People with status are often very loud about it (we’re looking at you Delta Medallions and Hyatt Globalists), but chasing airline and hotel loyalty isn’t smart for most travelers. It’s something we’re decidedly out on in 2026 and beyond. In “These Bros Ain’t Loyal”, we’re laying out the case against chasing status by identifying who status is for, and why it’s not the best way to travel more for less.
People with status are often very loud about it (we’re looking at you Delta Medallions and Hyatt Globalists), but chasing airline and hotel loyalty isn’t smart for most travelers. It’s something we’re decidedly out on in 2026 and beyond. In “These Bros Ain’t Loyal”, we’re laying out the case against chasing status by identifying who status is for, and why it’s not the best way to travel more for less.
00:00 - What should we call this episode?
01:55 - John Melson introduces the show
03:00 - The best airline & hotel statuses
07:15 - The worst airline & hotel statuses
11:25 - Thrifty Traveler Premium Flight Deal Quiz!
13:44 - Why we’re out on travel loyalty
22:30 - Who is loyalty for?
26:15 - Who is travel “free agency” for?
28:45 - How to get status perks without status
37:45 - Listener Question: What about credit card points loyalty?
41:30 - On the Spot: Gunnar’s 2027 list
Produced and edited by Sylvia Thomas
Video editing by Kyle Thomas
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot
Yo, welcome to the show. I'm Gunnar, that's Kyle. Today we're talking about loyalty, talking about chasing status with airlines and hotels, and whether it's a good idea, I'll spoil it a little bit by saying neither of us think this is a particularly smart endeavor for most travelers. So Kyle, what should we call this episode?
Oh, boy. Um. The free agents. Nobody wants. Oh, I like that. That's a good one. Featuring Jack Johnson in the NHL maybe. I don't know. Sorry, Jack. Catching Stray is early on a travel pod. Brutal. Any other good title ideas? I have a couple. No, that's all I got. Okay. All right. Uh, my first one, cardboard Medallion.
Why? No. Status is the best status. That's good. You like that one? Okay. Um, the second one, your bag tags a drag. It's a little forced. You don't like that one? Yeah. Okay. Can say We don't, we don't need to, we don't need to rhyme. This isn't a poetry podcast. Okay. And then finally, uh, Delta status is not a personality trait.
It's really good. I think it's an important one. More people need to understand this. The thing is, is we could say airline status is not a personality trait, but it's gonna hit the Delta folks real hard. I it's gonna hurt their feelings, which is why I said it. That's what we're here to do. Yeah. Um, this is the roast of people who chase Delta Medallion status now.
Kyle, I'm not gonna lie, we came up with the concept of the show because of the title of the show, which is what it's actually gonna be. Can I share it with the listeners? Yeah, let's do it. Okay. The title of the show is actually going to be, these Bros Ain't Loyal. Which for anybody who's listening to this, you've already seen it.
So surprise, surprise of the big reveal after you already read the title and clicked on the episode. Thanks for joining us today. Uh, today on the show, it's everything, loyalty and status. Should you chase status, uh, how to get status even if you don't have status. Does that make any sense? It will. I promise all that and more.
This is John Nelson, and I'm coming to you from my home in. Central Mexico, the city of Santiago Dero. I'm really excited, uh, because tomorrow we are headed to Southeast Asia on Cafe Pacific Business Class to Koala Lumpur. Courtesy of a Thrifty Traveler premium alert. Welcome back to the Thrifty Traveler Podcast.
Okay, we're back. Introducing the show this week. Was John Nelson down in Mexico, or by now in Malaysia? John, apparently living the dream. Uh, you might not have heard all of it 'cause we edited his voice down down a little bit for time. But he did something that I think has a lot of our listeners out there just.
Punch in the steering wheel right now. He praised both LaGuardia and O'Hare in his message to our viewers. Just special stuff, John. Just an all time heat check from you. Is this your relative that you paid off? No, I know John Nelson. It sounds a little suspicious, but No, John uh. Who's living in Mexico and is now in Malaysia.
That's amazing. If you want to introduce the show in one up John's video, upload your short video to thrifty traveler.com/voicemail. These just keep getting better. We have more really, really good ones on deck in the coming weeks. Okay, let's start out the show with something hot and something cold and something hot this week will be simply Kyle.
What are the best statuses to hold? In your opinion? I mean, just like everything we talk about, I think this is really personal on where you're spending money, where you're traveling, where you live, which airline or hotel program you use most often. For me, it's none of 'em, honestly. Uh, and I think that really is the heart of this episode as a whole is that for me personally, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Unless if you can get it very easily or free, that is, I think maybe the only capital T true answer here is if there is some airline loyalty status that you can get just by flying on your employer's dime. That is the best one to have. If there is a hotel status, a meaningful level of hotel status, like Hilton Diamond, which now used to be the top tier, it's now second to Hilton Diamond Reserve to start off 2026, but you can get that for free using, um, a or having a, a Hilton Aspire card.
