Yesterday I noticed on 航旅绳横 that the Shanghai Airlines ticket I purchased was automatically linked to a China Eastern membership and showing Silver status. Opening China Eastern’s official app also showed Silver, valid through January 30, 2020.
Before SPG merged with Marriott, it had partnered with several airlines, including China Eastern. After the Marriott integration, the cooperation continued, and Marriott Platinum members were allowed to match to China Eastern Silver at the time, so many people signed up. But at the end of April 2019, both sides announced the partnership was ending, and at that point (May 26, 2019), China Eastern Silver was quickly removed.
At first I thought it might have been just my own case. But seeing this same interesting point on a Chinese blog today, it seems this is likely a collective effect from the Marriott Platinum match.
I don’t know whether China Eastern’s IT had an issue, or whether the two sides might continue partnering [my guess is no—because it was probably terminated largely due to UA]. For most readers, the biggest benefit of China Eastern Silver is that it allows you to board China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines flights with priority and to access the first-class lounges of China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines for yourself only (no guests allowed).
