Elite Status Without Flying or Staying
Sep 20, 2013 | 9:47 pm
#256
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,871
starwood, membership rewards, ultimate rewards let you transfer to multiple airlines
starwood has some very expensive hotels
virgin atlantic miles can be redeemed for very expensive necker island and other virgin limited edition hotels
if you spend $50K/yr on DL airfare you can get diamond and better reservations agents via their jet card
starwood has some very expensive hotels
virgin atlantic miles can be redeemed for very expensive necker island and other virgin limited edition hotels
if you spend $50K/yr on DL airfare you can get diamond and better reservations agents via their jet card
Sep 20, 2013 | 10:16 pm
#257
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: CMH, West Coast
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, oneworld emerald
Posts: 2,741
Can get status through the Marriott card. One night=$3k spend.
Sep 21, 2013 | 2:43 am
#258
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 1,277
Citi Hilton Reserve comes with Gold status, no spending required. $95 annual fee. Diamond with $40k spend.
Club Carlson's US Bank cards give you Gold there, $60 (Business) or $75 (Personal) annual fee.
IHG Rewards (formerly Priority Club) gives you Platinum just for having the Visa card. Platinum is not really worth that much, though.
Club Carlson's US Bank cards give you Gold there, $60 (Business) or $75 (Personal) annual fee.
IHG Rewards (formerly Priority Club) gives you Platinum just for having the Visa card. Platinum is not really worth that much, though.
Sep 21, 2013 | 7:00 am
#259
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 26,113
Which means that through spend alone it takes a whopping $105k to get to Marriott Gold (15 starter elite nights, plus 35 elite nights at $3k each). You do get to Marriott Silver (which is of little value) just for having the card.
So while it may be nice for "topping off", I don't think it's practical for elite status without staying much at Marriott properties.
Btw, Marriott doesn't count award nights toward elite status, so you can't take the award nights for all those points from all that spend and use them to get status faster.
So while it may be nice for "topping off", I don't think it's practical for elite status without staying much at Marriott properties.
Btw, Marriott doesn't count award nights toward elite status, so you can't take the award nights for all those points from all that spend and use them to get status faster.
Mar 19, 2016 | 3:54 am
#260
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NC
Programs: AAConciergeKey/2MM, DL DM/2MM, UA Gold,Hilton Diamond,IHG Diamond, Hyatt Globalist,Marriott Titanium
Posts: 13,236
Any new updates to this thread?
Mar 19, 2016 | 11:27 am
#261
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 26,113
What do you mean "this thread"? At this point, it's a hopeless jumble of mostly outdated information. Half the programs mentioned in post 1 (from 2004) don't exist anymore or don't work the way they used to. You have to read zillions of posts to figure out what got updated and what didn't.
Was the Amex HH Surpass card giving instant Hilton HHonors Gold updated in this thread? I can't remember when exactly that happened. That now makes two credit cards (the other being the Citi HH Reserve) which give instant HH Gold status.
That's the only update I can think of.
Was the Amex HH Surpass card giving instant Hilton HHonors Gold updated in this thread? I can't remember when exactly that happened. That now makes two credit cards (the other being the Citi HH Reserve) which give instant HH Gold status.
That's the only update I can think of.
Mar 19, 2016 | 3:29 pm
#262
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Arizona
Posts: 5,900
Agreed that this thread is outdated. It is possible to get elite status on almost any airline or hotel. Some are more difficult and not open to the general public. Just one example is if you spend a lot on travel for a large group you can basically get what ever you want. Show me the money. And in todays environment it is based on past spend not future.
Mar 19, 2016 | 7:01 pm
#263
Original Member, Moderator: Hotel Deals and MilesBuzz
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 14,291
Yes, this thread is outdated. I'm ging to go ahead a close it. Please feel free to start a new one if you'd like.
MileageAddict
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