You can also get Hilton Gold status just by having a, an American Express Platinum Card. That is the best status to have because it's not. Forcing you to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to earn it. Anything beyond that? I think it's really just too individual to say this is the best. Yeah, I would say it just, you know, for the sake of the question, if you took out the, how much does it cost to earn these things for the everyday traveler, but you can't, well, I know, I know you can't.
But you know, like for instance, if you are, if you, if you took out 95% of the equation, if you are flying on your employer's dime, for instance, I think, you know. Any of the highest level of statuses anywhere are all gonna be really nice. It's gonna be great if you have them, especially if you didn't have to earn them with your own money.
Um, especially on foreign carriers that that lounge, uh, unlocks lounge access abroad, um, not in the us. Notably. Um, but then these like confirmed upgrades into first class are, are really nice too. If, if you're really, really into that, of course it's going to cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Uh, so hopefully you have a benevolent employer flying you around the world.
Um, and then these next level down, like, um, Delta's Platinum Status and Americans Platinum Pro, uh, are, you know, very useful. Uh, the upgrade certificates, the confirmed. Extra leg room seats when they're available are also really nice. Um, and then one other I'd mention is One World Emerald Status, which is the only high level status that I've ever earned.
Uh, opens up pretty much every lounge door in the world. In all of one world. Even the first class lounges. Um. One World Emerald status, uh, took me really far in the one year that I had it. I, I manufactured it by getting Delta Platinum back before you had to earn Mqd and then matching it to Alaska, who then gave me the one world status.
So I did that funky match after Delta botched their rollout of the medallion status changes and everything a few years ago. But I, I just like stumbled into that one and it was amazing. This is a good shout and kind of falls under the banner of. Airline statuses that you can get for free or close to it is matching whichever status you have, whether it's a status that you had years ago that you no longer have, or maybe more importantly status that you may have for free from just carrying a credit card, matching that to another one in order to unlock something else.
So we've seen over the years a handful of status match opportunities like this that allow you to. Transfer your current status from Delta or even Hilton to another airline, which you can then use to unlock that kind of reciprocal airline alliance status. The best of which is definitely one World Emerald status for all the reasons that you mentioned.
That's a pretty good shout. It's really niche. Yeah. If you're listening to this and you're like, what does any of this mean? I, I'm telling you right now, you probably don't need to care. Yeah. Okay, let's move on to something cold, um, which is simply what are the worst statuses to hold? And I have kind of an overarching answer here, and that's everything in the mushy middle, uh, that middle tier of status on almost every airline.
Gets you barely anything more than the lowest tier and will cost you twice as much to get there. So I mean, you mid-level US airline statuses, uh, include things like priority check-in and security. That really doesn't move the needle much for me. Uh, you get a little bit higher on the upgrade list, but if you know anybody who's flying out of a Delta hub, you, you're looking at a flight from.
MSP to Phoenix over spring break and you might be a hundred and 50th on the upgrade list. Uh, 'cause seemingly everybody gets on that list. So I think everything in the mushy middle is not worth it. I would say when it comes to status, either go big or go small. Aim for that lowest level, which gets you.
Things like a free bag gets you just on the upgrade list, uh, gets you preferred seating, which I think is probably the best one. Those kind of first few rows of the main cabin. Um, and it's all for the lowest qualifying price. So that's what I would say. Avoid the middle. Uh. That's a, that's a good one. I do want to go back and just recognize that there are a lot of statuses that are worth it if you can do it without spending a, an obscene amount of money.
The one that I have ever even briefly entertained is Hyatt Globalist status, which requires spending a ton of nights in Hyatt properties or spending a ton of money with the hotel chain or both. That is the one where I have even like started to do the math and said like. I would really like this. Could I make it work?
The answer was no. And so I've never chased it. Other, for other people. It's a no brainer for the average person listening to this. I think they're gonna fall in my camp, but it is, it is one that is worth looking into. I totally agree though, the mushy middle, I mean, if you're looking at, you know, going from Delta silver to Delta Gold status, and you have to spend $3,000 with Delta by the end of the year in order to get to gold instead of silver.
I'm telling you right now, it is. Not worth it. Yeah, don't do that. That's gonna get you from a hundred and 50th on the upgrade list to 85. Like congrats. Once you crack that top 100, it's, yeah, it's, uh, you're just right there. Yeah. Kyle, you're right there for that one. Open Comfort plus seat. Hope you get it.
