Australians holding frequent flyer status with airlines including Qantas and Virgin Australia can now apply for a paid status match with another SkyTeam airline.
Vietnam Airlines is offering a match to the Titanium, Gold and Platinum tiers of its Lotusmiles program. It comes just a week after ITA Airways ended its recent status match promotion.
Vietnam Airlines Titanium and Gold are equivalent to SkyTeam Elite status, which comes with a few benefits. Lotusmiles Platinum status is equivalent to SkyTeam Elite Plus, which comes with the full suite of benefits across the SkyTeam alliance.
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Who is eligible for the Vietnam Airlines status match?
If you’re interested, the first step is to check whether you’re eligible for the Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles status match. It’s open to residents of certain countries, including Australia, the USA and some Asian and European nations. But it’s not open to residents of Vietnam – nor any other country that’s not specifically listed. See the status match terms & conditions for the full list of countries.
You also need to hold current elite status with an eligible airline. Other SkyTeam airlines don’t qualify, but many Oneworld and Star Alliance carriers are on the list. Status with Virgin Australia, Southwest Airlines, Royal Brunei, Philippine Airlines, Icelandair, Etihad, China Southern or El Al would also qualify.
Qantas or Velocity Silver status matches to the Vietnam Airlines Titanium tier, while Gold and Platinum status is matched like for like. (Yes, Gold is a higher tier than Titanium with Vietnam Airlines, for some reason…)
You can see a full list of eligible airlines and corresponding tiers on the status match FAQs page.
Application fees
Unfortunately, it’s not entirely free to request this status match. There is an application fee which depends on your country of residence and the status tier you’re matching to.
For Australians, this application fee is:
- Titanium (matching from Qantas/Velocity Silver) – USD99 (~AU$146)
- Gold (matching from Qantas/Velocity Gold) – USD159 (~AU$235)
- Platinum (matching from Qantas/Velocity Platinum) – USD299 (~AU$441)
How to apply
As long as you meet the eligibility criteria and don’t mind paying the application fee, it’s very easy to apply on the dedicated status match website. You will need to provide evidence of your current elite airline status.
Vietnam Airlines says it will then inform you whether it has approved your request within three business days, and upgrade your Lotusmiles account within five business days.
If you’re not already a Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles member, simply join for free before applying.
What do you get?
If approved, you’ll get to keep your Vietnam Airlines status for 12 months. You would need to fulfil the usual program requirements to extend your status beyond that time, by flying with Vietnam Airlines and/or SkyTeam airlines.
Below are the key benefits of each of the Lotusmiles status tiers:
Key Lotusmiles Titanium benefits
- Priority check-in
- Extra checked bag
- Priority baggage
- Seat selection benefits
- 30% bonus miles on Vietnam Airlines flights
- SkyTeam Elite benefits across the whole alliance
Key Lotusmiles Gold benefits
In addition to all Lotusmiles Titanium benefits, Gold members receive:
- Priority boarding
- Access to Vietnam Airlines lounges (Vietnam Airlines flights only)
- 50% bonus miles on Vietnam Airlines flights
Key Lotusmiles Platinum benefits
As well as the Lotusmiles Gold benefits, Vietnam Airlines gives its Platinum frequent flyers:
- Two extra checked bags (instead of one)
- Priority security/immigration where available
- 100% bonus miles on Vietnam Airlines flights
- SkyTeam Elite Plus benefits including lounge access (on international itineraries) across the whole alliance
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