Australia’s Qantas is offering what they call a Status Fast Track for members of various competing frequent flyer programmes. This is, for all intents and purposes, a status match promotion.
The match with the oneworld alliance carrier will give people Qantas Gold Frequent Flyer status, which is the equivalent of sapphire in the alliance. A pretty good deal all round if you can take advantage of it.
Status Fast Track Details
Qantas virtually never match frequent flyer status, so this is a rare deal indeed. You need to be a member of Qantas Frequent Flyer, with Bronze (entry level) or Silver status to avail of the promotion. Your account also needs to have an Australian postal address for your card.
Expressions of interest must be submitted to Qantas by 23:59 on 18 December, Sydney time. They will then get in touch with you within 10 working days to outline next steps.
How good is that deal? Well, you usually need to earn 700 status credits in a year to earn Qantas Gold. To put it into context, Sydney to Perth one way in business class would earn you 80 status credits, while Sydney to Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane return in business class would earn the same. Discount economy generally earns 10 status credits on golden triangle routes.
Which Airlines Are Eligible?
Status Fast Track is available for frequent flyers of quite a few airlines. When going for this promotion, you need to submit 18 months of frequent flyer earning statements as well as a colour photo of your card or screenshot of your digital card.
Frequent flyers of Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana, Delta, Eva Air, Etihad, Korean Air, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Thai Airways, United Airlines and Virgin Australia are welcome to this promotion.
Overall Thoughts
The caveat that you must have a Qantas Frequent Flyer address in Australia, as well as the requirement for 18 months activity statements, should weed out the serial status matchers from the equation. That being said, anyone abroad who knows people in Australia could conceivably change their home address to theirs and have them forward on the card once it arrives.
I daresay the Qantas Status Fast Track will capture quite a few people, especially from airlines such as Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines, all popular with the locals. You can see the full details at the Qantas web site.
What do you think of the Qantas Status Fast Track promotion? Is it something you’ll be availing of? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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