Um, yeah, I, I would agree. Uh. Globalist is amazing, and I also just could never make it work. That's 60 nights at a Hyatt every year, and just so many of the places I go just don't have Hyatts. Um, I, I like to plan big trips around those big awesome Hyatt redemptions, but those are points that I'm typically earning through Chase and transferring over.
I'm not spending a ton of time booking with Hyatt or spending cash nights with Hyatt. Definitely not. So, um, that's just really hard to earn. I know there are a lot of people, a lot of people in travel rewards who swear by their globalist status and, um. Good on you. If you're constantly traveling to places where there are Hyatts, uh, that's awesome.
But, um, I could never make it work myself. No, and I mean, you wanna talk about people who treat their status like a personality trait. Hyatt globalists might outweigh even Delta Diamond Medallion. It is, it is a badge of honor. And like people, there will be people listening to this who look at us and say like.
You guys don't even know what you're talking about because let me talk about my Hyatt globalist status. Okay. Calm down. It's right for you. You have done the math, hopefully, and decided that it's worth it. It works within the travel that you're doing for work or the amount that you're traveling where Hyatt fits into your travel strategy.
It does not work for either of us, and I think the same is gonna be true for the vast majority of people talking to this, no matter how good those benefits are. Yeah, if you're thinking about. Leaving a comment on this, uh, eviscerating us for talking bad about this. Just think, have you ever started a sentence with the phrase as a globalist before?
Because if you have, then you need to take a step back, take a walk, touch some grass, and we'll figure this out afterwards. Um. In our extra mile segment, we're gonna kind of dig deeper onto why we're kind of out on loyalty. We're gonna talk about who it is for, if you are interested in it, who it's not for, and then maybe some ways to get some status without having status.
We'll be right back. Okay? We're gonna see how closely Kyle Potter. Pays attention to his Thrifty Traveler Premium Flight Deal alerts that hit his inbox every single day with a little game of guess That fair? Are you ready? Hang on. I'm just typing Thrifty Traveler Premium into my inbox. Go ahead. I am going to give you the deal.
And the city pairs, and you're going to give me the fair. Cool. All right, let's do it. All right, condor business class, peak summer availability from San Francisco to Frankfurt. How many Alaska Atmos? 55,000 Alaska Atmos each way. No, you're thinking of the American fairs. This is 70,000 from the West Coast to Frankfurt, and a bonus if you wanna connect on to Rome or a bunch of other European cities.
What's the fair? 75 85. You guessed low on both of these to start. Okay, next one. Delta sky miles flash sale to Port De Vallarta, Mexico. What was the fair from LAX after the cardholder discount? 8,400 sky miles round trip on the nose. Did you look it up? No. No. I actually just knew that one. You just remember.
That's good. That's good. You're paying attention to your inbox. Peak summer, nonstop flights to Anchorage. What's the fair from Las Vegas? Alaska and Southwest matched on this one Southwest brand new route from Vegas to Anchorage. I am going $265 round trip. Oh, very close. 2 76. Hmm. Is that extra 11 bucks?
Put it outta contention for you. It's still a good deal. I did cheat on that one. So you, I know you sent that one yesterday. I did send that. That was my Sunday special, uh, tap Air Portugal economy sale, flying non-stop to Lisbon from 10 North American cities and the non-stop from Newark to Porto, Portugal.
What was the fair from Newark to Porto? $400 round trip. 3 98 round trip. Even better. Save two bucks. Pretty close. That'll get you the best pastel DTA in in the world. So well done. Good job. Good job on the quiz. That's all I have for you. If you want any of those deals or you wanna be ahead on the next one, sign up for Thrifty Traveler Premium today.
Use code TT pod all one word for $20 off your first year. Alright, back to the show. All right, we're back and it's time for the extra mile where we dig a little deeper on an important travel topic. And this week we are dodging arrows from all the, our fellow, uh, travel people out there who love their airline and hotel status because we're kind of out on loyalty, Kyle.
So can you, uh, explain to me why, as, as broad overview, why are you out on loyalty? Let me put it this way, we are a thrifty traveler. The idea of being loyal to a specific airline or hotel chain above all else, I think is antithetical to being a thrifty traveler. I don't think, I don't think you can really have both, at least not for most people.
Again, we're painting with broad strokes here to try and help people understand how we think about this stuff. That doesn't mean that this way of thinking is going to apply for everybody, but the entire mechanism of loyalty is. Spend a lot with one company. First of all, that boxes you in to, in many cases, avoiding better deals with other airlines or other hotel chains that may not be your preferred.
So you're giving up on savings in the name of loyalty. That is the point of these programs to try to box you into condition you to only go to delta.com instead of using Google Flights and maybe flying with American Airlines or British Airways when it may make sense. And second. The payoff is just not there anymore to justify the amount that people are spending.
