Originally Posted by
Efrem
Are you close enough to a lifetime status level (one million miles or whatever) to put that target in reach over the next few years at your current rate of travel?
Not quite. I have the most miles in Delta, but only about 750,000 miles. At my rate of travel, it may be 20 years to reach 1 million. Most of the 750,000 miles was done in less than a decade.
Originally Posted by
WWGuy
It appears that you're looking to enjoy frequent flyer benefits without actually flying frequently. Nothing wrong with that but it's probably unrealistic to expect the airlines to view you as a "loyal" customer with this spend pattern.
The frequent flyer programs are built to retain customer loyalty, not create it. I.e. spend first, enjoy benefits later. The difference is subtle to most but you're use-case is a good example.
What I liked about elite was domestic upgrades. On US Airways, I got a few free transatlantic upgrade coupons, which I used all except one. Of course, those upgrades were flat, tilted seats, not the little pods like are common now.