Vietnam Airlines announces global status match program

"I haven’t seen Vietnam Airlines offer status matches before," noted one traveler. "That’s useful because if you’ve run through other SkyTeam airlines to match to this one is probably fresh and new."

The status match is available for customers in several countries including the U.S., Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong (China), Thailand; as well as Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel Italy Norway Russia Saudi Arabia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom USA.

After matching status with Vietnam Airlines' Lotusmiles program customers will retain their new tier for one year. The fee for matching to the top tier is $299. Although physical cards are not issued automatically upon matching status will appear on boarding passes linked to the Lotusmiles account. A physical card can be requested via email and will be mailed within 20-30 days depending on location.

Here are some of the programs from which Vietnam Airlines will match statuses:

- ANA Mileage Club: Bronze -> Titanium; Platinum -> Gold; Diamond/Super Flyers -> Platinum

- Aer Lingus AerClub: Silver -> Titanium; Platinum/Concierge -> Gold/Platinum

- Air Canada Aeroplan: Prestige 25K/Elite 35K/Elite 50K -> Titanium; Elite 75K/Super Elite 100K -> Gold/Platinum

- American Airlines AAdvantage: Gold/Platinum/Concierge Key -> Titanium; Executive Platinum/Platinum Pro -> Gold/Platinum

A notable aspect of this offer is that even Southwest Airlines Companion Pass holders can match to top-tier status while A-List Preferred does not qualify. Similarly Lufthansa Senator does not qualify but United Premier tiers do.