Welcome to Flyertalk.

I'm a young guy, and I love, love, love, love my elite status.

I think it's great. We get treated like crap so often in life nowadays, that sometimes it's nice to feel special. When a company makes me feel special, well, that's fabulous.

I like flying in larger seats, being first off, having a shorter line, being upgraded to huge suites, etc. It doesn't make me a bad person to like such things.

Maybe it's just that I grew up without such luxuries, and only in my wildest fantasies would I experience such things, so I don't take these things for granted.

I don't know why, but flying first class for $200, then getting a huge suite at a free stay at a super hotel makes me feel special, and makes me feel good. I wouldn't pay the $1800 a night they sell that room for, nor the $2800 they sell the ticket for, but my elite status allows me to experience things I never dreamed I would be able to. I feel like Cinderella, and so long as my travel companies of choice continue to do so, they'll not only get my substantial business, but the business of many of the 4 or 5 people a month who ask me for travel advice. And they'll likely get the business of the people who ask those for advice as well.

So far as your comments about other businesses not giving better service to its better customers, what planet are you from? Have you been to a sporting event in America in the last 10 years? High-ticket businesses treat their best customers better than others. At least the smart ones do. You also appparently haven't followed American politics for the last 30 years. You have a prime example that just moved from your hometown to a larger residence in large part because of how he treats his "high rollers".

Sorry, but I own a business. While every customer is valuable beyond words, if you give me $150,000 of business a year, you can be sure you will treated with more attention that if you give me $150 a year of business. Sorry, but that's the way it is.

Finally, to whoever posted about company paid elite members, I offer this. I used to be a company-paid member, and now fund my own travel, and my tune has not changed.
When my old company would send me somewhere for a week, I chose what airline I flew, and what hotel I stayed in. More to the point, it was my butt in the seat for those 60,000 miles last year, and my family which paid the price for spending 80 plus nights on the road last year - not my old bosses.

Not only that, but the reasons road warriors get sent places are generally one of two (and often both).

A) They have special skills.

B) They are doing work that someone above them doesn't want to do, often because of the travel involved.



[This message has been edited by BoSoxFan45 (edited 05-24-2001).]