As we enter the new year, I’m doubling down on an elite status strategy that worked very well in 2025: free agency. This year, I will continue to fly carriers where the price and schedule make the most sense. Even so, there will be some things that I miss.
Why I’m Taking An Airline And Hotel Free Agency Approach Again In 2026
Let’s start with airlines and then shift to hotels.
Airlines – Elite Status 2026
After many years of top-tier elite status with United Airlines MileagePlus, I’m enjoying my last month as a Premier 1K. Next month, I drop to a Premier Gold, thanks not to my spending but because of my lifetime MillionMiler status. I spent about $7,000 on United flights last year, which is not even enough for Gold (30 PQF and 10,000 PQP or just 12,000 PQP) had I not earned lifetime status. At the rate I’m flying, I’m still several years away from earning 2 MillionMiler status, which includes lifetime Platinum status.
My upgrade clearance rate on United was abysmal and while I think United delivers a decent product in business class and an excellent product in economy class, I’m not inclined to be fiercely loyal to a program that no longer upgrades me and has continued to devalue award redemptions. My preference is still United over Alaska, American, or Delta, but I will indeed fly based on schedule and price.
Earlier this week, I traveled on Alaska Airlines and I have upcoming trips on American Airlines (and United Airlines too). I’ll continue to mix it up, which I hope will bring a diversity of reviews to Live And Let’s Fly.
I will miss the PlusPoints on United…
My favorite airline status last year? My SAS EuroBonus Gold status, which gets me excellent customer service dealing with SAS and lounge access for the entire family at SAS lounges, even on arrival or when we are traveling in economy class. I’ve been spending down my million miles and used a whopping 700,000 SAS miles last year to fly the family in business class back and forth to Germany via Copenhagen. The one-way price has just risen from 50K to 60K, but that’s still a good deal…I think SAS has a compelling loyalty program and I’m so happy my son and I did the Million Mile Challenge in 2024.
I don’t have oneworld elite status and wish I had (I still consider buying the sapphire status from Royal Air Maroc), but it is really emerald status I am after, but that really only comes into play if I’m visitng great lounges like Qantas First Class Lounge in Sydney, the Finnair Platinum Wing in Helsinki, or the Cathay Pacific The Pier in Hong Kong.
Does anyone want to donate me Gold status on AA? 😉
Hotels – Elite Status 2026
After so many years as a Hyatt Diamond member (and later Globalist), I dropped to an Explorist in 2025. I ended 2025 with 25 Hyatt nights, so I won’t even make that again…I’ll be a lowly Discoverist, which is about as valuable as my Marriott Gold status.
I’m not worried about that because I simply have not had reason to stay in many hotels over the last year and I don’t think this year will be all that different. When I do need a hotel stay, I have friends and family who have provided more than enough Guest of Honor, Club Access, or Suite Upgrade vouchers.
One day (hahaha, famous last words) I’ll just pay to stay in Four Seasons around the world, which I still view as my favorite chain.
While I will be a free agent this year, I don’t expect many fascinating hotel stays.
CONCLUSION
Loyalty is a two-way street and as loyalty programs evolve, especially in the airline industry, I see less and less value in them. My contention is not that elite status lacks value, but that the opportunity cost to achieve it is not worthwhile and that free agency makes a lot more sense.
The miles and points game sure ain’t what is was a decade ago…
Welcome to the club Matthew! I left my 1K status behind a couple of years ago and don’t regret it. Free agency let’s me fly to the best route, cabin, price etc. Best of all, I have had very good luck upgrading at cheap prices, much cheaper than spending towards 1K.
Large in the Four Seasons rear view mirror is Relais & Chateaux. Take a look at their properties – we’ve stayed at Gravetye Manor in England and Riad Fes in Morocco in the last year. Both are spectacular properties.
You’ve got *G status which objectively is the best alliance status out there- the fancy OWE lounge access won’t help when the nearest hub is 3k miles away. Nevertheless, the free agency approach might be an opportunity to review some of the hybrid carriers like T’Way, Indigo, and Norse.
On the hotel front, it might be interesting to try a year or two of staying in midscale hotels and recounting experiences as a status holder with ALL or even Choice/Wyndham/Best Western.
There’s already too much out there in terms of blogs and videos on luxury, aspirational stuff, and quite a lot about backpacking on $400 a month…but it’s much harder to tell which of the two Mercures in town is worth staying in.
Why not go for each, if you can. OWE lounges are some of the best; that’s undeniable. *G and SE+ are nice to have, too, and don’t require as much. If you have the quad-fecta, 2 personal, 2 business DL Amex Platinum and Reserve, that’s automatic SE+ via DL Gold without boarding a single flight. More is more.
