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How I earned top-tier elite status in five programs this year — and my loyalty strategy for 2020
Zach Griff is a senior reporter at TPG. He writes travel and product reviews, deep dives into loyalty programs, news about the airline industry and more.
December 17, 2019 • 9 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
The article outlines strategies for securing top-tier elite status across multiple airline and hotel loyalty programs, emphasizing the value of partnerships and targeted offers.
Elite status can sometimes be achieved through a mix of flying, hotel stays and strategic use of travel rewards credit cards, including leveraging status matches and spending thresholds.
Notable benefits of elite status include upgrades, waived fees, free nights and enhanced customer service, though requirements and qualification methods may change year to year.
The author highlights the importance of adapting strategies annually, as qualification criteria for elite tiers can shift, impacting future planning.
What to consider
Some elite status offers are targeted or based on partnerships, so eligibility may vary and linking loyalty accounts can unlock additional opportunities.
Qualification requirements for elite tiers can change annually, such as increased flight or segment minimums for certain airline programs.
Certain benefits, like waived resort fees or free parking, are exclusive to top-tier hotel status and may require significant stays or spending.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed tactics for combining loyalty program partnerships, targeted offers and spending strategies to efficiently achieve and maintain elite status across airlines and hotels.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
In my case, I didn't need to mattress or mileage run this month, though I'll still enter 2020 with top-tier elite status in five loyalty programs. I was able to get here thanks to a combination of strategic flying and targeted travel rewards credit card spending, and I'll dive deeper into the specifics below.
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American Airlines Executive Platinum
I definitely didn't expect to hit AA Executive Platinum this year. I tried to keep most of my domestic flying on either JetBlue or United, but I ended up with American's top-tier elite status this year thanks to the airline's lucrative partnership with Hyatt. At the end of last week, I got a call from my Hyatt concierge informing me that I've been targeted for a year of Executive Platinum status on account of my Globalist elite status in the World of Hyatt program.
Before I'd even learned about my good fortune getting selected for Executive Platinum, I was well on my way to earning Platinum Pro. One of the perks of being a Hyatt Explorist or Globalist is the opportunity to participate in offers to earn AAdvantage elite status. In late September, I was chosen for one such offer, which gave me Platinum status for three months, with the ability to earn status for next year at reduced thresholds.
I took just one paid long-haul premium-cabin flight on Cathay Pacific last month, which was basically enough to secure Platinum status for next year. Coupling this Cathay flight with a few domestic segments on AA metal, and I'd almost qualified for Platinum Pro through my targeted offer.
The lesson here is to make sure to link your AA and Hyatt memberships. You never know what type of elite status offer you'll be selected for, and if this year is any indication, it may even make sense to shift some hotel nights to Hyatt if you're looking for the fastest way to earn AA elite status.
El San Juan Hotel, A Curio Collection property. (Photo by Zach Griff/The Points Guy.)
I opened The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card earlier this year, which comes with Hilton Diamond status for as long as you have the card. While the card has a hefty annual fee of $450 (see rates and fees), there are other valuable inclusions like an up to $250 annual Hilton resort credit, up to $250 yearly airline credit and a free weekend night when you open the account and each year on your card anniversary. Though I don't stay at too many Hiltons (see World of Hyatt below), there's really no excuse to not have Hilton Diamond status.
The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
JetBlue has one status level, Mosaic, with two very well-defined paths to earning it: You can either earn 12,000 TrueBlue base points and fly 30 JetBlue segments each year, or just earn 15,000 TrueBlue base points from any amount of flying in one calendar year.
Although JetBlue Mosaic status will lose some value with the introduction of basic economy fares, I still love the benefit of free changes or cancellations any time before departure.
JetBlue Mint. (Photo by Zach Griff/The Points Guy.)
Being based in NYC and having grown up in South Florida, you'll often find me flying JetBlue up and down the East Coast for long weekends and family gatherings. As much as my parents would love if I visited 15 times a year to hit the 30 segment requirement, I just don't have time for that.
So, instead, I resigned myself to earning 15,000 base points this year, which equates to spending $5,000 of base fare on JetBlue. I requalified for Mosaic back in September thanks to some expensive holiday fares and the occasional cross-country Mint flight.
Since joining The Points Guy in January, I knew I'd be doing a lot of travel (over 200,000 butt-in-seat miles so far this year). Aside from JetBlue Mosaic, I needed another airline status goal.
Considering American's dwindling NYC route network, Delta's unrewarding loyalty program and the location of my downtown Manhattan apartment relative to Newark, I had my sights on United Premier status.
I've been enjoying the 1K life since October. I've been really pleased with the airline's customer service and have so far been upgraded on a good number of my domestic flights. I'm happy with the introduction of PlusPoints, but with overhauled elite status qualification requirements for 2020, I'm going to need to make some significant changes to my strategy to requalify for 1K.
World of Hyatt is my favorite hotel loyalty program. The highest elite status, Globalist, confers a host of valuable benefits like confirmed suite upgrades at the time of booking, free breakfast across the entire portfolio of brands and guaranteed late checkout.
Clearly, there's a lot to love about World of Hyatt. Even better? Holding the World of Hyatt Credit Card makes earning top-tier status within reach. I spent about 31 nights at Hyatt properties this year, so I was 29 nights short of qualifying for Globalist.
I then used the cobranded Hyatt credit card to help me close the gap. Just by having the card gave me five elite-qualifying nights, and for every $5,000 spent on the card, you earn two elite-qualifying nights. So, basically, I needed to spend $60,000 on the card to hit Globalist. I used the card to pay months of sky-high NYC rent and some other large bills, and quickly became a Globalist.
While I was quite successful in earning a bunch of elite statuses this year, it's definitely going to be harder in 2020. To start, requalifying for 1K will take a lot more strategy and even more flying. I've already booked a few United partner itineraries that will help boost my PQP balance, but I'm still going to need to find a way to hit the 54 segment minimum for 1K. Unfortunately, crossing the 54-flight threshold will probably come at the expense of some of my American and JetBlue flying.
As such, my strategy for Mosaic in 2020 has totally changed. I'm going to just open the JetBlue Plus Card and spend $50,000 to earn Mosaic. I'll get a ton of value from the status without the need to fly JetBlue on $5,000 worth of flights. For American, I'm going to wait and see what types of targeted offers I get next year before deciding how much flying I'm going to do with American and Oneworld.
Park Hyatt St. Kitts. (Photo by Zach Griff/The Points Guy.)
The only strategy that's not changing in 2020 is for hotels. I'll continue to hold the Hilton Aspire and World of Hyatt card, which will help me earn Diamond and Globalist status respectively.
And then there's the question of whether I can enjoy the perks of my statuses when I'm spreading my travels across three airlines and two hotel chains. As I get older and more settled, we'll see, but for now, it doesn't hurt to set lofty goals.
For the rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire card, please click here.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
