Royal Jordanian (Oneworld) status match, some hotel status accepted

A week ago I wrote about Royal Air Maroc’s status match offer, and now their Oneworld comrade Royal Jordanian has a special limited-time status match offer too.

Their status match has already become a long-running schema, but the details change from time to time. The special promotion is as follows:

• Apply by December 8
• Accepts certain hotel elite tiers for a match to Gold (Oneworld Sapphire)
• Application fee: $199
• Residency restrictions apply

Pay special attention to the residency requirement: they accept residents of the UK, France, Germany, Spain and other European countries, as well as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other Middle Eastern countries.

The hotel status requirements are fairly low, the list being:

• Accor: Platinum and above
• Hilton: Diamond
• Hyatt: Globalist
• IHG: Platinum and above
• Marriott: Platinum and above

IHG does stick out a bit, as their Platinum is far weaker than the equivalent tiers from the other four groups. Even if you currently have no IHG status, you can pay $225 to join InterContinental Ambassador and get an instant upgrade to Platinum, and then you’re eligible for this match.

Opportunities to match airline elite status using hotel status are rare. The last time Royal Jordanian ran something similar was in August 2024. Although this round is $50 more expensive, the value is still solid. Oneworld’s key members include BA, Finnair, Iberia, Qatar Airways, Cathay, Japan Airlines and American. Sapphire benefits are very generous, including free seat selection, priority check-in and boarding, extra baggage allowance, and access to business class lounges.

Two things to note:

1. RJ’s website requires both first and last names to be at least three letters; you can bypass this on the mobile site by inserting a space.
2. Some airlines, such as Cathay, are now cracking down on using different membership numbers for mileage accrual and for enjoying elite benefits.

All in all, although it requires a fee, this promotion is quite good value if you can actually use the benefits.