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Contrary to popular belief, not everyone at The Points Guy (TPG) benefits from extensive travel perks such as airline elite status. Caroline Tanner, a TPG reporter, shares her personal experience with airline loyalty programs and why she no longer prioritizes achieving elite status.
When Tanner joined TPG in 2021, she had never held any airline elite status and traveled inconsistently compared to her colleagues. However, winning 30,000 Loyalty Points in a raffle allowed her to obtain AAdvantage Gold status with American Airlines through February 2023. This inspired her to strive for AAdvantage Platinum status by taking long flights on Oneworld partner Finnair.
Despite these efforts, Tanner found the benefits of AAdvantage Gold and Platinum statuses underwhelming. She notes that "as an AAdvantage Gold member for one year," the main perk was preselecting complimentary preferred or Main Cabin Extra seats based on availability. Her first-class experience included a roomier seat and complimentary snacks on a regional upgrade flight from St. Louis Lambert International Airport to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
