Reading Time: 3 minElite status with your airline — or airlines — of choice has long been a way to secure perks like first-class upgrades and airport lounge access.
However, years of pandemic-induced status extensions and relatively “easy” status thresholds have led to a glut of elite members across the nation’s major airlines, meaning fewer chances to take advantage of all the promised perks.
Airlines have responded by making it more difficult (and expensive) than ever to achieve elite status.
So, is it even worth pursuing elite status now?
A few years ago, earning status with most airlines was based on a combination of how much you flew and how much you spent on your flights.
Now, it’s shifted almost entirely to a spend-based model, meaning you could theoretically fly zero miles with an airline and still spend your way to its top tier of elite status.
There are typically multiple ways to earn the elite qualifying “miles” required to achieve status, including purchasing airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, and spending on co-branded credit cards.
Let’s take Delta Air Lines, for example. The airline requires you to earn $5,000 Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) for entry-level Silver Medallion status, and a whopping $28,000 MQDs for top-tier Diamond.
Based on how Delta (and other major airlines) awards elite qualifying miles, this means you’ll have to spend at least the required threshold to qualify for that level of status, given that taxes and fees you pay as part of your ticket price don’t count toward elite status, and certain types of spending earn less than one elite qualifying mile per each dollar spent.
For most travelers, even those who fly somewhat regularly, it's unrealistic to expect to spend $15,000 or more on flights in a single year to reach the higher tiers of elite status. And while it could be feasible to qualify for lower status tiers, they aren’t very rewarding at the end of the day.
You can actually replicate many of the perks of lower-level elite status by having the right credit card. For example, many relatively inexpensive airline co-branded credit cards provide a complimentary checked bag and an earlier boarding group, typically two of the most noteworthy benefits of lower elite tiers.
And if you spring for a more expensive card, you’ll likely score some sort of airport lounge access, whether it’s to airline-specific lounges, credit card issuer spaces, or a third-party lounge network like Priority Pass.
Even if you spend several hundred dollars annually on a high-end travel credit card, it’s a far smaller investment than spending tens of thousands each year with one airline to achieve a high status tier.
Finally, if it’s first-class upgrades you’re after (arguably the most valuable benefit of elite status), it’s become much less critical to hold elite status to sit in the front of the cabin. Airlines have realized that selling as many seats as possible up front is more profitable than “giving them away” to those entitled to a complimentary upgrade.
It's common to see opportunities to purchase an upgrade to first class for a very reasonable price. Opening up the possibility of an upgrade to everyone has significantly reduced the value proposition of spending thousands of dollars on high-tier elite status.
While earning elite status may still make sense for road warriors whose companies foot the bill for airfare or for high rollers who crave the exclusivity and preferential treatment that comes with being a high spender with an airline, chasing elite status today isn’t the be-all and end-all.
You can replicate many of the perks you’d receive with elite status by having the right cards in your wallet. And in the process, you can maintain flexibility by choosing the airline that best matches your budget and schedule.
