Questions and Answers

Ive been reading around online and have seen that Ben has said its not worth paying to be at the pointy end.

I short my question is how does one get themselves into the pointy end without paying a hefty fare? And I know people are going to reply miles which yes I know exist, but if you only fly on miles then how are you supposed to advance through tiers of various airlines?

[USER=810]@Jayden[/USER] It’s hard to respond to a specific quote from Ben without any context. I’m sure at different times he’s said many things. I’m sure he makes that determination based on costs, length of trip, need to get somewhere not exhausted, how much he values comfort for a particular trip etc.

If you don’t collect miles, then yes getting into premium cabins requires hefty cash although sometimes cheap fares can be found. Collecting miles and status do not have to be mutually exclusive when the former is done via credit cards and the latter is done via actually flying (if you do enough make qualifying for elite tiers worthwhile). If you are an infrequent flyer, collecting status is not usually a wise move. When you have enough miles to redeem for premium travel, you do not need to worry about status. When you are traveling first class you are getting pretty much everything an airline gives passengers (with a few minor exceptions usually around fees).

[USER=810]@Jayden[/USER] — Welcome! Have you read the Beginners’ Guide? Many of your questions might be explained there.

But in general, I would start by asking how important it is to you to have elite status with an airline? Do you fly a lot for work? How much travel do you have “organically” at present? If it’s less than 25k miles a year, you don’t need to worry about status — just get a credit card that will give you some extra perks.

Outside of that, you can buy miles, which is the best option if you don’t have access to lucrative credit card bonuses. [URL]http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/07/29/when-to-buy-miles/[/URL]

I fly about 300k miles a year, and Ben 400k, so for us it makes sense to maintain airline status [I]and[/I] use miles from credit cards and purchasing points, but that’s not necessarily true for everyone. Does that help at all?