U.S. Aviation News: A complete guide to elite status in the oneworld alliance

Unlike Star Alliance, which we covered in our previous edition, and SkyTeam, oneworld offers three elite tiers, eloquently named Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. Airlines usually map these over to bronze, silver, and gold in their own programs, although it varies across carriers, and there is no one standard.

These oneworld status levels are awarded through the status held with any of the oneworld member airlines' loyalty programs. Each tier of each loyalty program corresponds to a oneworld elite level. oneworld's three-tier system means that more benefits are available and easy to reach. While Silver with Star Alliance comes with few guaranteed benefits, Ruby with oneworld and 'Elite' with SkyTeam provide a lot more bang for your buck if you routinely fly outside your home airline's base.

For example, the tiers with American Airlines and British Airways map to the oneworld tiers as follows.

Ruby members receive the following benefits with all member airlines:

• Access to business class check-in queues
• Priority waitlist places
• Access to preferred seats on planes*

Ruby status also almost always provides priority boarding with a member airline, but this isn't guaranteed.

Additionally, benefits vary dramatically by airline. For example, American Airlines offers a free checked bag and advanced seat selection with oneworld Ruby. On the other end, British Airways only offers access to premium economy check-in desks (in London Heathrow) and seat selection seven days in advance.

While Ruby already has some useful benefits, things start to get much better with Sapphire status. In addition to the Ruby perks, you will also get:

• Access to business class lounges. This applies regardless of class of travel and in all locations where lounges are offered. The important exception is for American Airlines and Alaska Airlines members, who cannot access lounges when flying domestically.
• Priority boarding, check-in, and baggage handling.
• Access to preferred seating. Airlines will allow booking seats in advance for free, but the choice (extra legroom, exit rows etc) varies between airlines.
• Extra luggage. While the extra luggage policy varies, it usually allows for one additional checked bag (although British Airways' handbag-only fares are excluded).

If you're looking for the best of the best only, oneworld's highest tier is where you want to aim. Emerald status comes with all perks of Sapphire status plus more:

• Access to first and business class lounges. Several oneworld airlines operate first class lounges in their main hubs, and these are some of the best lounges available anywhere.
• Fast-track security, check-in lanes, and immigration (where available).
• First-class check-in, early boarding,
• More expansive advanced seat selection (with additional or earlier access to preferred seating with most airlines).

As we've noted, airlines set their own policies for status holders and tend to privilege their own members over those of other airlines. Of the guaranteed oneworld status benefits, seat selection (and, to a more limited extent, luggage allowance benefits) do vary between airlines.

There are also specific benefits offered at each level by the airlines that are not part of the oneworld benefits. These are key considerations when choosing which loyalty program to join and which to aim for elite status with.

Cabin upgrades are a key part of this. Although having oneworld status will likely increase your chances of an operational upgrade, there are no guaranteed upgrade benefits across the alliance.

Instead, individual airlines have policies for this. These vary extensively. For example:

• American Airlines (like other major US airlines) has a comprehensive upgrade program. For AAdvantage elite members, domestic and regional upgrades are given increasing priority. Upgrades are also offered for long-haul flights for higher-tier members.
• Alaska Airlines has a similar complimentary upgrade program for its Mileage Plan members on domestic flights.
• Upgrading is much more limited with non-US airlines. British Airways, for example, only offers cabin upgrade vouchers for continued earnings beyond the Gold (Emerald) level.

There are now more ways to get status than from traditional flying activity. For instance, Qatar Airways now offers credit cards that come with elite status. The pair of the Doha-based carrier's cobranded credit cards offer up to 5,000 Avios alongside other elite status perks, including VISA Infinite concierge, luxury hotel, and rental car services.

There are also several status matches on offer within oneworld. Alaska Airlines allows frequent flyers to status match, enabling them to enjoy elite benefits with others while enjoying the perks they've accrued. The company notes that the following airlines are applicable for status matching with its program:

• Aeromexico
• Air Canada
• American Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Frontier Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines

Other oneworld members that provide status-matching opportunities(often at just limited times) include American Airlines and Royal Air Maroc. Royal Jordanian also announced earlier this year that it launched a oneworld Sapphire status match promotion. And in early 2024, British Airways offered an unusual status match opportunity for US and Canadian residents. It is always worth keeping an eye out for such offers.