Waste of elite statuses all around ...
Oct 13, 2020, 9:24 am
#16
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 2,347
Oct 13, 2020, 12:57 pm
#17
Moderator, Amtrak & Spirit Airlines
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: EWR :rolleyes:
Programs: AC 50K, AS MVP, AA Plat Pro, DL Plat, UA Silver, IHG Spire, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 9,624
Peruse at your own potential peril.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cred...-programs-390/
I have to say I don't feel like I "wasted" my status too much. Still got 30+ nights in at Marriott properties where I am Titanium.
I am a DL Gold and that got me bumped to F on a BE fare on my only DL flight since March.
I have gotten a couple upgrades on routes as an AA plat.
Scored F the whole way on a ELP-SEA-EWR trip I took last month as a mere AS MVP.
What I miss more is not stressing about how to retain it all, and being on the road 200+ nights a year.
All that status, and planning etc was just part of the everyday hum of needing to be all over the place.
Oct 13, 2020, 8:40 pm
#18
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: ATL/TLV/SDF
Programs: AA EXP, UA LT Ag, Marriott LT Ti, Hyatt Glob, Avis PC, Busted-Knuckles Club Grand Poobah.
Posts: 2,590
So there's that at least. Made Hyatt Glob several months ago, but gonna struggle to retain AA Plat; mostly because I spent a month at a Hyatt Regency but I drove to that gig and others. We weren't allowed to fly until June.
Oct 15, 2020, 4:06 am
#19
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Kobe, Japan
Programs: Bonvoy Platinum, IHG Diamond, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 1,532
Opposite for me
Living in a sensible, mask wearing country, I’ve taken advantage of a Bonvoy challenge and low prices, plus gov subsidy, to get Platinum and visit lots of places locally.
Oct 15, 2020, 9:21 am
#20
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,574
Marriott Bonvoy's Brilliant AMEX card is expensive at $450 annually. But it offered perks that offset that cost, including $300 in travel credits for dollars spent at Marriott properties. But since I am not traveling, this benefit may go unused, thus making the AMEX card pretty expensive. Any ideas on how to get the benefits?
I noted that the free nights I have earned expire at the end of January, 2021. Not sure I can use those either.
I noted that the free nights I have earned expire at the end of January, 2021. Not sure I can use those either.
Option 1 - are there any 2021 travels where you are willing to book a prepaid rate? (Or at a property that collects a one-night deposit, as some resorts do.) This worked for me on the HH Amex with a similar benefit.
Option 2 - do a staycation at whatever your favorite 50,000-pt Marriott is in SoCal that has a good restaurant in which to blow $300 on food and booze. Or spa, golf, etc. at the hotel.
I never know whether a standalone hotel restaurant bill will post as Marriott or not, but a room charge would definitely count.
Oct 16, 2020, 7:06 pm
#21
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Programs: UA*1K MM SK EBG LATAM BL
Posts: 23,305
In a normal year, my wife and I do about 12-15 weeks of vacations. With covid, we only managed a few weeks domestically (and that means flying Air Canada - which was bare bones).
Yes, statuses are going to waste this year, hopefully intl travel restarts for us by March/April - then we can still get a full year out of our statuses.
This is my lowest flight/mileage year in almoast all of my adult life. 30 flights, just over 54k miles, lowest since 2004.
Yes, statuses are going to waste this year, hopefully intl travel restarts for us by March/April - then we can still get a full year out of our statuses.
This is my lowest flight/mileage year in almoast all of my adult life. 30 flights, just over 54k miles, lowest since 2004.
Oct 19, 2020, 9:58 am
#22
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,410
With more than 150 flights and half that many hotel stays in 2020, I can report that flyer status today gets you on the airplane early but nothing more, really. Empty middle seats make all seats equal when they barely have any beverage or food service. I’m sick of being reminded on the intercom to wear a mask and above my nose and how thoroughly they clean the airplane. Yes. they are much, much cleaner - like they should always be. My future flyer status has been earned (again) this year by flying miles, so in truth, the value of my status is diminished because others will get it extended...for free...and will get upgrades that I earned by being a dedicated customer.
Nov 12, 2020, 12:28 am
#23
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: AA EXP/LTP, BA GGL/CCR/GfL, HH D/LTD, SPG/MR Plat/LTP
Posts: 10,076
There are programs that have extended FFP elite status into 2022 already. The way stars seem aligned for the rest of this year, and very carefully only including the first four months of next year (yet), I bet we'll see more programs joining
Nov 16, 2020, 12:01 pm
#24
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Neither here nor there
Programs: UA Slvr, DL Slvr, AA plt, HH LTD, MR tit/LTP at least two of those buy 10 get 1 free coffee cards
Posts: 3,448
With 109 Hilton nights, 124 Marriott nights and 45ish flights so far in 2020, can confirm that you are not missing anything by not using your status. While the airlines are doing upgrades, that gets you a larger seat to sit in. That's it. DL has brought back beer/ wine in C+ and F on some routes, but not coffee or soft drinks (????). Hotel lounges are closed. Breakfasts are mostly grab and go bags, and being Diamond/Titanium doesn't make a plastic wrapped muffin taste any better.
Nov 24, 2020, 7:49 am
#25
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: South Yorkshire, UK
Programs: A3*G, LH FTL, VS Red, Avis Preferred, Hertz President's Circle, (RIP Diamond Club)
Posts: 2,364
I honestly couldn't care less if I lost my statuses (statii? statipodaes?) now. I had been collecting *G miles for 5 years and only just had enough for two J TATL round trips for my wife and I that we had planned to use for a trip to NYC in December (cancelled, obvs). I'll probably get an Amex platinum card for the lounge access and to hell with the rest of the benefits.
Nov 29, 2020, 12:52 am
#26
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: PDX, OGG or between the two
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 2,865
To the point of the thread, I'm actually an oddball.... in the past I flew 3-4X a year and never really got any status. With all the chaos in the world my family and I are moving to Hawaii I've been commuting from the west coast and back roughly once/month since the start of the pandemic. So, for the first time I have gained some status and am getting nice perks.
Dec 18, 2020, 2:33 pm
#27
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: YVR
Programs: AC SE 2MM; UA MP Premier Silver; Marriott Bonvoy LT Titanium Elite; Radisson; Avis PC
Posts: 35,255
Yeah it sucks but at least most programs provided extensions.
Having LT status helps in that one doesn't have to worry about wasted years, or worry about not doing enough activity to reach for the following year.
Having LT status helps in that one doesn't have to worry about wasted years, or worry about not doing enough activity to reach for the following year.