Originally Posted by
SPN Lifer
Provided one lives in the U.S. or can get a Hilton Aspire AmEx card there.
Excellent point. As a U.S. based website, despite attempts to be global, we can be a little ethnocentric. Apologies if that’s inferred to be insensitive. (FWIW, if you need a U.S. mailing address which would be acceptable to credit card issuers, let me know. I’d be happy to be your mail drop … for a reasonable (or outrageous depending on your viewpoint) fee.
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Originally Posted by
GUWonder
… a bad time to chase status whenever the person has not crunched the numbers to determine if the actual value to be gotten from the status being chased exceeds the cost — inclusive of opportunity costs — of chasing the status and its benefits that follow from the status use.
Absolutely, well said. In that regard, one of the often overlooked/taken for granted aspects of airline elite status is free checked bags which should be factored into crunching. Even though some like to brag that they can do a 9 month round the world to the moon and back trip with just a carry-on, they’re probably in the minority and most people would save significant $$$ annually with free checked bags. For skiers it’s often necessary to check at least 2 bags (suitcase with ski & regular clothing and skis/boots) it’s about worth its weight in gold with saved bag fees (or ski rental costs if one doesn’t own and check skis due to the baggage cost).
Fortunately free checked bags is often a benefit at even the lowest status levels, which can sometimes be obtained via credit card.