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[2020.02.18 Update] The status renewal has already taken effect, and I received a confirmation text message. Gold status was successfully extended through February 28, 2021.

[2020.02.10] During the Lunar New Year period, the novel coronavirus affected nearly the entire country. We have also been promptly updating important information on the blog; see this article. The outbreak has had a major impact across the country, and for prevention and control needs, many travel plans were canceled or restricted. At the same time, major airlines and hotel groups have also introduced some customer care plans or benefits for Chinese members. This post briefly introduces China Southern’s customer care plan.

What the care plan includes

It mainly has three parts, and all of them require registration; they are not limited to Chinese members:

  • Care Plan 1: Gold/Silver status extension (for members whose status expires on February 29, 2020, automatically extended by one year)
  • Care Plan 2: Discounted Gold/Silver requalification (for members whose status expires on February 28, 2021, with fast-track requalification)
  • Care Plan 3: Mileage protection (for all China Southern base-tier members with miles expiring from February through June 2020; if unused at expiration, they will be extended by one year)

As we know, after China Southern officially left SkyTeam in 2019, it not only expanded cooperation with oneworld member airlines such as American Airlines (AA) and British Airways (BA), but also retained ongoing cooperation with all SkyTeam airlines except China Eastern (MU). See the following articles for details:

Therefore, the most notable part of this care plan is the Gold/Silver status extension and discounted Gold/Silver requalification, especially the requalification policy for Gold status. Earning China Southern Gold status directly through flying is fairly difficult, but last year China Southern and IHG offered a status match plan. As long as you were a genuine IHG Spire member (including status obtained via a match), those who moved fast were ultimately able to get China Southern Gold status (IHG Platinum matched to China Southern Silver, which was also pretty good). See this article:

Status obtained through the match had an expiration date of February 29, 2020, which qualified for “Care Plan 1,” so it could be extended by one year for Gold or Silver status. If you successfully requalified after matching, then you may qualify for “Care Plan 2,” which lets you fast-track requalification for the corresponding status for the following year.

Gold/Silver status extension

How to register

See the image below for the details:

You only need to fill in your relevant information, and you only need to register once. If you previously received China Southern Gold through a status match, I recommend registering as soon as possible, just in case China Southern changes its mind again.

For registered users who meet the eligibility rules, the status validity period will be updated by the 10th day of the month following registration.

Discounted Gold/Silver requalification

How to register

See the image below for more details:

For qualifying flight segments, you can check the official explanation here.

Bottom line

For readers who find it hard to requalify for China Southern Gold, getting matched to China Southern Gold through genuine IHG Spire status before, and now receiving a free one-year extension on soon-to-expire Gold status, is undoubtedly the best part of this offer. The Silver extension is also nice. For those who frequently fly China Southern within China, it can also ensure lounge access. If you’re eligible, register as soon as possible!