In our last article about the loyalty programs, we looked at the award miles of airlines. Now, it’s time to look at the status part of the programs.
Contrary to the award miles, which can remain valid unlimited time (depending on the program), the status miles or points are usually valid just for one year. In most cases it is a calendar year.
You earn them at the same time as your award miles when flying but cannot use your status miles or points for any awards, like purchasing award tickets. The intent of status miles is to show your status depending on how frequently or intensively you use a certain airline (or a certain airline alliance) during the year. The principle is simple: the more you fly with the airline the more status miles you earn and the higher your status will be.
What are the usual status levels?
In each program there are at least two status levels (the entry level available right upon the registration is not considered, as it usually does not bring any substantial benefits):
- On the first status level, the benefits are usually very moderate. Depending on the program or airline alliance, you can benefit from a higher award miles credits for the same flight, priority check-in at a business class counter, priority on a waiting list etc.
- The second status level brings usually more significant benefits, like priority boarding, access to airline lounges, priority luggage handling, upgrades etc.
Some programs limit their status levels just to two, others can blow up their status levels to three, four and more. This difference in levels can be sometimes difficult to align within airline alliances. Therefore, the major alliances, like Star Alliance, SkyTeam and OneWorld have introduced alliance-wide status levels and are mapping different levels of each individual program of participating airlines to the two or three alliance-levels.
SkyTeam and Star Alliance have two alliance-wide levels. In SkyTeam these are Elite and Elite Plus. In Star Alliance they are Silver and Gold. OneWorld has three alliance-wide levels: Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald.
As an example, the status levels of Lufthansa (Frequent Traveler, Senator and HON Circle) are mapped on the Star Alliance level as follows:
Frequent Traveler – Silver Star Alliance
Senator – Gold Star Alliance
HON Circle – Gold Star Alliance
Flying Blue status levels (Silver, Gold, and Platinum) are mapped to the SkyTeam status levels:
Silver – Elite SkyTeam
Gold – Elite Plus SkyTeam
Platinum – Elite Plus SkyTeam
This helps also to unify the benefits between the airlines of the same alliance, when passengers use partner airlines instead of the airline offering the subscribed program. In other words, if you have a Senator status of Lufthansa, you can be sure to be recognized with your status and to get the benefits of the Gold Star Alliance level if you fly on any of the 25 airlines participating in the alliance.
Which benefits do you get if you reach a status level in one of the alliances (alliance-wide)?
The benefits of the higher level contain also the benefits of the lower level:
| Status | Star Alliance | Status | SkyTeam | Status | OneWorld |
| Silver | * Priority waitlist * Priority airport stand-by | Elite | * Priority waitlist * Priority airport stand-by * Priority check-in * Extra baggage allowance * Priority boarding * Priority seating | Ruby | * Priority waitlist * Priority airport stand-by * Priority check-in * Priority seating |
| Gold | * Priority airport check-in * Extra baggage allowance * Priority security and immigration * Lounge access * Priority boarding * Priority baggage handling | Elite Plus | * Priority at immigration and security * Lounge access * Priority baggage handling * Sky priority recognition * Priority at transfer desks | Sapphire | * Lounge access * Priority boarding * Priority baggage handling |
| Emerald | * Priority at immigration and security * Check-in at First Class counters * Access to First Class lounges |
As you can see in the table above, most of the benefits at the very first status level are offered within the SkyTeam alliance. The benefits at the second status level are rather similar.
Why should airlines have more status levels than available across the alliance?
Well, the benefits on different levels can vary significantly between the alliances and even between the airlines of the same alliance. While within Star Alliance you cannot expect much being on the Silver Star Alliance level (mainly, priority on waiting lists and stand-by as well as eventually higher award miles credits), if you have an Elite status within SkyTeam, you can expect to have access to the business check-in counter, an extra luggage allowance (more weight or more pieces to check-in), priority boarding and some other minor benefits.
Especially within Star Alliance, the airlines understand that the benefits on the first status level are rather poor and offer more perks to their customers if they fly with the airline – owner of their subscribed program. Lufthansa, for example, allows its Frequent Travelers to check-in at the business class counter, to access business lounges if they fly with the airline of the Lufthansa Group. These benefits, however, are not valid alliance wide. However, if you fly with the airline managing your loyalty program, you can have improved status benefits.
The same applies to the higher levels: it does not matter whether you hold a Senator status or a HON Circle status within Lufthansa’s Miles & More program or the Gold or Platinum status within Flying Blue of Air France/ KLM. Alliance-wide your benefits do not change. However, the airlines recognize that certain clients go far beyond the alliance-wide Gold or Elite Plus levels and merit more perks.
HON Circle members of Miles & More get more upgrade vouchers than the gold members, can access First Class lounges even if flying in economy class (Senator status allows you to access only business or Senator lounges if not flying First Class), have access to the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt and enjoy a limousine service (where available) when boarding or disembarking.
Some programs offer you even lifetime status levels if you complete certain conditions. Reaching the lifetime status, you do not need to requalify every year anymore, but can hold the status even if you do not fly or fly just occasionally.
As you can see, the pampering goes far beyond the standard second (or third) level benefits.
How can you get a higher status?
Depending on the program you participate in, you can get a better status by gathering status miles, flight segments, or status points. Some programs allow you to combine, for example, status miles and status segments.
Status segments can be beneficial in case, if you fly much over the year but mainly in economy class. If, for example, you need just 15 segments to qualify to a silver status and you have a return connecting flight from Barcelona via Frankfurt to Bucharest, with one single return journey you earn directly 4 flight segments: 1) Barcelona – Frankfurt; 2) Frankfurt – Bucharest; 3) Bucharest – Frankfurt; 4) Frankfurt – Barcelona. Just 4 flights in the course of the year will promote you to the silver status accordingly, even if you always fly in economy.
Status miles can bring you faster to a higher status when flying in premium cabins, even if you fly just a few times per year. If the airline allows you to qualify via both paths, as soon as you reach the required qualification via one of both paths, you are qualified and – usually – can enjoy your status for the rest of the year and the following year. There are still airlines applying the qualification by flown distance and the booked class. Each cabin can have multiple booking classes which should not be mixed up with the booked cabin. The booking class depends on the type of fare you purchase (a cheaper promotional one, a standard one etc.) Certain booking classes can be completely excluded from earning miles (equally award and status miles). In this case you usually earn more miles (award and status) the more expensive booking class (or booking fare) you purchase. Sometimes, it is just a matter of a couple of euros or dollars between the booking class excluded from miles credits and a booking class offering such credits on your flight and helping you to reach a higher status.
In the last years, more and more airlines switched to the qualification by points, which are not really dependent on the flown distance or booking class anymore. Often, they just define regions. Whether you fly within the same region or from one region to another, you gather a fixed number of status points. An additional criterion can be the cabin you travel in (economy, premium economy, business, or first).
The discrepancies between different programs (even within the same alliance) are enormous. If in one program you might be able to reach the first status level just after few flights (four or five, as an example), participating in a wrong program would require you flying at least 60 times a year to reach the same level or you would not reach it at all, because the program would impose the use of a certain airline as a condition to reach the status.
In general, by selecting the right program and applying the right strategy, you can comparably easily pitchfork yourself to the first or second status level, even if you mainly travel in economy. Certain travel types (cabin classes, frequency) and certain travel destinations can make a program more favorable to your individual needs, even if the same program would not be the most beneficial one in general view.
In future articles we’ll be looking more intensively into different programs, their pros and cons.
In the meantime, Singabiz will be glad to consult you on the best program selection and its use depending on your individual travel needs. Feel free to contact us or to book your individual consultation with us.
