Do you have ITA Airways Executive status? now you can gift your premium card to a friend

It must be admitted that The more time passes, the more attractive ITA Airways' loyalty program becomes, certainly without forgetting that he will still be living in the middle ground for quite some time. Between being "pretend" Skyteam while waiting to become "really" Star Alliance.

In recent days The long-awaited co-branded credit cards from American Expres have arrived.s that guarantee a fair amount of point accumulation, and especially to "buy" status with everyday spending. The continuous offers that allow you to accumulate bonus points, initiatives such as sweepstakes and the introduce a friend are geared toward growing membership and get back to generating money for the company. Because it needs to be remembered, Loyalty programs are money machines for carriers, should not be misled by the idea that with award tickets carriers do not make a profit, on the contrary.

The new promotion

While in some ways ITA is almost a stalker in terms of emails, it is surprising that sometimes poking around on the site or in Volare's classified section brings up new, unreported promotions. This is one of those cases. Yesterday I saw the new initiative MGM, an English acronym for Member get member, taken from Italian "introduce a friend". And just below that was this new activity.

All executive customers can now gift a Premium card to a friend, colleague, acquaintance. We are not talking about a fast track, or a temporary initiative, but of a real upgrade to the second step of the Volare program.

Unclear, when and how, there will be a marriage between ITA Airways and Lufthansa, let alone know each other The plans of the two loyalty programs Volare and Miles&More, what is certain is. To be able to give away until January 31, 2025, the premium card to a user who does not have this level today with ITA Airways is an incredible benefit, no European loyalty program has anything like it.

Of course HON Circle members can give the Senator card as a gift. to a partner, but it is a very different benefit because becoming a HON Circle is 100 times more onerous than becoming an Executive and the choice is "for life," that is, linked to the status of the giver of the card. The same is true for Ultimate Flying Blue customers., but again those who receive the gift card are tied to renewal of Ultimate status.

While ITA's offer is that each year the Executive customer can gift status to any Volare subscriber, a card that if given today would be valid until January 31, 2025, in no small part.

The benefits of premium status

Of the 4 levels, it is the one that cost/benefit gives the greatest satisfaction. With this card you get access to all ITA and Skyteam lounges (where it is recognized sigh), fast track at airports, priority boarding, extra baggage, and many more bonus points for every ticket you buy. Having it effortlessly is a very generous benefit. 

Premium is the same status you get, for the first year, with the new American Express ITA Airways platinum, at a cost of 60€/month, instead any executive can give it to a friend every year.

How to give away status

Simply enter the restricted area and fill out the form. The only data required are the first and last name of the member you want to promote and the membership number. There are no small print standards or asterisks, so it is not clear whether this initiative is momentary or core to the status.

One of our readers wrote to us a few minutes after the article was published.

The status is updated immediately, but at the moment the card lasts until January 2024, it has to be seen what Volare will do at the time of renewal.

In conclusion

If this becomes a structural benefit of the Executive level may become the real reason why it makes sense to scale up from Premium to Executive, As mentioned no program in the world has this benefit, at this level and so generous. Of course, there is a downside..

For each executive there will be one more premium than today, and this automatically translates into a dilution of the value of premium status. More elite cards means increased influx to lounges, plus passengers who can choose the best seats on board for free. More people in the SkyPriority ranks And at the business class check-in desks.

Without forgetting that the true frequent flyer knows the rules of the game, is organized, and most importantly is able to move easily at the airport and on board, while those who fly once in a while are the ones who (usually) create traffic jams and chaos.

• Flying