Why chase status credits?

[a330j]

I am a noob to the forum but have been trying to take in some of the mountain of information generously shared by the members. One thing I wasn't aware of prior to joining AFF was status runs.

I'm curious why people chase SCs, voluntarily (ie not as a consequence of their job). Is it a status thing (pardon the pun), or a love of flying or for fun or are there benefits not otherwise available.

From what I can gather a lot of the more significant benefits available by holding higher status with a particular frequent flyer program seem to be available anyway to non-ffmembers. For example if flying overseas, you can buy miles and travel J or F using miles which gets you lounge access, priority check-in, baggage etc. If flying domestic using points to fly or upgrade to J same situation. In either case lounge access can be bought and can be available even if flying Y. There are the odd differences like the Qantas F lounges domestically and baggage and check-in advantages if flying Y but I am having trouble determining if the benefits of higher status are worth the cost to get it. Being VA Silver I am wondering whether its worth the cost to try to get the 120SCs that would qualify me for Gold. All my flying is not business/work related and is likely to be domestic for the foreseeable future.

Will gladly be set straight if I am missing something.

Interested in others opinion. Cheers

 

[Aussie_flyer]

a lot of it is for fun and just to have a nice platinum card in the wallet.

for me it's the love of flying and travel.

 

[harvyk]

because not everyone has the luxury of flying J or F every flight, plus purchasing points is often the most expensive way of getting points.

Higher status will get you things like lounge access at a certain level (don't forget not every flight has an F cabin, some don't even have J, thus withut status your back to no lounge), plus SC's can't be brought in the traditional sense, they have to be earned.

 

[DeKa]

Some of us even do status runs for our spouse ... I am doing one this weekend (as some programs allow family pooling). Am I crazy? Maybe, but the real reason I am doing it is to spend some time with my wife when she travels for work. She is flying direct, and I am connecting

 

[defurax]

I have to travel in Y for work, so for me status most importantly means being at the top of the upgrade queue on international flight when I'm lucky enough to be booked in an upgradable fare bucket. I would say roughly 90% of my points are used to upgrade work flights from Y to PE or J.

 

[CaviAck]

Personally for me, if the cost for me to book the extra flight(s) is less than $400 and gets me to SG on QFF I'd take it in a heartbeat. Lounge access, free seat selection with the choice of exit and forward rows, extra points and extra checked baggage is extremely handy and I'd get my money's worth back. I'm a uni student and only do about 20-25 sectors a year but I still deem it worth it to go for status.

 

[JohnK]

I can't afford to travel in Business or First so to me status is important.

I also enjoy travel so while SYD-BNE-SIN-KUL-BKK sounds like a status run it is not really a status run.

 

[CaviAck]

I can't afford to travel in Business or First so to me status is important.

I also enjoy travel so while SYD-BNE-SIN-KUL-BKK sounds like a status run it is not really a status run.

Sounds like fun! You weren't kidding when you said the long way round.

 

[JohnK]

Sounds like fun! You weren't kidding when you said the long way round.

It is fun. But that routing is a short cut.

The long way around is SYD-ICN-MNL-HKG-TPE-HKG-BKK. :shock: Now that was a lot of fun with missed connections and delayed luggage but I would do it again in a heart beat if the opportunity was there.

 

[CaviAck]

It is fun. But that routing is a short cut.

The long way around is SYD-ICN-MNL-HKG-TPE-HKG-BKK. :shock: Now that was a lot of fun with missed connections and delayed luggage but I would do it again in a heart beat if the opportunity was there.

-drool-

That is all I can do.

 

[a330j]

I can't afford to travel in Business or First so to me status is important.

I also enjoy travel so while SYD-BNE-SIN-KUL-BKK sounds like a status run it is not really a status run.

Gotta admit that sounds like fun - is it for work?. What period would that be over?

 

[JohnK]

Gotta admit that sounds like fun - is it for work?. What period would that be over?

Leisure.

With the good connections on offer now by Qantas that will be leaving SYD in morning and be in BKK before midnight and hopefully on 1st tee by 11:30am next morning.

 

[boomy]

I am a noob to the forum but have been trying to take in some of the mountain of information generously shared by the members. One thing I wasn't aware of prior to joining AFF was status runs.

I'm curious why people chase SCs, voluntarily (ie not as a consequence of their job). Is it a status thing (pardon the pun), or a love of flying or for fun or are there benefits not otherwise available.

From what I can gather a lot of the more significant benefits available by holding higher status with a particular frequent flyer program seem to be available anyway to non-ffmembers. For example if flying overseas, you can buy miles and travel J or F using miles which gets you lounge access, priority check-in, baggage etc. If flying domestic using points to fly or upgrade to J same situation. In either case lounge access can be bought and can be available even if flying Y. There are the odd differences like the Qantas F lounges domestically and baggage and check-in advantages if flying Y but I am having trouble determining if the benefits of higher status are worth the cost to get it. Being VA Silver I am wondering whether its worth the cost to try to get the 120SCs that would qualify me for Gold. All my flying is not business/work related and is likely to be domestic for the foreseeable future.

