To my dear Ultimates: am I doing something wrong? How do you get the most out of your Ultimate status?[/QUOTE]
I don't think you should view Ultimate as a premium status to strive for, far above Platinum status. In fact, apart from a few guaranteed benefits, most are granted at random.
Being Ultimate is the result of your many trips, and AF does its best to make your travel easier and more comfortable. But travelling more to become Ultimate doesn't seem to me to be the spirit of this status, either for AF or for you.