Match Your Airline Status With Any Airline

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In the last article, I spoke about how to get status with airlines quickly and affordably so that you can get upgraded to first class sooner and more often. In this article, I’ll talk about another fairly unknown hack, airline status matching.

Airlines make the most money off consistent business travelers. They know they can rely on their business, that their spending is more consistent, and that they will be booking numerous flights throughout the year. The more business travelers they have, the more predictable their annual revenues will be. So when it comes to winning your business from another airline, they’ll do just about anything to make that happen.

That’s where status matches come in. If you can show proof of status with another airline, many airlines will match that status for a few months to a year, to encourage you to switch over to their airline. What’s even better, is that they don’t care about your expiration date.

When I first started traveling for work, I performed an airline challenge and won status with American Airlines. Once I had status, I immediately called up United Airlines and forwarded my American Airlines frequent traveler information. Within days, they matched the status and gave me elite status on United for the remainder of the year.

When both of those status were about to expire last year, I performed another status match. This time with Alaska Airlines. With their recent acquisition of Virgin America, they’re quickly becoming a top provider on the west coast, and I’ve started seeing more flights across the country. So I shot them a quick email with screenshots of my American status just a few days before expiration. Sure enough, they matched my status and extended my status for the following year.

That’s all there is to it. By performing a single airline challenge and matching that status to different airlines, I’ve been able to get elite status with numerous airlines, meaning more points, more miles, and more importantly, more opportunities for First Class Upgrades.

Want to match your current status? Check out this great article on Upgraded Points

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