If you regularly fly on Air Berlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Iberia, Finnair, Japan Airlines, LATAM Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, or SriLankan Airlines, it's a safe bet that you might benefit from
oneworld tier status.
To learn more about oneworld's unique tier status symbols (Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby), visit
our oneworld tier status page.
You can't earn
oneworld tier status without having elite status with one of the airline's frequent flyer program.
Once this is achieved, an equivalent
oneworld tier status is issued (see «status equivalents» below).
Not exact matches
Sapphire: When your respective
tier status is equivalent to
oneworld Sapphire, you may take advantage of the following benefits, no matter which
oneworld airline you are flying or cabin class you're assigned.
Emerald: When your respective
tier status is equivalent to
oneworld Emerald, you may take advantage of the following benefits, no matter which
oneworld airline you are flying or cabin class you're assigned.
Members of LAN Colombia's LANPass frequent flyer program are now able to earn and redeem miles and
tier status points when they fly on any
oneworld alliance airline partner.
To be clear, getting the Star Alliance Gold status is harder than reaching the more meaningful
oneworld or SkyTeam
tier levels.
In addition, members of other
oneworld alliance airlines» frequent flyer programs can earn and redeem miles, awards, and
tier status points on LAN Colombia flights.
News that
oneworld CEO Rob Gurney has suggested that the alliance, which includes the likes of American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and British Airways, is not looking to add a new
tier to its elite status structure... and that's very good news for most of us.
Once again, $ 6,000 EQDs is what you will need to earn for AAdvantage Platinum, which corresponds to
oneworld's Sapphire
tier.
This trip earned me 720
Tier points which is enough for British Airways Silver status (
oneworld Sapphire) but, as I still haven't flown the 4 British Airways segments required for Silver status, I'm still currently stuck on Bronze.
Don't forget that Qatar Airways is a member of the
oneworld alliance so if you have status on the likes of British Airways or American Airlines it will serve you well on these flights and you'll earn a LOT of Avios,
tier points, miles, elite qualifying miles and elite qualifying dollars if you book these fares.
British Airways, Finnair and Qatar Airways are all offering discounted Business Class fares to cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok and, as these are all
oneworld carriers, you can earn a LOT of Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) /
Tier Points and Redeemable Miles / Avios when you credit these flights to AAdvantage of the British Airways Executive...
British Airways, a member of the
oneworld alliance, is adding a new Bronze card
tier and greater point accumulation flexibility to its Executive Club frequent flier program.
Don't forget, however, that a cash fare will earn you Avios and
Tier Points (or any other
oneworld currency you may wish to collect) while an award flight will not....
As I generally fly with
oneworld airlines with which I have top -
tier status I never really have to worry about long boarding lines... but for all I knew boarding with Virgin for those without status could be a zoo.
Also from midnight tonight, the 140 million members of the established
oneworld airlines» frequent flyer programmes will be able to earn and redeem awards and
tier status points and receive all other
oneworld benefits when flying on Qatar Airways.
There have been murmurings that the
oneworld alliance needs a new top -
tier elite level to accommodate (and further recognise) the very top elites from the various member airlines — this would see the likes of Concierge Key and Premier status holders separated out into their own new
oneworld top
tier (possibly called «Diamond»).
I have
oneworld Emerald status (top -
tier) and that usually gets me free seat selection on all my flights with
oneworld airlines — even if I was to book American Airlines «Basic Economy» (assuming I'd gone insane) or a British Airways «hand baggage only» fare — so when this popped up on my screen when I attempted to book an exit row I thought it was a mistake:
introduced «Hand baggage Only» fares that denied
oneworld status holders (of all
tiers) the right to select a seat in advance....
Right now the top two levels of American's AAdvantage program (Concierge Key and Executive Platinum) both match to the top
tier oneworld status — Emerald — as do the top two official
tiers of the British Airways Executive Club (Premier and Gold)....
I read that as meaning that airlines can reward their very top elites however they wish to and in whatever way works best for them... but
oneworld will stick with three
tiers and do a better job of letting the top -
tier elites know just what benefits they have.
Fortunately it looks as if the
oneworld hierarchy doesn't agree with those who'd like to see an additional
oneworld status
tier.
