Qantas Status Match

[marcojim]

Just wondering if anyone has had any luck getting Qantas to match their status from other airlines? Personally hoping they’ll match my VA Platinum status to QF Gold however just wanted to know if anyone has managed to do this successfully?

 

[AIRwin]

Try this:
Do Qantas do status match?

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Just wondering if anyone has had any luck getting Qantas to match their status from other airlines? Personally hoping they’ll match my VA Platinum status to QF Gold however just wanted to know if anyone has managed to do this successfully?

Having done a few status matches including with Qantas I thought I'd share my experience here. Back in March 2021, I was weaning myself off United Airlines having qualified one last time for Premier Gold in 2019. Considering I'd be in Australia for some time and given the fact that Qantas does not tie frequent flyer status to $$$ spent (as is the case with the US airlines now) I decided to give Qantas a go. At the time they were running a status match challenge whereby you could match United Premier Gold (which I have till 2024 due to extensions from you know what) to Qantas Gold with just 100 status credits of flying. I quickly found a trip that would earn me that 100 status credits: SYD > DRW then DRW > MEL > SYD booked as a red e-deal (~$700 AUD) during a double status credit promotion which allowed me to earn a total of exactly 100 status credits. Overall, the process was straight forward and once that final flight from Melbourne to Sydney posted later that day the Qantas app showed that I qualified for Gold.

Now the status match offers Qantas runs will vary from time to time. What is important before you go ahead with it is whether you think you will make use of the status. And I am telling you this as someone who has successfully matched status with Delta Airlines, Virgin Australia, and Qantas. The only status match I have extensively used the benefits was with Qantas. For Delta it was a status I thought I would use as I thought I'd be flying SkyTeam but as it turns out the places I needed to travel to didn't have good SkyTeam options (in addition my AmEx Platinum negates many of the benefits of Delta status). Similar thing for Virgin. I have no set foot on a Virgin Australia plane since taking the single flight that earned me Virgin status. And it's important to use these status matches strategically. Often airlines limit how often you can request a status match. For some it may be every couple of years whereas others it may only be once in a lifetime.

Let me shed some light on the value I have received as a Qantas Gold since March 2021:

• Lounge access - this is a big one, especially if you aren't holding a credit card like the AmEx Platinum (more on that later) that provides lounge access. In the last 30 days I have used this perk a total of 8 times including stops at the BA lounge at Singapore, the American Airlines Flagship lounge at Dallas, Qantas lounges in Singapore and Sydney, FinnAir lounges at Helsinki and the Air France/KLM lounge at Frankfurt. The lounges vary in quality. For instance, I don't find the QF J lounge at SYD INTL appealing - it tends to be crowded, the catering isn't great. The only thing it has going for it are showers, something that sadly the Centurion lounge doesn't make available till 5 PM.
• Business Class Check-In - 3 trips so far have made use of that. The main benefit here is that you don't need to use the stupid kiosk and tag your bag, you go up to the business class check-in area (even if you are flying economy)
• Priority Baggage - every trip I took in the last month (a total of 3 ultra long hauls with Qantas/AA/AY) I have had to check a bag and every time that tag has been applied. I have yet to lose a bag with any airline ** knock on wood **, but I will say that having the tag on your bag doesn't make the bag come out any faster. There have been instances where my bag came out towards the end, so that's a real luck of the draw.
• Priority Seating - This is another biggie. So you get early access to some of the good seats (not all of them as there are some dedicated for Platinums and Platinum Ones). What is the real game changer for me, having had status on a number of airlines is the complimentary priority seating is a reciprocal benefit. This means that when I flew FinnAir and American, I also got to select some of the best seats on the plane for free at booking. Contrast that with Virgin, where I'm not even sure what seating benefits you get just with them as a Virgin Platinum
• Upgrades - Qantas like Virgin lets you use points to upgrade your flights both domestic and international. There are some strings attached to international (i.e. the flight must be operated and marketed by Qantas and cannot be booked in the ENOQ fare code). Last month I was flying back to SYD from AKL on a Y award ticket and thought what the heck and decided to request an upgrade for myself and my partner the night before the flight. I woke up the following morning and to my surprise the upgrade cleared. This was on an A330 with lie flat beds - not a bad use of ~28,000 QFF points. While you can also use Virgin points to upgrade to J it's not as exciting on a narrow body going to a domestic route like BNE versus something more exotic like HNL or LAX

There are additional benefits that Qantas advertises like the ability to check-in extra bags but those perks I quite frankly haven't had a use for thus far. For me, as you could probably tell I am getting decent value out of being a Gold frequent flyer. Priority seating is a huge deal especially if you travel enough in long haul, since those seats can often be quite expensive (i.e. $100 per segment). The lounge benefit can be really nice, especially if you are travelling outside of Australia where the quality of OneWorld lounges can be quite nice indeed. For instance, the American Airlines Flagship lounge, which you would have access to not only flying internationally to the US but also domestically, has things like champagne, quality shower rooms, a decent buffet spread, etc. In some instances you can even access lounges when you arrive at your final destination. For instance, American Airlines will let you access their lounges on arrival as a OneWorld Sapphire (Qantas Gold). If you hold Qantas Platinum status you can also access Qantas lounges on arrival which is useful for domestic trips since Qantas operated lounges at international terminals in Australia are inaccessible since you must clear customs and exit out of the international departure area on arrival.

Whether it makes sense to pursue a status match with Qantas is really a personal judgement call. Ask yourself, do I see myself flying a lot not just with Qantas but with OneWorld partners internationally? How frequently am I travelling? If you are only heading to the airport a couple of times a year, the benefits of status frankly isn't there. People on this forum will justify why they got status. Maybe their justification is right or wrong - I cannot judge. But I can guarantee you that there will be some on the forum who regretted chasing status (and either spending considerable $$$ or forgoing spend on their preferred airline to the other airline) they never ended up using.

The last point I'll bring up is that some of the benefits of status can be replicated with a credit card. This has the benefit of allowing you to choose whatever airline makes sense rather than being handcuffed to a particular airline or airline alliance. For instance, the American Express Platinum card gives you access to a huge lounge network which includes all the priority pass lounges (i.e. all the Rex lounges in Australia which is useful if flying JetStar out of terminal 2 of SYD) for yourself and one person, Virgin Australia lounge access when flying Virgin Australia, Delta lounge access when flying Delta, Lufthansa lounge access when flying Lufthansa Group airlines. In addition you also have access to the coveted Centurion lounges at SYD, MEL and abroad for yourself and 2 guests. This for me is a game changer despite my QF status. For instance, I'm flying back to SYD at the end of the month from LAX. Ordinarily even if I had Platinum One status with Qantas I would not have access to a lounge on arrival at the international terminal. However, because of my Platinum card I can access an international arrivals lounge (which has a shower and buffet area) operated by Plaza Premium. Sure the card doesn't give me all the other perks of Gold status, but it does give me something that I reckon many people who pursue status care about: lounge access.

Hope that provides some insight into status and the status match process, especially if you are looking at the long game.

-RooFlyer88