I think especially for airlines, because if there's a reason why people blindly spend 5, 6, 7, 8, $12,000 a year with their airline of choice. It's because they are hoping for complimentary upgrades above all else, and that ship has sailed. That ship sailed years ago. So just to illustrate this, about a decade ago, Delta said that roughly somewhere in the neighborhood of 90% of its first class seats were being given out to as complimentary upgrades to people who had status with the airline two years ago Now.
Delta said that that is closer to 10%, that 90% of passengers now are now just paying for those first class seats. Be it, you know, for paying that, that fair upfront or taking advantage of a cheap upgrade. So the airlines that want you to spend more money are actively giving away the. Things that they used to give you for free as the primary benefit of chasing status.
Now, that's not to say that there aren't other meaningful benefits of having status, especially as you climb the ladder higher, but the main thing that you're spending more money for at the expense of other better deals is just not there. Yeah, I, I just totally agree. I think in, in the Hot Takes episode, um, one of my hot takes was that.
First class upgrades are going away. And I think that's a good thing because these, the, the front of the plane seats are just getting cheaper, especially on domestic flights. And that's kind of lowering the bar for anybody who wants to, to just go book the seat that they want, which is really how this should work in the first place.
Um, you know, I, I understand for people who have, you know, lifetime status or have been road warriors forever, it might be annoying. That they're not getting the upgrades that they used to, but I just, I think this new system is actually just better where they're just dynamically pricing the front of the plane to the point where more and more people can get up there if they wanna just go ahead and pay for it.
So I think that's a lot better. And, and you're right, like the, if you're getting status for free upgrades. Enjoy that extra leg room seat once every three or four flights, especially if you're living in a hub, like, I mean, the chance that you're getting off upgrade lists in, in a place like Atlanta or Salt Lake or Minneapolis or Charlotte, uh, or, you know, Philadelphia.
I mean, it's so low, um, unless you're flying on just empty legs to, you know, small. I mean, the only upgrades that ever cleared for me when I had Delta status were to Chicago and back, and you don't even get. Service on those flights. So it's, uh, just kind of a big plush seat, I guess. Um, the big overall reason I'm out on loyalty is this, it's just a vicious cycle of spending.
And you, you touched on it a little bit, um, and I didn't used to be, you know, when you could fly your way to status, it made a ton of sense. You book. As many cheap flights as it takes, and you're not paying nearly as much as you do now to get up to status. Um, you'd have to do like some sort of spending waiver.
Typically, uh, like with Delta, I think it was what, a $25,000 spending waiver. So you could just put the first $25,000 of your spend in the year on, on your Delta card and then boom, you have enough. If you fly enough you get status. But now the kind of M-Q-D-P-Q-P. Loyalty point model has taken that possibility away and, and you have to spend.
A lot to get status. You need 5,000 M qds on Delta for their lowest level of status. And if you wanna put that on a credit card that's tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, you get that 2,500 MQD head start by holding one of those top two Delta cards. Um, and obviously that's, you know, there's a mix of both the mqd and the spending, but basically.
You need to spend more to fly that airline to take advantage of the status that you earned last year. So all of a sudden you, like you said, boxed yourself into, I'm not going to take that American Fair to the same destination that's $200 lower because I already worked so hard for this Delta status. I need to be able to exercise that status that I've earned.
I want that free bag, I want that, you know, I wanna be 95th on the upgrade list instead of 120 fifth. Um, and basically you're just losing more and more money. Missing out on value flying other airlines, uh, to spend more, to stay loyal and you know. They, they make this very attractive. I have to give it to all the airlines, the little progress bar, you know, you're working your way towards it and how close can I get?
And you know, they make it, they've gamified this to the point where it is fun for people to try and earn their status back. Um, but I hope you can do a lot better with your money. Uh, you can go gambling. You know, go to the strip club. Those are better uses of your money than just throwing it at Delta over and over again.
Like, this is not for me. It's a, this is officially the first strip club reference on the pod. I'm amazed it took 49 episodes to get here, but here we are. Yeah. The earning some M Qds at the Spearin Rhino. Not, not a good way to spend your money. No. I mean, I think you made a really good point that not only is it more expensive than ever and it really is built only around how much you spend now, at least with the major.
Major airlines here in the United States. The amount you spend with the airline is really the only thing that matters anymore. And at the same time, not only does it cost more, but you're getting less for that loyalty to the airline. So I just want people to ask themselves if you are loyal to Delta the next time before the next time you decide to spend another $140 round trip on a quick domestic flight, please stop and ask yourself.
Are you getting $140 worth of value out of that status that you've built up? It is never too late to say, you know what? This isn't worth it for me anymore. And again, not everybody is going to have the same answer to that question, nor should they everybody's own personal situation about who is paying for their travel, how much their travel.
