Star Alliance is running a game where you compete to test your knowledge of alliance elite benefits and answer questions quickly, with the prize being Star Alliance Gold-equivalent status in your preferred participating frequent flyer program.

You have to answer questions like which frequent flyer card and program name corresponds to a given airline (e.g. “Sheba Miles” is Ethiopian Airlines) and also watch a video of someone going into a lounge and eating snacks, and identify which complimentary drink they had.

The game runs through December 13, but you’re only supposed to enter once. The two people with the quickest times selecting each program will be awarded Gold status in that program.

As such, it seems to me that there will be less competition to win status in more obscure programs. And that’s great because those are also programs which tend to offer status for the longest period of time.

For instance, rather than going with United MileagePlus (which would get you Premier Gold if you won but you’re probably competing against a ton of people to be one of the two fastest times), consider Aegean Miles&Bonus (lifetime status as long as you keep your account alive through activity every three years), Turkish Miles&Smiles (two year status), and Asiana’s whose rules are too complicated to predict how long gifted status will last but if you earned status at the very beginning of a qualifying period that status could last four years.

The terms of the game say you can win status for a year, but my guess and bet even is that with some programs where status lasts longer than that there won’t be special programming to expire status won under this promotion early.

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