Royal Air Maroc Oneworld Status Match Opportunity

Royal Air Maroc’s Safar Flyer program is offering a status match opportunity at the moment, which can easily score you valuable status (and lounge access with oneworld). We saw a similar promotion in the spring of 2022, and I know it’s one that many people took advantage of.

There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that you’re eligible for this offer even if you took advantage of the last one. The bad news is that there’s a substantial cost to take advantage of this, higher than the cost of any status match opportunity I’ve ever seen before. Let’s go over the details.

Basics of Royal Air Maroc’s status match promo

The website statusmatch.com is partnering with Royal Air Maroc’s Safar Flyer program to offer a status match promotion. Royal Air Maroc is one of the newest oneworld member airlines, so this could be valuable even if you don’t typically fly with Royal Air Maroc.

You’re able to earn all three oneworld elite tiers with this offer, as follows:

• A match to Safar Flyer Silver (oneworld Ruby) costs $150; this match is available to those who have status with most major hotel programs
• A match to Safar Flyer Gold (oneworld Sapphire) costs $450; this match is available to those who have status with most major airline frequent flyer programs in the United States and Europe, excluding oneworld carriers
• A match to Safar Flyer Platinum (oneworld Emerald) costs $1,000-1,500 (for $1,500 you get the status and the three complimentary business class upgrade vouchers, while for $1,000 you get the status without the upgrade vouchers); this match is available to those who have status with Air Canada, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, and Turkish Airlines

Here are a few more details to be aware of:

• The status match request should take just a minute to complete, though it can take up to five business days for the request to be approved
• While there’s no published end date for this promotion, there are a limited number of status matches available, so the offer could be pulled at any time
• Matched status is valid through June 30, 2024, and it can be extended through December 31, 2024, if you book or take one flight with Royal Air Maro by then
• You are eligible for this offer even if you’ve taken advantage of past Royal Air Maroc status match opportunities

Why is this status match opportunity useful?

Obviously this promotion could be useful if you’re someone who has a lot of travel on Royal Air Maroc coming up. Beyond that, though, the main reason to consider this promotion is because of the value of oneworld Sapphire or oneworld Emerald status. Sapphire status offers perks like priority boarding, priority check-in, and extra baggage allowance, on all oneworld airlines.

For many people, the most exciting aspect of this status match opportunity is that you could access American Admirals Clubs or American Flagship Lounges whenever traveling on a oneworld airline, even if you’re traveling domestically.

American AAdvantage and Alaska Mileage Plan elite members only get lounge access on select international itineraries, while oneworld Sapphire members with foreign airlines get lounge access even on entirely domestic itineraries. Getting access to American’s premium lounges even when traveling domestically is awesome.

If you’re wondering if you actually need to credit your flights to Royal Air Maroc’s program in order to access lounges:

• Personally I’ve had no issue accessing American Airlines lounges while crediting to AAdvantage and then showing my elite status credentials with a partner airline; sometimes it’s a bit of a process for agents to enter it into the system, but it has always worked out
• Some report that Alaska Lounges will only admit you based on the status that shows on your boarding pass, in which case it could be an issue to credit a flight to Alaska Mileage Plan or American AAdvantage, while trying to use your Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer status for access; in theory you could always just change your frequent flyer number after accessing the lounge, but that wouldn’t work if you’ve been upgraded or assigned a premium seat based on your status

Which status is Royal Air Maroc matching?

According to the FAQs, below is how status matches over with this Royal Air Maroc offer.

As you can see, this offer includes many non-oneworld airlines, in particular airlines in North America and Europe.

Is this offer worth it?

I think the most compelling opportunity here is being able to get oneworld Sapphire status just by having status with another major non-oneworld program. That being said, the application fee is substantial this time. While the fee for the last promotion was €49, this time around you’re paying $450 for the same kind of match, and it’s only valid for just over six months.

I suspect the most valuable scenario here is that someone who is a frequent domestic oneworld flyer might value this for Flagship Lounge access. Would you pay $450 for access to Flagship Lounges for a period of six months, with the opportunity to extend it for an additional six months with one Royal Air Maroc flight? That’s something everyone has to decide for themselves.

Bottom line

There’s a new status match promotion for Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer status, which can earn you oneworld Sapphire or Emerald status. Most non-oneworld programs will match to oneworld Sapphire status. That’s exciting, since that offers valuable status. However, the major catch is that you need to pay a $450 application fee, which is significant. There’s still potentially value to be had, but I don’t think this offer will have the same widespread appeal as the last one.

Do you plan on taking advantage of this oneworld status match opportunity?