How far they climb up the ranks of status in order to get more benefits and then enjoy more of those benefits because they're traveling more throughout the rest of the year. Everybody's situation is different, but I, I really do think. For the vast majority of people listening to this, you just need to make status an afterthought.
It is, it is a brutally effective hamster wheel that the airlines have built to make people make decisions that are against their own financial self-interest. And you gotta break the cycle. Yeah. I think for you and I both over the last few years, uh, status has. Become like accidental in some cases. Like we, we get into Delta silver just by virtue of the fact of living here and, and positioning to all over the country to fly all over the world.
And, um, just, you know, flying Delta, an accidental amount to earn that lowest level of status. And that's kinda the way I, I don't have a status plan, you know, I see lots of. People writing up their plans for 2026. You know, what are, what are you chasing? I don't have one. If I, if I luck into something, I luck into something.
But really I'm just trying to keep my overall cost down so I can continue to travel as much as I want. But maybe we're being too selfish here and we're thinking about ourselves. Who is loyalty for, like, if you're going to chase status, you know what? What kind of traveler do you think? Should be trying to earn status or can make it make sense.
I think the most important answer here is anybody who is traveling but not paying for it. If you are traveling for work frequently or just frequently enough, if you're flying on expensive long haul flights over to Europe or Asia a couple of times a year, and you just organically earn that status on your employer's dime, that is great.
You should enjoy that. And then I think that's a situation where maybe it does make sense to think about what's that extra thing that I can do to upgrade my, my next flight. In order to earn more, to get closer to that next level of status that I can enjoy for my personal travels and my work travels.
That's where the math starts to change. But I think the example that you used of just like lucking into status, that is the right way to go into this because if you go into it just thinking, I'm gonna get what I get. And that includes what you get from your employer. If you get to a point where you start to see the benefits of this, that's where you can start to do the math.
But for somebody who's just like starting from zero or their work travel has decreased, but they've gotten hooked on Delta Platinum status or something, you really need to step back because if your employer isn't the one that's paying for you to earn that, um, American. Platinum Pro Status or Delta Platinum Status or United one K.
It's just, in most cases it should be the end of the conversation. You should focus your efforts elsewhere. Yeah, definitely. I think, you know, basically I would say it's for business travelers, uh, road warriors specifically. Um. I guess otherwise just really big spenders. If, if money is of no object to you, I guess why not go after some status?
But in that case, why aren't you just booking the best flight that's available anyway? Um, so I, that doesn't. Totally makes sense either. And then, I mean, if you are a really hardcore traveler, uh, even a budget traveler, but you're traveling, you know, you're taking like 40 to 50 if not more flights a year, uh, and you know that you're gonna be flying mostly an airline or you, you can chase status on a several different airlines and get a couple of alliances covered, then that would make sense too.
Um. If you, you know, have a real job though, that probably gets in the way of that a little bit. So, I don't know, even for like the hardest core traveler, I don't know if it totally makes sense, but I, I get it. If you're flying, you know, dozens and dozens and dozens of legs a year and you just need some sort of status protection on those, and chasing down status in a few different ways might make sense too.
But I think the, the. The big spenders and the hardcore travelers really has to be, it's not a Venn diagram. I think it is just one circle. It kind of has to be both. I mean, there are people who, and they are right to do this for their own personal travel situations, who are. Traveling 150 plus days a year, and also are so much deeper into this game in the things that they do in order to earn miles and spend money on credit, credit cards, and let's just call it creative ways where you can.
Game the system even more to spend an absurd amount of money on an American Airlines or a Delta credit card that doesn't come at the expense of other things of earning other miles, because I mean, there are people who spend millions of dollars a year on credit cards in order to do both of these things.
If that is you. There are people like that out there, no question. And it can make a ton of sense, especially if they're traveling a lot to figure out these pathways to earn status with Delta, with American Airlines. But for the average person that is just, we're, we're speaking of foreign language here.
Yeah. Ain't nobody got time for that. No. Um, all right. Let's flip it then. Who is airline loyalty not for, besides us? Us and most people listening to this, I think, I think free agency is the best thing that a traveler who is focused on traveling more for less should care about it is much better to be flexible, to be open to flying with different airlines when the cash price is cheaper than your preferred hometown airline, or to be open to earning.
Transferrable credit card points from banks like Chase and American Express and Capital One and sending them to whichever airline is going to get you where you want to go for the fewest amount of points possible. Going into it with that mindset of focusing on the deal versus loyalty is gonna let you do so many more things and is ultimately going to be so much more valuable for the vast majority of travelers out there than something like airline status, especially as the benefits of that status have just decreased over the last decade.
