Good to be back, it's been a while!

For me, Silver Elite has definitely been worth it. I finally requalified at the beginning of the summer and thus far have only missed upgrades on 2 of 11 flights. I'm not traveling enough to qualify for Gold, but with a few mileage runs it is realistic.

Some key points:

-As mentioned, the EliteAccess benefits make travel originating in the hubs less stressful, and downright easy elsewhere. The EA check in, security (where applicable), and boarding lanes are easily worth the effort and dollars to achieve status. The ground portion of the travel experience becomes 10x less stressful with EA.
-Priority seating ensures you a good seat to fall back on if you can't get the exit row at OLCI, and the DEF side of the narrowbody bulkheads are available to you.
-Automatic upgrades at the window are tough to come by, but diligence in checking in exactly 24h prior to departure (the OLCI window) will yield best results. Most times I select the "If First Class is available..." option and 75% of the time it processes my upgrade. Some strategic planning and flexibility is involved to give yourself the best shot, like selecting good flights/times/aircraft/routings, but the bottom is, at 6'3" 265lbs, I find myself sitting in First Class more often than not, and that is all I can ask for. I've even snagged 2-day automatic upgrades, but by no means is that the norm.

All in all, Silver Elite status is a good deal for the lower-end road warrior like myself. Someday soon I'd like to step up to Gold or even Plat, but right now Silver suits my needs quite effectively.


By the way, CO got rid of its 747-200Bs (older, less fuel-efficient) models more than five years ago. The new 747-400 series was deemed too large for CO's route structure, and was never ordered. The 777 is probably the biggest CO jet we will see in the next 20 years, but after that, who knows???