing them from competitors is the easiest way: increase the [...]
Delta
SkyTeam
Companies are always looking for new customers, and stealing them from competitors is the easy way: you increase revenue and weaken one of your competitors. The meaning of the initiatives of status match is just that. You are a loyal customer of an adversary of mine, then I offer you to try my services by treating you like the same company you usually fly with or the chain you always go to sleep with.
In this article:
In Europe, these initiatives are not very popular, or rather they are not so advertised. When Alitalia went bankrupt and Millemiglia "died" from Emirates to Lufthansa to the new ITA Airways they jumped at the hunt for Italian FFs. In the rest of the world, however, such initiatives are (almost) the order of the day. At this time the initiatives of Turkish Airlines, Royal Jordanian and in recent days we have been talking about Red Dufry's.
In the U.S. then almost every company repeatedly launches these campaigns, and today we're talking about Delta's proposed 2024 In light of the (very bad) changes made to its loyalty program has decided to reopen the gates of its Skymiles.
Basic rules of status matches
I briefly summarize the basic rules of these initiatives. Those who offer level equalization typically give away the card for a predefined period and then set a challenge to maintain the level as if it were earned normally.
Sometimes the challenge does not exist and is given to everyone who requests it, and sometimes you have to pay, fly, sleep according to the rules of the challenge. Last but not least, each program imposes a limitation that sets how many times or how often a user can request/obtain status, there are also those who offer it once in a lifetime.
In this case Delta imposes 3-year interval between requests, translated if you apply for status today you will not be able to apply until 2027.
Delta match status
Did you get your flight cancelled, miss your connection, land late?
You could get up to 600€ compensation per person
The challenge launched by Delta is open to members of various loyalty programs, of course no Skyteam alliance companies appear on the list. For us Italians, the most popular statuses that count for this challenge are British Airways and Lufthansa Group cards.
The Skymiles proposal calls for match status applicants to obtain the corresponding level for 3 months and then be able to take advantage of a fast track to maintain the Silver, Gold or Platinum level.
There are no fast track routes available to achieve the Diamond or Delta 360 level, which are reserved only for those who fly really hard with the Atlanta-based company.
The full list of loyalty programs affected by this proposal are mainly American ones:
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Alaska Mileage Plan
- American AAdvantage
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
But there are also several international programs:
- All Nippon Airways Mileage Club
- Asiana Club
- British Airways Executive Club
- Copa ConnectMiles
- Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Lufthansa Miles & More
- South African Airways Voyager
Depending on the level you hold you will have the closest one in the Skymiles program. For example if you have the Senator Miles&More level you will have the Platinum card, while silver BAs will have the Silver with Delta.
Choose well the timing for the request
If you have a trip planned with Delta, perhaps for the summer vacation, I recommend calculating the time well exactly for making the request, because after the 3 months have passed if you have not met the challenge you will return humble peons.
However, this could be a good strategy to maximize in the testing period by getting the benefits without worrying about the challenge.
Requirements for status match
Those who, on the other hand, want to aim to scale the program. Will need to complete the following challenges based on the level you want to maintain, over the 3-month period of time.
Before going into details, it is good to know two things:
- If you aim for Platinum status, but reach the Gold level target you will get the Gold card
- If you aim for the Silver level, but reach the target of the higher level you will NOT get the card higher than the required one
In a nutshell, you can have a parachute to the level below the required one, but not an elevator to the higher floors starting from a lower one.
Specifically, the challenge requires:
- For the Silver Medallion earn 1,250 MQD.
- For the Gold Medallion earn2,500 MQD
- For Platinum status earn 3,750 MQD
Since we are talking about unfamiliar values to Italian FFs I remind them that the value of MQDs is equivalent to the value of spending in Delta tickets. Yes one MQD for every dollar spent on Delta airline tickets.
Simply translated if you spend $3750 on a Delta ticket you will have renewed Platinum status beyond the 3-month deadline.
For how long will the status obtained by this match be valid
The beauty of this initiative is that If you apply today for status, you complete the challenge on schedule you will have the elite card for almost 2 years, as it will be valid for the remainder of 2024 plus all of 2025 until January 2026.
The benefits of Delta Medallion status
For us Italians, it is definitely theaccess to SkyTeam elite plus benefits with all the carriers in the allenaza, this means ITA Airways and Air France KLM on all of them. It means lounge access, airport fast track, extra baggage and priority boarding.
However, free and unlimited upgrades are an American issue., but it is obvious that if you travel a lot in the continental U.S., it is an important benefit like the free Comfort+ seat assignment.
In conclusion
If you have status in a competing airline to Delta it might be of interest if you have flights scheduled with Delta (or other Skyteam carriers). As always, I repeat that there is no point in chasing status just for the sake of it, especially remember not to waste the chance by asking for it today unnecessarily and missing the chance to apply for it when you may need it.
