Qantas Offering Gold Elite Status Match: Get Free American Airlines Club Lounge Access

Qantas is offering to status match New Zealand residents with competitor airline status to their Gold elite tier. Emirates elites are excluded.

Status matches are common for US airlines though increasingly airlines will only give you status for a limited period of time, if at all, until you first fly a certain amount with them.

Qantas Gold is oneworld Sapphire status, which means lounge access — including when flying American Airlines on wholly domestic itineraries (and indeed they’ll give you a drink chit good for a premium cocktail, or how I use them – a bottle of water).

Gold also confers preferred seating, upgrade list priority, priority check-in and baggage (with extra baggage allowance) with Qantas. Check-in, boarding, and baggage benefits accrue on other oneworld carriers as well.

First step is to join – with no joining fee – if you aren’t already a member of the program.

Then submit details of competitor status.

Key offer details:

  • Offer is valid through March 9
  • Status will be valid for at least 12 months
  • Account address has to list New Zealand, and of course that address is where Qantas will mail the matched Gold membership card

Does anyone have a New Zealand friend or family member they can move in with?

(HT: Jeff B.)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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  1. Gary, any thoughts on QF being added is a Citi TYP partner? How are they for partner award bookings/availability?

  2. @AI though you could certainly change account addresses, i do not recall too many account statements that would show your country of residence to begin with

  3. Thanks for the tip! I “updated” my address, attached a copy of my competitor elite status and submitted it yesterday. Got an email today confirming my Qantas Gold status. I don’t really need the physical credentials, and boy will it be a surprise when a pub in Auckland that just happens to bear my name receives my welcome packet!

  4. Would we not need the physical card to access lounges?

    And if I obtain Quantas gold would I need to use their FF number on say an AA flight to get the oneworld benefits?

  5. I did this and got the status match – thank you!

    However, when I look at the oneworld status benefits page, I find this:

    “The following exceptions apply:
    American Airlines, US Airways and Qantas offer programmes enabling customers to pay to gain access to their lounges. These programmes are not part of the oneworld agreement, and members of these programmes are not entitled to access lounges under the oneworld agreement.”

    Here’s the link http://www.oneworld.com/ffp/lounge-access#tier

    Does AA just not follow those rules when allowing Qantas Gold into their lounges?

  6. I asked this question before but have not found an answer or a reply. I have been granted Qantas Gold. So now how do I prove it since my card was sent to NZ???!!!!

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