World: 20% of top-tier airline elites could lose status in 2019

New data surveying the ranks of top-tier frequent flyers suggests that due to program changes in 2019, 20% are at risk of not qualifying for the same tier of elite status. Airline elite status is typically earned when a frequent flyer spends enough time in the air — and money on the airline — to receive a select tier of perks in return. On American, Delta, and United, the lowest tier of elite status is earned after flying 25,000 miles and spending $3,000. The data comes from an informal social media survey conducted of top-tier Executive Platinum elites on American Airlines. Ramon Kolb, an Executive Platinum member on the airline and a data hobbyist, collected and parsed the results from over 200 anonymous participants. Of the data collected, 20% of top-tier AAdvantage passengers flying in 2018 spent less than $15,000 on the carrier. Late in the year, both American and United changed the spend requirements for earning top-tier status; in 2019, top-tier passengers need to fly 100,000 miles and spend $15,000 instead of $12,000 to earn the same top Executive Platinum or 1K status, respectively. Should passengers’ travel habits stay the same, the survey suggests that the top tier of AAdvantage and Mileage Plus ranks will shrink by 20% by the time the 2020 travel year starts.<br/>