Elite Status Is So Not Elite: The Right Credit Card Wins Out

by Robert McGarvey

This time of year is when we see an avalanche of articles, blogs, and Instagram stories about how to hurry up and get airline elite status.

Word of advice: don’t bother.

There’s just not enough there to justify taking a long flight to Santiago Chile and back the next day just to qualify for low level elite status.

Now, if you really want to see Santiago Chile, go for it. I’ve been, it’s a delightful place. You’ll get over 11,000 miles for the round trip. But go because it’s a great destination.

Not if you just want to get low level elite status. If that’s the only prize I wouldn’t fly from Colorado Springs to Denver which is the shortest regularly scheduled route I can find that is still operating. (The SFO to STS flight apparently is no more and I wouldn’t bother flying it either.)

The reality is that it is easy – and cheap – to get the perks of a low level elite without the bother of flying.

At the other extreme, If you are very close to high level elite status – 1K on United, Diamond on Delta, Executive Platinum on American – it might be worth your time and money to take a fast flight to nowhere just to qualify for that bigger basket of perks. No one but you can decide if the prize warrants the bother. But if I were that close to the highest level elite, I’d probably take a flight from PHX to whichever of my favorite east coast cities with a qualifying distance was cheapest. Because with high level elite status there are genuine perks such as a legitimate chance at upgrades, free Sky Club access, and much more for Diamond Delta flyers, for instance. United and American offer comparable for their highest elites.

I would not cross the street to get lower access.

At the top rung there are real benefits. Not so much at lower levels, at least not by my measure.

For instance, Delta silver brings complimentary upgrades (if available and they won’t be with planes flying full and three levels of elite getting upgraded first), priority boarding and free baggage check.

American offers its entry tier elites – here they are gold- the same illusory upgrades, priority boarding and one free checked bag.

I can match that with no status on AA. With my Barclays Aviator Red Mastercard ($99 annual fee) I get 1 mile for every dollar put on the card (2 miles for AA purchases), free bag check, priority boarding, $25 in statement credits against purchases of inflight WiFi, no foreign transaction fees, and more.

If I want – and I probably will in 2023 – I can designate AA for the $200 fee reimbursement provided for Amex Plat cardholders on an airline of their choice.

I don’t see that qualifying for entry level elite on AA gives me anything I don’t already have and my preference always has to been to fly the carrier with the best flight for me, not to fly a carrier where I am trying to build up loyalty.

The priority boarding is the real bonus, especially in an era when the overhead bins are frequently maxed out long before the last passengers have boarded. And I get that.

So I want the credit card perks. And I like the price.

Until a month ago I had a Chase United Explorer card which gave me about the same benefits of an entry level elite, plus two passes to the United Club, for under $100 annually. (I canceled that card because in Phoenix where I live there is scant reason to fly United and Chase made an error that took me hours to sort out and the bank never apologized, so I closed accounts.)

Delta offers the American Express Sky Miles gold card – $99/year – that, you guessed it, provides priority boarding, a free checked bag, and 30% back on inflight purchases.

If your ordinary flying brings you entry level elite status, by all means, take it.

But don’t break a sweat or even think about taking unnecessary flights to get entry level status. It just isn’t worth the bother.

In an age of global warming – and counting carbon – it plainly is wrong to book a mileage run flight and, beyond wrong, it is simply silly to do it to claim a low level elite status because you can get similar while spending less money and basically no time getting an airline branded credit card.

Pick a card, any card and you’ll create your own elite status.