Originally Posted by
Airways45
I've witnessed hotel loyalty programme status being eroded. Golds/Platinums/Titaniums expecting the upgrade to a suite (or best available room or whatever) and hotels telling us there are too many elites for the number of enhanced rooms. So, they dilute the benefits (I used to get free breakfast as a Hilton Diamond for Life but now get a credit in the US that doesn't cover the cost of the breakfast) or they shift the goal posts or create new levels. The volume of hotel rooms and airline seats might have increased, but, perhaps not as fast as the number of elites chasing the perks. Hence the upgrade lists we see at the US airports that seems like everyone including the service animal is on the list. It never used to be like this. I don't expect hotel upgrades now because everyone is elite. As my friends say to me, when everyone is elite, nobody is elite. If you want a fancy room, pay for it.
So if airlines and hotels have diluted and are continuing to dilute their perks, why do so many continue to suck at the teats of their loyalty programs? I can understand if status is gained organically via work travel or personals paying for the most logical routings, but when you people go out of their way making turnaround trips or stays in hotels for no reason than just to achieve status for which perks are increasingly diluted, such actions seem illogical and irrational to me.