Your miles almost always carry over, usually at a 1-to-1 rate into the surviving airline's program, and your elite status is typically matched to the equivalent tier. You rarely lose points in a merger, but redemption prices and perks can shift afterward.
When two airlines merge, they eventually fold their two loyalty programs into one. The good news is that mergers are designed to keep members happy, so the standard playbook is to protect what you already earned. In practice that means your balance transfers over and your status gets matched, not erased.
In almost every modern merger, miles move to the surviving program at a 1-to-1 ratio. You link your two accounts, and your balances combine into one number. That is what happened when American absorbed US Airways, and it is what Alaska and Hawaiian did when they built the combined Atmos Rewards program.
Status is usually matched to the equivalent tier in the combined program for the rest of your membership year. If you were top-tier on one airline, you become top-tier on the other. Many mergers also let you combine your qualifying activity from both programs, so if you flew both airlines you may end up with a higher tier than either one gave you alone.
Lifetime or "million miler" progress typically combines too, which can push some flyers over a milestone right away.
You do not need to panic or burn your miles the moment a merger is announced. Your points and status are very likely to survive intact. The smart move is to keep your accounts active, link them when the airline tells you to, and consider using miles for high-value redemptions before the new award pricing takes effect. Rules outside the US can differ, but EU and other markets follow the same basic logic: earned rewards are generally protected, while future pricing is fair game to change.
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