Yeah. Ask anybody who earned lifetime status 10 years ago if they think that that status means the same as it did when they got it. I mean. There's not a status in the world that's gotten better in, in that timeframe, and there's no way that it's gonna get better in the next 10 years. Um, I, I think the key of what you're, what you pointed out is just.
Uh, flexibility, which is something that you and I always harp on, is just the most important thing when it comes to saving money on travel. And obviously by going to earn status, you're just getting rid of all of your flexibility. You're, you're putting yourself into a very rigid box if you start and end every single one of your searches@united.com, because you need to make up that united status.
You're never going to see the actual best fare. Um. For people like us who are taking two to four vacations a year, um, you know, maybe if you're doing really well, you're taking five or six. Uh, but just for everyday travelers, this is just not worth the time and effort, or definitely not the money that it takes to earn status.
Um, I wanna pivot now to the perks of status. These things that you might be chasing and how to get them in other ways, because I think you can. Quote unquote, buy status with an annual fee credit card and keep all the flexibility that you want in a lot of ways. Can you tell me a little bit about some of the ways that credit cards can help?
You kind of create your own status? Uh, build your own? Yeah, I mean either through spending or just holding the credit card, there are avenues where it can be worth it. I would just stress that unless if you fit into that Venn diagram circle of big spender and also hardcore traveler, you're going to get the lower levels of status by doing something like this.
So the perfect example is within Delta sky miles. Two highest tiers of credit cards. The Delta Platinum, the Delta Reserve and small business version each come with a 2,500 MQD Headstart. So if you hold two of those cards of Delta Platinum and a Delta Business Platinum, you've got 5,000, which immediately without spending a dime with the airline beyond spending what, $350, uh, each.
So $700 or more in annual fees. You have Delta Silver Medallion status, which is not a lot, but I mean the, that is the only status that I have personally ever held. I enjoyed it when I had it because it got me preferred seating for free. So you could pick an exit row seat for free or some of the, the seats closer to the front of the plane without paying, you know, in some cases $59 a piece or more.
So that was meaningful ish there. I think maybe more importantly, you can get the. Some of the benefits that you may care about, some of the benefits that are actually tangible that you can count on, unlike upgrades, just by having a credit card period, the the most important of which are free bags every time you fly with some caveats.
For example, an American Express co-branded credit card will only get you free bags flying domestically within the United States. If you're flying American over to Europe or down to the Caribbean or Mexico. That's not gonna happen with Delta and United. It's. Network wide. But anyway, those are, you know, some of the things where, you know, you don't need to spend 5,000, $6,000 for a free bag and earlier boarding in a priority group.
A 99 to $150 annual fee credit card is gonna get you something that's both meaningful and actually does save you money when you end up flying with that credit card. Doesn't tether you to just only ever flying with that one airline because you have that status that she spent thousands of dollars to earn the year before.
Yeah. I keep the, I keep a Sky Miles card and I keep an American Airlines card. Just basically to have that little tiny sliver of status on both carriers so that when I need to bring a car seat with me, I can. Um, I think that's just kind of as simple as that for getting free bags. I think another perk, another kind of.
Uh, loyalty perk that you can get from credit cards is the lounge access. Uh, typically this is the most expensive credit card in each portfolio, but it's still usually way less than a lounge membership and way, way less than it would take to spend your way to the status level that would give you lounge access, which in some ca in.
The case of the US Airlines, you can't, right? So, uh, the kind of highest credit card for each of the four majors gets you lounge access. And even on this new American Airlines Globe card, they're kind of mid-tier card. You get four passes to, uh, admirals clubs there. So you can also kind of buy that status perk by just holding the right.
I mean, there's a reason why we talk about the American Express Platinum so much for lounge access, and to a lesser extent, the Capital One Venture X is because it gives you lounge access to more lounges than any other credit card period, and it doesn't box you into just one specific airline. If you have the American Express Platinum Card, you get complimentary access.
10 visits a year to Delta Sky Clubs, but also Amex Centurion lounges Priority Pass. I mean, it's like at this point, I think close to 1400 lounges worldwide, which if you're only flying Delta, you need to have a Delta ticket. And that's true whether you know you have a Delta Reserve card or an Amex Platinum.
But if you only have a Delta Reserve card, you have to fly Delta in order to get that lounge access. If you have an Amex Platinum card, you can get into a Delta Lounge that day. Or if you're not flying Delta, if it was $200 cheaper to Fly United, you may still have some options at your home airport. That isn't the Delta Sky Club.
Maybe there's a Priority Pass lounge. Maybe there's an Amex Centurion lounge that you can get into. It's just. Again, trying not to box yourself into that one airline, understanding that the benefits may not be worth what you're trying to get. Yeah. And what you're spending to get it. Yep, absolutely. Um, let's talk about.
