barbarony62

This blog could also be titled: "How I started my own frequent flyer program..."

For the longest time I have been an avid collector of Status Points. The more I had the better I felt. Cut the queues, get a free drink, an upgraded room, a better seat; It was all about status, and being recognized for who I am. I am is an international traveler, terribly predictable and awfully repetitive. George Clooney, in his movie "Up In The Air" was my mascot. I had lots of Status, and zero self respect.

Do not misunderstand me. It was fun. It is indeed better to sleep in a larger room in a hotel, and get that free drink at check-in. It is more comfortable to use the Gold VIP queue at airport check-in. It is nicer to drive a larger, stronger car. It is definitely easier to fly business class than economy. And while it was all "free", it came at a cost. I had become a beggar, and I had been wasting time on "the points race"

Over the last few years, I have seen frequent flyer clubs increase the number of miles needed to earn benefits. The memberships have become so hard to maintain that I started loosing one status after another. The business atmosphere also changed. Business travel was looking at cheaper alternatives for hotels, and a smaller entertainment budget. Both meant less points on my hotel memberships, and credit card status points.

As a knee jerk reaction to these new membership criteria, I quickly adopted a new philosophy, and a bad one if I say so myself. I started focusing on a single airline, so at least I could keep a Gold status with one company. I made it a point to sleep in the same hotel chain, so I could collect the points, and I always rented cars from the same company. This turned out to be the worst decision I could make.

I ended up paying more for flights, as I had lost the competitive nature of the business. I also found myself making connections in airports that did not really make sense to my travel plans, and lost countless hours detouring just to get those extra points. With points value going down, what points I did end up collecting were pretty much useless. And do not for a minute forget that I had to beg at airports. "Can I get a free upgrade?"; "Can I get a better seat?" I must have asked this a thousand times, just because as a Status flyer I hoped I deserved it. I think begging took a bigger toll on my well-being than anything else.

I did not fare much better with hotels. Staying with a single chain meant I did not always choose the best hotel or the best price, or even the most convenient location. Once more I was loosing time and money. And yes.... the begging for an upgrade never stopped. Sure, when I asked at check-in I did not "beg", I more or less demanded my rights, but inside, I knew I was begging.

I could go on an on about membership clubs and how they got me to plan my trips incorrectly, and had me begging for a freebie, but you get the point.

And then, about a year ago, I established my own frequent flyer program. It fits my needs to perfection, and since I am the owner of the program, I do not have to beg; I get all I want when I want it. So now I plan my flights to meet my schedules, and I do not take extra connections if not needed. I also find cheaper flights. True, I do not get as many upgrades as before, but I was not getting them anyways. And since I know I do not deserve them, I stopped asking for them. I feel much better not having to beg. With the time and money I save, I allow myself to go to a good restaurant before or after I land; I find its much better than the free peanuts and stale sandwiches in the lounges.

I also choose hotels that are better suited for my trip. I take a room that fits my needs, and ignore the possibility for upgrade. If I really needed a larger room, I would have booked it. Since I save money on hotels and taxis now(location, location), I can afford a nicer, upgraded room once in a while, without begging. I simply book it. Its much nicer to check into a suite without having to "ask" for it.

So there. I have established my own frequent flyer program. From day one I have given myself the highest status of "Golden President and Ambassador". Under this program I am allowed to book flights on any airline, sleep in any hotel, take any room I want, and with the time I save, I write blogs. With the money I save, by the way, I buy my "free" tickets to anywhere I want, and I have no blackout periods. Begging is not allowed under the terms of this membership.

Self Respect.

Rony

abmj-jr

Well - umm - welcome to Flyer Talk.

cln

good post. depending on next devaluations I will make that move too. use some cashback programs but won't remain loyal to certain airlines/chains

Ghentleman

Good post and welcome to FT.
Your strategy sounds more and more like the right thing to do. You might want to "enhance" it with a Priority Pass (Amex Plat?) so you can have lounge access anytime, anywhere.

GUWonder

Promiscuity in retail business relationships with large travel industry suppliers has been my course of action, and cash is king when dealing with these players. It doesn't mean dropping out of playing the "loyalty" program game, but it does mean not becoming a captive of a company or set of companies to the extent that it costs time/money in excess of the immediate-/near-term returns of considering the "loyalty" program as a factor in purchase decisions. These programs are largely about rebate currency and considering a rebate may make sense. Just don't overvalue the rebate when the currency is neither government-issued nor properly regulated on behalf of consumers.

cbn42

I do something similar to you, and always have. While status and benefits are nice, I make a conscious decision never to make any purchase decisions based on them unless the options are almost equal.

