RockyRobin

Only Silver but all under my own steam.

10 years partner

I love planes, trains, cars, trams.....but no major expert.

For me the journey is as part of the trip as the destination.

sky-rat

Agree with most posts here-- happily married to a lady who also enjoys travel. Status comes from a mix of work and leisure (the mix varying widely over the last ~25yrs through several jobs) but I've found that a natural mix only gets me ~75-90% of the way to status, where a little judicious planning and maybe a couple of "bonus" trips gets me across the line to status. I find it has real value (lounge, etc.) which I've quantified at a minimum/conservative level (ie value of extra points, breakfast&coffee or glass&bite each time passing the lounge) and do not spend more than that to get across the line--not sure if that's being overdisciplined about it. As for time on my hands, that also varies widely with the job...though hoping to be able to follow several of the earlier posters into retirement soon(ish)

Wayland

I'm married with 3 kids, busy job responsible for tech globally for a FTSE250. Didn't really fly much when the kids were very young.

With the kids old enough to make air travel bearable, I made silver back in 2014 with leisure bookings. Gold in 2015 with more leisure and a TP run for a 3-nighter in Vegas. The only time I experienced the baby bus.

2016/17 retained gold easily with an annual Vegas run, family holidays and weekend trips with friends and family on CE fares. There was one year that 4 out of my 5 family members were gold, which was remarked on by the cabin crew. I remember one crew member saying it was the first time he'd ever given a BA colouring book to a gold card holder (my 7 year old)

2018 and a new global role meant my business travel ticked up, with 4-5 TATL trips per annum in J making it easy to hit gold with work travel and not much else, particularly if I self-upgraded to F which I tended to do when it was only about Ł200 extra.

With gold so easy to achieve, GGL/CCR was the next challenge which I achieved in 2019 and blogged about here. About a quarter of the 6000 TP I amassed in 2019 were business trips.

I was all set to retain it in 2020, plenty of travel booked, and managed to collect around 1900 TP between December 2019 and February 2020 before we went into lockdown. I've done a few domestic flights in CE since then.

My GGL status is extended until Jan 2022, but I've only 80 TP on the board so far. I've an INV-JFK trip booked in November next year, and am hoping that travel opens up enough in the latter half of 2021 to allow me to go visit my team in the US and collect the 2250 TP to re-qualify.

So overall this is mainly a hobby for me, which dovetails well with a family who also generally enjoy travel, and with a job that necessitates enough travel to make GGL a realistic target. As to having enough time, when people claim they don't have time for something, they're really just saying it's not important enough for them, and I'll always make the time for flying.

bisonrav

Having BAEC status helps me compensate for the deep feelings of inadequacy and social awkwardness preventing me from forming meaningful relationships. If it were not for this it would be a tight, rapid spiral into depression, addiction and self destruction.

Oh, and I like the free cakes in the CCR at 3pm.

PGberkshire

[QUOTE=

For me the journey is as part of the trip as the destination.[/QUOTE]

100% agree, why start and end your holiday with a bad flight.

The Geek

Mrs Geek and I are both Gold, and Geek Jr Silver, so wrong on the single front.

Yes we have plenty of time on our hands and travel once or twice a month for leisure. However the interest is not in air travel per se, but the overall trip experience in which status plays a part.

In terms of status chasing, If that means throwing into the annual trip schedule the odd creative LH routing, or a 3 day bender in an 160tps CE destination then guilty as charged.

bisonrav

and often both.

The Geek

Oh to be worthy of the free cakes in the CCR at 3pm.

Thanks for giving me deep feelings of inadequacy and social awkwardness preventing me from forming meaningful relationships. { Not to mention the inferiority complex. }

HIDDY

Thanks...very interesting reading so far.

To be fair, apart from one or two of you plus the old codger I wasn't that far off the mark.

Speedbird Julie

I tick the first two boxes (the second is probably why I'm still single, haha) and have a reasonable amount of time on my hands too. Most of my TP come from long haul leisure with the odd shuttle to LHR for work thrown in.

I'm absolutely besotted by planes, flying and lounges

PGberkshire

If I were single and lived near Heathrow like I used to I would be away every other weekend. Having 2 dogs, a cat and living in Manchester makes weekend breaks a bit of a faff.

VSLover

when i first got status on AA back in 2002 through work, i learned the system and it paired well with my love for travel and planes and flight! so i quickly became a status chaser those early years when status = miles flown and was very easy to achieve on AA because i made time for it.

fast forward almost 20 years and i guess i still chase status but view it more as a benefit of my hobbies which continue to be travel and planes and flight! if i just depended on my 3 long haul work trips that'd only get me to 860TP so instead i push the boundaries and know how to maximize those trips and of course the remaining 2200TP i need for GGL are obtained through almost all premium class travel and ridiculous routings because again, i love travel and planes and flight!

am i single? i have been and have not been. but one thing i look for in a partner is an interest in shared activities and yes they would all roll their eyes at me when i book a 7-segment TP run or a quick out and back to ATL the day after boxing day...but they have each said to me that my excitement has made them really enjoy flying now. even my current boyfriend never really thought much before of how he got from point A to B but now, he is almost as excited as i am for the next flight.

i suppose i dont even need the status because i am fortunate enough to afford almost exclusively premium classes, but one must fly a lot to obtain 3000TP so the service and attention and resources really does make the entire experience more pleasurable and worth the dedication--at least up to now.

T8191

I have to say that’s rather rude. There are several of us here who can (just) remember The War, or at least Rationing!

Agent69

I've always thought that if you are travelling in J then the flight is part of the holiday, but if you are in Y the flight is something to be endured before the holiday begins.

Personally, I'm single and an early retiree. Normally have 2 long haul trips a year with QR, and top it up with a few EU trips. Just about managed to make Gold for the last few years.

Ancient Observer

Comfort chaser.
I used to be Gold when it was even more worth having through lots of business travel for well over 10 years. I did not get GFL as I also decided to explore J on other airlines. SQ Gold in J was good. . Lots of airmiles and taking young children to exotic places via those airmiles.
Nowadays, I am not a status chaser, but a comfort chaser.
For instance, when we went to South America for a long holiday, Iberia J turned out to be a lot cheaper than BA J. For Aus/NZ holidays, Virgin Upper to HKG and ANZ to NZ was much cheaper than BA......
I don't even get Silver nowadays, so I know where to get eats and drinks in LHR Terminals, and find peaceful spots. BA lounges just can't match Pret almond croissants and coffee!!
Er, and I am not bothered by champagne. Not even at Christmas.