This year I'm still concentrating on earning top -
tier status with American Airlines so my first thought when looking to find a fare is to check prices on
oneworld airlines.
With airlines like American offering up to 5 elite status levels (if you include the invitation only «Concierge Key» level) and British Airways offering 3 official levels and possibly even a 4th and 5th (if you separate out Gold Guest List flyers and Premier card holders) some have been questioning whether or not the
oneworld alliance needs to add an additional
tier.
Members of any
oneworld member airline frequent flyer programme will be able to take advantage of their usual privileges and benefits along the way — including earning miles / points and, for top
tier cardholders and one companion each, the use any of the 650 plus airport lounges provided by the alliance's airlines the world over.
Members of SriLankan's FlySmiles frequent flyer program will be able to earn and redeem miles on other
oneworld member carrier - operated flights, while top
tier members will have access to the alliance's airport lounges.
In addition, members of the airline's FlySmiles frequent flyer program will be able to earn and redeem miles on other
oneworld member carrier - operated flights, while top
tier members will have access to the alliance's airport lounges.
They correspond to
oneworld's
tiers Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.
Travellers with a Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum or higher
tier card, as well as
Oneworld Emerald status will be able to enjoy this facility as well.
For reference AA has three elite
tiers: Gold: 25,000 miles, free checked bags, 24 hour upgrade window, 25 % mileage bonus,
Oneworld Ruby status Platinum: 50,000 miles, 100 % mileage bonus, 72 hour upgrade window,
Oneworld Sapphire status Executive Platinum: 100,000 miles, 100 hour complimentary domestic upgrade window, 8 systemwide upgrades, enhanced customer service, waived feed and expanded award availability
In addition to Avios, you'll also earn
Tier Points when you travel with us and our
oneworld ® airline partners.
Marco Polo Club Silver, Gold and Diamond
tiers correspond to
oneworld's Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald
tiers, respectively.
As a member of LANTAM frequent flyer programme, you earn points towards your
tier status every time you travel on an eligible
oneworld ® flight.
Look for the
oneworld Priority logo on airport signs and follow your path to top
tier privileges.
As a member of the Finnair Plus Frequent Flyer Programme, you earn points towards your
tier status every time you travel on eligible
oneworld flights.
↓ It's Not Just What You Do, It's How You Say It American Airlines announced a new five -
tier award chart, eliminated stopovers on award flights and discontinued
oneworld Explorer awards in early April with no advance notice to members.
1 In order to earn
tier status within a
oneworld airline's programme, a customer must travel a minimum number of flights operated by that airline.
As a member of Royal Jordanian's Royal Plus Frequent Flyer Programme, you earn miles towards your
tier status every time you travel on eligible
oneworld flights.
And with the ability to earn and redeem frequent flyer rewards and credit towards your
tier status across the
oneworld alliance network, your ticket represents even greater value for money.
As a member of Finnair's frequent flyer programme, you earn points towards your
tier status every time you travel on an eligible
oneworld ® flight.
As a member of JAL's frequent flyer programme, you earn miles and points towards your
tier status every time you travel on an eligible
oneworld ® flight.
American AAdvantage credit cards also do not offer lounge passes and you have to be a second -
tier elite (50,000 elite qualifying miles per year) to access the
oneworld lounges.
Gold
tier members of Qantas Frequent Flyers and Marco Polo Club are also afforded entry, as are Executive Club Silver cardholders,
Oneworld Sapphire customers and Qantas Club members.
As a member of Japan Airline's Mileage Bank Frequent Flyer Programme (JMB), you earn points towards your
tier status every time you travel on eligible
oneworld flights.
You can earn
Tier Points too, on British Airways and
oneworld flights.
When your top
tier status is equivalent to
oneworld Emerald, you are entitled to the following
oneworld benefits, no matter which
oneworld airline or cabin class you are flying:
Because
oneworld's airlines all have different names for the top membership
tiers in their frequent flyer programmes, the alliance has created
tier names, based on gemstones, that are common right across
oneworld, so you can be clear of the benefits to which you are entitled wherever you fly through the alliance network.
As well as Avios, you'll collect
Tier Points every time you fly with us and our
oneworld ® partners.