Originally Posted by itaexpat

Alright, this may strike some readers as a bizarre if not cringy post, but I'm under the veneer of anonymity

I find myself spending a ton of time and mental energy strategizing, looking up flights, crunching numbers so that I can retain airline status at any given point. When it's time to book a trip, the rumination is real. What else is new, says literally all of you, otherwise you wouldn't be on this forum? But my question is: how do you know when it's time to give up, especially when you have status with multiple airlines like I do? What criteria do you use to decide that it's no longer worth chasing status with an airline? I know we're all different with this. It comes down to the individual, their financial situation, their family situation, their work situation... but I'm no looking for the answer (that doesn't exist), rather hear how other people approach this question to open my mind to new possibilities.

Right now I'm basically trying to decide if it's worth putting in a bit more work and money to keep United Silver. I easily secured renewal of Flying Blue Platinum this summer already, and this fall I'm taking a few UA itineraries that just wouldn't make sense on SkyTeam metal. I'll find myself very short of renewing Silver, which I had not expected when I had decided to focus on Flying Blue. Because MileagePlus points don't roll over to the next year, I feel like I'm just wasting money on UA. So I'm wondering if I should sacrifice my customary AFKL itinerary to Europe at Christmas in favor of UA/LH. But then I won't get a good head start on Flying Blue in 2024, and what if that ruins my Platinum streak...! Ahhhh!

How do y'all approach these first-world quandaries? Is there a mindful method to this madness? (I hope the humor comes through clearly)