There are quite a few airlines offering invitation-only elite status, like American Concierge Key, Delta 360, and United Global Services. However, did you know that Star Alliance has — or at least had — a recognition program for its top 1,000 frequent flyers?
Continue reading: Star Alliance’s Recognition For Top 1,000 Flyers
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
“I was today years old when I learned that Star Alliance has (or at least had) a program”
Perhaps a typo here, or is this an expression?
Star Alliance launched this initiative in 2017. They’ve not updated it or published any re-qualification requirements. I still get their emails, despite my travel having decreased.
They occasionally send members a survey asking to share their opinions. I see the program as just a way for Star Alliance to ask certain frequent flyers questions.
There are no benefits associated with Top 1000. They mailed me a passport holder and a keychain- that’s it.
I believe it is based on the Top 1000 (I am number 792) in terms of flying most number of alliance airlines in a given year (rather than total miles).
I believe they are ramping up again, as they sent a note a couple of days ago saying “In the following months we are about to launch numerous initiatives aimed at collecting your valuable ideas and thoughts for the sake of improvement of Star Alliance products and services.”
They also publish the results of the survey questions so you can see how other Top 1000 responded to questions about which are the best lounges, which alliance benefits are most important, etc., which is pretty cool.
If you are interested feel free to PM me and I could log in and screen share what is in the portal.
So are you only using one FFP that creditting a lot of different airlines or they might be able to track all of your accounts? Any idea?
I only credit to MileagePlus. I assume United nominated me for this in 2017/2018 when it started. Again, it’s just a survey program.
Dear Ben,
the "Star Alliance Top 1000" is nothing to be excited about. It is not recognized by any airline but is a market research panel, which was/is organized by market research company Rogator. I just checked the panel and it seems to be hosted on a kernwert.de server (Digital Qualitative Research).
As written before: When Air India did not honour my MileagePlus ticket, I wrote an email to the designated Star Alliance Top 1000 email adress. A representative from the Star Alliance Office in Frankfurt was understanding, but could not help me. I guess Star Alliance is more like a service provider to the airlines than the other way around but it would be interesting to get an insight here. (It is not like Star Alliance as such is a big company. See linkedin).
I was invited back in 2017 being a MileagePlus 1K member due to traveling on many different airlines. Based on my fare classes, it was most likely not based on the highest yielad fare classes. Living in Europe, you easily fly a lot of different airlines by just traveling intra-europe on one of the 10 (?) european Star Alliance airlines. (All Star Alliance airlines with the exception of Shenzhen and Copa fly to Europe (?).
Anyway, in the first year I received a nice personal letter and a leather passport holder with a Star Alliance Top 1000 imprint so I felt special. The second year I received a leather credit card wallet and then in 2019 I received a "Top 1000 Inspirational Journeys Book" in the form of a pdf...because I am so special. It was very promising in the beginning and I was excited but in the end there were no special events but only the online market research platform.
I agree. But have you looked at Malaysia Airlines and tried to credit them to AS or AA?
I did, and they "forgot" to credit me in 2022. Their window is: it has to have been 7 days or less than 6 months for Enrich miles, but there's no process (with either MH or our domestic carriers) to research missing partner-posted miles.
I just decided not to fly MH again. Seems simpler. 😉
at David: How do you know that you are number 792? That was not stated in any letter, was it?
one more remark: Inviting frequent flyers that fly a lot with Star Alliance implies that they do not fly with other alliances too often. From market research perspective, it wouldve been smarter to identify travellers that have earned a status with at least one more alliance/airline. The contributions of those members would be more valuable and out of the box than my contributions..e.g. proposing a Star Alliance Platinum Status comparable to OneWorld Emerald...
interesting. I did not get a keychain but a wallet for credit cards instead. And the pdf "inspirational journeys" 🙂
@John S, wouldn't it be nice if they actually *listened* to all your responses? I'm assuming that you (and others) gave feedback on things to improve.
Off the top of my head, I can't think of any meaningful benefits they've added. Silver is just as useless as it was 25 years ago, and Gold benefits have gotten worse with Light/Basic fares (bags). IMHO, they should take away that exception, give *S some priority airport perks, and add a preferred seating benefit to both *G and *S.
Has it ever occurred that "Top 1000" doesn't literally mean top 1000?
It's more than ever just a marketing term.
Same way to look at "5-star" airlines.
Having read this thread, I guarantee some aviation geeks are going to fly a lot if airlines now just to get this top 1000 swag.
While it would be fun, I'm a bit torn. Flying an alliance member does a.low one to credit points to one's native FFP (albeit sometimes at a reduced earnings rate) but for Air Canada it doesn't count toward 1MM status. Only AC metal does. So while I've flown a baker's dozen or so Star Alliance airlines over the years, and will make a half dozen this year, I wouldn't go out of my way to do so even for the bragging rights. 1MM (or 2MM, or 3MM) status has tangible benefits.
I sense a scam, like those in professional industries that most are familiar with, pay a couple of hundred dollars and you too can be a "Top Doctor", "Toy Lawyer", "Top Blogger", "Top Occupant of Economy Middle-Row Seat"
a key chain? really?
what does being in the Top 500 get your?
