If you're an infrequent flyer, and don't rack up miles with credit cards (AAs lifetime status counts all miles), it might be one long road to get there, and there's no guarantee the unwritten rules might change along the way.

After jumping from UA to AA, I made 1MM in 3 years (lifetime Gold) and 2MM in 6 years (lifetime Platinum), but for someone just starting out there is some serious risk that those programs may not be around 3-6 years down the line. I flew 100-150K a year and was able to use those miles to accelerate lifetime status, but if you're doing very little flying it might not be a factor you should look at in selecting a carrier.

Tom in Honolulu