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Comment by IgorPartola | Hacker News Reader

I don't get it. What does an elite status really buy you? If I had to fly somewhere and had an extra $500+ for an extra "miles run" I sure as hell would find a more entertaining way to spend it than to take an entire weekend to fly around. How many of these runs would you have to do to justify it, and is it worth it?

Edit: I should ask it this way: how much do you have to pay directly to get all the perks Elite status gives you? Can you buy Elite status for $500? $1,500? This is as opposed to how much do you have to spend on extra tickets you don't need to get the upgrades? Basically, I assume that it's cheaper to buy extra tickets and fly around, than to buy the status directly (otherwise people wouldn't do it). The question is how much cheaper is it?

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It depends on the airline. A few years ago, when I used to fly and average of at least one round trip per week, including many from the US to Europe it would get me: - Free domestic upgrades to business class - Access to showers in the airport, behind security - Hot food and free drinks in the lounge - Priority access for boarding and no baggage charges - Early access to seats for reward usage (including transatlantic business class upgrade) - Access to excellent ground agents to help adjust itineraries, including frequent waiver of change fees - A nice quiet place behind security to wait during layovers

That was basically SA gold. If you are higher tier (e.g. LH HON Circle), then add things like free full service restaurant and private passport control to the list.

I'm elite on SouthWest and Delta. I know SouthWest gives me a free ticket for my wife every time I book a flight. So I effectively have double the ticket value now. They also have shorter lines and earlier boarding (which on SouthWest means you can choose your seat, the seat or two with a blank space in front of it being the best choice) so I don't have to go to the airport as early.

Delta, similarly, gives shorter lines, free upgrades to first class based on availability (you can always get them if you do something odd like take the first flight out of Newark before the buses are running), and free standby and same day confirmed flight changes (just book the last flight of the day, go to the airport whenever you want, and use your free change). Free standby is really handy for illegal transfers too. E.g. Fly to LA then hop a plane leaving immediately - officially you can't do it because there has to be a certain time window for you to transfer, but with free standby they'll put you on the plane as long as you are at the gate and there's a seat.

So a lot of times you get things that would cost a lot more (companion ticket, first class, etc.) and other times you just get some of your time back (shorter lines, illegal transfers).

I agree... Elite status doesn't really get you much these days, except for lounge access and the ability to cut lines. But you can just spend the $500/yr on an AMEX card and get the lounge access.

It really depends on the offer and the perks. Like the example in the article the guy got a $700 ticket to Singapore and then got enough miles from it for a business class ticket to Europe. So he easily saved money, maybe even in the low thousands.

I think the value is there, but you have to be willing to take a plane to nowhere and burn entire weekends just to get it. I certainly don't think that's worth it, but there are a lot of people that do.

I usually have to take a flight at the end of the year to lock in Diamond on Delta. What does that buy me? Upgrades to first class on just about any domestic flight I take. The exception is DTW-SFO where first class is full of the ultra-Diamonds who commute to work from Detroit to Bay Area. (not really a higher class, they just book way in advance to get best fares)

I wouldn't spend a weekend for that payoff either. Having said that, I just did a round trip from LAX to Istanbul with the outward trip in business/first and the return in economy, and I would absolutely jump through some hoops to get the more comfortable option if I was flying long-haul more often. Bed-seats and free scotch are no joke on an 18-hour trip.

Looks like you get waived fees and free upgrades to first class or similar.

http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/skymiles/about-skymil...

Many jobs, particularly public sector, involve a lot of travel but will only pay for economy class tickets. Status gets me pretty regular upgrades to business class, which makes my long-haul flights much nicer, particularly if I need to work. Or drink cocktails.

This is useful perk to me.

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