Hello All,

I have been an avid traveler since I was young. It's been in the blood, as my father and mother are both world travelers. My first flight was when I was 6 months old, and my first international flight was when I was 14. I have now been to 22 different countries over the past 15 years.

However I never really paid attention to premier status until right now. I have always accrued regular miles and used plenty of "free" award flights, which I got by a combo of credit card points, purchasing extra miles, and flying. But I don't think I have ever reached a Premier status on any one airline.

After a lot of research I finally understand the benefits, as well as what mileage runs are, but I am still pretty far away from getting a status. I turn to you for some insight and help.

The 3 best programs are AA, UA, and DL, please correct me if I'm wrong. But, I assume those are the most popular airlines, with the most routes, and partners in the world, so focusing on getting a status in one or all of them should be a priority, right?

I have about 3K-4K QM in each program, but only $400-$600 Qualifying Dollars spent. The reason for this is because the only trips I have taken so far this year have been RT half way across the country and back a few times, each on whatever airline had the cheapest flights at the time.

I can do a run or two to get 20K QM, but I don't have the money to spend $2400 to get the status. Is there a way around this? Or do you really have to spend $3000 a year to get that status no matter what?

Sorry for the long post, I'm new to this site. Take care!

Best,
Mike