Star Alliance Gold status match

Hi all,

Successfully applied for the status match with Air New Zealand, I now have until 29/03/2019 to earn 450 points.

Question for the skilled (sorry i am a bit of a rookie to this).

I am travelling Business class to the US (Chicago via LA), looks like United Airlines from Melbourne (set by work policy - cheapest).

Obviously, in this instance, I would use my Airpoints™ number for this this to start earning status points and access the Air NZ International lounge in Melbourne.

My question is, due to this being a United flight, should I apply for the United Gold status match and use this, or are the points earned similar and end in the same result?

Thanks for the assistance,

JR

I do not think you could match status match within airline partners in Star alliance. Even if you did, the status really means that you have to satisfy their criteria to get it for the next year. If you are based in ANZ, having it on Air New Zealand makes more sense or even SQ Krisflyer. Points earning may be different with different airlines. SQ is one of the best redemption capabilities. I think the american based carriers are not the best when it comes to treating their frequent flyers with perks. Stay with Air New Zealand if you can.

If this is the United status match to which you refer – https://www.ausbt.com.au/star-alliance-gold-status-match-for-qantas-virgin-australia – then no, other Star Alliance airlines don't quality for the gratis status offer. However, if you hold Qantas or Virgin Australia Velocity Gold, they certainly do qualify.

Sorry, should clarify, the status match is with Qantas Gold. I have applied and been successful for Air NZ and since applied for the match with United (using Qantas Gold).

You should be able to get United's Premier Gold status with one leg of your business class flight, as SYD-LAX delivers close to 15,000 PQMs, so you could even get Gold status with United and Air New Zealand by credit one leg to each program, although not much sense in that!

United Gold vs Air New Zealand Gold? Assuming the general alliance benefits are the same I suppose it might come down to which airline you'd fly the most on. If you do a lot of trans-Tasman trips with Air New Zealand you may as well have Gold with them because when it comes to upgrades etc most airlines will prioritize their own frequent flyers before anybody else's, even in the same alliance.

Depends on if you travel to and in the US a lot. United Gold members do not get access to domestic lounges in the US, whilst the AirPoints Gold membership allows you to access them. Then again, the far superior points currency of United Gold makes it fare more tempting than the utter garbage that is Airpoints. If you travel frequently on Air NZ, it could be worth it to gain status with them so to get 2 long haul recongnition upgrades.

That point about lounge access is a very good one to make. UA Gold gets you no lounge access on domestic flights but Star Alliance Gold does!

Thanks for the responses. If it helps, 60% of my travel is Business class to the US, the rest to EU.