A (longish) word on status matches

Airlines, hotels, everybody wants your money. That, in a word, is why they are willing to do a status match, most of the time. In short, a status match is a promotional tool that lets you have elite status (Gold or higher, whatever it is called) in exchange for a larger share of your wallet. Having said that, you don’t always need to spend, to get elite status with a hotel or airline. Yes, the chances are, that with an elite status in your hand, you are more likely to use that hotel’s/airline’s services, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Status match v/s Status challenges

A status match is when an airline/hotel recognises your (elite) status with a competitor, and matches (or “sees”) that with their own program. For example, a Marco Polo Gold member (with Cathay Pacific) may want to have elite status with, say Gulf Air because they are relocating to the Middle East and expect to fly Gulf Air more.

On the other hand, some airlines/hotels offer a “Status Challenge” – you may or may not have elite (or any) status with that airline/hotel or a competitor, but this involves flying/staying with that company a certain number of times, and in a limited period. Often, the fly/stay requirement and the time frame, are both much lesser than what it would normally take to earn that status. For instance, the Hilton HHonors Gold MVP program asks only for 4 stays (or 9 nights) in a 90 day period, as compared to 20 stays/40 nights/75k HHonors base points in the normal program. This post, however, will focus less on status challenges.

WHY?

That’s easy. For the hotel/airline, it means winning a loyal customer, and translates into potential loyalty and future revenues. (Just remember, it is unlikely, if at all, that you will be matched to the highest elite level of a program, for airlines. For hotels, it is a lot simpler.) For the individual, it is simply the benefits that come with the status. There is also one other benefit of getting a status match – which is, to get another status match indirectly, and there is no other way to do it.

Airlines v/s hotels

In my experience, hotels tend to match status better than airlines. I suppose the economics behind this is simple. The average cost of one flight (considering short-, medium- and long-haul flights together) costs more than the average cost of one room night. So it makes more sense for hotels to match status, than airlines. Also, alliance-oriented airlines may end up having to incur costs (eg, for lounge access) when the elite member isn’t even flying their airline. No such risks or costs for the hotel.

Are they published?

Most companies tend not to publish their policies on status matches. Also, matching status isn’t something you should take for granted. It isn’t as much a right, as it is a privilege. Companies also take status match requests seriously, and evaluate them on a case-to-case basis.

Is it worth it?

I tend to be guarded when I’m asked this question. I suppose elite status is always worth it – if you use the facility. Remember, most programs will only match your status once in a lifetime, so if you’ve matched status without any intention to use the facilities, the status match isn’t really worth it. Also, unless otherwise specified, statuses are valid till the end of the current calendar year, or the next calendar year if your elite status has been granted in the second half of the year. This is the typical pattern, but YMMV.

In short – if you propose to use a hotel/airline a lot, it is worth trying for a status match.

Resources

I will soon be putting up some specific information on status matches. Other resources to try out are
a. http://www.statusmatcher.com, and
b. various posts on http://www.boardingarea.com – a blog-aggregator on travel, miles and such.