Why I go after elite status

This matrix shows the degree to which you will likely enjoy flying, based on the existence of airline status (how often do you fly?) and why you fly (business or pleasure?).



Maintaining United 1K status entirely on leisure travel has given me a unique perspective of the flying experience. It takes a very rare sort of traveler to purposely seek out elite status, and I always get surprised looks from people when I tell them I spent a weekend flying to London and back on a cheap ticket just for the elite qualifying miles. But here is my rationale:

You'd get no argument from me if you were to say that air travel can be a pain in the ass. You wait long lines to check your bags, only to find you have to pay $15-$20 per bag to do so. You wait in an even longer line for security, and deal with surly TSA agents who bark orders and expect you know their protocols, which happen to differ at each airport. You sit at the departure gate with nothing to do but wait for your flight, and once you do board, you hope there's enough overhead bin space for your carry on bag. In the plane, you're stuck in a cramped seat hoping that the person in front of you doesn't recline. If you're on a domestic flight you could pretty much forget about getting free food, so you'd need the foresight to either bring food on board or fork over the cash for an overpriced $6 snack box. Et cetera, et cetera...

This is precisely why I go after airline status, as about 80% of your flying-related headaches disappear once you prove to the airlines that you're not a fly-by-night customer. Depending on your level of status, you could avoid long check in and security lines and at the same time avoid a lot of the annoying fees the airlines have been charging (like checking bags). You get to board early, giving you little competition for overhead bin space and more time to sit and relax before departure. Seat reclining isn't as much an issue if you get an upgrade to first class, or if you have a choice seat in coach like the exit row.

Now obviously, most people who have airline status do so because they are required to travel for work or other reasons. The status "levels" set by the airlines, are, after all, merely marketing ploys that offer perks in exchange for customer loyalty. Most people I know who frequently travel for work absolutely hate it; they may have the highest tiers of status with their airlines of choice, and may work for companies that pay for the premium cabins. But if given the choice to travel or not travel for their job, I know many of these very people would choose not. It's not because they don't enjoy the perks of elite status when flying; it's just that when you travel to the same extent they do, you're bound to encounter problems. Having airline status and a paid first class ticket isn't going to help you one bit if you have to be in Boston for a meeting this afternoon and all the flights are delayed at O'Hare because of a snowstorm. And all the upgrades in the world wouldn't make up for the time most business travelers have to spend away from their loved ones.

As a leisure traveler, however, I fly on my own time; I do not have to operate within the time constraints that most business travelers have to deal with, so I could take delays/cancellations/irregular operations/etc. in stride. Suppose I missed a connection at Chicago O'Hare because of a weather delay and I'm forced to stay overnight. It's inconvenient but not a biggie: most of the time I'd be put up in a hotel (a 1K perk, as most airlines don't cover passengers for weather-related delays) and be rebooked on the next flight. What if my flight is oversold? Well, I could be reasonably certain that I won't be denied boarding. But since I have the time, sure, I'll volunteer my seat, and stay overnight if I have to: just pay for my hotel, meal vouchers, and $600 in travel credit, and I'm good to go. In addition, I book most of my flights months in advance; I could check online to see if upgrade space is available, choose my flights accordingly, apply my upgrade certs, and have confirmed business class tickets to Tokyo months before departing. Business travelers, many of whom have to book flights at the last minute, simply do not have this luxury. Even booking award travel can be difficult if your vacation time is finite and your dates are inflexible.

So, the way I see it, elite status could easily be summed up in this manner: For the leisure traveler like me, status makes traveling for fun even more so. For the business traveler, status makes a necessary evil a little less uncomfortable. And without elite status, air travel is just painful.