Why Holding Elite Status With Hotels And Airlines Matter

If you’re on Instagram, you’ve likely seen travel influencers telling you they got an easy flight or hotel room upgrade. This is often because of the elite credit cards they hold or the programmes they’re part of. While it may be difficult to quantify why people chase elite status with airlines, hotel chains, and other programmes, it’s likely for the above benefits. They could include free nights, mostly unusable upgrade vouchers, and the occasional challenge of redeeming points for a free flight.

Elite status through loyalty programmes really elevates your experience through the additional perks they get you. What are these benefits? Here are some of the standard ones:

— Complimentary upgrades when available

— Free breakfast

— Free Seat selections

— Lounge access (though, in India, lounge access is hardly a premium experience anymore due to long queues—unless it’s the airline’s own lounge).

But some subtle benefits can make all the difference. What are these?

Marriott Gold

If you have this membership, you can check out as late as 3 pm — a fantastic perk if you have an evening flight. You don’t have to worry about storing your bags, you can sleep in, enjoy a relaxed lunch, and then check out. The cost of this perk, otherwise, would be an extra night’s stay.

Star Alliance/One World

Another benefit especially when traveling long haul is real lounges at airline hubs. I say real lounges since most lounges in India are really just glorified food stops for most. Lounges are God sent at these airports, with the availability to actually take a quick shower, refresh and also grab a long nap. Having status with an airline that’s part of an alliance like OneWorld or StarAlliance lets you enjoy these benefits at any airport as long as you are flying with a member airline.

If you value your time, earning status with hotels and airlines truly makes a significant difference.

How To Get Into These Programmes?

Obtaining status in these programmes isn’t always easy. Some premium credit cards offer status, but often with limited programmes.

Fortunately, there’s a quick way to gain status with other programmes. Many hotel chains have ongoing promotions, and airlines frequently roll out status match offers. These are simple hacks: if you’re already a gold member with one network, they’ll match your status for free in their programme, requiring only a few stays or flights to maintain it for the following year. So, the next time you see a status match opportunity, don’t hesitate — go for it. These are easy, low-cost, commitment-free ways to get your status matched to other programmes.