Lucrative ITA Airways Volare Elite Status Match Offer

Italian flag carrier ITA Airways has just launched a new status match opportunity, and it has the potential to be pretty useful.

ITA Airways currently belongs to SkyTeam, so this is a way to get SkyTeam Elite Plus status. However, Lufthansa is in the process of taking over ITA Airways, at which point the airline will join Star Alliance, and will use Lufthansa Miles & More as its frequent flyer program. So this will be a chance to eventually potentially get Star Alliance Gold status, and in particular, Miles & More Senator status.

ITA Airways Volare status match details

Through Monday, August 19, 2024, the ITA Airways Volare frequent flyer program is running a status match campaign. Specifically, the airline is offering status matches from 19 different airline loyalty programs. Note that you can’t take part in this if you’ve taken advantage of a status match with the program in the past.

How does the status match work? To start, if you’re not yet a member of the ITA Volare program, you should first register. Once you’ve done that, log into your account, and you should see a button for requesting a status match. If your status match is approved, your status will be valid through December 31, 2025 (the end of the year after which you match).

Here are the 19 airline frequent flyer programs that ITA Airways Volare is matching (and obviously you’d need to have some status in order to match — just being a member isn’t enough):

• Aegean – Miles+Bonus
• Aer Lingus – AerClub
• Air China – Phoenix Miles
• American Airlines – AAdvantage
• British Airways – Executive Club
• Emirates – Skywards
• Etihad – Etihad Guest
• Finnair – Finnair Plus
• Iberia – Iberia Plus
• LATAM – LATAM Pass
• Malaysia Airlines – Enrich
• Oman Air – Sindbad
• Qatar Airways – Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines – KrisFlyer
• TAP Air Portugal – Miles & Go
• Thai Airways – Royal Orchid Plus
• Turkish Airlines – Miles & Smiles
• WestJet – WestJet Rewards

As you can see, many SkyTeam and Star Alliance airlines are excluded from this offer, presumably reflecting ITA Airways’ current and future alignment. What’s interesting is that the terms suggest that you have to show that you had status with an expiration date no earlier than January 2023, in order to match from it.

Based on that, even status that has expired for nearly 18 months would be valid for this. Strange… I’m not sure if that’s a typo on ITA’s part, or intentional.

Should you request an ITA Airways Volare status match?

Status matching with ITA Airways Volare is an interesting opportunity, especially given the transition the airline is currently going through. To start, let’s go over the basics of the elite perks that ITA Airways Volare offers for travel on ITA Airways:

• ITA Volare Plus is the entry level elite tier, and offers priority waitlisting, free ancillary services, dedicated customer service, and business class check-in
• ITA Volare Premium is the middle elite tier, and offers lounge access, 24/7 dedicated customer service, priority boarding, and a dedicated onboard reception
• ITA Volare Executive is the top elite tier, and offers free checked golf equipment, lounge access (including with a guest), food & drinks free of charge, invitations to exclusive events, and a dedicated reception

Honestly, the benefits aren’t too exciting. Perhaps the more interesting opportunity here is the alliance-wide benefits that are offered.

ITA Airways currently belongs to the SkyTeam alliance, so the carrier’s higher elite tiers offer SkyTeam Elite Plus status. This provides valuable alliance-wide perks like priority services, lounge access on international itineraries, and more.

But Lufthansa is in the process of acquiring ITA Airways, at which point the airline is expected to adopt Miles & More as its frequent flyer program, and should join the Star Alliance. That means ITA Airways status might eventually be converted into Star Alliance Gold status, offering all kinds of valuable perks when traveling with Star Alliance status.

Furthermore, if you can get Miles & More Senator status, that will allow you to unlock first class awards in advance on both Lufthansa and SWISS, which is a cool opportunity. However, actually earning Miles & More miles isn’t easy, given that the program doesn’t partner with major transferable points currencies.

My ITA Airways Volare status match experience

Back when ITA Airways Volare first launched, I took advantage of a status match opportunity. So let me share my experience from then, even though it’s possible the process has changed since then. I first had to register for the ITA Volare program, which was a straightforward process.

After entering some basic information I was signed up, and just had to click a link in an email to complete the registration.

The next confirmation email contained a link directly to the status match page.

Note that when you register for the ITA Volare program you aren’t initially issued a frequent flyer number. That’s not an issue, as that’s not even needed to request a status match. At that point I emailed [email protected] with this very basic info:

• Email subject: “program of origin” – “status of origin”
• Body text: name; surname; “program of origin”; “status of origin”
• Attach a legible copy of your current valid frequent flyer card (digital or physical) and a copy of your ID card (pdf format, jpg)

At first I screwed up because I just sent a screenshot of my American AAdvantage Executive Platinum account. My physical Executive Platinum card is expired, so I figured that wouldn’t work. That was rejected, but then I remembered that I could access a digital elite card through the American Airlines app, so I sent a screenshot of that. A day later I received confirmation that I had been matched all the way to the Executive tier.

Bottom line

ITA Airways is offering a status match campaign for elite members of other frequent flyer programs. This is valid through August 19, 2024, and then status should be valid through December 31, 2025.

This is an interesting opportunity to score SkyTeam elite perks now, and then potentially score Star Alliance elite perks as of later this year or early next year.

Do you plan on requesting an ITA Airways Volare status match?