Elite status is everything. Today, I booked a ORD-BDL flight on AA that will get me in at midnight instead of an UA flight that would get me in at a reasonable hour like 7pm. Why? Because seat 3A at midnight is better than seat 27E at 7pm.

At 6'4" and needing to lose a number of pounds, I probably pay for 50 AA upgrade stickers a year at $31/each. It's a price I'm willing to pay because travel is part of my job that lets me work from home, 860 miles from my official "office".

I have been elite on at least one airline every year since 1990, and probably will be for the rest of my life.