With it now being 2026, I thought it would be fun to share my airline elite status strategy for the coming year, following my recent post about my hotel elite status strategy. While I for the most part value airline elite status less than in the past, there are still programs that I strategically get value out of. Still, I’d consider myself to largely be a “free agent,” since elite status isn’t my primary consideration when booking flights.
What my 2026 airline travel will look like
As we enter 2026, I’m expecting that this will be a pretty busy travel year for me, with an increase in the number of miles flown compared to last year. What am I expecting from my flying patterns for this year?
In terms of miles flown, my single biggest kind of travel will be “pure” review trips, intended to review new airline products, mostly while redeeming miles
For most of my other travel (including with Ford, our kids, and my dad), my priority is flying as comfortably and directly as possible, while also getting the best value
Admittedly I live in Miami, and American has a massive hub here, which means that American is my most frequently flown airline
I like to try different airlines, which limits loyalty
I don’t care much about airline elite status anymore
16-year-old me would be so disappointed to hear this, but I generally don’t think it’s worth going out of your way to attain airline elite status anymore, at least for the traditional reasons.
I tend to think there’s huge value in seeking out elite status with hotels, given how useful the perks are, and also given that status can in many cases be easy to earn. I can’t say the same about airlines, though.
Airline elite status has become so much less valuable over the years:
Airlines have made elite status much more costly to earn; the days of earning 100,000 elite miles with American for $3,000, while receiving eight systemwide upgrades, are over (and that’s fair enough)
Since airlines mostly award miles based on how much you spend rather than how far you fly, there’s less value in earning miles through flying, not to mention award costs have gone up
Elite benefits have been hugely watered down, and getting upgrades has become much harder than it used to be; as someone who often flies American due to where I live, complimentary upgrades are now few and far between, and American will sell anyone an upgrade for cash in the days leading up to a flight, often at a reasonable cost
Let me be clear, though — I still think there’s huge value in leveraging airline loyalty programs, I just don’t think it’s worth going out of your way to strive for elite status. Here’s my strategy, in a nutshell:
There’s another element to this. While some people enjoy flying the same airline as much as possible so that they have a sense of familiarity, I enjoy flying as many different airline products as possible. I enjoy seeing how different airlines compare over time, so by default I’d always rather fly an airline I travel with less often, all else being equal. That obviously makes it hard to pursue status with one program.
Airline status isn’t as valuable as it used to be
My 2026 airline elite status strategy
Just because I don’t value airline elite status in the same way that I used to, doesn’t mean that I don’t have any elite status. For the coming year, I expect to have elite status with two different airline programs…
American AAdvantage Executive Platinum or Platinum Pro status
Last year, I lost American AAdvantage Executive Platinum status, after having it for 14 consecutive years. I dropped all the way down to AAdvantage Gold status, though I’ve slowly been working my way back up the ranks, and currently have AAdvantage Platinum Pro status.
Keep in mind that nowadays American uses the Loyalty Points system for status qualification. Status doesn’t follow the traditional calendar year, but instead, status can be earned between the beginning of March and the end of February of the following year. I’m at a bit over 150,000 Loyalty Points, so we’ll see if I make it to 200,000 Loyalty Points, and earn AAdvantage Executive Platinum status again.
Personally I’m generally rather indifferent as to whether I earn Executive Platinum or Platinum Pro status. I like how Platinum Pro also offers oneworld Emerald status, which is probably what I value most from status with American. That’s because this offers access to the amazing oneworld Emerald lounges, like the Qantas First Lounge Sydney and Cathay Pacific First Lounge Hong Kong.
So, why have I even been pursuing elite status with AAdvantage? Keep in mind with the Loyalty Points system, you can earn status exclusively through credit card spending, if you’d like to. I’ve been able to make the math on this spending work quite well.
That’s because most of my spending has been on the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® (review). The card has a quirk when it comes to authorized user rewards. On this card, the authorized user ordinarily earns the Loyalty Points for their spending, and not the primary cardmember.
The catch is that there’s a limited time targeted promotion (currently valid through the end of 2026), that offers the ability to double dip. For those who are targeted (and it seems to be widely targeted), both the primary cardmember and authorized user earn Loyalty Points for spending. It basically means you earn two Loyalty Points per dollar spent, just in different accounts.
This is great, since it means Ford earns status as well. In terms of making the math work, the Loyalty Point Rewards program really helps there, since you can earn extra rewards, like systemwide upgrades, bonus miles, and more.
For what it’s worth, I also have the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (review), and that can earn one 20,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year without spending. You earn a 10,000 Loyalty Points bonus after reaching 50,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year, and another 10,000 Loyalty Points bonus after reaching 90,000 Loyalty Points in the same status qualification year.
Then I also have the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® (review), which offers up to 15,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year, thanks to the Flight Streak bonus. With this, you earn a 5,000 Loyalty Points bonus after every four qualifying American flights flown, up to three times per status year.
I sure like having oneworld Emerald status
Air France-KLM Flying Blue Platinum status
For the past couple of years, I’ve been really interested in the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program, and have earned Platinum status.
Fortunately this status is relatively easy to earn and maintain, especially with the ability to earn XPs through sustainable aviation fuel and charitable donations. In addition to unlocking SkyTeam Elite Plus status, this also offers access to Air France first class awards, plus access to more Air France and KLM business class awards.
As long as we don’t see any major changes at the program, I plan to requalify for this status. Besides, it’s a good place to credit my revenue SkyTeam flights to, as Flying Blue doesn’t have any minimum requirement of flying with Air France-KLM. I also like how Flying Blue offers rollover XPs, which makes it easier to qualify for status over a couple of years.
I’m enjoying exploring the Flying Blue program
Bottom line
While I obviously love airline loyalty programs, nowadays I value the ability to redeem miles, rather than the benefits of elite status as such. I like being a mostly “free agent,” and being able to fly the airline that works best for a particular trip. Thanks to the value of credit cards, I can redeem my rewards across all kinds of airlines. At this point I only have status with two airlines.
I have status with American AAdvantage, and that’s due to living in Miami. I’ve gone from Executive Platinum early last year, to Gold when the program year renewed, to now being back at Platinum Pro. We’ll see if I end the status year with that, or make it back to Executive Platinum.
I then have Air France-KLM Flying Blue Platinum status. This a status program that I’m getting a fair bit of value out of, between SkyTeam Elite Plus, in addition to access to more Air France and KLM business class award seats.
What’s your airline loyalty strategy for 2026? Does it differ from past years?