Originally Posted by
sfozrhfco
It is rarely worth inconveniencing yourself for every trip to get the lowest level status on any airline. Pick the flights that are the most cost effective and convenient and you may well find that the benefits you were getting are more than made up for by the cost/convenience of just taking the best option for each trip. As was mentioned, getting a credit card gets most low level benefits you would lose and not having to add several hours to each trip getting to/from the airport would far outweigh any of the benefits you would get as just an MVP on Alaska.
I’d agree with this sentiment. “Free agent” is often underrated on flyertalk, and low level status is often not worth extra cost, time, and inconvenience.
The addition of BE was the icing on the cake for me - I decided not to pursue status anymore. My MVP status will expire at the end of the year. I’ve been booking flights on price and schedule only. Things are going just fine and I’m saving money while still flying on my preferred schedule.
Since I made this change, I’ve only booked AS twice and both were using a companion fare. In every other case, the competition either offered a lower price, a better schedule, or both. I’m SEA based.
So - I think giving up status is the way to go.
