Moderator, El Al and Marriott Bonvoy, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ*G, Mar LTT, Hyatt Glb, AA LTG, LY, HH, IC, BA, DL, UA SLV
Posts: 12,020
On one of the first trips for my new job I ended up spending time with one of the company execs. He asked me what status I had on the carrier we normally fly and I told him that while I had Plat on TWA a few jobs ago currently I had nothing on this carrier. He said to remind him when we got home to call the carrier and get them to give me elite status. While the phone call didn't help the corporate travel coordinator was able to work some magic and make it happen. Having the status is important even in economy as the seats can have very different amounts of legroom. Recently I was travelling with a colleague and while we both had Y tix they had a seat that had much more legroom. There was a seat free next to mine and one next to theirs. They don't need the legroom and the airline wouldn't move me since I didn't yet have the status so the colleague moved back to sit next to me.
Personally I'm one of those people that save miles for family travel. Anytime that someone gets upgraded I'm more than happy for them and can't imagine bearing a grudge. If I were using points to upgrade myself I'd ask if the person wants to be upgraded as well with my points. Travelling is uncomfortable enough for everyone that if it can be a but less so then it is well worth it.