I get my basic status from business travel, but I've found that all of my travel is much more fun when I plan my leisure travel to get more status.

My basic concept is to set a mileage goal and a budget each December. I set a budget of $3500 for 50,000 status miles. $3500 of airfare can usually get me 10 trips a year, including three trips to Europe. I get about 130k/year in total program miles from these leisure trips after various bonuses.

Get a friend or a relative to travel with you in order to split the ground costs. I use my miles to coerce people into going with me the first time (I ask them to pick up 70% of the hotel costs instead of 50%), they usually travel with me in the future on their own dime.

$50/day/each for hotel+ground transport is not an unreasonable budget. Use Priceline when possible for hotels, visit places where cars are not critical and figure out what's an acceptable level of inconvenience.

For staying in big expensive cities like London, or in resort areas (e.g. Phoenix in high season), I save up AMEX Membership Rewards points for 3-4 years and cash in an award with a hotel chain.

Most importantly though.... research which airline plan you're going to use and stick with it. From Chapel Hill, your best choice might be Continental (allowing you to use Midway and Northwest), although if you want to fly overseas a lot then either American or United might be better.

Where do I skimp to afford it? A little here, a little there. Clothes, electronics, and concerts/sporting events are the main places where I deliberately cut.