zooz

I know this may sound a little odd but growing up, I was a bit in awe of people who were able to achieve Super Elite status (i.e. how do they get to travel so much). Now that I am about to become SE for the first time in my early 30s, and my excitement for flying (even on AC J) has died down a bit, I'm curious to know how other FTers celebrated/felt when they first made SE?

RangerNS

Personally, it was on a mileage run on Dec 31, back and forth to YYZ with 3 hours of lounge access, and a return OpUp to J.

So I was pretty much celebrating as I did it.

Bohemian1

I hit 50K, 75K and first-time SE in the same year.

I was too busy flying to really celebrate, but immediately started scheming on how to max out my IKK benefits.

Misfired_Neurons

I hit 75K (March) and SE (May) this year for the first time thanks to all of the various SQ* promos. I wasn't paying much attention to these promos until that 75K showed up.

How did I feel when I hit SE? Silly for having selected the 50K Lower Requalification benefit. I continue to feel silly about that with each threshold bonus I pass.

WaytoomuchEurope

Exact same for me.

YVRtoYYZ

Similar for me as in 2017, I went from 0 to SE in 5 months. I distinctly remember a YYZ-HKG trip whereby I left as a 50K but still using my 35K tags (50K package hadn't arrived) and landed in HKG over the 75K threshold.

How did I feel when I first made SE? Answer: that was too easy. And every year since then, I have obtained SE within 4 months.

I still believe that SE is easy to obtain and an additional level above $20K/100K should be created.

littledoggie747

Was there a promotion back then? How did you accomplish this?

Joroy70

I got SNE cause I broke up with my longtime Gf and started to travel a bunch that year to forget her.

Then in december i was missing exactly an YUL-Maui flght to reach it so I invited my parents for a week!!

Made sure to keep it since then!!

TheCanuckian

I began traveling in earnest about 10 years ago and went through the levels in order: My first year I hit 25k, the next year I hit 35k, the next 50k, the next 75k, and then finally SE. I've been able to maintain that status for 4 or 5 years now.

The first time I hit SE I felt really pleased. Like many people here, travel and status and points and all that comes with it is a hobby as much as it is work. So it felt good in the way someone whose hobby is photography might feel when they get that epic photo they've been wanting to get or the way someone whose hobby is visiting ballparks might feel when they finally get to a game at Fenway.

I think you can make the case that SE is what travel should be. Traveling without any status and flying the cheapest fares is a pretty obnoxious experience, especially for those who fly often and for great distances. The airlines have stooped lower and lower over the years and made the base experience of flying pretty awful (though with the benefit of democratizing travel). But as you climb the rungs, you get closer and closer to what the flying experience ought to be. SE doesn't grant luxuries, but it does grant privileges that make it far more tolerable and occasionally even enjoyable.

As others have said, the premier privilege is IKK. You'll earn more points per flight if you choose the appropriate benefit and redeem them with a 50% savings on international business class flights. That's a tremendous benefit and one that should grant you some wonderful experiences with family or friends. It's one of the few benefits that you can't get by simply buying business class tickets all the time. My advice: Use it to book flights to the farthest destination you can while you still enjoy your status.

Plumber

It’s so long ago, I don’t remember celebrating.

What I do remember is the stress over the thought on NOT having SE once I got it … And the January 1 reset numbers — 0 miles and 0 segments!

Thankfully I never did drop from SE once achieved.

YVRtoYYZ

No promo was (is) needed, just lots of organic flying.

I don't benefit from promos and don't really care for them as it dilutes the SE pool and associated benefits. It is for this reason that I am an advocate for a higher tier - published or unpublished (similar to CK or GS)

TheCanuckian

Yeah, it's really hard to imagine going back.

JazLixYYZ

Through promos i watched my perennial 50K status jump to 75K. Based on my flights for the balance of the year i will be 100K beginning of Dec. Not bad for completely domestic travel i guess.
One question i have - and i have hunted high and low in these forums, i remember someone talking about it previously - isn't there some kind of date in OCT/NOV where the strategy to level up changes based on how close you are to the next tier?

HerpaYvr

You never forget your first time!

I was young and a little naive

I was slow at first, but as I got older and made more money picked up the pace, became more knowledgeable, and faster and I won't brag too much better!

But my first time was great, it was hot that day, a long flight, it was getting dark, perhaps a little too much to drink and it just happened.

SYM

I think I've been SE for about 12 years, and about to lose it for the first time (impossible quarantine requirements in all my usual destinations). Of course the initial feeling is great, but I'd say it took me quite a bit of time to fully appreciate the status: getting on good terms with the concierges in the main stations I use; finding out how to really optimize reward travel, combining SE status with other perks like GE etc etc. I owe FT a lot for that education! Some of the routines I developed are not specific to SE status, but just happened at the same time - like my HKG routine: United lounge for the showers, then Thai for a meal, then - if time permits - Singapore for champagne and laksa.... So don't rush...