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Status Run: Gain SkyTeam Elite Plus & Star Alliance Gold for €910

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SkyTeam Lounge

While the Covid-19 pandemic continues to keep the entire planet on pace and ruins travel plans everywhere, some unique opportunities arise in these situations. On of them is the chance to gain two statuses that grant alliance wide lounge access for less €1,000.

The objective here is to qualify for Flying Blue Gold membership by taking advantage of the program’s double XP promo going on for the rest of the year. In addition, this run will happen entirely within Europe. We will showcase a way to get that tier by buying two single tickets or even buying the same ticket twice. Afterwards, you can match your Flying Blue Gold status with TAP’s status match to claim Miles&Go Gold, which grants you Star Alliance Gold, as well.

Warning

There are several reasons that make this run a high risk, high reward endeavor.

  • Airlines’ flight plans are a scattershot right now. Flights might change without notice. If either Air France or KLM expands their networks, you might lose some valuable legs on your itineraries and therefore miss the goal of 280 XP.
  • The travel restrictions to slow the spread of Covid-19 are on-again-off-again. Even four to six weeks in advance, it seems almost impossible to say if travel between certain countries will be possible at that point in time.
  • We cannot say how big your chances are to actually enjoy the perks you earn with either one or both of the statuses, since long haul travel seems to be a long shot. At least for the remainder of 2020.
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Getting SkyTeam Elite Plus

Example Part 1: Bergen to Rome

In order to gain Flying Blue Gold and with it SkyTeam Elite Plus, you’ll need to accumulate 280 XP. This run gets your from multiple cities in Europe to Bergen, then to Rome and back home. It focuses on non-domestic Air France and KLM business class flights within Europe. Under the current rules, each flight of this kind results in 30 XP. The first goal is to earn 180 XP on a single ticket.

In the first step of this example, the desired 180 XP ticket takes us from Bergen via Amsterdam and Paris to Rome. Each of these flights is worth 30 XP, adding up to 90 XP. A roundtrip doubles the accrual, so you’ll earn 180 XP on this ticket alone. Roundtrips including two stops are available as cheap as €453.

AF BGO FCO C 453

Google Flights shows quite a lot of possible dates for this trip at the aforementioned fare. Our availability calendar shows you all trips at the lowest price up to a week.

You can buy this ticket in both directions. However, spending a few days in Rome might be more appealing than in one of Europe’s rainiest cities.

Example Part 2: Hometown to Bergen

The second ticket is getting from your home city to Bergen before your trip to Rome begins and getting back after you have returned from your trip to Italy. The ticket will cost almost the same as your trip to Rome. The flight we’ve selected gets you to Norway the evening before your trip to Rome and leaves the day after. We’ve chosen London as an example:

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AF LHR BGO C 474

Flights with at €474 are available on these dates:

If your build your run around the ticket from Bergen to Rome; any flight to Bergen with a stop in Amsterdam or Paris serves as a positioning flight and gives you the necessary XP, too.

By using our example, you can gain SkyTeam Elite Plus status for less than €1,000 with departure from the following airports (there are more):

Trip Summary

All links above are part of an itinerary you can follow through. It looks like this:

  • September 4
    • Hometown – Bergen
  • September 7
    • Bergen – Rome
  • September 12
    • Rome – Bergen
  • September 13:
    • Bergen – Hometown

This trip is available at €453 + €387 = €840 (from Madrid) and grants SkyTeam Elite Plus status. Not included in this price is food and lodging. This trip may get more expensive when purchasing tickets directly with the airlines instead of online travel agencies.

Alternative Runs

Of course, you do not have to center your journey around the Bergen-to-Rome trip. The key is to include one transfer flight between Amsterdam and Paris in each leg of your itinerary to get 180 XP on at least one of your tickets. Basically, your journey should look this:

  • City 1 (not NL) → Amsterdam
  • Amsterdam → Paris
  • Paris → City 2 (not FR)

It is possible to add the AMS-CDG or CDG-AMS leg manually in most Air France/KLM itineraries. However, this usually doubles or even triples the initial price. It is way easier to start or end your journey at an airport that is served exclusively by one of the carriers. This way, you make a transfer between AMS and CDG necessary to reach your destination. Here is a list of all European airports that are served by one, but not both airlines:

KLM

  • Austria
    • Graz
  • Denmark
    • Aalborg
  • Germany
    • Dresden
  • Latvia
    • Riga
  • Norway
    • Alesund
    • Bergen
    • Kristiansand
    • Stavanger
    • Sandjeford
    • Trondheim
  • Poland
    • Gdańsk
  • Portugal
    • Faro
  • Sweden
    • Linköping
    • Växjö
  • United Kingdom
    • Bristol
    • Cardiff
    • Durham (Teesside)
    • Inverness
    • Kingston upon Hull
    • Leeds/Bradford
    • Norwich

Air France

  • Croatia
    • Dubrovnik
  • Greece
    • Heraklion
    • Mykonos
    • Thessaloniki
    • Santorini
  • Guernsey
  • Italy
    • Bari
    • Palermo
    • Olbia
  • Malta
  • Slovenia
    • Ljubljana
  • Spain
    • Palma de Mallorca
    • Seville

Info

Since both airlines currently serve fewer destinations at a lower frequency than they used too, it pays off to experiment with certain airports. For example, it seems like there is no KLM-service to Rome right now.

In order to get the remaining 100 XP, any flight within Europe with just a single stop in Amsterdam or Paris will do the trick.

When building your own run, here are some facts to remember:

  • You need 280 XP to gain SkyTeam Elite Status
  • Only flights with an AF or KL flight number earn double XP.
  • Business class tickets earn thrice the points (30 XP) of economy class tickets (10 XP).
  • Domestic flights (i.e. within France) earn less (12 XP) than international flights (30 XP).

You can find detailed information here:

Flying Blue: Double Points & Miles for the Remainder of 2020

Getting Star Alliance Gold

Now it’s time to put your golden Star Alliance cherry on top of your SkyTeam Elite Plus Sundae. TAP Air Portugal currently runs a status match challenge. It has announced that it will match Flying Blue Gold to Miles&Go Gold, which also grants Star Alliance Gold status.

To participate in this challenge, you need either a new TAP Miles&Go account or one that hasn’t been created earlier than January 1, 2020. Secondly, after the match has been accepted, you need to spend at least €70 on miles to maintain your status. You can find detailed information here:

TAP Portugal Status Match Challenge: Star Alliance Gold for €70

Bottom Line

Getting a single frequent flyer that allows alliance wide lounge access and free checked bags for less than €1,000 is usually almost impossible. This run is a unique chance to get two. You’d still need to take some risks, as we’ve showcased in the beginning of this article. Further, a frequent flyer tiers may mean a lot less in the near future than they used to.

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