Turkish Airlines still offering a Star Alliance status match to BA Golds
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Turkish Airlines was very aggressive early last year in offering status matches to elite members of other airlines. I even took advantage of this myself, matching my British Airways Gold card.
Turkish Airlines is a member of Star Alliance. This means that, if you get a status match with them, you will receive a Gold card valid on ALL 19 Star Alliance airlines – Lufthansa, Air Canada, United, Swiss, Thai, Egyptair, Adria, SAS, LOT etc etc. Even better, Turkish Airlines gives you Gold status for two years rather than the usual one year.
You don’t even need to match a British Airways Gold card. They were also matching any elite card from a Skyteam member. Even odder, they were matching a Gold card from another Star Alliance airline! Getting a status match to Thai was a lot easier than trying to renew your existing Star Alliance Gold from another airline.
To be honest, I thought that Thai had stopped doing matches. However, this email received by a Head for Points reader two weeks ago (who, ironically, was denied a match to his BA Silver card) shows that they are still doing it.
Dear XXXXXX
We have received your e-mail message dated 10.12.2013
Please be informed that only Star Alliance Gold , Skyteam Elite Plus and Oneworld Emerald members have an opportunity for Status Match.
Therefore we are sorry that we are unable to meet your demand positively.
Kind Regards,
TURKISH AIRLINES INC.
CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT
Full details of how to go about getting your existing Gold card matched to Turkish Gold can be found in this Loyalty Lobby post.
Note that you cannot match your Cathay Pacific Gold card. This is because Cathay Gold is NOT treated as OneWorld Emerald – you need a Cathay Platinum card for this. This is why Cathay Gold gets you the same benefits as BA Silver and not BA Gold.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
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You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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