The frequent flyer program LATAM Pass is currently offering a status match. This comes with benefits such as upgrade coupons for LATAM flights, additional baggage allowance, and preferred seating. The status remains valid until March 2025. However, many of these benefits are unavailable in the cheapest fare class.
It’s important to note that LATAM is no longer a part of any airline alliance, so most of the benefits are restricted to LATAM flights. The most interesting aspect besides LATAM is the partnership with Delta, where you can at least get additional baggage allowance and lounge access.
Unfortunately, this match is processed through statusmatch.com, which charges a processing fee of US$98 (~€91). This “reduced” fee of US$98 (~€91) applies to residents of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. For residents of the USA and Canada, the fee is US$80 (~€75), and for other regions, it’s US$199 (~€186).
These Programs Get Matched
The FAQ has a list of prominent frequent flyer programs, such as:
- Aegean Miles+Bonus (only til Platinum)
- Aerolineas Argentinas Plus (only til Platinum)
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- AirBaltic Club (only til Platinum)
- Air Mauritius (only til Platinum)
- Air Europa Suma
- Flying Blue
- Air New Zealand AirPoints
- Alaska Mileage Plan
- American AAdvantage
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Carribean Airlines Miles
- Copa ConnectMiles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- HawaiianMiles (only til Platinum)
- Iberia Plus
- Jetblue TrueBlue
- Miles&More (LATAM Black only with HON)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- SAS Eurobonus
- South African Voyager
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- TAP Miles&Go
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Flying Club (only til Platinum)
- Virgin Australia Velocity
Where no restriction is mentioned, LATAM will match up to the Black status. However, the requirements are different for each program, e.g. Flying Blue Platinum is enough from LATAM Black, while you’d need the (much more difficult) HON Circle status at Miles&More.
By the way, the list is not conclusive, but your chances are highest if your frequent flyer program is listed.
Status Benefits
The match is really worth it starting at Platinum. We’ll summarize the most important benefits later. You can also see an overview of the benefits and conditions here on the LATAM website. You can also see the benefits at partner airlines (Delta, Iberia, etc.) here.
A word of caution regarding the upgrade coupons: These sound enticing but are quite limited in practice. An upgrade can only be requested 48 hours before the flight and is not guaranteed. You’ll simply be placed on an upgrade list, which may or may not be confirmed at the gate. So, these coupons are essentially only useful if you were planning to book an economy ticket anyway. In that case, at least there’s a chance of an upgrade.
LATAM Pass Gold Plus
To attain Gold Plus status, you would usually need 30,000 status points (revenue-based) or 36 segments. With this status, you receive:
- On LATAM flights:
- 4 upgrade coupons for flights within South America
- Free seat selection (except for Basic fare)
- Free same-day changes for domestic flights
- Priority check-in
- On Delta flights:
- Free seat selection (except for Basic Economy)
- Priority check-in
LATAM Pass Platinum
For Platinum status, you would typically need 40,000 status points or 46 segments. This level offers:
- On LATAM flights:
- 8 upgrade coupons for flights within South America (except for Basic fare)
- 2 upgrade coupons for long-haul flights (except for Light fare)
- An additional piece of free baggage (except for Basic fare)
- Access to LATAM and partner lounges on international flights
- Free seat selection (except for Basic fare)
- incl. LATAM+ seats on domestic flights (more legroom)
- Free same-day changes for domestic flights
- Priority check-in
- On Delta flights:
- An additional piece of free baggage
- Lounge access on international flights
- Free seat selection (except for Basic Economy)
- Priority check-in
- With other partner airlines:
- Lounge access on flights with Aeromexico (only in MEX), Iberia (only in MAD), Japan Airlines & Qatar Airways (only in the Oryx Lounge in DOH)
LATAM Pass Black
Black status is usually granted starting at 75,000 status points or 76 segments. It comes with the following advantages:
- On LATAM flights:
- Unlimited upgrades for flights within South America (except for Basic fare)
- 8 upgrade coupons for long-haul flights (except for Light fares)
- An additional piece of free baggage (except for Basic fare)
- Access to LATAM and partner lounges on international flights
- Free seat selection (except for Basic fare)
- Inclusion of LATAM+ seats on all flights, including one companion (more legroom)
- Free same-day changes for all flights
- Preferred customer service
- Priority check-in
- Free bassinet for children in the economy class (Boeing 767 + 787)
- On Delta flights:
- An additional piece of free baggage
- Lounge access on international flights
- Free seat selection (except for Basic Economy)
- Priority check-in
- With other partner airlines:
- Lounge access on flights with Aeromexico (only in MEX), Iberia (only in MAD), Japan Airlines & Qatar Airways (only in the Oryx Lounge in DOH)
It’s important to note that seat reservation with Delta is always free unless you’ve booked Basic Economy. As a LATAM frequent flyer, you might get access to preferred seating, but this isn’t entirely clear.
How to Apply
The status match is available only through the website latam.statusmatch.com. As previously mentioned, there is a fee of US$99 (~€92), which unfortunately is not immediately apparent.
If this fee doesn’t bother you, the process is straightforward. First, if you haven’t already, you need to create an account at LATAM Pass, which you can do for free with this link.
Afterwards, you can fill out the status match page with your name, LATAM frequent flyer number, and email address.
In the next step, you will be asked to provide information about your current frequent flyer status.
Conclusion
For those who frequently fly LATAM, the benefits (on paper, at least) seem appealing. Especially if you manage to get an upgrade on a long-haul flight, the approximately 100€ participation fee will have paid off. However, it’s frustrating that almost all the benefits are excluded from the cheapest fare classes.
If you don’t have any flights planned with LATAM or Delta, it’s probably best to steer clear of this match. Even if you do fly with LATAM, don’t expect to have a chance of extending your status regularly.
Translated by Ditmar
Cover Picture: Photo by Lukas Souza on Unsplash
Comments (5)
Seems to be over – at least for Gemany as country of residence.
Weird, same issue even for US or Austria. Thanks for letting us know, I’ve now marked it as expired
Many thanks for your kind clarifications.
Warm regards.
Thank you Peer.
Many thanks as well Ditmar for a perfect translation.
Dear Ditmar, is travel-dealz.de is similar to travel-dealz.com?
Stay well.
Yeah. Travel-Dealz DE is in German and targets readers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Travel-Dealz.com was created when DE had already been around for almost 10 years, to offer travel content for the rest of Europe (and maybe even the USA). But we’re all basically the same website, just with more staff working for the German site than for the English site, which has basically been run by Felix and me for the past 3-4 years.