PURCHASE STATUS! what next?
 

Holiday Inn today is offering to SELL gold status for $50 a year! How sad, and pathetic. Their program was terrible BEFORE, not it's just a joke. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Sheraton sold me Gold status in their original loyalty program for $10 back in 1990. I bought it so I could skip the really long lines checking into the DC Zoo property (now a Marriott) for a particular convention each year.

And you can get Platinum status with Holiday In, etc., by signing up for the Six Continents Club ($100).

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Hertz has been doing this for a long time.

Starwood gives Gold status to anyone who gets an AMEX card - free for the 1st year and $39/year thereafter.

Yeah they say they do, but nobody really *pays* for #1 Club Gold, do they? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

(Also, Hertz doesn't claim to sell status levels, just membership in the program. If you seriously want free #1 Club Gold membership, there are about 100 ways to get it. Search the Hertz board.)

Kind of as an aside: I wonder if any airlines have ever considered selling elite levels, or parts thereof. For example, sell a level that included no-hold phone service, use of first-class check-in, and priority markings on your luggage (we all know how effective that is). No upgrades, no mileage bonuses, no club access, etc. Just friendly customer service.

(Note: I would never WANT them to do this. They would inevitably staff airports and call centers incorrectly, resulting in hold times and long F check-in lines for the "real" elites.)

On the flip side: if you were about to take a few flights on an airline on which you had no status, how much would you pay for an "Elite Lite" status? $50/year? $100/year? More? (Note that if you flew the airline a lot, you'd get a normal elite level eventually.)

[This message has been edited by rmccamy (edited 03-07-2002).]

They want to make money. It's like American Express' platinum card. Anyone know what the annual fee is on that thing? And don't you have a minimum charge commitment for that as well?

Keep in mind that people here are far more concerned with elite tiers than most of the folks who get it.

I'm definitely in the minority here, but I'm like, if they can make money off people who don't use their services as much and thus can reduce the price I pay or, in the case of an airline these days, not go belly up, I'm all for it.

Not anymore. You get different level now which I don't find any useful benefits... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

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ValueConsumer.com Home of Tripple Dipping Online Shopping

If you hop over to the CO page, you'll see where CO is offering to sell status to those who didn't fly enough to retain their 2001-2002 level. Gold last year, only silver this year? No problem, write Gordon a check for $400, and he'll issue you a nice new Gold card! Fee on those who actually earned it....

I actually think it's a brilliant marketing move:
You create a gold level that doesn't give you anything other than 10% point discount and dedicated phone line, and charge money for getting to this level.
If you want to spend 50$ for nothing, you are very welcome.
Once you spent the money you'll more likely stay at the HI hotels to justify your expense!

Yes, the "famed" Wardman Plaza. Marriott did an excellent job on the renovations, IMHO. My wife loves the Pandas! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

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It's $300 per year - as it was when they started many years ago! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Nah. No minimum committment per se! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Incidentally, it used to be WELL worth it, IMHO!

I get all of the above for free with Southwest! OK, no priority luggage lags, but when all the bags come out by 25 minutes from landing, it's just as good as priority. Their Frequent Flier reservation line answers immediately, even when the general call load is heavy. The web site is reliable and fast and eliminates most of the need to phone. And Southwest has your "no upgrades" request covered, too! :-)

Well, there is the small matter of the cattle call boarding, having to show up four hours early, Southwest's pretty limited route system, and so on.

But hey, whatever floats your boat.

CO just sent my dad an offer to purchase Silver Elite for only $200.. He won't need it, I already convinced him to switch to AA after explaining the new upgrade policy for international destinations. Like me, he didn't think it was worth the effort to accumulate any CO miles if we can't use them to upgrade to BF. It's not worth it !

Oh, I thought the Starwood card is the only Amex card that grants gold for the first year and $39/year afterwards. You can actually obtain SPG Gold status for free if you have a Platinum charge card.
As a Platinum member, you'll keep SPG Gold as long you remain a Plat. cardholder, while Centurion grants SPG Platinum..

[This message has been edited by eperaltaotero (edited 03-07-2002).]

You're an excellent son http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I thought that SPG only offerred Gold and Platinum levels (other than invite only levels)?

Is this a targeted promotion? Is there a sign up page for this?

After qualifying for top tier status on AA, all kinds of extra offers are showing up. Gold status on both Hilton and Starwoods, for one.

That's real convenient since I won't stay enough at the same hotel chains [always try for the cheapest decent hotel] to get status. This way I pick up a few extra points and some benefits on the <10 stays at each chain.

It seems easier than signing up for credit cards.

Yes, elite status can be bought.

