Originally Posted by
Adelphos
EDIT - Also, my view is that if you choose a suboptimal hotel or plane routing because of elite status/card benefits/other inducements, you are diluting the value of having status as well, so I try to attain the highest level status possible in the most programs to maximize choice. But it sounds like moving up from Discoverist to Explorist isn't that meaningful
I agree. If you picked the hotels that work best for you, that sounds like the optimal path. For example, Hyatt doesn’t have anything in LA even close to the level of the WA Beverly Hills (rip PH LA). I would not switch to something like the Andaz WeHo (which is multiple categories worse than WA BH IMO) for even Globalist status. I’m not privy to the nuanced differences between various LS options but maybe there’s more potential for a swap there, prices permitting.
FWIW, my experience with Explorist earlier this year yielded no tangible difference in how I was treated. YMMV.