I’m about to lose top-tier elite status and I don’t even care

November 4, 2023

Not chasing status this year

by Brian Kelly

As The Points Guy, I feel like it’s my duty to have multiple top-tier elite statuses. Back in the day, this really mattered and it used to consistently get you upgrades. I also loved being able to change award tickets at the last minute as my plans changed and better options opened up closer to departure.

Nowadays, most frequent flyer programs offer free changes, so an original perk of top-tier elite status has gone away. Plus, the erosion of upgrades, especially confirmed upgrades, makes holding status less desirable. I actually had United Airlines PlusPoints expire this year – I’ve tried using them for friends and family, and they have not been clearing.

Right now, I’m at 17,000 Premier qualifying points and I need 24,000 to requalify, so I need to spend $7,000 in the next two months — and I’m just not going to do it. I’m not going to needlessly spend money to get benefits I won’t be able to use again next year.

I understand other people might have better luck with PlusPoints, but I’m at the point in my life and have so many points from credit cards that I basically just end up booking whatever flights I want with foreign frequent flyer programs. I don’t want to fly United Polaris when I go international, I want to fly Air France or Lufthansa first class. I now try to basically fly the best carrier on the route, and usually, that’s not a U.S.-based carrier.

For most of my travel these days, I’m using my American Express Centurion card and get 2 cents per point in value, and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express gets a 35% rebate, so I’m using points to book whatever flight I want. The information for the Amex Centurion 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.

Even though my gut says I need top-tier elite status, I’m not going to chase it. This will be the first time in over a decade that I don’t have top-tier status, and I think I’ll be just fine.

However, for those of you who still want to attain elite status, here’s a rundown of the best credit cards to help you get there. Just note that you better open one of these accounts ASAP if you’re striving for status because each of the cards requires you to reach a certain spending level.

Have a great weekend,

BK

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