As SAS prepares to leave Star Alliance, Lufthansa’s Miles & More program is offering a status match challenge for SAS EuroBonus members.
Status match for EuroBonus members
In April, SAS revealed it would be leaving Star Alliance in August. Though SAS was a founding member of Star Alliance, its Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings complicated its alliance membership. Air France-KLM rescued the airline and purchased a nearly 20% stake, and being that Air France-KLM is in a different alliance, SAS was bound to leave.
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Shortly after announcing that SAS would be leaving Star Alliance, the airline finally confirmed that it would join SkyTeam in December. Now that longtime frequent fliers with Star Alliance will lose their benefits with SAS’ partners, Lufthansa is offering passengers a way to keep their status. The German airline has launched a status match challenge that will guarantee status until February 2026.
Miles & More’s Status Match Challenge was created for SAS EuroBonus members, and three status levels can be transferred over. EuroBonus Silver members can receive Frequent Traveller status on Miles & More, EuroBonus Gold will receive Senator status, and EuroBonus Diamond and Pandion will also receive it. There are different requirements for each status level.
Photo: Miles & More
Those wanting to obtain Frequent Traveller status must complete 2 flight segments with Lufthansa Group airlines or co-issuing Miles & More airline partners by November 30. To obtain senator status, passengers must complete six flight segments within the same period. Upon signing up for the challenge, status will be granted until February 2025 and, if the challenges are completed, until February 2026.
The status challenge is a simple, five-step process:
- Register with Miles & More
- Take a photo/screenshot of your EuroBonus membership card, including your name, membership number and the expiry date
- Upload your details and photo/screenshot to lufthansa.statusmatch.com
- Once your information has been successfully validated, you’ll automatically be assigned and registered for the Status Match Challenge
- Successfully complete your challenge, and your status will automatically be extended.
Though a few months remain before the alliance switch happens, it is important to know how things will differ. Simple Flying has written about the new changes and how reciprocal earnings and redemptions will change, which can be found below.
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Network changes
With the alliance swap, network changes are bound to happen and have already been discussed. In the United States, SAS will begin flying to more cities that are hubs for Delta Air Lines, the major American carrier in the SkyTeam alliance. Service from Copenhagen to Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport has already been announced and will launch in a few weeks on the Airbus A330-300.
Photo: Flypix | Shutterstock
At Routes Europe earlier this year, SAS CEO Anko van der Werff said,
“Atlanta was not a surprising decision at all. You will see over the course of time that we will gradually untangle our Star Alliance network and connectivity in North America and beyond. We will really build up SkyTeam.”
The Atlanta route will replace service to Chicago, and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York will replace service to Newark Liberty International Airport, a United Airlines hub.
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