For the last few months I have been around 20k short of achieving Plat. I have an upcoming flight in J (saver) which will take me down to 12,500. This will mean I have until the end of August to earn the additional tier miles, however, I do not have any travel plans so it would purely be a 'tier run'.

I have been flying pretty much every 3 to 4 weeks since November, all at my own expense. To say I am getting a bit tired with Emirates would probably be an understatement but I will avoid going in to a rant.

My question therefore - is there a significant real life difference between Gold and Plat? I am particularly interested in Op-up experience NOT on Flex/Flex+ tickets from Y to J?

I am looking to cut back on costs this year, which means a lot less travel in J and also reduce the amount of economy Flex+ tickets purchased, however, I wont be cutting back on travel in general. So I am at a bit of a cross roads - achieve plat and stick with EK for at least another year or forget about loyalty and find the cheapest flights/most suitable flight time/duration, moving forwards.