Hotel status that you can earn without earning status, uh, namely with credit cards. Uh, like in Hilton's for instance, if, if you have that Hilton Surpass card, that just gets you gold level of Hilton status. Um, if you have the Aspire card, it gets you diamond status, which. Pretty nice too. So that's like a very simple, like one-to-one, you hold the card, you get some status.
Hyatt's credit card also gives you their lowest level of status. I believe the same thing in Marriott. It, it depends. There are different tiers of cars that get you different tiers of status. I would say the only hotel branded credit card that gets you a meaningful level of status that gives you meaningful benefits is, is in Hilton's.
Portfolio. So both the Surpass and the Hilton Aspire card. Most importantly, um, even the Surpass card gets you gold status with Hilton, which gets you free breakfast for two. When you're traveling abroad or a, uh, a daily like dining and resort credit, if here in the United States, which it's less valuable, but it still adds up.
I mean, it can still in many cases, cover something close to the cost of breakfast for two, if not more. But there's just nothing quite like that in either in any of the other hotel ecosystems with just a credit card alone. Yeah. So I think the real key here would be, again, these flexible currency credit cards, namely the.
The Amex Platinum, the Capital One Venture X and the Chase Sapphire Reserve all offer this kind of pseudo hotel status through these hotel collections that they have. So for Amex, it's fine hotels and resorts, and the hotel collection where you get some added benefits when you book. Those hotels, uh, including things like, you know, early check-in and late checkout and breakfast for two, um, and room upgrades when they're available.
So they're basically giving you a status just for being an Amex Platinum card holder on those select hotels. So it's not blanket for all hotels. I would say in most not all cases, it exceeds the value of actually having status with that particular chain, because in most cases, I think in all cases you also get a hundred dollars on property credit, something that you're never gonna get even with.
Hyatt globalist status. Now, you might end up getting a better upgrade at your favorite Park Hyatt, because you have globalist status than you would booking through fine hotels and resorts. But still, there are so many more options that doesn't box you into just staying with Hyatt, paying more to stay in a Hyatt because that's where you have your status or.
Not staying at all because there's not a Hyatt in that city that you're trying to stay in. Yeah, I, I really, I mean, whenever I have fine hotels and resorts, it really feels like a special stay. Uh, when, when you stay at those properties after having booked through them, uh, I really like that one. Notably, capital One, if you have the Venture X or the Venture X business, you get access to the Premier Collection is the name.
I think we agreed. Yeah, this is a premier collection. I forgot to fact check it, but thank you. Uh, the Premier Collection has similar benefits and Chase Sapphire Reserve card holders also get access to something similar that they call the edit portfolio. Edit portfolio, right? The edit. Yeah, the edit. Um, so yeah, those are all the other ways that you can kind of get status with a hotel without having status.
All you gotta do is pay the annual fee on your card and book through them. Notably, yes. Any other things, any other ways to get status without getting status? Do we agree that this is our fa our preferred way? Absolutely. And again, it all comes back to flexibility. Not boxing yourself into that one specific chain because you end up paying more over time.
The the trend line is absolutely crystal clear. The benefits get worse and it gets more expensive. If, if, again, if you are, if you are flying all the time and staying in hotels on your employer's dime. Go wild. Pick your favorite chain, pick two if you travel enough in order to put a couple of eggs in different baskets.
But if that's not you and you're traveling two to four, five, I would say even as many, as much as eight times a year and you're paying for your travels, it's just, I don't think it's worth the effort. The, the phrase is, is the juice worth the squeeze? And for most people it's not. Yeah, totally agree. Really good discussion.
I'm, I'm glad we got to talk on this and, uh. Assert once and for all that these bros ain't loyal. I was hoping that would make a comeback and it did good work. It had to. Can we help a listener? Yeah, let's, okay. Um, we gotta help Denise. But first, uh, a reminder to send us your welcome back to the Thrifty Traveler Podcast video to thrifty traveler.com/voicemail.
Okay. Denise from Arizona asked us. My husband and I wanna say a big thank you to Gunner and Kyle and the TT crew we're retired and love to travel. Last year we started listening to the podcast. The timely and pertinent information, in addition to the humorous banter between Gunner and Kyle, provided the impetus to up our credit card game.
Damn. Denise, what show are you listening to? Not ours. Well, thank you Denise. That's very kind. Um, Denise says, uh, they transferred points from Amex and Capital One to Avianca and Flying Blue this past weekend. They booked flights for a trip this fall from Phoenix to Cairo, and then they're going on to Vienna, Leone and Paris.
