Royal Air Maroc has returned their campaign, providing an interesting PAID Status Match opportunity up to their Safar Flyer Gold and even Platinum tier, which maps to OneWorld Sapphire/Emerald Level through June 30, 2024 plus a longer extension with...
Royal Air Maroc has returned their campaign, providing an interesting PAID Status Match opportunity up to their Safar Flyer Gold and even Platinum tier, which maps to OneWorld Sapphire/Emerald Level through June 30, 2024 plus a longer extension with flight requirement.
The match comes with a fee of up to US$1500 and is available to their Safar Silver (OW Ruby), Gold (Sapphire) or Platinum (Emerald) level from a variety of programs.
Royal Air Maroc isn’t a very prominent carrier, and their program is probably not the one I’d choose for my permanent mileage collecting needs, but if you’re using the status only to access some airport lounges and utilize other ground benefits.
You can access the landing page for the status match program here.
Some of these benefits might require you to add the Safar Flyer number into the reservation in order to get recognized as a OneWorld Elite member, but you could always swap out the number again either after check-in at the desk, on a machine, or at the gate.
In order to participate in the status match, you first have to sign up for the program, which is easily found on Royal Air Maroc’s website.
There is a fee for these applications, and this time, it’s much steeper than during the previous campaign:
Application fees are as follows:USD $150 for Silver.
USD $450 for Gold.
USD $1000 for Platinum Lite.
USD $1500 for Platinum Standard.
(Platinum applications are for eligible customers only and are limited in supply.)
Application fees are subject to change without notice. Status Match approvals for all tiers have limited time-constrained validity until 30 June 2024 unless flight conditions are met.
Last year, Royal Air Maroc had a similar promotion, and the fee to match status up to Gold was 49 Euro, plus the status lasted for a year, not six months.
Here is our article from the previous match:
Royal Air Maroc Status Match Opportunity To OneWorld Sapphire Level Through May 31, 2022
Mind you, the last time, this match was so popular, it was pulled just two days following the opening of the campaign. It’s likely that Royal Air Maroc has discovered this as a money maker and, at the same time, tries to discourage those who are just looking for a quick free oneWorld status from applying.
This match will be processed by StatusMatch.com, which is a provider that specializes in handling and verifying the submitted applications on behalf of the airline.
Frequent Fliers of the following programs are eligible to apply for a match:
Most hotel status tier levels are eligible to receive a match-up to Silver status (worthless IMHO).
Interestingly, the only airlines eligible to match to Platinum (Emerald) status are the top tiers of:
Air Canada Aeroplan AirFrance/KLM Flying Blue Lufthansa Turkish AirlinesIt’d still cost quite a penny to get Platinum. $1000 is no pocket change. The $1500 option for Platinum Standard would come with certain upgrade benefits on Royal Air Maroc.
If your application is approved, you will receive the corresponding frequent flyer status with Safar Flyer within three business days, valid until June 30, 2024. You must meet the flight criteria to extend your initial 6-months of status beyond this date.
The definition is interesting:
To extend your status match beyond June 30, 2024 – you must meet at least one of the following conditions, or your status will be downgraded to Blue status.
(1) By June 30, 2024, flown on an eligible Royal Air Maroc flight and earned at least 1 status mile from that flight and that flight must show in your Safar Flyer account.
OR
(2) Have at least 1 eligible Royal Air Maroc booking linked to your Safar Flyer membership number on June 30, 2024.
Failure to meet one or more of these conditions will result in your 6-month status match being downgraded to Blue status.
There are no refunds under any circumstances should you fail to meet any of the criteria for extending status until Dec 31, 2024.
One could theoretically find a cheap Royal Air Maroc Flight and book it for a future date [beyond Dec 31, 2024] without the intention of ever taking it. Or even a refundable full fare, and one can get the ticket fully refunded once the status match period is up.
This match offer is apparently “limited in the number of matches,” so it may end at any time, even before the official deadline of May 31, 2022.
Conclusion
This time, the Royal Air Maroc status match campaign comes at a cost of US$450 for Gold and US$1000 / US$1500 for Platinum (the latter option includes upgrade benefits), and the tier would then be valid until the end of June 2024 unless a flight booking requirement is achieved which would extend the tier further.
As described in the T&C there won’t be a physical card sent, it’s all digital. You would probably have to enter the membership number in the reservation first in order to obtain the benefits or bank on the carrier of your choice accepting the digital card.
I don’t think I’d pay $450, let alone $1000, for a third-tier airline such as Royal Air Maroc to match a status. As always, there might be niche cases where it could still make sense, like if you know you fly a lot through Tokyo or Hong Kong, where status (especially Emerald) comes with significant benefits.