(DEAL DEAD) Get British Airways Silver equivalent status by matching your HOTEL status!
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We’ve talked a lot about airline status matches recently. Many airlines have become a lot more aggressive in their attempts to poach the best customers of their rivals.
If you have elite status with any airline alliance, there is probably a route out there to get status with any other alliance.
However, what happens if you don’t have elite airline status to start with?
Wouldn’t it be great if you could use your HOTEL elite status to get elite airline status?
And wouldn’t it be even better if you could do this to get elite status benefits with British Airways?
Now you can, for a limited period, albeit for a small fee.
EDIT: This deal is now over if you want to match to BA Silver equivalent. Matches are now only available to BA Bronze equivalent for $49.
You can apply here. But read on first.
Royal Jordanian has been running an on/off status match from other airlines for a while.
It has now extended it to anyone with elite hotel status.
To take part, you must live in the UK or Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Netherlands, Oman, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey or the UAE.
The application form allows you to select other countries but you will be rejected if you select one which is not listed above.
Royal Jordanian is a BA partner in the oneworld alliance
British Airways will respect your newly minted Royal Jordanian status, including for lounge access.
Royal Jordanian is a member of the oneworld alliance, alongside British Airways. If you have Gold Sparrow status with Royal Jordanian, you will receive virtually all of the benefits of British Airways Silver status when you fly with BA:
- BA lounge access for you and a guest? Tick
- Priority security? Tick
- Extra baggage allowance? Tick
- Use business class check-in desks? Tick
- Free seat selection? Tick
- Priority boarding? Tick
Your Royal Jordanian status will also be valid when flying with the other oneworld carriers – Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, American Airlines, Qantas etc.
Which hotel statuses is Royal Jordanian matching?
You can match status from the following programmes to Royal Jordanian.
I have listed the status level you need to get Gold Sparrow status with Royal Jordanian, which is equivalent to British Airways Silver.
- Accor (Diamond, Platinum)
- Global Hotel Alliance (Titanium)
- Hilton (Diamond)
- Hyatt (Globalist)
- IHG (Platinum, Diamond)
- Langham (Ruby, Sapphire)
- Marriott (Platinum, Titanium, Ambassador)
- Melia (Platinum)
- Preferred Hotels (Platinum)
- Shangri-La (Diamond)
- Wyndham (Diamond)
It is not matching any Radisson level to Gold Sparrow.
If you have a lower tier of hotel status, you can probably be matched to Silver Jay status which is equivalent to British Airways Bronze status.
Hilton and Marriott Gold status, which is free with American Express Platinum, would match to Silver Jay (BA Bronze equivalent) status for example.
You can still match airline status too
The following airline statuses can also be matched to Gold Sparrow (BA Silver equivalent) status:
- Air Europa (Gold, Platinum)
- Air France KLM (Gold, Platinum, Ultimate)
- Egyptair (Elite, Gold, Platinum)
- Emirates (Gold, Platinum)
- Etihad (Gold, Platinum)
- Gulf Air (Gold, Black)
- Kuwait Airways (Gold, Platinum)
- Lufthansa et al (Senator, HON Circle)
- Middle East Airlines (Gold, Platinum, Presidents Club)
- Oman Air (Gold)
- Saudia (Gold)
- Scandinavian Airlines (Gold, Diamond, Pandion)
- TAP Air Portugal (Gold, Navigator)
- Turkish Airlines (Elite, Elite Plus)
- Virgin Atlantic (Gold)
Again, remember that if you have a lower tier of airline status, you can probably match to Silver Jay status which is equivalent to British Airways Bronze.
You can’t get top tier status via this match
Before I go on, you need to know that Royal Jordanian has different status tiers to British Airways. When I talk about ‘Gold’ or ‘Silver’, you need to note which airline I am discussing.
Royal Club, the Royal Jordanian programme, has three elite levels:
- Platinum Hawk is the same as British Airways Gold
- Gold Sparrow is the same as British Airways Silver
- Silver Jay is the same as British Airways Bronze
Royal Jordanian is not matching to Platinum Hawk status. If you are top tier with another programme, you will only get Gold Sparrow. This still gets you lounge access with British Airways, however.
How long will my Royal Jordanian status last?
12 months.
Do I need to put my Royal Jordanian status in my British Airways bookings to get my benefits?
You will definitely need to put your Royal Jordanian number into future BA bookings to get free seat selection.
You may NOT need it for lounge access, priority boarding etc because much of the time you can show one card to an agent and keep a different number in your booking. At airports with automated gates you may need to have your Royal Jordanian number in your booking to access priority security lines.
You would need to swap the frequent flyer number in your booking at check-in to earn Avios and tier points. You could also do it in the lounge if there was a BA ticket desk.
The bottom line is that you need a boarding pass in your hand at the time of boarding which shows your BAEC number if you want to earn Avios and tier points, instead of Royal Jordanian miles and tier credit.
(Frankly, for short haul flights which earn minimal tier points or Avios, you might as well put your Royal Jordanian number in your booking and leave it there. You’re not losing much.)
Is there a fee for the status match?
Yes. There is a $149 application fee for Gold Sparrow status.
Silver Jay, equivalent to British Airways Bronze status, has a lower $49 fee. Whilst this doesn’t come with lounge access, you could still make a substantial saving on British Airways seat selection, which would be available for free from seven days before travel.
How do I apply?
You will need to sign up for a Royal Jordanian account before applying for your match. There is a link on the status match site.
The terms state that your match will be processed within five business days.
The match is being processed by a third party, statusmatch.com, so you will see references to them whilst applying. Ensure you read the T&C to be sure that you have the correct status in order to make a match.
There is a special website for the status match which is here.
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