With regard to paying for a bank card to chase status, the Amex Platinum card in at least some non-US markets includes Hilton Gold status. And Hilton Gold may be golden enough that Diamond status doesn’t matter all that much. Even with that option, I would say it’s generally a bad time to chase status whenever the person has not crunched the numbers to determine if the actual value to be gotten from the status being chased exceeds the cost — inclusive of opportunity costs — of chasing the status and its benefits that follow from the status use.

As my FT username suggests, I like the idea of lifetime memberships. See my profile.

Having obtained the highest lifetime status currently offered by Marriott BONV°Y™, I have given up that chase and am now focused on helping my wonderful spouse of 31 years obtain that same lifetime Platinum Elite status. 💚

Five years and ~200 nights to go. :)

In a similar vein, if your U.S. career income was significantly higher than your spouse's, it is best to wait until 70 years old to collect Social Security, to maximize that 50% spousal benefit (at age 67, for those lower-earning spouses born in 1960 or later).

I'm not sure I will ever attain lifetime UA Premier Gold status (1MM), but that is not a dream I am willing to forego. :o

Excellent point. As a U.S. based website, despite attempts to be global, we can be a little ethnocentric. Apologies if that’s inferred to be insensitive. (FWIW, if you need a U.S. mailing address which would be acceptable to credit card issuers, let me know. I’d be happy to be your mail drop … for a reasonable (or outrageous depending on your viewpoint) fee. ;))

Absolutely, well said. In that regard, one of the often overlooked/taken for granted aspects of airline elite status is free checked bags which should be factored into crunching. Even though some like to brag that they can do a 9 month round the world to the moon and back trip with just a carry-on, they’re probably in the minority and most people would save significant $$$ annually with free checked bags. For skiers it’s often necessary to check at least 2 bags (suitcase with ski & regular clothing and skis/boots) it’s about worth its weight in gold with saved bag fees (or ski rental costs if one doesn’t own and check skis due to the baggage cost).

Fortunately free checked bags is often a benefit at even the lowest status levels, which can sometimes be obtained via credit card.

As mentioned by others above, it is when you achieve LT or multiple Lifetime stati. I've done 4 airlines and one Hotel chain, so I did what I need to, I still have to chase/earn TK status every year (or two) but generally knowck that out in teh first few months. The funny thing (at least for some here) is that guess what? I still fly BA in most years enough to be earning Gold anyway, I still stay at Hilton';s enough to earn Diamond anyway, because I value the perks that they give me. I will not however take crazy routings or actively spend (essentially) more in order to fly/stay with them, I say "essentially" because I will spend an extra $50 a night or whatever to stay at a Hilton with a lounge when traveling with family, because they DO use the breakfast. I will spend a bit more for BA for the lounge, or to get my preferred seats, I will just not spend a crazy amount more. My relationship with DL is different, I am LT Gold, but Delta abandoned me years ago by cutting service totally to my main city, I would possibly be a Lifetime Diamond at this point had they done so, but I cannot imagine now ever getting beyond Lifetime Platinum.

This is all said through the prism of someone who has been doing this for decades, for someone starting out now, as a regular (rather than super) FT, is to pick the one that gives you real tangible benefits every time you fly, and just stick with that program.

Dr. J above, I fully concur, as while I may travel with carry on only 95% of the time, big family trips back and forth to/fr Europe and bringing items home, could often mean 8-12 bags, and the savings can be significant.

Addition to the above, as it is relevant to the subject.......What a difference 6 months makes! Due to the DL program changes, I actually am now Lifetime Platinum, and have started actively flying DL and partners even on less than optimal routes because I am not too far away from Lifetime Diamond....

First and foremost, I am retired so I have flexibility in making my travel plans. I have LT PP on UA (until they decide to change that 😆). No other LT status.

I find the Amex Aspire card a good value despite the fee. I get full benefit so that it pays for itself. I also use CSR mainly for HY points which I find a good value.

I am not married to any airline now. I take what’s convenient and decided to just pay the extra cost to ride upfront. The game of upgrading is just too much time wasted for little return.

I try to buy tickets strategically. Two years ago I purchased a one way mileage ticket to Europe. For the return I booked a round trip paid ticket in business back to the US with a return date fixed several months ahead back to Europe. I’ve been buying roundtrips Eu-US-EU ever since. I make sure I can change the return, even with a fee. The cost savings, I find, are great. I pick whichever airline has the best value for money. Yes, I plan well in advance but that’s just me.

For this year, without trying I stumbled into gold status on AA. Last year I was shy about $1500 from UA 1k. But what benefit does each give me when I travel if I’m paying for business class? Nada.

Reading everyone’s strategies and thoughts on this topic has been so interesting! Thanks for sharing.

Lifetime status is certainly a dream, but I’m about to start year 3 of FB Platinum and while I have good hopes to get to year 4 as well, that’s still not even halfway through. At this point in my life there may be a chance for parental leave extensions 1 or 2 years, but it’s still a long way there.

