Is airline status worth it?
41% View from the Wing
20% One Mile at a Time
16% Monkey Miles
23% Other
Whether airline elite status is worth the investment depends on your travel habits, the specific benefits you value, and how much you’d pay for those perks without status.
Benefits of Elite Status
- Access to complimentary upgrades, especially on long‑haul flights, can save money on premium cabins.
- Priority boarding, extra baggage allowance, and lounge access improve the travel experience and reduce hassle. 🔗
- Some programs offer bonus miles or points multipliers that accelerate earning of awards.🔗
Cost and Value Trends
- Recent reports show airlines selling first‑class upgrades for as little as $26, reducing the monetary advantage of chasing status.
- Delta’s $27 upgrade offers and Frontier’s $69 Gold purchase illustrate that airlines are pricing traditional status perks directly. 🔗
- Analysts note that elite status across major carriers is “worth less than it once was,” with upgrades becoming harder to obtain.🔗
Situations Where Status May Pay Off
- Frequent flyers who need guaranteed seats or upgrades during irregular operations can benefit from the backup options status provides.
- Travelers who regularly carry checked bags, need lounge access, or value early boarding may find the cost of buying status comparable to the savings from those perks. 🔗
- Business or corporate travelers whose expenses are covered by their employer often receive status value without personal cost.🔗
Alternatives and Status Matches
- Some airlines offer paid status matches (e.g., Flying Blue Gold/Platinum for a fee) that give immediate access to elite benefits without the usual mileage or spend requirements.
- Buying a short‑term status, such as Frontier Gold for $69 through December 2026, can be worthwhile if you anticipate at least one flight where the included perks offset the purchase price. 🔗
- For occasional flyers, a “free agent” approach—purchasing premium tickets or using points directly—may be more cost‑effective than maintaining elite status.🔗
Eye of the Flyer 11%
Delta is Selling $27 Upgrades to First Class(!?)
Depending on where and when you shop, twenty-seven bucks may or may not get you some bang for your buck. But that was the price tag for a First Class upgrade on my Delta Air Lines flight — this week! I was scheduled to fly between Los Angeles (LAX) and Las Vegas (LAS) on Tuesday. Just a quick day trip for a special event. I used 20,000-ish SkyMiles to purchase the Main Cabin (coach) roundtrip airfare (and $11.60 for fees). I was fine with an exit row to and from Vegas. I requested a complimentary upgrade to
Monkey Miles 16%
$69 Frontier Gold Status
For just $69 you can buy Frontier Airlines Gold Status through December 2026 and you don’t even need status with another airline to match. You only need an account with the following airline loyalty programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards®, JetBlue TrueBlue®, Spirit Airlines Free Spirit®, or Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan™ Now, if you don’t have plans to fly Frontier in the next year and a half… this probably isn’t worth it. But, if you think there is even a slight chance, I think it is. You’re spending $69 to secure a carry on bag, seat selection, and priority boarding. You’d
View from the Wing 21%
Airlines Keep Selling First Class For $26 — Killing The Reason To Chase Their Top Status
Delta Air Lines led the industry in eliminating first class upgrades. Twenty years ago 90% of first class seats went to upgrades and awards. Ten years ago it was about half. Now only around 12% of seats are left for SkyMiles elite members. And that means on many routes and flights there are no upgrades at all. Other airlines have copied Delta, monetizing their first class cabins for ‘tens of dollars’ – they will sell once a year coach passengers an upgrade for $26 or $40 rather than giving it free to a $30,000 a year customer. At
Economy Class & Beyond 4%
Flying Blue Status match returns for UK Residents
So it’s been… just over 12 months since British Airways did the dirty on its Club members, even though there has been a little backtrack. And most of us have a view if we are on track to retain our frequent flyer status with British Airways. Or not in some cases. Well, a new lifeline has been launched, with a paid status match with Air France-KLM’s frequent flyer programme – Flying Blue. The link to start the match is at https://flyingblue.statusmatch.com/. For British Airways “The Club” Members who are resident in the United Kingdom,
Live and Let's Fly 5%
I Tried Status-Free Airline, Hotel Free Agency And Hated It
After years of frustration with loyalty programs I proudly freed myself of the elite status grind. I hated it and came crawling back to both airline and hotel status. Every year the requirements get higher, the benefits are fewer – what’s the point in being loyal to a brand when it won’t be loyal to its clients? I had been loyal to American Airlines for more than 20 years achieving status (often Executive Platinum) for more than half that period. But following an experience in which Qatar sold business class for 40% less than American flying to the
Eye of the Flyer 3%
Is it Worth Going After Delta Air Lines 360 Diamond, Diamond, Platinum, Gold or Silver Medallion Status Anymore?
I have such fond memories of my very first ever mileage run to reach Delta Air Lines Silver Medallion status. I drove to Chicago and flew to Texas. I then, very quickly, boarded the exact same jet and flew back. The crew all just giggled and so enjoyed and maybe even respected the fact that I so loved and respected Delta that I would do this one day insanity to have amazing perks the next flying year. My gosh times have changed! Back in my day, really not that long ago, you earned your status on how far
View from the Wing 18%
American Airlines CEO Celebrates Taking Away Free First Class Upgrades — Says Customers Will Pay
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom enthusiastically cheered the end of first class upgrades. Speaking at the Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference on Wednesday, Isom was asked by the host about frequent flyer upgrades: > s you think about the technology and that in-app buy-up experience, that’s something where I know just from my own experience, maybe a couple of years ago, it would seem like you guys were kind of far behind in terms of giving away the upgrades instead of asking to get paid for them. Do you feel like you’ve closed that gap relative to the
One Mile at a Time 11%
I Earned AAdvantage Platinum Pro Status, And That’s Good Enough For Me!
I finally once again earned oneworld Emerald status, and I’m really happy about that. Let me provide some background, and then I’ll share how I’m thinking about status with American going forward. In this post: For 14 years, I had AAdvantage Executive Platinum status, which is American’s top (published) tier status. At the beginning of the current elite status year I lost that, and dropped all the way to AAdvantage Gold status, which I receive on account of my million miler status with American. Why did I give up on Executive Platinum status? It actually wasn’t due
One Mile at a Time 9%
Air France-KLM Flying Blue Paid Status Match Promotion: Eligibility, Cost, Value
For quite some time, Air France-KLM Flying Blue has been offering a paid status match promotion. This status match has long had residency requirements for eligibility, and that continues to be the case. However, we’ve just seen an update to the eligible countries, for anyone who may be interested (so that I don’t bury the lede, the United States still isn’t eligible). In this post: The website statusmatch.com is currently partnering with Air France-KLM Flying Blue to offer a status match promotion, with the option to earn Silver, Gold, or Platinum status. This offer is available to residents
View from the Wing 2%
Southwest Is Matching Other Airline Elites To Top Status — And You Can Do It Year After Year
Southwest Airlines is promoting status matches and even emailing out Rapid Rewards program members who do not have status with them, asking if maybe they have status with a competitor? And their program is exceptionally generous because: They now match to their top tier A-List Preferred, not just to A-List status When you earn the full year of status but do not actually requalify for the following year, you can just status match again, as long as the current rules remain in force. And if you don’t fly enough to keep the status after the 120-day