I obviously agree that it’s worth having multiple statuses if one’s travel patterns make it possible to grab them- my comment was in the context of Matthew saying that he doesn’t want to be chasing anything. I certainly don’t fly enough to qualify for multiple top statuses, and outside of the USA it’s generally not possible to get them through credit cards*, so my priority always is to maintain *G and I sometimes end up with some SkyTeam status on top of it. When I was given status with Oneworld, I was only able to make any use of it on one flight!
* As an aside, I was recently looking at some lounge reviews for an upcoming trip to Brazil and read that the AMEX centurion card, with an annual subscription in the tens of thousands of reais, came with top airline status… only with Azul, which isn’t in any alliance and offers access to a grand total of two lounges!
I’ve only flown Azul on their E175 between GRU-GIG, years ago, which I preferred over Gol and TAM, mostly because of the 2-2 vs. 3-3 seat configuration. When traveling as an individual or a couple, no middle is ideal. That said, I thought Azul also had an a330 and that they flew to FLL, at least for a time. Had wanted to try that, but never got the chance. Never got to try either of their lounges. Hope this work out for you, regardless.
Very nice product, even during pandemic:
https://liveandletsfly.com/azul-airlines-a330-900neo-business-class-review/
You’re the best, Matt. A review for nearly every product! This guy gets it! All of it!! GOAT.
I’ve bought premium economy on LATAM for three out of the four domestics, and front row seats on Gol single-class for the fourth, but they don’t include lounge access. I think I might be able to buy individual entries through some affiliate Dragonpass arrangement, but probably won’t bother. I’m flying out of the country on the AC fifth freedom GRU-EZE so that’ll at least give me access to what must be the best lounge in Guarulhos. Still haven’t flown Azul, but they do have some really good transatlantic business class fares and I like to spend time in S. America during the Northern winter, so I might get to try those A330s in the future.
I don’t leave money on the table, but I never worry about status. First, I only fly a TATL trip once a year (on DL because of KL/AF intra Europe) and one to Australia/New Zealand (only AA and UA offer one stop service for me to those places). While I’m in J, I’ll never get any useful status. But, I get enough and have enough miles, so my one US trip a year is in F with miles for the next decade plus. I’m alway going to be Accor Platinum (always at least 60 days/year at one specific property) and IHG Platinum/sometimes Diamond (48 days a year at Candlewood or Staybridge). I’m currently GHA titanium (at least 30 days a year). That’s the only one I really care for, as titanium gets 7% back over the base 4%. For these statuses, I get things like free breakfast, room upgrades, early/late checkin/out. And, none of these stays involve rooms that can be upgraded and have breakfast for none or all (which I pass on anyway). I never need late checkout, and rarely am there early (by design). Funny thing is the only one I really pay attention to is Choice Hotels. I find them great for inexpensive, clean enough rooms in the remote places I stop for one night on road trips. I get enough points, so I get about 1 in 9 nights on points. I’m using GHA and Accor for cash back against my bill on each stay. I’m saving IHG. BTW, I use Expedia for some hotel stays in hotels without programs. I earn enough from then to buy a trans-Tasman Y flight each year.
Sounds like you have rather fixed travel patterns… but what do you mean by the bit about rooms that can’t be upgraded? Do you always book the highest possible room category, even if you’re travelling solo for a day or two and it’s a huge villa/presidential suite?
I paid $5000 and 240K points to Hyatt and got more than $3600 in return. I think Hyatt pays me well for me to continue working on the hamster wheel
My current pattern is paid business or saver awards internationally, while for US domestic I am in paid economy or first on one of the US3 with lounge access through the UA and AA club cards and the Amex Plat. The only reason I valued 1K was for GPU and then PP upgrades, which became nonexistent on my routes. OWE I can get through AA card spending, which does give me free seats on BA, worth $800 or so. Other than that, I don’t see anything really valuable out of airline status anymore.
For hotels, I pick based on location. Status might be nice, but the perks wouldn’t move the needle.
Matthew, how would you play it if you were 600k miles from lifetime GS status on UA? The lifetime 1k benefit is ok -and my wife appreciates it – but i’ve drifted to occasionally free agenting when a transpac business class on CX or JL is only a couple hundred more than UA PE and playing the upgrade roulette game. But GS is a whole different level and would not be bad thing to have in the pocket during retirement in 8-10 years
I’d be mileage running to BKK and SGN (cheap and a lot of BIS miles) to get over the 4MM ASAP.