yyzvoyageur

"I'm free!" That's what I'd like to be saying right now, but it's not quite true yet. Free from "loyalty" programmes, free from frequent flyer programmes, free from hotel points programmes. I'll take the scissors to our pile of loyalty cards: Aeroplan, BA, Asia Miles, Starwood, Hilton. Cut them up and never look back. I can't wait to have options again. I'll fly whatever airline I want. I'll stay at whatever hotel I want. There will be no draw to earn miles, points, Avios, Aeropesos.

But first, I have a LOT of points to burn through.

drat19

Are you saying that your travel in the past 1-2 years has cut back to the point where you no longer have Elite status in any programs anymore?

tkey75

If I were to decide to stop traveling beyond the use of my points/miles, Id be excited about giving up all my shiny cards.

Yeah, not gonna happen.

acunningham

Alliance points are your friends! Fly any airline in (for example) Star Alliance, and collect all the points in whichever airline you most expect to want to redeem them on.

dinoscool3

And people call us FTers nuts, I'd say the OP is nuts.



But to each his own!

rjacket

If the objective of getting elite status is to make business flying that takes place in economy more bearable, then it makes some sense.

If you don't do much business flying, then there is an argument that doing mileage runs to get elite status and to earn miles for personal travel in premium classes is a bad idea.

With the credit card bonuses out there and the churning that is possible, it seems to make more sense to spend the time and money formulating and going on mileage runs on the activity of optimizing your credit cards to earn huge amounts of miles as well as other activities that get you miles without flying.

darthbimmer

I agree, without the implied irony of a smiley face. The OP is talking about throwing away loyalty cards. That is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. I agree that it's liberating to free oneself from slavish pursuit of status and points, but simply ignoring them when you're still traveling is foolish.

Those points and status have real value to travelers. That's why so many people chase after them, even if some do go a bit overboard. With the airlines, especially, a few memberships are enough to accumulate miles from pretty much any of the carriers out there, and earning even silver status helps with reducing check-in times and baggage fees.

rjacket

Most of the credit cards give you 1 checked bag for free these days. Just got the US Airways card and have a free lounge pass and 40,000 bonus miles, and a perhaps hard to use $99 2 x companion ticket voucher, together with zone 2 boarding. Not bad for free / small annual fee.

Also got the Continental card with 30,000 bonus points and 2 club passes.

Prior to that I got the BA and American Airlines deals with 100,000 and 75,000 miles.

I'm not even churning these cards like I should, and that's 240,000 miles in a year or so.

If you have a partner, and do some churning and more applications than I did (eg some of these cards had business versions, mastercard versions, visa versions), it seems you can easily get enough miles every year for first class international travel for the entire family.

Why would you need to earn elite status if through non flying methods you can get free domestic baggage, priority boarding, included lounge passes, and enough miles to redeem into business / first class internationally?

new2japan

What are you talking about???

rjacket

My hypothesis:

Sounds like his need to travel for business has suddenly greatly reduced - perhaps job change, perhaps been fired, perhaps retirement.

He previously felt obliged to participate in the game because he was earning / the earning potential was so great. Now he doesn't and feels free.

My guess is that the first time he looks to book any hotel, any airline, he won't be able to resist the urge to figure out which one gives him the most advantage.

Choice is touted as a great thing in America, but it's also sometimes a curse!

TWAB747nomore

why would I want to be rid of the loyalty programs. they make it it easier for me to decide on the airline front and hotel front. otherwise i would torment my soul deciding what airline to fly and trying to find the perfect flight each time

Ancien Maestro

I myself, starting to try different hotels.. have been tied down pretty heavily with Fairmonts for the past 8 years.. and on the side where there isn't the Fairmont option, renting condos for smoking deals..

But my FFP points collection is generally from cc spends, with no loyalty to fly revenue with any airline.. if and when I purchase airline tickets, its solely on the best price, and the best route..

London Olympics coming up, I'm not at all influenced by a loyalty chain.. just happy to get reasonable priced accomodations..

CPRich

Glad it makes you feel better.

But the fact is, you always had and will have options. Fly and stay wherever you want. Then use the loyalty program as an added bonus. If owning a 1 ounce piece of plastic was constraining you from flying and staying where you wanted to, then it sounds like you're freeing yourself from yourself.

Ancien Maestro

If it makes OP feel better.. I'm sort of along the same lines.. not really caring about the Loyalty programs I use more and more..

It gives sort of sense of non commitment, but when a good deal does come along, then the better it feels..