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Earn Elite Airline Status – Fast

by John Webber

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Many frequent fliers don’t care about free flights, rooms or rentals – they are interested only in getting special treatment from airlines because of their elite status. Perks for VIPs, like complimentary upgrades and waived fees or penalties, are doled out on a tiered basis: the more you spend to fly, the more you receive. Status can be especially valuable if you are delayed or your flight is canceled – Elites are the first to be rebooked.

In the past, fliers reached elite status based on how many miles they flew, so you’d just pick the most convenient airline. Over the past few years, however, Delta, American and United overhauled their programs to include a spending component in their calculation for Elite Status. On Delta, for example, you don’t just need to fly 25,000 miles to achieve the lowest-tier status, you also need to spend $3,000 per year. That might not bother high-spending business travelers, but for frugal fliers (or those with frugal bosses), the new provisions can dramatically affect a year’s elite status. So to ascend to VIP status here are a few tips:

Juggle your Connections
American Airlines bestows the elite crown based on miles flown and amount spent, but what if your home airport isn’t a hub for the carrier? Be creative with your planning. If you live in Denver, a United stronghold for instance, you will have few nonstop American Airlines options. But if the boss is paying and you’ve got the time, connect and earn with the competition. Say you have a meeting in Boston; American offers no direct flights there from Denver, but you can hop on American via Dallas to Boston to earn 2200 miles, or connect in Miami to add 2970 miles to your tab.

Look for back doors into the Club
Airline alliances offer sneaky alternatives for claiming those VIP perks. Take, for instance, ConnectMiles, the recently launched rewards program for Panamanian carrier Copa Airlines, part of the Star Alliance airline network comprised of United, Air Canada, Lufthansa etc. To reach gold status on United, you need to fly 50,000 miles in a calendar year and spend at least $6,000. Or, you can sign up for ConnectMiles with Copa, then credit your points for future United flights to the Copa mileage program, and hit gold after just 45,000 miles. You automatically get the same standing in Star Alliance, which means priority boarding, priority check-in, and, perhaps best of all, free access to 1,000 lounges around the world, no matter which member carrier you fly. Avianca Airlines, the national carrier of Colombia and another Star Alliance partner, offers similar benefits.

Shoot for a Status Match
If you have elite status on one carrier and want to switch allegiance to another, you can try calling customer service and asking them to match your credentials (they may challenge you to fly with them for a few thousand miles to prove your loyalty). The website StatusMatcher can help guide you through the process.

Consider credit-card Extras
Most of the points you earn by spending on a co-branded card aren’t “elite qualifying miles” or EQMs. But some cards offer sign-up and spending bonuses that count toward status requirements. Delta’s Platinum SkyMiles card, for example, awards 10,000 Elite Medallion Qualifying Miles after you spend $25,000 in a calendar year.

“Do not go where the path leads, travel instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”   @wbbrjp

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