I have 40k on UAL, 30 AA, 45 NW, 20 YX, bunch of miles on Virgin, BA, Taca etc...

At least half of these are bonus miles of one type or another, but if I really try this year, by purcahsing tickets, and concentrating on one airline, i'll be able to get premier status.

But then I started thinking... why buy all those flights? I have enough miles to travel free almost all year... is that premier stuff really worth it? Yeah, some first class would be nice, but the price is steep considering I could be flying for free otherwise. I guess what i'm asking is how much of premier status is merely psychological? Fascinating how we rationalize...

(of course I don't have a company paying for my tickets either!)