Originally Posted by
GUWonder
That's sort of what I'd do too. Already, the easiest, fastest and usually cheapest way to rack up a lot of airline miles/points is to do so without getting on board a plane. Combine that with lifetime elite status in some airline programs and with cheap acquisition/retention of elite status and other benefits with some other airlines/airline programs, and there's not really much for me to miss on the airline side. On the hotel side, there's far more for me to miss, but that side has become sort of increasingly easy to cheaply get/retain mid-tier or high-tier elite status or otherwise really play an insanely good game.
Before the credit card angle changed the game as much as it has, the outcome of dropping out of the game in some ways would have come with a harder landing and increased missing out on status benefit goodies.
how do you get lifetime elite airline status without paid bis? we fly about 60K miles in biz class a year, and never earn an award point or an elite status. how we do that?
i think most people's habits change when the money comes from their pocket.
we had big status with LH and with starwood. both just made us angry, because they treated us like common, no status people, or the bene was like a lump of coal in your christmas stocking. the RCC's at iad were so lousy, we stayed in the general area. the UG's we got with spg were a joke. spend the same money at an independent and get twice the room and service, and not have to pay for breakfast.