At an FT get together, I was regaled with a story from another FTer about how his Black Am Ex got him top tier with every FF club out there - and it only cost him $150,000 a year of spending on other stuff.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif

Amex's Platinum card comes with a complimentary SPG Gold level enrollment; the Centurion comes with SPG Platinum.

For a $1000 annual Centurian card you "buy"

US Air Gold
CO Gold
TWA Elite (no longer)
Delta Gold
Hyatt Diamond
Hilton Gold
Starwood Plat

If you travel, well worth it!

I mean- SPG Platinum.. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Moremiles, the offer is a targeted promotion to thank him for flying CO and since he wasn't able to achieve Silver status, they offered Silver status for $200. He was going to buy it, considering the benefit of elite check in which is great when you look at the check in line for flights to Ecuador at EWR and to US in GYE. It's horrible, that is when I used to fly CO. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I actually think the idea of "buying" top status is quite a good idea. I did a LOT of flying two - three years ago and I spend a LOT of money on my Credit Cards (over $5 million a year). As a result I have so many FF points I ALMOST dont know what to do with them.

Now I would class myself a regular flyer who travels maybe once a week maybe on a 50/50 mix of International and Domestic (within Australia and all in F - to burn up more points http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ). This pattern would be enough to earn me top status on any airline but I am stuck with "no status" as my flying is on all Non-Rev FF fares.

Some people will say that I dont actually give the airlines any money but in my view I give them (through Amex / Diners / Visa) 5,000,000 points a year @ $0.008 per point (approx what the cards companies pay the airlines) = $40,000, which is more than most top tier people here would contribute to an airlines revenue (I see no distinction between Amex paying for points on my behalf and an employer paying for my revenue flights).

I can understand no points on award flights, but why not status credits or at least allow me to buy my status (with points maybe http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif )?

You should have bought an airplane.

Even from the mid-tier levels on a couple of airlines (US, AA, and UA in the past three years), you got LOTS of offers for hotel status. AA Plat includes a standing offer for HH Gold, Starwood Gold, and similar offers that I can't recall for Fairmont, Holiday Inn, etc. Hotel status tiers don't mean much until you get way up there (HH Diamond, MR Plat, etc.).

I can't believe CO is charging THAT much money to *existing* elites that failed to requal in 2001. That's dirty pool. It would be one thing if CO asked ME for $200 for their lowest level (I've never flown them), but to ask somebody who flew, say, 80% of the required miles is just plain nasty.

"At an FT get together, I was regaled with a story from another FTer about how his Black Am Ex got him top tier with every FF club out there - and it only cost him $150,000 a year of spending on other stuff."

Let's cut the hyperbole. As great as it may be, the Amex Black does not get you top tier on every FF program out there. As noted below, it is only a handful of US carriers, and often just to the mid-tier level.

As for paying for Priority Club, I agree Gold is of little or no value, so $50 is really a waste. And the Six Continents Club offer for Platinum status will cost a non-member $150, since that is the new sign-up cost for that program. The PC Plat is a new offering and may not be included in the basic membership tier after this year.

Interestingly, PC requires one of the higher accumulation of nights before granting its top tier found among hotel programs. Starwood now seems to be the easiest program in which to get top tier Platinum status.

I was a few hundered miles short for elite of UA. I would pay that amount rather than do mileage run. Actually I don't have buying options for UA and I didn't fly on them only for mile.

OZ - If you're flying all on F tickets, what is it that status would get you that you don't already have? Besides maybe a better phone number to call?

not so new this news:
* I bought Sheraton Gold level in 1989 and renew it paying $25 (or is it $30 now?) every year (now as Starwood Gold)
* I bought InterConti SCCS in late 80ies and renew it too every year (I think I pay $35/year which instantly pays back with a free weekend night voucher)
* LH's Senator program allows to renew (not for becoming first time Senators) for another year after expiry paying a high fee (something above EURO 2'000)
* and what about all those comping offers (I am right now getting from KLM's Flying Dutchman program all miles of my UA account comped = 431'000 points/miles and a total of 18 months top/tier Royal Wing member for just one 'grey-market' transatlantic trip)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

I understood it gave AA Plat which equals a OW level that will get you into OW airline clubs throughout the world, including ACs, if flying internationally on that day. Plus first class check-in, preferred seating, blocked seats, etc. So, while Plat is not ExpPlat, it still gets you a certain level of comfort that is very, very nice.

Amex Centurion does not give you any AA benefits. There was a slight overlap with TWA but it got axed.

Don't forget you get Lifetime Platinum status
on American Airlines just for accumulating 2 million miles, and it's free!