Wow. Uh, I'm not gonna share exactly what they spent or anything, but they did insanely well considering this very bold itinerary. Uh, very excited for y'all. I hope your trip is awesome. Now, onto their question. We have Amex Capital One and Chase Rewards. Do you feel it is enough to have transferable points with these three programs, or should we be considering adding built and or Citi, thank you.
Rewards, especially with the hoop loss surrounding the revamped built lineup and the city strata elite. In other words, Kyle, should Denise and her husband Bob stay. To Amex Capital One and Chase, or should they flirt a little bit with Built in City? I mean, I, I think there's no such thing as loyalty when it comes to these transferrable points programs, which are the most important thing to do.
So I think Denise is well on her way in upping her game, and then some I. Typically hesitate to say, you know what, add another bank. But that's generally with like friends and family who are still pretty green, figuring out if they can make these transferrable point systems and partner award redemptions and transferring points and all of the things that that unlocks because it's not for everyone.
You need to make sure you have the appetite for it, that you wanna put the time in to make sure you're getting the best deal considering all the different transfer partners. And for some people the answer is just no. But I think clearly, based on what Denise has recently done, the answer is yes. In which case I wouldn't rule out.
Something like a Citi Strata Elite Card or even the C Strata Premier Card. I think those are both solid options. If you can get a good amount of points in a welcome bonus to get started in that ecosystem. So I, yeah, I mean, I think it's worth considering if, if the right card, if the right offer. With at least an idea of how you would use those points.
I think that is maybe the linchpin here to say, yeah, you know what, I'm gonna broaden this even more and, and open myself up to another program. Yeah. If you're, if you're gonna reverse engineer what you wanna redeem those points for, and then figure out what banks you wanna add, I think that makes sense.
In my opinion. If you're really organized, go nuts. Like there's no, there's no harm in. Joining the built ecosystem or the city ecosystem. If you're on top of things, if you're, if you're reactive, if you're fighting from the back, trying to make sure you're making up your credits and you're not quite sure where everything is all the time, maybe not.
I would say maybe keep it simple. Not everybody has the time to put in to being on top of this stuff. Um. Using, uh, Kyle's handy credit card tracking spreadsheets is a very good way to do that. Another plug for Mr. Potter here. Yeah, Denise. Um, but Denise, uh, it seems like you're on top of it. If you're on top of it enough, uh, to know that considering this might be a stretch for you, then I think you're probably on top of it to add one or more of these programs.
So. Good question. Um, if you want us to answer your questions on the podcast or if you have any feedback, hit us up at podcast@thriftytraveler.com, and we might feature your question on next week's show to close the show. As always, it's on the spot and this week's Kyle's turn. What do you got? All right, gunner, you have.
I already spelled out some solid travel plans for 2026. Going to Hawaii, going to Italy for the first time, leaving Emory at home. What about 2027? What's top of your list for next year? Uh, I actually was just talking about this this weekend, um, as I was watching the Ozzy Open. Uh, I love tennis. I really want to go to Melbourne for the Aussie next January, so, uh, I might just block off a few weeks on the vacation calendar for Thrifty Travelers.
See if I can make that work. But no, I, I really want to go to Australia. I would love to go for that event in particular at that time of year, be in peak summer, down under, that's the first thing on my, my 2027 radar. Past that. I don't know. I don't even know what Emory's gonna be like at the end of 2027.
So we're, we're month by month at that point. But yeah, I've, I do every once in a while. Look way down the road, especially at those things that are gonna need be big, meaty redemptions, and we're gonna want something comfy for those flights. So I'm probably not gonna jump at the first, uh, sky miles flash sale for that one.
I think we're gonna need something comfortable. But you, you are clearly emboldened by your trip to Finland, thinking about a 15 hour flight to Australia with a one and a half year old. Yeah, yeah. That's gonna be a squirmy kid for that flight. So we're gonna have to come up with something really, really good.
But that's what's on my radar for 2027. Do you have anything top of mind? I literally just figured out how to get home from, from Southeast Asia later this year. Gimme, gimme a week to figure out what 2027 may have in store for me. You and your cardboard medallion status in 2027. You're gonna be globe trotting with it.
Yep, not with Delta. Awesome. Alright. Well, thank you so much for listening to the Th Traveler Podcast. Rate us five stars on your platform of choice and like, and subscribe to the show on YouTube. Send this episode to someone you know who needs a vacation, and if you have feedback for us, send me a note at podcast@turkeytraveler.com.
We'd love to hear from you there. Kyle, tell us about the team. This episode was produced by your favorite host in Proud Delta Cardboard Medallion card holder Gunnar Olson. It was produced and edited by Sylvia Thomas, and edited by Kyle Thomas. Our theme music is by Benjamin Tissot. See you next week. See ya.