It’s been a fairly busy first quarter for me this year. Already this year I’ve been on several business trips around the mid-west, then to London, and last week Paris. It’s been a ton of fun and I’ve had incredible opportunities to try out American Airlines’ new Premium Economy and Business class on the 787 Dreamliner. Not only that, but I also finally flew on a British Airways A380! One of the best parts about trying to attain airline elite status is that it lets me do something I love doing, flying. I truly love the whole experience of getting to the airport, checking out the various lounges, exploring the airport, boarding, and flying.
It’s also been an incredibly interesting year in the world of frequent flyer and loyalty programs. We’ve seen several devaluations to the Delta Sky Miles award chart, American’s sAAver award availability has nearly dried up, and Singapore Airlines devalued their KrisFlyer program slightly. It’s hard to keep up with so many of the changes that have been happening recently.
Now that I’m finally back home and catching up I thought now would be a good time to share my 2017 elite status progress so far.
American AAdvantage
I believe 100% of my 2017 airline activity has been with American Airlines. At this point I’ve flown 30,651 EQM and earned just 2,719 EQD. Unfortunately I booked an extremely inexpensive AA ticket to Paris which earned less EQD than my recent trip to Waterloo, IA. I’m not necessarily worried about the EQD requirement, but it definitely is something I consider when booking AA flights.
Marriott Hotels
Marriott is by far my hotel chain of choice since their hotels are nearly everywhere I need when traveling for work. At this point I’ve stayed just 34 nights. As the nature of my actual job chances I’ve found that I stay less nights per week in each location. I seriously doubt I’ll be able to qualify for Marriott Platinum status in 2017, but that’s not too big of a deal to me in all honesty. Hotel status is nice, but I much prefer airline status for the more noticeable benefits.
Starwood Hotels
I have automatic SPG Gold Status from the American Express Platinum card, but have been trying to stay at SPG properties more this year because of the value of Starpoints when converted to Marriott Rewards. So far this year I have 2 stays and 6 nights which isn’t a lot, but it’s enough to activate the SPG/Uber reciprocal rewards. To activate this perk you have to say in a Starwood hotel at least one night a year. I got my one night out of the way early in the year to enjoy the benefit for the whole year. It’s nice earning 3X Ultimate Rewards Points and 1SPG point per $1 spent on Uber rides.
Final Thoughts
I realize I’m not quite the road warrior I was in years past, but that’s just how things have been going with my actual job these days. As processes improve I find myself on the road less and working remotely more. It’s somewhat disappointing to know that I may not qualify for Marriott Platinum Status again this year, but at the same time at least that means spending more nights in my own bed at home. The other nice thing about traveling less for work is the increased desire to take personal trips. Since my job is more remote I have more flexibility to take trips to places I actually want to go and hopefully will be able to string some long haul flights together later this year to finally hit American Airlines Executive Platinum status!
