ArthurM

Hi Flyertalkers,

How do I get Elite status at an airline without having a creditcard? I'm 16 years old so I cannot sign up for a creditcard.
I'm Freccia Alata (ST Elite Plus) at the moment because I flew very much last year and I claimed all the business flights of my dad, but this year I'm flying not that much, but I want to maintain my status (or at least the SK Elite status).
So how do I maintain my status without having a creditcard and flying a lot?

Thanks a lot
Arthur

Efrem

The rules vary from airline to airline, but flying is usually from 80% to 100% of the basis for elite status. If you don't fly, you won't get status - but, if you don't fly, why would you care? Airline status is only useful if you fly.

Some credit cards provide some benefits of elite status, such as free checked bags or lounge access, but those credit cards tend to have high annual fees. If you don't fly a lot, it's probably cheaper to pay for those things as you use them than to get the card.

LondonElite

A credit card has very little to do with airline status. To get the latter you have to fly a lot. That's basically it. If you don't fly a lot, the benefits that FF status gives you are not really worth it anyway.

What do you mean by 'I claimed all the business flights of my dad'? Do you have the same name or something like that? What you are doing is against most FF program rules, and you should not be surprised if your account is locked at some point.

ArthurM

I do not fly a lot, but if I fly I just like the benefits of a FFP. I don't like queuing and I like it to visit lounges.

Yes, we do have the same name. I have never had problems with claiming his flights.

LondonElite

To your first point...fly more, that's the way to do it. To your second point, you may get away with it, but don't be surprised if at some point your account is cancelled and all points forfeited. You wouldn't be the first.

sdsearch

There are very few FFP benefits that you can't pay for. Whether you will want to pay for them, once you know you can just pay for them, is a separate question.

You can pay for lounge access by the visit or on an annual basis (the latter with a particular airline or some non-airline-specific programs like Priority Pass). You also get lounge access if you buy* business class or higher longhaul tickets.

You can avoid queues by buying* tickets for seats "up front" (business class, or even maybe premium economy on those longhaul flights that have them, will get you priority boarding). People in premium cabins typically board ahead of people in the main cabin. People in business class or above tend often get special check-in lines at the airport.

My point in bringing all this up is: If you don't fly a lot, do the math, and you may find, as expensive as it may seem at first, that it's cheaper to pay for those benefits you want on the few flights you do take, than to fly a whole lot of extra unnecessary flights just to get those benefits as part of your FFP status.

* The same benefits apply when you redeem miles/points for business class seats as when you buy those business class seats with money. But, again, without either flying a lot or heavy use of credit cards, it's hard to accumulate enough miles/points to redeem for business class seats every time you fly.

MSPeconomist

Everyone would like these benefits, but to me it seems rather overentitled for a sixteen year old who doesn't fly much to expect elite treatment.

Many lounges will not allow a sixteen year old to enter unless accompanied by a parent or guaradian; often the responsible adult must have access on his/her own and cannot enter as the guest of the minor. This is especially true in places that enforce minimum ages for alcoholic drinks.

As others have indicated, it is against the rules of FF programs to claim someone else's miles as your own. Getting caught is likely to mean that both you and your father are banned from participating in that FF program in the future, with all miles confiscated and status revoked.

Mwenenzi

As the posts above, status is achieved primarily by flying. Flying (paying) business or first class speeds up the process.
That is what frequent flyer loyality programs are all about. A minority have status by other means.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html

BearX220

You can't. If you don't do either, you don't get status. And it sounds like you're essentially stealing your father's status anyway. Earn it yourself like everybody else.

sdsearch

There is one other way, but impractical for most people who don't travel a lot somehow (at least ground travel): If you get Marriott Rewards Platinum status (which requires 75 hotel nights* in a year, any combination of paid and award), you can get United Airlines Premier Silver (first level) status for no extra charge. However, that's first-level status only, which doesn't get you lounge access; it does get you priority boarding and such.

(*75 nights without a credit card. At least for those in the US, it drops to 60 nights with the Chase Marriott credit card.)

https://mrrewardsplus.com/en_US/

swag

Two things no one has mentioned yet.

First, mileage runs. You may not have travel destinations that mean a lot of flying this year, but that doesn't mean you can't fly. Many people will take mileage runs - that's buying a ticket and flying somewhere just to earn the miles to qualify - and often flying back home the same day. There's a whole forum here on Flyertalk devoted to these discussions.

Second, status match. Some airlines will try to poach others' best customers by offering their elite status to customers who already have status with another airline. The duration of the match varies, often just a few months but occasionally longer. If you match near the end of the year, shortly before your existing status expires, you may find the new status last longer than the original.

beckoa

ArthurM, welcome to Flyertalk.

To increase exposure for this, we'll relocate your query to TravelBuzz.

~beckoa, co-moderator Information Desk

pinniped

Dumb question: Every one of my FFP's requires a birthdate, including European, North American, and Asian based programs. Wouldn't at agent at some point see that information? Checking a bag, changing a flight due to IROPS, entering a lounge, etc. I hand a passport and BP to someone. Their system says I'm 16, but my passport says I'm 50. (Or passport says I'm 16 and system says I'm 50.)

I guess I'm saying I'm surprised the whole plan of two people crediting flights to one account has worked so far. I would seem like one of the people is always at risk of getting discovered as *not* the person who opened the account.

Anyway, if I were the OP, I might try the status match thing...and then open that account with your real credentials and tell Dad to get his own account.

These days, my general recommendation for people who don't regularly plan to fly enough to achieve a major-alliance status is to simply fly non-alliance carriers. The time and money you'll spend chasing Star Alliance Gold (to pick a common one people chase) isn't worth it unless you really then plan to fly a lot of Star Alliance. You'd have to have a real plan for using the status a LOT to make the time commitment to mileage running worth it, regardless of the cash cost it takes to do the runs.

Otherwise, I hate to say it, but you're better off flying ULCC's and the collection of more-independent airlines in this world who tend not to emphasize elite status as much as the big alliance players do. (Aer Lingus and Jet Airways are two good examples of long-haul carriers on which travel as a non-elite isn't *too* awful.)

LondonElite

I just think that there's a bit of over-entitlement plus wallet candy going on here, rather than any serious priority travel convenience.

BearX220

I want a Mercedes-Benz in my driveway. I don't have the money to buy one or lease one. I don't want to have to put gas in one, or pay to have it worked on. I don't drive many miles; when I do I use my father's drivers license. What are my options? Help me.