If your hotel elite status gives you a room upgrade but you’re not booking a hotel room, do you really have elite status? While the question might not have the philosophical weight of a tree falling in a forest, it still needs to be asked.
For years, a cottage industry of miles and points blogs has capitalized on pushing a single message: earn elite status via credit card rewards and you’ll have champagne wishes and caviar dreams on a beer and anchovy budget.
Enter COVID-19. The entire travel industry has collapsed, with 75% of hotel rooms being vacant in April 2020 and 67% in May 2020. If you have elite status chances are high that in a normal year one of those rooms would have been occupied by you.
Elite status has precisely zero value if you’re not traveling. Even when you start traveling again, you may travel very differently than you used to. It’s time to take off the titanium glasses and take another look at hotel loyalty.
The Status Trap
While a hotel loyalty funeral is premature, the mattress run may be resting in peace. Hotel stays, in general, are now fraught with considerations not present a few months ago. With that in mind, a hotel stay made just to earn room elite night credit for that next level of metallic recognition seems about as relevant as a flip phone. It may be time to gnaw yourself out of the status trap.
Simply put, you’re caught in a status trap when possession of elite status (or the pursuit of elite status) clouds your judgment. Sam Simon, the creator of the miles and points site Milenomics, has long held a clear-eyed view of the status trap. “Now more than ever, hotel status likely over-promises and under-delivers. Rather than chasing status, savvy travelers can guarantee results by not being beholden to a single hotel brand. Instead, look for stays which already bundle the amenities needed in the room for a true ‘be your own elite’ experience.”
