Ultimate member for about a year now, and have to say I remain very confused about this status level.



This morning there were about 10 people in the Schengen Ultimate lounge, making it quite busy. The lounge staff was absolutely doting on all of us, going out of their way to make us feel welcome. A bit confused why no one was getting escorts from the reception team though.



Overall a good experience, but the Ultimate lounge is really starting to get crowded. I guess the number of Ultimates is really increasing.



Which makes the onboard experience so puzzling, because if there’s more and more Ultimates then surely the crew should know what service is promised. My flight was sadly in line with what I’ve come to expect. No welcome. No water. Seat block was cancelled by check-in staff. And while I appreciate the free WiFi for all on European KLM flights, the Ultimate log-in option is now gone and forced advertisements are required to use the free WiFi.



The difference if I were Platinum instead of Ultimate? A slightly less crowded lounge and 1 more mile per euro spent. I just don’t understand how that’s meant to incentivise me to keep spending / spend more with Air France KLM. Spoiler: It does not.



I may have had bad luck across many, many short haul and a hand full of long haul flights. But I can count the noteworthy onboard Ultimate recognition on one hand (two if I’m generous), and for someone that flies enough to make Ultimate, that’s not great.



To my fellow Ultimates: Am I doing something wrong? How do you make the most of your Ultimate status?