How to Earn Elite Airline Status Without Flying (As Much As Possible)
Do you love flying but don’t have the time or money to fly as much as you would like? Or maybe you’re just starting your journey and want to get those coveted levels of elite airline status without taking (so many) flights. Regardless of your situation, there are ways to earn status with airlines without having to constantly fly to level up.
Participate in a status determination or status verification program
One way to earn Elite Airline Status without flying is to participate in the Status Compliance Program or Status Verification Program. Many airlines offer these programs to encourage customers of other airlines to switch to their services and try their services, similar to status and status verification programs offered by hotels .
In most cases, all you need to do is provide proof of your current elite status with another airline and you will receive the equivalent level of status in the new program. Sometimes you need to fly a certain number of flights within a certain period of time to keep your status, while other times you will be granted status for the rest of the year and just need to re-qualify.
Sometimes you don’t even need to have status with an airline to take part in a status test.
Take Advantage of a Credit Card
Another way to earn airline elite status without flying is to take advantage of the benefits provided by some credit cards. Some credit cards offer the opportunity to earn elite qualifying miles with a co-branded airline. Unfortunately, you usually have to be a pretty big spender to earn airline status through credit card spending alone, but this can be a good way to get past the threshold if you’re close.
american airlines
American Airlines is offering the opportunity to earn one loyalty point for every dollar spent on any of its credit cards. You need to earn 30,000 Loyalty Points to qualify for American AAdvantage Gold Membership, the lowest American Airlines tier.
Delta Air Lines
Delta offers the opportunity to earn Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM) with a variety of credit cards.
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum cardholders earn 10,000 MQM by spending $25,000 in a calendar year, plus another 10,000 MQM by spending $50,000 in a calendar year with a Delta Platinum card.
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve cardholders earn 15,000 MQM by spending $30,000 on a card up to four times per calendar year. In total, Delta Reserve cardholders can earn up to 60,000 MQM by spending at least $120,000 during a calendar year.
United Airlines
United offers several ways to earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) with credit cards.
- The United Explorer Card and United Business Card offer the opportunity to earn 500 PQP for every $12,000 spent on the card, up to 1,000 PQP during a calendar year.
- United Quest Card offers 500 PQP for every $12,000 spent on the card up to 3,000 PQP during a calendar year.
- The United Club Infinite card earns 500 PQP for every $12,000 spent on the card, up to 4,000 PQP during a calendar year.
southwestern airlines
To qualify for Southwest status, you need to earn Qualifying Tier Points (TQP), which you can earn with multiple credit cards.
- The Southwest Premier, Southwest Priority and Southwest Performance Business cards give you 1,500 TQP for every $10,000 spent in a year, with no limit to the amount of TQP you can earn.
All Southwest card spending counts towards the 125,000 Rapid Rewards (non-TQP) points you must earn to qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass .
Jetblue Airways
JetBlue offers the option to fully spend your way to status with their credit cards. Spend $50,000 on your JetBue Plus card within a year and you’ll earn JetBlue Mosaic status.
Frontier Airlines
Frontier credit card holders can earn one qualifying mile for every dollar spent on a Frontier Airlines World Mastercard.
Spirit Airlines
Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard cardholders can earn one qualifying point (SQP) for every $10 spent on the card.
Speaking of American Airlines…
American Airlines is currently one of the easiest US airlines to obtain status. Credit card spending counts not only for status loyalty points requirements, but for many other activities as well. You will earn loyalty points when you
- Fly with American, its Oneworld and JetBlue partners
- Use an AAdvantage credit card
- Dine at AAdvantage Dining
- Shop online with eShopping Portal
- Participate with other eligible partners such as SimplyMiles
Whether or not to qualify for elite airline status depends on your personal situation, but not having to fly just to qualify can make a difference. Many airlines offer some other way to earn status besides just flying, and with some you can even get status without flying at all, although whether it’s worth it is up to you.