Originally Posted by FF_Consultant

So,

Noticing the number of "I'm XYZ miles short of XX status what routes should I fly for cheap to do this" I was actually curious about the valuation of 'status'. At what point does it make sense to do the mileage run to make status? The cut-off clearly varies for E vs SE but what is it? What's the valuation per certificate.

In my opinion the mileage run cut-off is roughly 10-15% of the required mileage to make status at E and probably 5-10% for SE (e.g., 3500-5000 miles to make E and 5000 - 10000 to make SE). This is roughly based on the fact that one simple mileage run from coast to coast for a weekend to see friends can get you to E and a longer haul trip (e.g., long-weekend in Europe) can get you to SE.

If done properly both can be done for roughly $1K maximum and aren't particular troublesome trips to make status.

Thoughts?

Originally Posted by RCyyz

The valuation is different for everyone. I value my status even though I'm only a lowly E. I shudder to think about going back to basic of P status. (Been there, done that.)

I go out of my way to maintain status.

On the other hand, I know lots of people who don't give a hoot about status. I know, for example, one person who missed E by less than 1000 miles. Even though I pointed this out ahead of time (in mid-November) this person made absolutely no effort to get the extra miles on AC, but instead flew KLM TATL in Dec because it was cheap.