With the consolidation in the airline industry and subsequent devaluation of frequent flier programs, more and more people are going to start taking this approach.

Oh, and welcome to Flyertalk

barbarony62

Thank you all for the warm welcome....

I must be honest... I still have some gold cards as I travel often. however, the memberships have stopped being a factor in deciding how to travel. Once I decided, if the flight I take or the hotel I chose has a program for which I have a card, I will use it... but I never ever ask for anything anymore. If they decided to award something, I am pleasantly surprised...

And BTW any points I collect in these plans, are donated once a year to a variety of good causes...

Other than that, my plan seems to work best for me.

Cheers

florin

I've been forced into the same decision, mainly because my travel decreased and I don't want to play the MR game anymore. Booking based on price/convenience/comfort is the way to go, IMO. The 2 main advantages are money saved and lack of stress. I used to stress about an UGs (did anyone who was not supposed to get my UG? is there space available? how about now?), I used to be disappointed if an UG was not available when I was eligible for one, I used to get annoyed when a kettle got into a priority line (regardless of whether or not they were turned back), etc. Now my travels are stress-free. I don't care if I'm a few rows back, I don't care if I'm the first one to board and I certainly don't look up the inventory to evaluate the possibility of an UG or OPUP. I get what I pay for, I save time (no more inefficient connections), I fly the airlines which I find more comfortable and use airports that I like. (E.g. no more CDG for the miles/status.)

I don't regret having played this game; it was a good experience and it was also fun at times. I'm just glad I'm past it.

MAZ199

Welcome to FT.

I have a set of factors when deciding a hotel/airline, the first and foremost is convenience of location/stops/timing, then adding the price to the mix and weighing my options. Finally, comes the loyalty/status to the mix. Normally, I end up with a satisfactory choice.

I'm happy this way, and will never go out of my way, just to satisfy the need to be recognized for a status or collect points/miles.

The convenience + instant saving is the best reward.

Prewrappedbacon

Yeah, maybe this is the route to go these days

KevinDTW

This thread is resonating with me today as I've been calculating how much more money my wife and I are going to spend in 2014 to maintain our status for 2015 because of DL's MQD requirement.

GUWonder

More or less than the cost to get a a residence/residence permit abroad?

KevinDTW

If only! In our dreams we have a canal house in Amsterdam, an apartment in Tokyo, and a place near Kailua Kona. That reminds me, gotta go buy Powerball tickets...

SpartanTraveler

I really like your outlook and have done a similar thing myself.

Up until a few years ago I spent several years traveling internationally for work about two weeks per month. Mostly long haul flights to Asia and then hopping between different cities in the region. My company always paid for first class and top hotels. I became obsessed with my status on various airline and hotel programs.

After being promoted to a new role with very little travel I started to finally cash-in on all those frequent flyer miles for my own personal travel, same with hotel points. It was nice but given the increased point requirements they also tended to go pretty fast, especially when buying multiple international first class tickets for me and my girlfriend, and some times several family members.

Now I still travel quite a bit but mostly for leisure (e.g. a monthly cross-country flight at least). But I just look for the cheapest and most convenient ticket. I have access to airline lounges sometimes with my AMEX or if I get an upgrade but for the most part I have found them to suck. After spending so much time in airline lounges in Asia, visiting even the better ones in the US feels like hanging out in a hospital waiting room. I have come to find much more enjoyment in just packing light and roaming around, maybe having a meal and drinks at an airport restaurant or pub if time permits.

I have also found a large reduction in value given to status. I do everything online so the dedicated lines at the airport don't matter. I can ease through security with TSA PreCheck, and for example my usual airline nowadays (USAir) will sell you PriorityAccess for only $10 per flight. I board early because of my status but even without the status I could simply play $10 to get the same early boarding and priority security line.

Upgrades have become so few and far between on the routes I fly that I do not even consider that a real benefit any more. Frankly, the benefits status gives us now are basically things everyone should get anyway. It has come down to having status to be treated somewhat normally or don't have status and be treated like cattle.

barbarony62

Indeed, your thought process is similar to mine... I know enough about air-travel to get through the doors as quickly as possible without having to remain loyal to a single airline.

Cheers