Originally Posted by
UA_Flyer
I have been preaching about flying exclusively on one airlines if one can resist the temptation to gain status on multiple airlines. I have over 1 MM on other *A carriers and have earned status on AA and DL over the years, but I also would rather consolidated them now looking back.
...on the other side of that argument I made the intentional decision in the 90’s to spread the wealth around since I did not want to be locked into one ‘plantation’. 25 years into heavy travel I am glad I did this.
A strange dichotomy of chasing lifetime status is the ‘freedom’ of being able to then fly other carriers.
At one point or another I have sworn off each of the US3 (currently AA is very much on hiatus) and the ability to just stay away cannot be understated. During the worst of Leo’s and Jeffie’s respective nadirs this helped - just as it is now with the dark reign of ‘Dougie’.
I would hate to be stuck with AA at the moment.
Legacy status (4M-5M BIS between UA/AA/DL at this point) on all three alliances is a nice benefit at this point. While others might disagree with me and would just want lifetime GS - I am glad that 4M+ got spread around.
The freedom is worth it...