At this point I’ve given up on United. Even if based in the US, being loyal to a European program works best for me as I travel between the US and EU often, and it is my feeling — though I know extremely little about European programs other than FB — that status with European airlines is slightly easier to reach and retain, simply because it seems like a smaller market than the US altogether. I’m shocked every time I see the number of passengers boarding the plane at the call of Diamond Medallion and Premier 1K. So many people. Group 1 boarding on United is often larger than group 2. I don’t experience the same in Europe when SkyTeam E+ are called for boarding.

Also, it’s not that FB doesn’t count on a sizable number of US-based members, given the cobranded credit card with Bank of America.

I’m trying to figure out the best usage for the thousands of FB miles I keep sitting on. Because every bit of travel counts for keeping Platinum for me, if it’s personal travel I tend to pay OOP or with CSR points. I can afford it and that’s fine. But I’d like to put those miles to work at some point! Maybe for a one way JFK-CDG in La Première some day.

I agree. With Hilton, there are actually 3 credit cards that offer status. There is a no fee Hilton card from Amex that offers complimentary silver status. Then the Amex Surpass offers gold status with a $95 annual fee. Then the Amex Aspire offers diamond status with a $450 fee.

So if a person is doing a return on investment for getting Hilton status with a credit card, there are 3 options depending on the status you want. I personally keep the no fee card in case I ever need a way to keep my points from expiring at Hilton. I am sure that can be upgraded to Surpass or Aspire if I decide to do so.

I could earn VA Silver this year but really, what's the point? We rarely fly them anyway so it's not like an extra bag here or there is going to help much.

It'd only be worth the two complimentary lounge passes but then I don't see us flying with VA within the next twelve months anyway, so I'm not going to push it. My QFF points are essentially worth more in this sense for us.

I do remember a free internet link to HH Gold status once upon a time. Those were the days!

Side question: in order to apply for a US HH Amex card with sign up benefits, would I have to ditch my Aussie QFF Amex in advance first?

I have automated the process as follows and stopped caring beyond that. I limit most of my travels to one alliance (OW), program affiliation to one carrier (AA), and I have the AA credit card, so my status would be maximized automatically without worrying about it all the time. Beyond that, I do what is possible and most convenient in each case. For example, when I can afford to purchase a J ticket, I will do so; if WN or Iceland Air makes most sense for a particular trip, then that's who I will fly. However, lacking a special consideration, it is AA/OW. Pre-pandemic I used to end up as Executive Platinum; now it is Platinum Pro due to reduced travel as well as program changes.

One can have more than one co-branded AmEx card.

Thanks. Well, they're going to love me! :D

Still going after EXP on AA
 

I am LT Titanium on Bonvoy and LT PLT on AA (6.6 million miles to date). After 40 years of business travel, I’ve retired and travel for pleasure now. AA EXP since it started except for 1 or 2 years.

I still chase the systemwide upgrades on AA to get lower cost business class flights e.g., I had a $700 RT each for both myself and wife from DFW - BCN earlier this year.

I put all the expenses I can on my 2 AA (Citi and Barclays silver) cards (plus Citi AA business card for my LLC) and pay off every month to avoid interest, so the change to $ has helped me retain status as I fly less than I used to.

Having said that I too am debating when to stop the chase for EXP status. As long as I travel intl for pleasure the pursuit will continue I guess.

Another reason to have barebones Silver status: access to the fifth-night free option for award stays. Not a huge benefit, but worthwhile in addition to having a method to keep points from expiring.

I've just reached that point. The catalyst for me was a significant devaluation in Turkish Miles value. (They more or less doubled the cost of redemption flights.) For some years I had been puting up with their lousy IT, redemption challenges and terrible customer service in return for their low threshold to reach Gold Status. But no more.

I'm retired so fly on my own money and usually fly business class (so I get most of the perks of Gold anyway). I have Priority Pass as a backup. The only thing I am giving up is shorter call centre queues (maybe) and lesser chance of upgrades (maybe).

My strategy now is to buy the "best" flight based upon a variety of factors rather than blindly choosing a Star Alliance option. I'll probably accrue miles to Delta for Skyteam because their miles don't expire, Qatar for OneWorld because their miles don't expire provided there is account activity (which is easy with Accor All membership) and Singapore for Star Alliance because they are my long-haul airline of choice and I can't find a Star Alliance program without expiry.

I'll stockpile my non-flying miles with Amex and a Mastercard that allow transfer to a wide range of airlines so I still expect to do a long-haul redemption every year or two for me and the mrs.

It takes quite a mental leap to make this decision after years of being blinkered to anything outside of *A but now it actually feels quite liberating.

Miles on United Airlines (UA) do not expire. However, redeeming them on SQ can be difficult.