- coasters?
The issue is that if you are a major flyer with an alliance, you will have a base airline, and use that airline's FF program for all your flights in that alliance. And usually those airlines give you special benefits if you fly on their metal, so you will choose it over another alliance member if both are available. So flying a lot of different airlines may not signal much, other than you flew a bunch of routes where your main airline's metal was not a great choice, or perhaps a lot of codeshares?
Some airline programs have similar status. BA had it's black status, which is limited to (as I understand) a few hundred people. I used to have it. Got my own telephone number if I ever needed it. Could arrive at an airport with bag to check 40 mins before a transatlantic flight, still make the plane and be escorted to the gate, got invited to cocktails and canapes with the chairman of BA to the House of Lords in the UK. It was very cool
I got it in 2020 before the global China Virus, and then have just been updated for 2022 flights. I don't know what the qualification is either. in '22 I flew 37 flights on 8 Star Alliance airlines and this year, '23 I have done 17 flights on 5 Star Alliance partners. So no rhyme or reason how to get it. I didn't get a number of what I am in the pecking order. As with the other comments, I got a keyring and a book and I regularly get market surveys on traveling habits to fill in. Apart from that, bugger-all.
If the percentage is as small as you claim then of course the benefits will not be much. However, keep in mind this is an alliance recognition and not an airline. The alliance is similar to that of a parent organization. It would not be able to provide benefits without various airlines offering them for this status. I think it would tough for the alliance to have airlines do this unless this status was mostly earned by passengers flying that airline. I mean if one reached the status through a specific airline.
If you are already a dedicated Star Alliance flyer, then the alliance does not need to incentivize you more to fly with them. Most likely you choose Star because you live near one of their airline hubs, not because you have a lot of selection choices.
Howdy, admittedly I haven't tried to do that. I did have numerous problems like 5 years ago getting Jet Airways in India (they were OneWorld or at least partners with AA for a time) crediting anything. It got consistently blamed and pushed around to different ground employees and city stations. Finally I gave up. Was a fairly long set of flights too. AA and Qatar segments all posted fine. But the final segments on Jet never would. Very frustrating.
I am a member of the *A Top 1000 Community since inception, but I have no idea about the “Participant #” someone mentioned in another post. When I logged into the portal, I don’t see any reference about participant #.
I thought I was invited because I do several *A RTW trips each year using LH/SQ/CA/NH/UA/OS. I do use its leather passport holder gift, but threw away the keychain.
There is no benefits in this community, but I am a willing participant in the surveys to provide feedbacks.
You think anybody us "Thousanders" are going to reveal the amazing perks and benefits United showers on us at every opportunity?
The first rule of "Thousanders" is that there is no such thing as Thousanders.
So there.
Yes, no rhyme or reason if thr numbers you cite hold true.
I did 49 flights in 2018 in UA alone (several more on LH) with not a hint of a keyring.
As Rightly pointed out by some of the others the programme started in 2017 and was not based on the maximum miles flown or the number of flights. It was based on the number of different airlines. One had flown in the alliance. Again somebody mentioned for that here we were given a card holder. The program still runs and I think the keep on adding more numbers to the thousand without deleting the earlier ones. There is a number at least for the 2017 flyers but I don’t think it is a pecking order and in any case there no perks. As mentioned by others, it is more about getting feedback, akin to market research. thus you haven’t missed much.
I just received an email that thry are picking up agsin so I suppose I will receive more invitations to take parts in surveys and share opinions. Actually I still don't see any real benefits. I was invited a few years back, I think it was 2015, when I travelled a lot on Star Alliance on at least 6 member airlines.
Mostly it’s just surveys on experiences. It’s clever of them - free market research…
There were some posts during the pandemic - a bit more activity recently.
I would credit any spare mileage towards an alliance with reciprocal access to a First lounge over a key ring any day. I have too many of these knick knacks that never see the light of day as it is.
I got in in 2017 when I was flying a lot of different airlines and got a leather passport holder.
It also got me and my wife invited to the 20th Anniversary Event of Star Alliance Switzerland which turned up to be a pretty awesome event.
Date/Time
Thursday, 18 May 2017 / 15.00-22.00h
Agenda
15.00-15.15h Official welcome by Star Alliance Switzerland/HQ with Country Managers of Member Carriers at THE CIRCLE Showroom, Zurich Airport (by the bus terminal, vis-à-vis stop B/737) *
15.15-16.30h Presentation about THE CIRCLE by Flughafen Zürich AG incl. small apéro
16.30-17.00h Presentation of new SWISS First Lounge A at SWISS Arrival Lounge
17.00-18.00h Insights into Operations Control at Operation Center/Emergency Room
18.00-19.00h Joint bus transfer to Zurich downtown
19.00-22.00h Exclusive Wine & Dine on top floor at Restaurant Clouds, Prime Tower Zurich
I barely fly nowadays, will loose *G this year, but am still getting the survey emails.
It's really about the number of *different* airlines. Those who just fly one (like United) plus another one (like Lufthansa for feeder flights) don't match the criteria.