drsh99

Anyone else fed up with the entire idea of elite status? Working in global development, I've traveled economy to developing countries for decades (mostly Africa). In the early days, the mid-level elite status gave me the very welcome bonus of business lounges to shower, nap and rest on my way to and from places that are anything but posh and can be hard on one's health. Recent changes that require minimum spend and add layers of requirements have led me to drop any loyalty to any airline. I choose flights that get me where I need to go at the lowest price without compromising time/convenience and I pay for a pass to the lounge. When possible, I select flights that have reasonably priced premium econ (and I avoid the carriers that have fake premium, like Delta's transatlantic), which includes lounge access. I have lifetime gold on AA as a million-miler and for many years hit platinum (OW sapphire) most years. Anyone have a really strong argument for bothering with pursuing elite status? The occasional upgrade to business on domestic flights isn't very valuable to me (and I usually give it to someone in uniform if I get an upgrade), so what's the appeal?

Science Goy

Well, if my 50% op-up rate to J on BA (including segments like LHR-DEL and JNB) can be at least partly attributed to my Emerald status, I'd say it's not not worth it

FlyingEgghead

It depends on individual travel patterns. Sounds like your approach works for you. Some don't have trouble meeting EQD. The complimentary upgrades would be more valuable to someone doing heavy domestic flying.
I read that JL does this -- does anyone else?

Science Goy

There's the rub, in my opinion. Is it worth it to pay thousands fo extra dollars to meet EQD requirements and take spurious trips to gain elite status? Probably not.

Is it worth it to earn status by essentially taking the trips you're already planning to take, perhaps redirecting a bit of business to your preferred airline if it makes financial and logistical sense? Could be. Everyone's circumstances are different.

Dave Noble

I think that you have just seen the light - if you get status by virtue of following this approach then great - but letting the FF scheme earning be an outcome of travel is a great way to go - make life also so much easier when just focused on the travel itself - last trip I did to Europe used 6 different airlines - couple that are in one alliance , couple in alliance and a couple that are in no alliance - worked well

jcatman

Since finding the lowest price for a ticket is your priority and you see no value in sitting in the front of the plane in a wider seat with additional legroom, I'd say you've made the right decision to abandon any pursuit of elite status.

Safe travels.

platbrownguy

It doesn't sound like you spend $12,000 a year on airfare and it doesn't sound like you travel many times a month, but if you did, I'd wonder whether you'd really rather split it across various alliances instead of consolidating onto oneworld and making EXP. I know others' successes may vary, but for me the literally hundreds of comp domestic upgrades (including for a +1 when I have one), the free MCE at booking for just in case the upgrade doesn't clear, the ability to cancel and redeposit awards without the $150 fee, the free same-day flight change (even if a shadow of its former self), the high RDM earning rate, the excellent partner lounges like CX at HKG or QF F at LAX, the SWUs (even if only 4 and hard to confirm at booking), and the occasionally useful increased baggage allowance -- all those together are well worth the slight additional effort and money that goes into making sure I fly AA instead of a competitor most of the time. And when AA doesn't offer a nonstop but DL or UA does, then I usually fly DL/UA because it's easier. On the whole, every time I board UA as a silver (and every time I hear about a 1K colleague's travel woes), I am pretty happy to be an AA EXP!

bse118

Bolding mine: If the only elite benefit you care about is lounge access, and you are OK with purchasing that, then no "pursuing" elite status doesn't make sense. But there are many more benefit to elite status that just lounge access (which is one of my personal most important benefits), only you can say if those additional benefits are valuable/important to you.

Valuing the program based only on one element - be it lounge access, upgrades, baggage fees, award fees, or whatever - is unlikely to work out as "making sense." Its the collection of multiple benefits that makes elite status worthwhile.

drsh99

OP here.So, low price matters since I work in global development (poverty alleviation, developing countries, nonprofit work). I fly premium economy when the client permits, since I'm often working soon after landing (after 18-22 hours' travel). I haven't found that elite status allows for, "sitting in the front of the plane in a wider seat with additional legroom." Are you referring to benefits for domestic flights? Sorry if my question seems obtuse. I fly mostly internationally, so if this is referring to a domestic flight advantage, maybe I'm not appreciating the perks that come with elite status, hence my original post.

drsh99

hmmm. well, I hadn't considered all these benefits...some might become more desirable as I am entering empty nest years soon.

Science Goy

Depends of course on the level of elite status and the carrier, but sometimes elite status allows you to reserve exit-row seats on partners, which indeed have extra legroom and are often (relative to the rest of economy) near the front.

drsh99

I haven't actually calculated how much I spend a year. I make about 5 trips to Africa a year in premium economy plus 3-5 domestic to various locations in economy so I"m sure I spend well over 12k/year. Some of the perks you mention I haven't needed, but perhaps they'd be worthwhile as I shift into a new era of travel with an empty nest in sight.

platbrownguy

Africa probably makes oneworld a harder sell, but not if it's on the BA route map or close to it, perhaps oneworld can still be a good option (it's a great option for LAX-LHR-JNB, I'd imagine, but not for getting some place like Goma). I'd have to think that whatever alliance best fits your Africa trips in terms of scheduling, good seats, etc. -- that's the alliance to shoot for top-tier status on (and 5 Africa RTs a year are pretty much guaranteed to get you the $12k and 100,000 qualifying miles if you're buying PE). Buy those without regard to airline perks, buy the tickets you want to buy. But think about buying them all on the same alliance so that you can get top-tier with one of AA, UA, or DL -- and the benefits you'll get on the 3-5 trips domestically, even if it's just confirmed extra-legroom seats at booking, the ability to do same-day changes, and a shot at an upgrade -- will probably be worth the slight time and money invested. If not, then not. But worth spending a few hours thinking about to optimize your travel happiness for a year or two.

fotographer

For me, its getting the miles from one alliance that paves the way for some great trips, traveling in F, for my wife and myself.
And know that my wife has switched from DL to AA, its fun to watch her reaction when I tell her, that I applied a SWU to her flight, and it had already cleared

azlkk64

Sometimes I wonder too, but a recent possible flight cancellation at a small regional airport reminded me of how it matters. 0615 am flight was possibly being canceled due to a mechanical. Twenty-odd people in the queue at the counter for rebooking while I just took a seat to see if I was going after all. Next thing I knew I was being called to another counter and they spent ten minutes getting an alternative booking sorted. Sometimes being EP helps.

That and First Class lounge access.