Getting to the points: the diminishing status of frequent flyers

Members covet their status for many reasons, but airlines are cutting back on the benefits they offer

(Shutterstock)

A few months ago, I was mocked mercilessly by friends when I tried to pay for my share of a restaurant meal with my frequent flyer card, nonchalantly tossing it into the tray alongside their Amex or Visa cards.

I keep that card in my wallet at all times like a travel talisman, a subconscious sop to how closely my self-esteem is bound up with my airline status. Among frequent flyers, I suspect I’m not alone.

I live in New York, where the biggest carrier is Delta, with more than 400 flights per day out of JFK or LaGuardia. Its loyalty program, SkyMiles, has four tiers, from Silver to Diamond; each requires between 25,000 and 125,000 miles to be flown in any calendar year. Travelling somewhat less than normal last year, I only crossed the Diamond threshold of 125,000 miles on 23 December; I obsessively rechecked my account until the miles posted before the cut-off date eight days later – and exhaled when they did.

New York's biggest carrier is Delta (Shutterstock)

There are rational reasons to covet loyalty status, of course: priority boarding, boosted baggage allowance, lounge access and even sporadic upgrades. I wish that my obsessive account-checking was driven by any such logic; instead, the facet of my Diamond status that matters most is just the status, a sense that it makes me somehow special – when in fact, it just means I’m a cash cow for Delta (and Virgin, now part-owned by the Atlanta-based airline).

I don’t even benefit much from the vast haul of miles sitting unused in my account. I have over a million and counting, and it’s not as if they even accrue interest via some kind of airline APR.

Why have I got so many? Well, a trip made on redeemed miles doesn’t contribute to next year’s status, so I always opt to pay. Doubtless, again, I’m not alone, a neurosis that also works to the airlines’ advantage.

A friend who works in the industry confessed that airlines rely on this very quirk of frequent flying habits. We passengers split along gender lines. A woman with an Avios account (the currency of British Airways and Iberia) will, he said, typically watch her account until she has enough points for a free trip, then drain it instantly.

Men, on the other hand, tend to focus on the simple number of miles in an account, always racing to increase rather than deplete the total as if the tally were a matter of personal pride.

This year, though, I’ve vowed to be less obsessive. In no small part this is because many airlines, Delta included, have begun vivisecting the freebies offered to even their top tier of frequent flyers. The sight of an upgrade, even on a busy route, is becoming rarer than the Loch Ness monster.

In fact, in a case of airline aversion therapy, I deliberately booked a trip on Virgin America, both to sample its much-praised service and to force myself to fly without status. I did sign up for Elevate, VA’s own loyalty program though – and I think I’m only 20,000 miles away from Silver status.

Mark Ellwood is the author of "Bargain Fever: How to Shop in a Discounted World" (Penguin-Portfolio) @markjellwood