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South Africa removes PCR tests for arrivals
South Africa is the latest country to remove or reduce Covid entry restrictions. Now if you are fully vaccinated you will no longer require a negative PCR test to enter South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the new rules would come into effect today 23 March. They will also allow those vaccinated (or with a negative test) back into larger indoor areas such as theatres and sports stadiums. Masks will no longer be needed outdoors but will still be mandatory indoors.
BA will refund ALL non e-voucher FTVs
A321 aircraftEarlier this week I wrote about how people who originally took a BA voucher instead of a refund would be able to get a refund if they booked within a certain timeframe in 2020. Now BA has extended that offer even further. All non e-voucher Future Travel Vouchers will be automatically refunded to you. Before this happens you can still use the voucher against another BA purchase.
This is unlikely to affect many people as most vouchers were converted into an e-voucher that could be used online. If you are eligible BA will contact you and then you should receive the refund within 30 days. Hopefully, a few people that had forgotten about their vouchers may get a nice surprise!
You can find more details on ba.com here.
Skyteam status match
If you are interested in getting Skyteam status, there is now a simple way to get one if you hold status in another airline. Unlike many status matches it does not need you to make any sort of purchase.
The status match is from ITA which was formerly Alitalia. It is rare to get Skyteam status so it’s worth it for a few minutes of your time if you think you are likely to fly with Skyteam in the future. However, some Skyteam airline programs do not seem to recognise the status yet. Hopefully, this will change over time.
The match is available for 24 airlines but you must apply to the program by 15 April. The status will be valid until 14 April 2023.
Here are the airlines you can match:
- Aerolíneas Argentinas – Aerolíneas Plus
- Air Europa – Suma
- Alitalia – Millemiglia
- Air France/KLM – Flying Blue
- American Airlines – Aadvantage
- ANA – Mileage club
- British Airways – Executive Club
- Czech Airlines – OK Plus
- Delta Airlines – SkyMiles
- EL Al – Matmid
- Emirates – Skywards
- Iberia – Iberia Plus
- Korean Air – SKYPASS
- Lufthansa – Miles and More
- Middle East Airlines – Cedar Miles
- Qatar Airways – Privilege Club
- Royal Jordanian – Royal Club
- Saudia – Alfursan
- Singapore Airlines -– KrisFlyer
- Swiss Air – Miles & More
- TAP – Miles & Go
- Tarom – Sky Team
- Turkish Airlines – Miles & Smile
- United Airlines – Mileage plus
It’s fairly simple to do. You will need a copy of your Frequent Flyer program card of the one you want to match against (digital or physical) and a copy of your valid identity proof such as a passport or ID card in pdf or jpg format.
Then you will need to join ITA and complete the status match request form which you can find in your account area. You should hear back by 15 May 2022 if you have been accepted or not.
I tried to match my BA status and the website is definitely glitchy. It doesn’t always accept the photos even if they are within the size limit. I found by trimming it down (or reducing the file size) it eventually worked. I also had issues with the postcode as it seemed not to accept a UK postcode format, so in the end, I just put in 5 random numbers which works.
I received a reply back within 24 hours which is impressive but it will take a little longer to update my account.
BA Gold matches to Executive status in ITA which is elite plus in Skyteam. Benefits are similar to most top level status with extra baggage and lounge access amongst the offerings.
You can find the staus match page here.
8 comments
Hi Michelle
Worth doing but what does it actually mean in practice. Presumably one has to fly with a Skyteam member to get any reward?
Yes. It is only worth it if you are considering flying with Skyteam in the next year. Obviously it would depend what level you match at as to what benefits you would get.
I’ve obtained a status match through ITA’s previous initiative but having real difficulty in having other Skyteam members recognising it. Aerolineas Argentinas still want my ‘Alitalia’ member number when trying to assign to an internal flight later this year. As you say, things will hopefully improve going forward.
Well we are both gold so what does that get us in Skyteam if, say, we book a business class flight to Singapore? Does it just mean our BA avios can be used or do we get discounted flights or what! Or maybe it is just that we can use gold equivalent lounges?
It’s nothing t do with BA and Avios as it’s a different alliance. So you would need to be flying on a Skyteam airline to take advantage and credit the miles to ITA. You would match to Executive in Volare which gives you Elite Plus with SkyTeam. For example, when flying economy you would get lounge access with a guest at SkyTeam operated lounges. You also get extra baggage and a dedicated phone line for ITA. You can see more here. https://www.itaspa.com/en_en/volare/exclusive-club/executive.html You can find our more about Skyteam Elite Plus here. https://www.skyteam.com/en/about/faq/elite-elite-plus
As a point of note, I had an ftv with a space release and companion voucher and guf2 attached and received the email, called GGL to be reassured it wouldn’t be cancelled (this losing the now expired joker and vouchers) but the mail came automatically
Yes unfortunately they are cancelling anything with vouchers attached but so far have been returning with the vouchers extended.
Can I ask if you were given an extension on the seat release and if so, how long?
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