Originally Posted by
Sean Peever
Well I pay for my own flights, but if there was no Altitude program - you would find me booking the cheapest ticket for the class I want. Which I haven't done for over a decade (case in point, it's been at least 10 years since I set foot on WS)
I suspect if I looked at my absolute spend, for booking around my FFPs, I probably spend 10-15% more than I could by booking the cheapest possible option.
...so, what I want from an FFP is that that 10-15% is generating some value.
For example, a beer at the MLL means I'm not buying an $8 beer at an airport bar, or a $7 breakfast sandwich, so we'll call that maybe $20 per round-trip in value to me (at a cost to AC of about $5 per RT).
My AA status provides $70-120 per trip in added value since I don't have to pay for E+.
My AC status doesn't provide E+ unless I pay an extra, best-case, $70-120 for Flex, so that's basically a wash. Since I need the seat, Flex basically gives me a few free AQM if I book early enough that Tango and Flex are still close. On Canadian travel, WJ also charges for E+, so that's a wash, but for transborder AAdvantage provides me with better value than Altitude.
Just two small examples, but that's generally my thinking.