Lufthansa is giving away free Star Alliance Gold status in a bid to snatch the most lucrative frequent flyers away from rival Air France-KLM.

Business travellers with Air France-KLM Flying Blue frequent flyer status need only send Lufthansa a picture of their Air France-KLM Flying Blue card and take a return flight on any of the Lufthansa group airlines -- Adria Airways, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, LOT, Lufthansa, Luxair or Swiss.

Unfortunately for Australians, Lufthansa codeshares -- where the airline puts its LH code on, say, an Air New Zealand flight from Sydney to Auckland -- aren't eligible, a Lufthansa spokesperson confirmed to Australian Business Traveller. But for travellers with plans to head to Europe over the next couple of months, it's a good opportunity to score the benefits of top-tier status.

Qantas Frequent Flyers who took advantage of our tip-off to match their QFF status to Air France-KLM to get top-tier SkyTeam alliance status last month can make a further match to receive the equivalent Star Alliance status.

Head on over to the Miles & More status match signup page for more information and how to get hold of the status.

Flying Blue tiers convert to Miles & More as follows:

• Flying Blue Silver: Miles & More Frequent Traveller
• Flying Blue Gold: Miles & More Senator
• Flying Blue Platinum: Miles & More Senator

Miles & More Senator is a Star Alliance Gold (top-tier) level, although Lufthansa does have a further level (somewhat akin to Qantas' Chairman's Lounge ultra-high level) for its very best customers.

A Senator-level card will get you a host of Star Alliance Gold benefits on all Star Alliance airlines, including:

• Airport lounge access for you and a guest when flying on a Star Alliance flight
• Extra luggage allowance
• Premium check-in at the airport 
• Priority baggage handling
• Reservations waitlisting when your preferred flight has no seats
• Standby priority at the airport.

Check out the full list of benefits on the Star Alliance website.

The benefits are available when flying on any of the Star Alliance airlines: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, bmi, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Egyptair, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, Swiss, TAM, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, Thai Airways, United Airlines and US Airways.

As ever with these deals, act quickly in case they disappear. The Lufthansa spokesperson tells us that registration will close on 31 May, and the flights must be completed by 31 July. 

Hat tip to airline industry watcher blog Wandering Aramean for the first spot of this deal.