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Many of our readers will enjoy the fine benefits of elite status with BA and the Oneworld alliance, but you can never have too much status! I will therefore quickly walk you through how to request a SkyTeam status match.

This may come in handy if you feel like giving SkyTeam a go, particularly if you live outside London, where SkyTeam member KLM often offers a competitive alternative to BA. And if you are based in London, SkyTeam boasts about its presence at Heathrow Terminal 4, where it operates ‘a two-floor SkyTeam Exclusive Lounge’. They even produced a fact sheet about their Heathrow base, which you can access here.

So who is in SkyTeam?

Apart from KLM, the other European member airlines are Air France, Air Europa, Alitalia, Czech Airlines and Tarom. Delta and Korean Air are amongst the better known non-European member airlines, and Garuda Indonesia offers, from I have read, an excellent first class product. Here’s a full list of Skyteam’s 20 members:

What will SkyTeam Elite Status get you?

Your benefits will vary according to the status level you hold. Unlike oneworld, SkyTeam only offers two elite status levels, SkyTeam Elite and SkyTeam Elite Plus. According to the SkyTeam website, these are the associated benefits:

So how do I get matched? 

The SkyTeam airline offering the status match is China Southern.

• So you would first need to open an account with China Southern’s Sky Pearl frequent flyer scheme here.
• Then apply for a match to either Sky Pearl Gold (i.e. SkyTeam Elite Plus) or Sky Pearl Silver (i.e. SkyTeam Elite) status by sending the completed application form (download here) together with evidence of your current non-SkyTeam status to [email protected]. A photo of your non-SkyTeam status card and screenshot of recent transactions should do.
• If your match is successful, your new status will be good until February 2019—that is 18 months from now!

To qualify for the top tier Sky Pearl Gold (SkyTeam Elite Plus) status, you need to have one of the following:

• Oneworld Emerald OR Sapphire This means that having Silver or Gold Status with BA should get you SkyTeam’s top tier status for free.
• Star Alliance Gold (e.g. Lufthansa Miles & More Senator and HON Circle, Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Elite Plus, Aegean Miles and Bonus Gold)
• Emirates Skywards Platinum
• Etihad Guest Platinum

To qualify for Sky Pearl Silver (SkyTeam Elite) status, you need to have one of the following:

• Oneworld Ruby (e.g. BA Bronze)
• Star Alliance Silver (e.g. Lufthansa Miles & More Frequent Traveller, Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Classic Plus, Aegean Miles and Bonus Silver)
• Emirates Skywards Gold
• Ethiad Guest Gold

SkyTeam Status Match Bottom line

This SkyTeam status match is an excellent opportunity to get access to SkyTeam benefits for 18 months (!) for anyone with the odd SkyTeam flight or simply for anyone looking to give SkyTeam a try.

Even if you haven’t booked a flight with SkyTeam I would definitely apply if you are eligible – you never know when status might come in handy!

Indeed, I will take advantage of this myself to boost my baggage allowance on an upcoming SkyTeam flight from Buenos Aires to Punta del Este on Aerolíneas Argentinas. I booked the cheapest economy ticket for the one-hour flight, but it only comes with a 20kg checked luggage allowance. Rather than paying Aerolíneas Argentinas a ludicrous fee to take a second checked bag, I will simply match my BA Gold status to SkyTeam and check my second case free of charge.

Thanks to Australian Business Traveller