El Al Sets The Stage For Potential Matmid Status Devaluations And Removes Soft Landings, But Will Add Choice Benefit And Expanded Lifetime Status Program

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This post was updated with information on the new lifetime status qualification program.

El Al did a major overhaul of their Matmid frequent flyer program last September.

And then came October 7th, which among many other things, majorly affected the airline’s operations.

Most other airlines bailed from the Israeli market, while El Al’s planes filled up to capacity at above-average fares.

El Al also extended status through May and offered status for prepaying for El Al flight vouchers.

All of this created stress on El Al’s ability to service their elite members. The airline’s flagship King David Lounge filled to capacity, which had the airline taking over the shuttered Dan E lounge for Matmid Gold members. The airline offers the same amenities and mehadrin kosher food and beverages in that lounge as in the King David Lounge.

One of the challenges the airline faces is that by Israeli law, all program changes must be published 9 months in advance. The airline doesn’t feel like it can react to rapidly changing market conditions with that requirement, so they are taking some steps to address that.

Effective 4/1/25, the elite program will refresh every 9 months. The airline will publish the requirements for the new program 3 months before the refresh, so we can expect further guidance about the new program by 1/1/25.

Under the current program you earn 1 diamond per $1 spent (Executive members will receive 1.2 diamond per $1 spent on flights in Premium and Business) and status requirements are as follows:

• Silver status requires earning 3,000 diamonds in 12 consecutive months. That’s equal to spending $3,000 on flights. Alternatively you can earn Silver with 2,000 diamonds and 6 flight segments. That’s equal to spending $2,000 on flights.
• Gold status requires earning 6,000 diamonds in 12 consecutive months. That’s equal to spending $6,000 on flights. Alternatively you can earn Gold with 3,500 diamonds and 10 flight segments. That’s equal to spending $3,500 on flights.
• Platinum status requires earning 12,000 diamonds in 12 consecutive months. That’s equal to spending $12,000 on flights. Alternatively you can earn Platinum with 7,000 diamonds and 20 flight segments. That’s equal to spending $7,000 on flights.
• Top Platinum status requires earning 28,000 diamonds in 12 consecutive months. That’s equal to spending $28,000 on flights. Alternatively you can earn Top Platinum with 25,000 diamonds and 40 flight segments. That’s equal to spending $25,000 on flights.

Status will still be valid for 12 months from when you reach a status tier and status is extended for another 12 months from when you reach a higher tier. The lookback period for requalification is still the diamonds earned in the previous 12 months, but requirements will change more frequently with new program requirements every 9 months.

El Al notes that it isn’t possible to sustain the current level of elite servicing, so I’d expect rates to earn status to go up, though the airline promises that under the new program launching on 4/1/25, rates won’t go up by more than 30% from the current diamond requirements.

One big change is that currently, elites that don’t requalify for status receive a soft landing, where they go down 1 tier of status each year. The soft landing benefit will be eliminated on 4/1/25 in favor of a “what have you done for me lately” approach. That means a Top Platinum could fall directly to a non-elite member if they don’t requalify for status based on the diamonds earned in the previous 12 months.

It’s not all bad news though. The airline says they will release their own version of an elite choice benefit selection starting with the new program, with the details announced by 1/1/25 to go into effect on 4/1/25. Airlines like American and Delta allow higher-tier elites to select customized rewards for their loyalty.

Another benefit is that El Al currently only awards lifetime Gold status to members who are 67 or older who have earned Gold, Platinum, or Top Platinum status for the previous 10 consecutive years. Under the new program, anyone who has earned Gold, Platinum, or Top Platinum status for 15 consecutive years will earn lifetime Gold status.

I understand where El Al is coming from, but personally I’d much rather see the airline move to a less confusing US airline style calendar year elite status program. Having potential changes every 9 months when status qualification is over a rolling 12 month period isn’t going to engender loyalty or allow customers to plan for status goals. But I guess at this point there are so many elite passengers on El Al that they feel the need to reduce that population and adapt to market conditions more rapidly than the current program allows.

What do you make of these program changes and how will it affect your loyalty?