enpremiere

Some non-LCC market disruption would be nice! WN and then Virgin used to be that back in the day but if you wanted to be in the business of taking advantage of your audiences with higher barriers to entry, starting a credit bureau or an airline would definitely be excellent choices.

Danwriter

Gave up the elite chase 2 years ago and never looked back. AA (and everyone else) changed the rules, so I changed mine: fly less and buy J/F. The game was fun for a while but that was then.

ckx2

Status is essentially just a safety net for all the things that could go wrong, but hopefully never do. Flying is part of our business that I choose to work at, so I am not going to complain. The few times I really had to rely on CK agents, they have provided me with straightforward and efficient solutions. I am not sure if the same would have happened if I'd be just "another" F/C/Y pax.

Do I enjoy having access to QF/CX First Class lounges? Yes I do, but I'd also be fine in their respective business class lounges, as I'm basically just requiring a shower and some internet access.

ElmhurstNick

I've taken the path of getting more diversified mid-tier status instead of a single top tier status. By November, I will be DL Platinum, BA Silver, and WN A-List. That lets me buy up to domestic F (or PE to London) when I find a good deal, keeps me in extra legroom seats for longer flights (I don't care about more legroom on SMF-BUR even though I am 6'4"), gets me Flagship Lounge for my Chicago and LAX departures, and gets me good IRROPS handling.

I am moving to RDU next year, and DL/AA/WN are the three dominant airlines there. Having mid-tier with all three will make my life much easier for the next few years.

BLG

Yeah, me too. I feel exactly the same. A few of the Gold benefits are still worthwhile and between BIS miles and CC spend the program remains beneficial.

drsh99

OP here. This sounds like a good strategy. Since I posted, I've decided to split my upcoming trips (well, one is current as I type in an AF lounge at CDG on layover to west africa). 3 will be on delta/af and one on ba/AA. As an earlier response mentioned, OW doesnt have great routes for me. I'll make delta gold on this first trip but not sure I'll hit plat by the end of the year. Top tier status doesn't seem much better than mid-tier to me.
btw, I paid for premium economy for my current trip then got a business upgrade for $400 offer that I took for the tatl leg. When I got my boarding card for my next leg, they'd comp upgraded me from PE to J. Kinda liking DL/AF right now...although this has happened to me on AA or BA a couple of times over the years.

nrr

For those who decreased their flying on AA, did AA send you an email trying to lure you back, or do they not care?

ElmhurstNick

They offered me the great opportunity to buy back Platinum status for $1295, which would make me the lowest possible Platinum with virtually no EQD.

nrr

I'm lifetime PLAT, I was hoping that AA would contact pax to find out why they decreased/stopped flying AA. For next year my trips between JFK and ZRH will be on DL (they run n/s--AA dosen't), but if AA doesn't know WHY they won't bring back the JFK-TRANSATLANTIC flts.

Science Goy

There are much better ways to determine whether or not to bring back these flights than surveying one customer .

PHL

AA surely has good data on the competition's routes out of JFK (and their other airports), and why their customers might opt to fly them instead. IOW - They probably already know the "why" answer if you're a NYC based TA flyer that goes anywhere but LHR. They likely make more profit focusing on the prestige premium routes like LHR and LAX than diversifying to other TA routes ex-JFK.

LINDEGR

Not sure how "premium" LAX is anymore with B6 in the market...

AANYC1981

cyberjet

This excerpt is the core question, I believe: having reached the lifetime basic level (and all attendant bonuses) is there anything major to be gained by focusing on one solution to hit the next tier, especially now that the next tier has become much harder to reach with EQD

Marriott will be exploring down this same path: they doubled the threshold for SPG to reach platinum, so that if I don't see a path to lifetime platinum, I'm more likely now to go elsewhere on price (with airbnb emerging as the new competitor on price)

The other fly in the lifetime ointment is airlines producing new higher tiers: CK at AA, GS at United

Athena53

In my case they didn't. My flying changed after I retired; no, I did NOT continue flying to Zurich, London and Bangalore in Business Class on my own dime! Of course, I got the usual snail mail and e-mail offers- credit cards, sale on miles, vacation packages, etc. I ignored most of them until I got a decent credit card offer and took that.

People stop flying for a carrier for so many reasons (job loss or change, relocation, got angry after bad service, slowed travel after having kids) that one message wouldn't apply to everyone.