Low Level Airline Status: More Than It's Cracked Up To Be

At last weeks Frequent Traveler University in McLean, VA the butt of most jokes was our poor Delta flying friends who try to redeem their miles and find out that you can only get a trip from Chicago to New York for 335,000 skypesos in coach. But the second butt of most jokes was low level airline status.

Most of the presentations on airline status seemed to insinuate that most airline status isn't worth it until you get to the top levels, your 1K or Executive Platinum, and that's when the real benefits kick in. While that may be true for the ultimate business traveler or the supremely hardcore flyer, for me I don't actually think that low level status is that bad for the average miles/points enthusiast who doesn't travel for work.

This is the first year that I have had any kind of status and I squeaked into United's Premier Silver  level of status for flying just over 25,000 miles in 2012.  When I qualified I was actually really excited to have my first level of status and to check out the benefits.

This year I have flown just about 25,000 miles in the first four months of the year so I have had a few trips to experience what the lowest level of status can get you and have been pleasantly surprised!

Many of the benefits of the lowest level of status on United can, of course, be obtained with their MileagePlus Explorer Card (link directly from Chase; we do not have affiliate links). Those include the free checked bags and Priority Boarding. But I can count the times that I have actually checked a bag on one hand so this benefit doesn't really matter that much to me. The Priority Boarding is nice with everyone bringing their "carry on" sized bag onto the plane, but the added benefits that come with status can add value beyond the credit card.

One of the main benefits that most people hope to enjoy when you have status with an airline is the chance to get upgraded to first class. I've actually had decent luck as a Premier Silver. Most people told me that I would be lucky to get one upgrade as a Silver. So far this year I am 5/16 in upgrades and have been number one or two on the waitlist for about seven of the remaining flights. On our mileage run to San Francisco yesterday (which JD wrote about from the perspective of his first ever mileage run) I went 2/3 on the upgrade front, including a flight from Chicago to San Francisco. On our flight back from San Francisco to Baltimore I was number one on the list, but ended up as number two because they accidentally oversold first class.

But I think the biggest benefit of Premier Silver status is the access to Economy Plus at check in and the ability to add a companion into Economy Plus with you. I have never had trouble getting an Economy Plus seat at check in and always get the seat that I want. I've never had to choose between sitting in the middle in Economy Plus or sitting in an aisle at the back of the plane. That could change if my travel habits were to ever change...but for now it's not a problem. If we take yesterday's set of flights as a starting point (Baltimore - Chicago - San Francisco - Baltimore) access to Economy Plus saved me around $150 if I would have paid for every leg, including the hefty $87 charge for the SFO-BWI flight. That level of savings really adds up over time.

I personally think that most of the value of having a low level of status comes if you are a casual traveler who travels mostly on the weekend. The loads on aircraft are much much lower on the weekends and so your competition against the road warriors during the week is significantly reduced and your chances of an upgrade are much better.

If you are a casual traveler, like me, that is willing to go on "mini mileage runs" or "weekend trips" along with your regular travel and don't mind missing out on an upgrade more often than not there is real value in low level status. In fact, I would argue that it makes those times when you ARE upgraded even sweeter because you aren't expecting it!

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