The promotion I wrote about four months ago is back again: Royal Jordanian’s status match is temporarily wide open!
In fact, their status match is almost a permanent program, though the rules change from time to time. The details of this round are as follows:
- Apply between 9 March and 15 March
- Eligible hotel elite statuses can be matched to Gold (oneworld Sapphire)
- Fee: $199
- Residence requirement applies
- Matched status is valid for one year
Note the residence requirement:
- Europe: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Cyprus, Sweden, Switzerland
- Middle East: Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria
- Americas: Canada
If you don’t live in one of these countries you can still try, for example by using a VPN set to one of the eligible locations. Of course, if they ask for proof of residence you could be out of luck.
The hotel status requirements themselves are not particularly high:
- Accor: Platinum or above
- Hilton: Diamond
- Hyatt: Globalist
- IHG: Platinum or above
- Marriott: Platinum or above
IHG stands out a bit here. Their Platinum status is significantly easier to obtain than the equivalent tiers in the other four hotel groups. Even if you currently have no IHG status, you could simply pay $225 to join the InterContinental Ambassador program and immediately receive Platinum, which would then allow you to participate in this match.
The pricing structure remains unchanged. Compared with another airline’s status match offer – Royal Air Maroc – it’s noticeably cheaper, though requalifying will be much harder. Major oneworld members include Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, British Airways, American Airlines and Qatar Airways. Sapphire benefits include free seat selection, priority check-in and boarding, additional baggage allowance and access to business class lounges, which is quite generous.
All in all, although there is a fee involved, the promotion is still quite worthwhile if you can make good use of the benefits.
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