The Royal Jordanian status match has come back for one week only
Probably the easiest status match to get, and one with the biggest potential impact. This time it’s not just easy to get BA Bronze, but to jump up and get Silver-level perks. You could get British Airways Silver Status for as little as £110 for a year.
How does this work?
Royal Jordanian, a oneworld airline, has become somewhat famous over the last few years as a method to pay your way to BA status. All you need is hotel status, and this can be a relatively low status level, even status gifted to you by having a credit card.
By paying to match your hotel status to Royal Jordanian’s frequent traveller scheme, you will be getting oneworld status. That gives you perks across airlines like BA, Qatar, Finnair and others.
I did this last year, and wrote about how to get BA Bronze for £38. That was worth it at the time because it gave us free seat selection seven days out for our flights, and we had a couple of BA flights booked that year.
This new status match from RJ can give you the equivalent of BA Silver far more easily than before. That means lounge access, and not just with BA – you’ll get this with other oneworld airlines too.
What’s even better is that TWO of the hotel matches are at tier levels that are free to join. That means you can join one of those schemes, instantly get a low-level status, and then you can match that to Royal Jordanian.
How much does this status match cost?
- To match to Silver Jay (oneworld Ruby / BA Bronze), the cost is $49
- To match to Gold Sparrow (oneworld Sapphire / BA Silver), the cost is $149 if you have a higher tier with a hotel programme. If you have lower status, it’s $248
You have until 7th of November 2026 to apply.
What hotel status do you need to match?
This status match includes most major brands:
- Accor
- GHA
- Hilton
- Hyatt
- IHG
- Langham
- Marriott
- Melia
- Preferred Hotel Group
- Radisson
- Shangri-La
- Wyndham
If you have status in any of those hotels via a credit card you can still use that. That means:
- If you have a Capital On Tap card, you’ll have top-tier status (VIP) with Radisson
- If you have the Amex Platinum (Personal or Business) then you’ll have status with Hilton (Gold), Radisson (Premium), Marriott (Gold) and Meliá (Gold). More recently, Amex added Accor (Gold) as a perk
Which hotel tiers can be matched?
Here are the tiers that can match to Gold Sparrow (oneworld Sapphire / BA Silver) for $149:
- Accor: Gold / Platinum / Diamond
- GHA: Platinum / Titanium
- Hilton: Gold / Diamond – You get Gold with the Amex Platinum card
- Hyatt: Explorist / Globalist
- IHG: Gold Elite / Platinum Elite / Diamond Elite / Royal Ambassador
- Langham: Diamond / Ruby / Sapphire
- Marriott: Gold Elite / Platinum Elite / Titanium Elite / Ambassador Elite – You get Gold with the Amex Platinum card
- Melia: Gold / Platinum – You get Gold with the Amex Platinum card
- Preferred Hotel Group: Gold / Titanium
- Radisson: Premium / VIP – You get VIP with the Capital On Tap card
- Shangri-La: Jade / Diamond
- Wyndham: Platinum / Diamond
As you can see, if you have an Amex Platinum or Capital On Tap card, then you can get Gold Sparrow at the lower rate
Here are the tiers that can also get Gold Sparrow, but at the higher cost ($248)
- Accor: Silver
- GHA: Gold
- Hilton: Silver
- Hyatt: Discoverist
- IHG: Silver Elite
- Langham: Topaz
- Marriott: Silver Elite
- Melia: Silver
- Preferred Hotel Group: Silver – You will get this status automatically on joining.
- Radisson: Premium
- Shangri-La: Gold – You will get this status automatically on joining.
- Wyndham: Gold
TWO of those schemes are free to join and reach (Preferred and Shangri-La)
What perks do you actually get?
If you pay for the Silver Jay status match you get oneworld Ruby perks. This is the lowest tier on oneworld, but it does allow you to check in using the business class queue, and you get free seat selection seven days out from your travel date.
If you pay for the Gold Sparrow, you get oneworld Sapphire perks. This is the mid-tier (Emerald being the highest) and it gives you a number of potentially valuable perks.
- Lounge access, plus one guest travelling with you (you must be on eligible flights)
- Business class check-in
- Usually, you will get an increase in your checked baggage allowance
With Sapphire giving you similar benefits to BA Silver, that means you can choose your seat for free at the time of booking. Whilst getting access to the business class lounges is the flashier perk, the seat selection is the one that gives you true value.
It’s expensive to book seats, and the value of the free seat selection means that you could get your money back on a return flight for one person. This could offer significant value to a family. It’s also worth clarifying that everyone on your booking will get free seat selection.
What steps do you take to get this status match?
When I did this status match last year I found the process to be relatively easy.
- Firstly, make sure that you have checked the table below to make sure you have the right hotel status to match
- Then make sure you have a Royal Jordanian account. They are free to open here.
- Visit the Royal Jordanian Status Match page.
- Enter your personal details, and your RJ membership number
- You’ll be asked if you want to status match on a hotel or airline. Pick hotel.
- Then you can enter the hotel chain that you hotel status on. When I ran this process, I used my Hilton Gold. It then asks you to enter your status with that hotel chain and your membership number.
- The final step is to upload proof of your status. I took a quick screenshot within the Hilton app that showed my status and sent that. Once you’ve ticked the T&Cs box, you can submit.
Is it worth the money?
Here are some examples of when this is worth it, and when it isn’t.
If you are planning to fly on a oneworld airline but you are travelling in business, this might be worth it.
oneworld Sapphire will get you free seat selection from the time of booking, and BA seat reservation fees can get quite expensive. If you are planning on paying for your seats, you could well break even or even make a profit on one flight even if you are travelling alone.
Travel as a couple or a family with BA, and the free seat selection will absolutely save you money and likely stress. However, this may not be valuable if you are flying with another oneworld airline, depending on whether they charge for seat selection and whether the oneworld status gives you free selection.
Just remember to use your RJ frequent flyer number when booking the flight, or change the frequent flyer info on the booking to use it.
If you fly in Economy or Premium Economy, this will be worth it.
Not only will you save money on seat selection fees, but you’ll also be able to access the BA lounges. You will be able to take one guest with you. That is great if you’re travelling as a couple but not if you’re in a family. If you have a child under two then you will be able to take them in with you.
Travelling in BA First? Zero value.
Not only does travelling in First give you free seat selection at the time of booking, but you also get to access a better tier of lounge at certain airports. At Heathrow, that means the Concorde Room. There is little to no point in paying for this tier match unless you happen to have another flight with BA that year that isn’t in first.
How long will the status match last?
You will get twelve months of status. There is little scope to strategically pick a sign up date given that there are only a few days left of the match.
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