Summary
- Maximize travel on the Star Alliance network for Gold status.
- Attain equivalent or higher status with a member airline for Gold status.
- Stick with a single airline to earn Star Alliance Gold efficiently.
Star Alliance is one of three major airline alliances besides oneworld and SkyTeam. With 26 member airlines under its belt, Star Alliance offers Silver or Gold status to its members through one of its member airlines. Gold status holders enjoy a number of benefits, including priority boarding, lounge access, upgrades, and more.
Simple Flying explores the easiest ways to achieve Gold status with the world’s largest airline alliance boasting a 17.4% market share.
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Maximizing travel on the Star Alliance network
Fly with one of 26 esteemed airlines in the network
Image: Star Alliance
Flying with the Star Alliance network airlines is one of the easiest ways to earn the Gold Status. Depending on the class of travel and fare type, travelers can earn miles or points with the airline and subsequently qualify for the Star Alliance Gold status.
According to Star Alliance,
“The more you fly on the Star Alliance network, the faster you will earn sufficient miles or points to redeem for a reward ticket or upgrade.”
Notably, most airlines base their mile earnings on the fare amount paid instead of actual miles flown. Therefore, when choosing a member airline, it is necessary to research its mile-earning policies.
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Status with a member airline
Having an equivalent or higher status gets you the Star Alliance Gold
Examples:
Frequent flier status with a member airline | Star Alliance status |
---|---|
United MileagePlus Premier Gold or higher | Gold |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Elite Gold | Gold |
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Elite or Elite Plus | Gold |
Lufthansa Miles & More Senator or HON Circle | Gold |
The easiest way to get Star Alliance Gold status is to achieve an equivalent or higher status with one of the member airlines. The Star Alliance Status Checker offers a simple method to check member status with the alliance and also determine member airline equivalent elite status required to achieve Silver or Gold status.
Photo: Star Alliance
Having an equivalent status with the airline automatically grants Star Alliance Gold status for 12 months. Members receive all benefits of their earned Gold status.
If the status checker finds a match, it states:
“We are delighted to confirm that your status equates to Star Alliance Gold. This status recognises that you are a very frequent traveller who has flown often on the Star Alliance network, entitling you to all the Star Alliance Gold status privileges. On behalf of all our member airlines, we thank you for your loyalty.”
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Stick with a single member airline
The fastest and most efficient way to earn Star Alliance Gold status
- Earn airline miles through flights
- Use airline’s co-branded credit cards
- Earn miles through hotel stays
- Benefit from car rentals
- Earn through online shopping
While travelers are free to register and fly with more than one member airline, it will be a longer route towards achieving Gold status with Star Alliance. Sticking with a single frequent flyer program ensures that elite status is reached faster, thereby translating into the Star Alliance status.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying
According to Star Alliance,
“You can join multiple member airline frequent flyer programmes if you wish, but they are each managed separately, so you cannot transfer miles or points between them or combine them into one. By using a single frequent flyer programme whenever you fly, you will reach Star Alliance Silver or Gold status faster.”
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HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card
Fast-track your way to Gold Status
- Spend $4,000 or more on eligible purchases in the first 90 days of account opening
- Gold Status granted within 30 days of eligibility
- The Gold Status remains valid until the first anniversary of account opening
- Earn 1 Star Alliance Point per $1 spent on eligible purchases, up to $3,000 per statement period, and 0.5 points per $1 afterward
- Annual fee $0 in the first year ($450 afterward)
The HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card is an effective way to achieve Gold Status and fast-track it. All you must do is be eligible (through credit checks) for a new credit card and spend at least $4,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Photo: Stanislavskyi | Shutterstock
The Gold status will last until the account’s first anniversary. The status earned through credit card eligibility is immediately withdrawn upon the Star Alliance Credit Card account’s closure. To retain Gold status, members must spend $60,000 on eligible purchases in a qualification year.
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The organization offers several cards through various partner airlines.
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Earn elite status credit
Sign up for promotional offers with your primary airline
Several Star Alliance member airlines periodically offer elite status credits and bonus miles promotions. Registering for airline newsletters and other promotional opportunities is always a good idea, even if you do not have any immediate travel plans.
As highlighted by NerdWallet, many of these airline promotional offers only last a limited time and have a limited registration window. Therefore, it is better to look out for such promotions well in advance. Grabbing one of these offers means boosting your elite status through direct status credit or a large chunk of miles.
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What are your thoughts on easy ways to achieve Star Alliance Gold status? Do you have an elite status with any alliance or airline? Share your experience in the comments section.