Reminder: ITA Volare Executive Members Can Nominate One “Premium” Status (SkyTeam Elite Plus)

This is a reminder for members who participated in the ITA Airways Volare Status Match some time ago and who received the program’s Executive Status as a result of the match campaign, through January 2026.

You will find in your account options the ability to nominate another account for the program’s “Premium” tier level, which will be valid for at least one year through 01/2026, and the operating carriers SkyTeam Elite Plus benefits apply as well.

Matching the other account of choice is instant. To process the nomination, you simply have to enter the member’s name and account number.

This option appears to reset every calendar year, even for memberships that expire at the end of this month. While I nominated someone last year and used up my slot, I was able to do so again this week.

You can access your ITA Volare account here and then see the feature on the bottom part of the menu:

Mind you, this is a feature for Executive tier members only, and the nomination for the new account will be under the PREMIUM tier.

Assuming you’ll be using the benefits on other SkyTeam airlines (well, at least where ITA is an accepted partner where the number is recognized) the Premium tier will also confer Elite+ benefits:

The process is instant, and the account nominated also received an email informing the member that the account had been upgraded:

The account I upgraded yesterday now shows Expiry Date 01/2026 on the membership card. However, the membership I upgraded in January last year first showed 01/2025, and when I checked with my nominee yesterday, I was told the status now reflects 01/2026. So maybe these nominations are always valid for the current and following calendar year?

This is really the gift that keeps on giving. I can’t even count how many years ago I matched this ITA status, and I still benefit from it to some degree (although it was relatively useless in the early years as other airlines didn’t know what ITA was).

The number of SkyTeam airlines that accept ITA Volare has grown, but it’s still not available with all carriers, so be aware of that before relying on receiving Elite Plus benefits based on this status.

Conclusion

ITA Volare Executive members can nominate one more account to be upgraded to the PREMIUM tier, and the status will be valid for one year from then on.

This is an interesting proposition for those who got Executive status through the status match promotion a few years back and whose status is set to expire at the end of this month. It’s unclear if there will be a soft landing or not, but in case there isn’t, it’s always a good idea to upgrade a second account to Premium to have SkyTeam Elite Plus as a backup.

As Lufthansa’s purchase of ITA is now completed, there is some hope that the status will be merged into the Lufthansa Miles & More program towards the middle/end of this year, so one might actually get Senator status out of this.

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