Status Match Your Way To Elite Benefits

If you have status with an airline, hotel group or car rental scheme you may wonder if it’s possible to fast track or match your status elsewhere. After all no one wants to start from the bottom of a loyalty programme with no benefits! The good news it is possible to status match your way to elite benefits with multiple chains…

What is a Status Match?

A status match is where approach another hotel group or airline with your status from another company and asked for it to be matched. This is quite well known and many companies have their own well publicised schemes. Some will match you outright whilst others will match you if you meet or complete certain conditions, this is known as a status challenge.

One company that offers a status match is Best Western Rewards. They will match your status in any competitors loyalty programme just by filling out their status match form with details of current status.

One good example of a status challenge is Hilton where you can gain Gold status immediately for 90 days. To keep it you need to complete 10 cash nights or to be upgraded to Diamond status you need to complete 18 cash nights in that time frame.

Why are status matches useful?

If you’ve spent a load of nights in one hotel brand you unlikely to want to change. Probably because you have status which gets you free breakfast, lounge access and upgrades etc! By status matching you may be enticed to use another hotels services as you get your same or similar perks. If you are transitioning to another brand due to location, service, work etc. this makes it a lot more palatable!

Another instance you could find status matching useful is if you are staying in a different location to normal. Your normal hotel may not have a hotel there or a different airline flies there. By status matching you can enjoy the benefits of status for the period of time you are using that airline/hotel. Even if you don’t plan on using them again…

What status can I match and where to?

Status Matcher is a great resource to see what companies will match status from other competitors. One of my favourite things about Status Matcher is that there is a constant flow of information from the travel community of who has matched what. There is no need to rely on often out of date information on websites etc. You can filter easily to see what status other brands accept for matching in their programme and also what you can use your status as leverage for in other brands! Check it out here – http://www.statusmatcher.com/

Have you used Status Matcher before? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below!