How To Get SkyTeam Alliance Elite Status Using Your Existing Airline Loyalty Program

Airline alliances have been critical to the aviation industry globally since 1997, when five airlines, including United Airlines, formed the Star Alliance. Today, there are three major global alliances: Star Alliance, SkyTeam Alliance, and oneworld Alliance. These partnerships benefit passengers and airlines, most commonly because of codeshare agreements, allowing airlines to sell one sole ticket with travel on several airlines (partners), making connections easy.

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Airline alliances are important for frequent fliers because many loyalty program perks are often reciprocal. SkyTeam, an alliance with big names like Delta Air Lines, Air France, KLM, and Aeromexico, offers two status tiers, SkyTeam Elite and SkyTeam Elite Plus. These statuses are achieved through each airline program. According to the SkyTeam website, each individual carrier’s Elite membership program equates to one of the two Elite tiers within SkyTeam.

The perks of each SkyTeam status

SkyTeam Elite

• Priority reservation wait list (when fares permit)
• Preferred seating
• Priority check-in counters
• Priority boarding or at leisure
• Extra baggage allowance

Photo: SkyTeam

SkyTeam Elite Plus (in addition to the benefits above)

• Guaranteed full-fare Y-class reservation on sold-out long-haul flights, at least 24 hours prior to departure.
• Access to airport lounges worldwide, whatever the class of travel, for members in possession of a boarding pass, accompanied by a guest.
• Priority baggage handling on arrival, whatever the class of travel
• Extra baggage allowance

Who are the airlines in the SkyTeam Alliance?

Two years after Star Alliance was formed, Air France and Delta Air Lines signed an agreement that laid the foundation for SkyTeam’s launch. The following year, Aeromexico and Korean Air joined the two airlines. At the time, the four airlines offered 6,402 daily flights to 451 destinations in 98 countries.

Fast forward to today, there are 19 airlines in SkyTeam, and SAS is set to become the 20th member later this year as it exits the Star Alliance. Virgin Atlantic was the last airline to join SkyTeam in March 2023. The complete list of carriers in the SkyTeam Alliance is as follows:

• AerolineasArgentinas
• Aeromexico
• AirEuropa
• Air France
• China Airlines
• China Eastern
• Czech Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Garuda Indonesia
• ITA Airways
• Kenya Airways
• KLM
• Korean Air
• MEA
• Saudia
• Tarom
• Vietnam Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Xiamenair

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How to earn SkyTeam status through member airlines

Airline programs all have their own statuses and perks at each level. Upgradedpoints compiled a list of what statuses under each member airline of SkyTeam equate to SkyTeam Elite and Elite Plus statuses:

Status matches

The airline industry is highly competitive. With many airlines participating in alliances and offering perks to frequent fliers of other carriers, other airlines need to be creative to attract more clients. This is where status matches come into play, allowing passengers to transfer their frequent flier statuses from one airline to another, often to non-partner airlines.

Photo: Carlos Yudica | Shutterstock

For example, a few weeks ago, Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program announced it was opening up status match to airlines in the United States and Mexico, including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, and United Airlines. Flying Blue already offered status matches for certain airlines in Europe and Canada but never expanded to the US and Mexico. The match is available for Flying Blue Silver or Flying Blue Gold and is valid for 12 months after approval.

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How status match works

Earning status match can be broken down into five easy steps, verify eligibility, gather documentation, submit application, wait for approval, and enjoy the benefits. So what does that actually look like?

1. Verify eligibility – in order to have a passenger’s status matched to Flying Blue, one must hold status at the participating airlines, which can be found in the chart below. Like the chart above listing what status is needed for SkyTeam status, the one below shows what is required for Flying Blue status.
2. Gather documentation – Flying Blue requires applicants to provide airline status details, including a photo of a frequent flier card. Additionally, Flying Blue may ask for other personal details like a passport or driver’s license.
3. Apply – this can be done at flyingblue.statusmatch.com
4. Wait for approval – Flying Blue says that applicants will be informed within three days of application whether the status match has been approved or not.
5. Enjoy the benefits – once approved, the new status will appear in the Flying Blue account within three days

It is important to note that if a passenger matches with Flying Blue but then earns a higher status tier with its other airline, it will not upgrade the status.

It encourages those wanting to match those who are nearing the next tier to apply after earning the next tier.