Frequent Flyer Programmes Vietnam Airlines

A Way Into SkyTeam Frequent Flyer Status With Vietnam Airlines

Are you a OneWorld or Star Alliance frequent flyer looking for a way to get into a SkyTeam loyalty program? Vietnam Airlines is now offering an interesting way to get into an Elite Skyteam frequent flyer status. This is now possible through a status match campaign the airline has launched. Here’s who can apply and if it’s a good deal.

In this post:

A Way into Elite SkyTeam Frequent Flyer Status with Vietnam Airlines

There have been a lot of shifts and moves with airlines moving from one alliance to the other in the last years and months. Just to mention a few, Virgin Atlantic entered SkyTeam, SAS is entering SkyTeam also in a matter of days, and ITA will be moving over to Star Alliance within the next 2 years. With all these major shifts and changes it is a particularly good idea to position yourself accordingly with your loyalty program.

An option to move from a frequent flyer program to another without losing your acquired status is offered by Vietnam Airlines. The southeast Asian airline has just launched a status match campaign which it hopes will attract some new frequent flyers into the SkyTeam eco-system.

A status match is exactly what it sounds like. It allows you to move over from one airline’s loyalty program to another without losing your acquired status. The destination airline will match your origin status with its own. In some cases fees are waived in others, such as the Vietnam Airlines one prices range from 59 $ to 299$ USD.

Vietnam Airlines Planes at Hanoi Airport parked at the gate

Who Can Apply for the Vietnam Airlines Status Match?

The list of origin airlines and frequent flyer programs from which you can apply for Vietnam Airlines’ status match is quite long. Here they are:

Vietnam Airlines LotusMiles StatusTitaniumGoldPlatinum
Airline Matched Status
ANABronzePlatinumDiamond/Platinum/SuperFlyers
Aer LingusSilverPlatinumConcierge
Air Canada25K35K/50K35K/50K/75K/100K
Air ChinaSilverGoldGold/Platinum
Air IndiaSilverGoldGold/Platinum
Air New ZealandSilverGoldGold/Elite
Alaska AirlinesMVPMVP GoldMVP 100K/MVP 75K
American AirlinesGoldPlatinumConcierge Key/Executive Platinum/Platinum Pro
AsianaSilverGoldDiamond/Diamond Plus/Gold/Platinum
AviancaSilverGoldGold/Diamond
British AirwaysBronzeSilverGold/Gold Guest List/Premier
Brussels AirlinesFrequent TravellerSenatorHON Circle/Senator
Cathay PacificSilverGoldDiamand/Diamond Plus/Invitation
China SouthernSilverGoldPlatinum
COPASilverGoldGold/Platinum/Presidential Platinum
Croatia AirlinesFrequent TravellerSenatorHON Circle/Senator
EVA AirSilverGoldDiamond/Gold
EgyptairSilverGoldElite/Gold/Platinum
El AlSilverGoldPlatinum/Top Platinum
EmiratesSilverGoldIO/Platinum
Ethiopian AirlinesSilverGoldGold/Platinum
EtihadSilverGoldPlatinum
FinnairSilverGoldPlatinum/Platinum Lumo
IberiaSilverGoldInfinita/Platinum/Prime/Singular
IcelandairSilverGold
JALCrystalGlobal Club/ Global Club Crystal/ Global Club SapphireGlobal Club Diamond/Global Club Premier
LOTFrequent TravellerSenatorHON Circle/Senator
LufthansaFrequent TravellerSenatorHON Circle/Senator
Malaysia AirlinesSilverGoldPlatinum
Philippine AirlinesElitePremier EliteMillion Miler
QantasSilverGoldChairmans Lounge/Platinum/Platinum One
Qatar AirwaysSilverGoldPlatinum
Royal Air MarocSilverGoldAmbassador/Platinum
Royal BruneiSilverGold
Royal JordanianSilver JayGold SparrowPlatinum Hawk
SWISSFrequent TravellerSenatorHON Circle/Senator
Shenzen AirlinesSilverGoldGold/Platinum
Singapore AirlinesSilverGoldGold/PPS/PPS Solitare
South African AirlinesSilverGoldGold/Platinum
SouthwestA-ListA-List PreferredCompanion Pass
Sri LankanClassicGoldPlatinum
TAPSilverGoldGold/Navigator
Thai AirwaysSilverGoldGold/Platinum
Turkish AirlinesClassic PlusEliteElite/Elite Plus
United AirlinesPremier SilverPremier GoldGlobal Serivices/Premier 1k/Premier Gold/Premier Platinum
Virgin AustraliaSilverGoldPlatinum

As you might have noticed, in some cases you can choose which status to match yours with. You can either go for Gold or Platinum in Vietnam Airlines’ LotusMiles. Which to apply for depends on what you forecast your travels to look like in the next 12 months.

I mentioned before that prices vary between 59 and 299$ to apply for the status match. Here’s the detail of how prices vary if applying for:

  • Titanium – 99$ (in most of Asia 59$)
  • Gold – 159$
  • Platinum – 299$

To get started with this status match, provided you meet all the qualifying criteria, you’ll need to fill the application for at this page: Lotusmiles Status Match

Is This Status Match a Good Deal?

Well, that all depends on your travel needs. For some it might be a fantastic opportunity for others less. For instance if your travel habits are changing significantly and you find yourself flying more and more with SkyTeam airlines and don’t have a frequent flyer status with one of their airlines, then yeah probably you should go for it. Also you should if you plan to fly significantly more SkyTeam in the next 12 months than on OneWorld or Star Alliance.

If you’re only going to occasionally fly SkyTeam or don’t have a big flight schedule lined up on their airlines maybe don’t be too hasty.

Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 Landing in Tokyo Haneda

What Are Vietnam Airlines’ LotusMiles Main Benefits?

Just a quick recap of what LotusMiles offers in its highest tiers. I’ll cover the whole loyalty program in a separate post. However here’s in a nutshell what the loyalty program offers in its top tiers:

  • Extra Baggage Allowance (for all tiers)
  • Priority Check-in (for all tiers)
  • Airport Lounge Access (for Gold and Platino)
  • Fast-track at security and immigration (for Platinum only)

A standard offering we are used to see with other frequent flyer programs in their top tiers. What makes the offer quite interesting is the fact that it is in all effects a shortcut into a SkyTeam Elite tier. You will maintain your matched tier and benefits for the following 12 months. Thereafter LotusMiles rules apply and you’ll need to reach the qualifying points threashold.