There are many people who think that elite status is overrated. I can absolutely see why someone would say that. However, I do think there are certain instances where elite status absolutely makes sense. (I’ll go over this in a separate post.)
I thought it would be fun for me to review where I’m at when it comes to elite status for major programs I partake in. I’m not a true free agent, particularly since work pays for a lot of my trips. Thus, I think it makes sense for me to figure out how to do all of my travel with certain programs.
Here’s where I’m at in my main programs!
Hyatt
I think it goes without saying that gaining top-tier status year-over-year is a high priority for me. I’ll write another blogpost about why I personally value Hyatt Globalist status (I don’t think it’s for everyone). However, it’s safe to say, assuming no major changes, I’ll continue prioritizing this.
I am currently at 38 nights on the year. About 25 of them were nights I earned with my head in beds. The rest were through Guest of Honor certificates and credit card spending. Based upon stays that I have already booked, it’s looking that I’ll end up at 51 nights for the year.
This doesn’t take into account some of business travel that may come up where I’ll likely be staying at Hyatt. It wouldn’t be more than 3-4 nights, so let’s just conservatively say I’ll be at 54 nights for the year.
I can easily hit the remaining 6 nights with spending on my World of Hyatt credit cards. For 6 nights, that would only be $15,000 spend, with $10,000 on my Hyatt business card (5 nights) and $5,000 on my Hyatt personal card (2 nights).
I think I can safely assume that I’ll be regaining Hyatt Globalist for the year.
American Airlines
Before I go into where I’m at, note that due to their program structure, I have until the end of February to requalify for status with American Airlines.
Right now, I am currently a Platinum elite with American Airlines through the end of this qualifying year.
Currently, I have earned 15,096 elite miles (Loyalty Points), through a combination of flying, credit card spend, and using the shopping portal. I’m missing about 400 points through the shopping portal, so let’s say 15,500 elite miles.
I know I’ll have at least two trips up to Boston (so we’ll say about 4,000 Loyalty Points there) and a one-way trip back from Vegas (about 1,500 Loyalty Points), putting me at 20,000 Loyalty Points.
I’m not sure if I’ll have any other paid trips on American between now and end of February. I might have a third trip to Boston, and we may fly American to Memphis for the St. Jude Marathon. There’s a less than 5% chance I’ll need to go to London for work. I won’t count on any of those in my calculations.
Thus, I need to figure out how to generate at least 20,000 more Loyalty Points to get Gold status. I think it’s worth getting status on American for me, as I live in DC (DCA is a hub for American), I’m tall (free extra legroom seats), and I like their miles (Qatar is now serving caviar in their business class).
I may be able to do that with a combination of using the shopping portal and spend on an American Airlines credit card. We shall see. Gold status might be a stretch. I think it’s safe to assume that Platinum status is sadly out of the picture. I unfortunately won’t get to enjoy the Cathay Pacific lounge in Heathrow anytime soon.
Bilt
I have written extensively about the Bilt program. You can find a review of my one year with the Bilt Mastercard here. If you are interested in applying for the Bilt Mastercard, I would greatly appreciate if you use my link here. I will get some bonus points as a referrer.
While I am frustrated with some of Bilt’s past decisions, it still makes sense for me to continue spending on the Bilt card. As a renter in a high cost-of-living area, it’s truly leaving value on the table by not using my Bilt card regularly. Furthermore, as holding status opens up the possibility of lucrative transfer bonuses, it absolutely still makes sense for me to continue spending on my card in the right situation.
Take, for example, that you can only gain up to 1,000 bonus points on Rent Day. Assuming it’s in non-bonused categories, that’s $1,000 in spend on my Bilt Mastercard. Silver status only requires $10,000 in spend in a given year to open up rent day bonuses. Spend $1,000 on non-bonused spend on the first of the month, I’ll, at a minimum, get Silver status each year.
As of this writing, I’ve spent ~$18,000 on my Bilt Mastercard.
Gold status occurs at $25,000 in spend for the year, which I’ll easily hit with some unique techniques on spend that I have to do anyway. That should get me at least a 75% bonus on point transfers on Rent Day (assuming the right partner is bonused). Thus, 1x spend on normal, or 2x on Rent Day, is equal to 3.5 points on Rent Day. Given my normal spend, I’m absolutely going to hit this, and will continue hitting at least Silver status in future years, even once I purchase a house and stop paying rent. These niche opportunities make accruing Bilt points worth it going forward, or until at least Wells Fargo and Bilt stop being buddies in 2029.
Platinum status requires at $50,000 spend on the Bilt Mastercard in a year. I highly doubt I can figure out some manufactured spending techniques to make that happen. If the opportunity arises, I’ll go for it, but it’s not an important goal of mine.
Other Elite Statuses Held
I currently also hold elite status with Marriott (Gold) and IHG (Platinum) strictly through my credit cards. I don’t really stay at either of them, but if I were to ever need to switch chains, or don’t hit Hyatt Globalist one year, I would probably switch to either Marriott or Hilton, as meaningful status would be easy for me to reach. Interestingly, I might lost Marriott status, as I am going to cancel my remaining Marriott card.
Conclusion
I am currently working my way to renewed status with Hyatt, American Airlines, and Bilt. I should renew top-tier status with Hyatt and mid-tier with Bilt. It remains to be seen where I end up with American Airlines. I’m not holding my breath there.
Are you going after elite status with any programs? Where are you at in that process?
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