*UPDATED: This offer has now been extended through to the end of 2020*
To celebrate its 75th Anniversary in 2020, TAP Air Portugal have launched an incredible offer for anyone looking to start using a Star Alliance member’s loyalty programme. If you already have elite status with Qatar Airways, Emirates, British Airways, American Airlines or selected other airlines, you could now be eligible for a Star Alliance status match with TAP Air Portugal through their Miles & Go programme.
For the month of March, as well as the Silver or Gold status match, TAP is also offering new members 1,000 bonus miles when enrolling using promo code BIRTHDAY01. The match isn’t free but it won’t be hard to recoup the modest cost with the benefits you get from being a Star Alliance Gold card holder. Cost-wise, you have to either pay for Club TAP Miles&Go (starts at €99 and provides you with bonus Miles&Go miles when travelling) or you need to purchase at least €70 (which buys around 4,000 miles) of Miles&Go miles in the programme.
This would give you top tier privileges when travelling when any Star Alliance carrier, including Lufthansa, Swiss Air, United, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, and Star Alliance’s twenty other carriers for at least 12 months.
Please note: you must be a new member of TAP Miles&Go and have joined at any point in 2020 to take part.
How do I get my Star Alliance status match with TAP?
A wide variety of frequent flyer programs qualify, as long as the carrier is not a Star Alliance member. Two steps are required to enroll for the match. New members simply need to enroll through this link in the Miles & Go program, enter BIRTHDAY01 in the promotional code field and upload a photo of your current elite status card. For members who signed-up for a new account in 2020, TAP are planning to add a landing page to assist with account upgrades.
In addition to providing proof of current status with another non-Star Alliance program, you’ll need to complete one of two revenue transactions, by March 31, 2020. Either you can purchase a subscription to TAP’s Miles & Go Club, which earns you redeemable miles and other perks on an annual and monthly basis, or you can purchase miles as mentioned above.
Once approved, your status will be valid until Sept. 30, 2020, though you can extend it through 2021 by earning 25,000 status miles for Gold status, or 10,000 miles for Silver. Normally, you need 70,000 status miles to qualify for Gold, or 50,000 miles to keep it. Silver, meanwhile, requires 30,000 status miles the first time, or 20,000 miles to renew.
TAP’s program offers an incredible number of advantages, including priority airport check-in, priority baggage handling, airport lounge access to over 1,000 Star Alliance lounges worldwide (including United Clubs when travelling on a domestic United itinerary – a perk not even available to United’s own elite members), priority boarding, extra 20kg baggage allowance, Gold Track immigration and security, priority reservations wait-list, priority airport stand-by, and Heathrow Express upgrades.