PETER01

Not for vanity reasons I can assure you, I won't use the luggage tags for example but I've been sitting on the fence for a while with this now and I am going to go for it early next year. Well, fingers crossed I am planning a TP run for then to get almost 2 years as a GCH since my membership year starts again then and I have quite a few travel plans for 2016 and 2017 anyhow.

I really don't mind WT and WT+, that's my budget range and CW or F is a BIG treat for me but I'm sure you'll all agree lounges do make a difference when travelling in these lower classes for those who do that?

The main reasons in going for Gold, apart from the fact I love flying, travelling and the whole Aviation thing anyway and have done since an early age, is that it will be very enjoyable to enjoy the BA FLounge as well as other OW First Lounges worldwide, 100% Avios, the choice of exit seats on longhaul (^), the choice of row 1 for a change etc etc so that's the cause of my 'craving'

Is such a craving 'normal'?

Do you have any cravings to get to a higher status? I'm just curious!

bryand83

Just don't expect it to stop. I was aiming to be happy with silver. Then got gold and that seemed good for a while but especially after they cut the free avios cancellations that was a buzz kill. Hit GGL and that was great and had lots of perks but the F lounge was getting old when you are there every other week and now I have the CCR. It basically never ends?

PETER01

GGL is way out of the equation for me and I could never justify it, especially being a leisure traveller. Being a plain old Goldie will more than do me but I can see why some folks go for it and all it's additional benefits above Gold.

Stez

What's wrong with being silver, you get most of the benefits of gold without the added expense anyway? @:-)

jcm9000

Never ending sausages in the Flounge at breakfast. Oi, you over there, stop snickering; this was important when i lived abroad and couldn't get a decent british style sausage! First thing i did on arrival was grab a fork and get tucked in.

PETER01

Why do you keep going for Gold then every year?

Oh, there is NOTHING wrong with being Silver at all, I'm really enjoying it but I've put numerous reasons why in my opening post and there is still a difference between the two. For me personally it will be worth it if I can get 2 years out of it.

Geordie405

How can you be a Forum Ambassador and not be at least Gold already?

PETER01

I think I am the only Ambassador who flies in ET, WT and WT+ so there had to be a mixture for that reason................

corporate-wage-slave

Not for much longer....

headingwest

I'm not quite at Gold yet, but will be by the end of the year. Not that I'm expecting much! The main reason I want Gold is to save the hassle of having to collect TPs for year 3.

happeemonkee

Come and join the club PETER01

Like you I'm a leisure traveller and I manage to sustain gold with an annual HNL run added to either a cheap xmas CW sale or the odd Viking fare

I keep saying this is my last year as a gold and I'll happily drop to silver but jeez it's so addictive

PETER01

IIRC from a post of yours a while ago you were travelling Y to the USA with a friend?

It's about time more Ambassadors were travelling in Y (or W) especially Tobias-UK. He's ALWAYS in First!

Stez

Although I had already read your opening reasons, I'm just wondering if those are really enough? Apart from the first row offerings (which is sometimes available at OLCI anyway), the first class lounges at outstations (particularly at SYD and HKG) are nice but not "going out of my way" nice and there aren't that many First Class lounges anyway. Potentially more useful in North America to gain access to the Admirals Club though.

Do silvers get a choice of exit seats too? (It's irrelevant to me as I can't use them anyway).

I keep getting gold because work keep flying me on OW. I wouldn't miss it terribly if I dropped to silver. That said, when I dropped from silver to blue, I didn't miss it either, I just wasn't travelling enough.

You hit the nail on the head - the soft landing to silver. ^

rapidex

You missed the benefit of getting your EU261 claims paid faster

PETER01

I appreciate your post, nithing like a great Sausage but there is more than that for me in going for it

Likewise, a drop to Silver for me in year 3 is another good reason as long as I take my 4 'BA' flights.

I wonder if I'll be in that position in a few years time! I have 2 trips planned to Australia so exit seats are really beneficial to me in Y.