Will gladly be set straight if I am missing something.

Interested in others opinion. Cheers

If all your flying is domestic for leisure then there is no real reason to spend extra $$ to get Gold status. Lounge access is a bit overrated IMHO. If you don't fly that often then you better save your $$ and look for the cheapest ticket.

 

[samiam]

Why not... ?

(Sent from Miami, previously in Puerto Rico, on the way to Vegas)

 

[Mal]

It is a game (/hobby) to me. I have fun. I reap the rewards. Yes it isn't cheap, but sure beats blowing money on pokies, cars you don't drive, boats and many other things people throw their money away on.

And at the end... I have good memories. New places I visited (granted I might not have visited there without a good status run option) and drinking 100 dollar bottles of champagne along the way in some cases.

 

[Skyring]

If status is all you want, it's a high price to pay for a few perks.

However, if it's a hobby - and people spend thousands of dollars on hobbies such as hot rod cars, golf, wine cellars and so on - then it's enjoyment.

My wife cannot understand how I can spend a week bouncing around the US, crossing the continent four times in the process, and enjoy it. But I did. I had a whale of a time, I saw a lot of America, I collected a bucketload of SC, and I did it in comfy seats with people serving me good food and drink.

 

[markis10]

If all your flying is domestic for leisure then there is no real reason to spend extra $$ to get Gold status. Lounge access is a bit overrated IMHO. If you don't fly that often then you better save your $$ and look for the cheapest ticket.

Depends on the real cost of getting those SCs and the return on that investment. The OP mentioned all the benefits of status can be bought by buying a higher class fare, that is simply not the case.

Higher status is not just about lounges and baggage, its also about getting 2x the miles for the same flight you normally get 1x, for instance a WP on the Brazil special to SIN will earn 18000 miles for an outlay of circa $400. If one were to do this one weekend every month for a year in order to build up their duty free scotch collection ( a noble cause :mrgreen: ) they would be earning an extra 100000 points compared to no status travel,while having the luxury of using the F lounge, preferred seating and priority boarding, for an all up cost equal to a single J fare which would not even get you into the F lounge. Those extra points could be used to requalify WP if you get a double SC offer or SG if not, you might need a drink after all that travel, hopefully the scotch collection is intact!

 

[drewbles]

Why not... ?

(Sent from Miami, previously in Puerto Rico, on the way to Vegas)

It's amazing who you run into on status runs isn't it?

SC's are relatively cheap to get in the USA, if you know how ($1-2 per SC is quite easy to do).

How did I get to the Caribbean from SFO? Easy! I took 6 flights, all in F, for a very reasonable price. The side effect of a fun few days of travel was a boatload of SC's for my WP re-qual. Currently sitting in a lovely beach-view room in said Caribbean location, enjoying a nice cold brew. It cost me less for the flights and three nights here, than it would for something remotely this nice in Australia.

It's not just the fun of the flying, the SC's are a bonus

 

[777]

Personally, I have never done a status run. I have am mindful of SCs when doing other things: I've booked a particular fare class for a few extra dollars or timed a family holiday to fall at a particular time in my membership year but I basically travel a lot for work anyway so I have no need to. Spending time here has allowed me to tweak my travel patterns so that I earned triple platinum (self, family pooled and companion platinum) on VA last year.

Would I do I status run if I was the mythical few SCs short? I'd really want to look at the cost and the benefits -- the sweet spot for me is lounge access. If I could secure it by taking an extra few flights and it was cheaper than paying for it I'd probably do it. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'd bother -- status in and of itself doesn't really mean much personally although I do take the general frictionlessness (better call centre, priority lanes, etc) a bit for granted these days.

 

[Grooba]

Why not... ?

(Sent from Miami, previously in Puerto Rico, on the way to Vegas)

It's amazing who you run into on status runs isn't it?

SC's are relatively cheap to get in the USA, if you know how ($1-2 per SC is quite easy to do).

How did I get to the Caribbean from SFO? Easy! I took 6 flights, all in F, for a very reasonable price. The side effect of a fun few days of travel was a boatload of SC's for my WP re-qual. Currently sitting in a lovely beach-view room in said Caribbean location, enjoying a nice cold brew. It cost me less for the flights and three nights here, than it would for something remotely this nice in Australia.

It's not just the fun of the flying, the SC's are a bonus

There must be something in the air in June. On my way there this morning via HKG/PVG/DXB/AMM/LHR/PHL/etc... only a slight detour, right?