The Southwest Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program is very different from those of legacy carriers. While the major U.S. airlines started making transitions to revenue-based programs last year, Rapid Rewards has been revenue-based for years. In addition, Southwest doesn’t have business class, and unlike most airlines, it offers perks like free checked baggage and free cancellation to all, and not just elite customers. So while Rapid Rewards does have elite tiers, its perks and benefits are quite different from other programs.

ANA Mileage Club is one of the most valuable frequent flyer programs in the world. Aside from the fact that this is a great airline with an excellent award redemption chart and exceptional service in all cabins, ANA is also a Star Alliance member and transfer partner with the Amex Membership Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest programs. ANA also had their own set of 11 partner airlines, and several subsidiaries called ANA Group. Flying on Star Alliance airlines and ANA group airlines earns status miles.

Miles and More is the frequent flyer program of Lufthansa and the largest frequent flyer program in Europe. Miles and More is also used by 13 integrated Lufthansa partner airlines: Lufthansa Regional (Air Dolomiti, Eurowings, and Lufthansa CityLine), Lufthansa Private Jet, Adria, Austrian, Brussels, Condor Flugdienst, Croatia,  Germanwings, LOT, Luxair and Swiss.

The Alitalia MilleMiglia‘s elite program is a very good way to maximize your flight benefits if you’re interested in flying on SkyTeam partner airlines.

Alaska Airlines has one of the best frequent flyer programs among all U.S. legacy carriers. For one, it still doesn’t have a revenue component in earning or redeeming miles. It doesn’t add a fuel surcharge to award flights redeemed on most of its international partners (other than British Airways and Iceland Air).

In October 2014 Air Canada announced a set of changes to their Altitude elite program. As a reminder, Altitude is separate from Aeroplan, which is the general Air Canada frequent flyer program.

Just like its U.S. peers, Air Canada tightened the screws by adding the revenue component to the list of the Elite Status requirements. The new requirements don’t go into effect until 2017.

Flying Blue is the frequent flyer program of Air France and KLM, though it’s not limited to these two airlines. The Flying Blue program has also been adopted by Air Europa, Kenya Airways, Aircalin, HOP!, Twin Jet, and TAROM. In addition, the Flying Blue elite members enjoy elite privileges of the SkyTeam Alliance.

Virgin Atlantic is not a member of any alliance, but it has 13 airline partners around the world. Also, Virgin Atlantic is the transfer partner of all four U.S.-based airline travel programs: American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Diners Club, which makes it easy to collect Flying Club miles outside of flying. If you fly Virgin Atlantic fairly often, you might consider pushing for elite status, which would certainly make it more pleasant.

Despite being a legacy carrier, Honolulu-based Hawaiian Airlines doesn’t have a huge footprint in North America. Nor is it a member of an airline alliance. However, if you fly Hawaiian Airlines on a regular basis, elite status might be worthwhile. 

Additionally, Hawaiian Airlines has several airline partners including Japan Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, China Airlines, jetBlue, Virgin Australia, and Korean Air that allow you to credit miles earned on their flights to Hawaiian. All of the above makes collecting Hawaiian miles relatively easy. Unfortunately, all elite benefits are limited to flights on Hawaiian Airlines, and it doesn’t appear that there are any reciprocal elite benefits between Hawaiian Airlines and its partners.

Earning Status

Hawaiian Airlines Pualani has two elite levels: Gold and Platinum.

Hawaiian Airlines Pualani Qualification Requirements

Qualification requirements are as follows:

• Pualani Gold: 20,000 miles or 30 segments
• Pualani Platinum: 40,000 miles or 60 segments

Upgrades

• Gold and Platinum: Upgrade to Extra Comfort or Preferred Seat
• Platinum:
  • Same day upgrade on a flight to the Neighbor Islands
  • Two first class domestic and business class international one-way upgrades
  • Six one-way systemwide upgrades upon reaching 75,000 miles
  • One additional upgrade for every 10,000 miles earned after that

Hawaiian Airlines Pualani Bonus Miles

• Gold: 50% bonus miles
• Platinum: 100% bonus miles

Fee Waivers

• Gold: First two bags
• Gold and Platinum: In-flight Unlimited TV & More Pack on A330 flights

• Platinum:
  • First three bags
  • Preferred Seat on Hawaiian Airlines-operated flights to the Neighbor Islands

Airport Services

• Gold and Platinum:
  • Access to the first class check-in line and express security line
  • More seats are available for selection at time of booking
  • Discounted E-Awards at HawaiianAirlines.com
  • Priority routing and handling when calling Exclusive Reservations Line
  • Hold a fare on a flight reservation for 1-2 days
  • Priority boarding
  • Neighbor Islands same-day standby
  • Priority security lines at select airports
  • Priority baggage handling
  • Priority pre-boarding

Complimentary Lounge Access

• Gold and Platinum:
  • Premier Club Access – Honolulu, Hilo, Kona, Kahului and Lihue

Notable Additional Rewards for Gold and Platinum Members

• Special invitations to events hosted by Hawaiian Airlines throughout

the U.S.

• $100 annual statement credit toward in-flight purchases for Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard cardholders ($10 maximum per day)

Premier Club Benefits

Some of the elite benefits are available to anyone willing to pay for them. The Premier Club membership costs $299 or 40,000 Hawaiian miles and covers many Gold and Platinum benefits except:

• Upgrades
• Hold a Fare
• Guaranteed seat
• Bonus miles
• Neighbor Islands standby
• Invitations to special events

Other Ways to Earn Status

• None

Status Match/Status Challenge

• Not official, but there are some reports of status-matching on a case-to-case basis.

Earning Elite Miles on Partner Airlines

• None

After British Airways and Iberia merged, Avios became the default currency for Iberia. However, Iberia still maintains its own Iberia Plus frequent flyer program, and although there are some similarities between Executive Club and Iberia Plus, they operate separately.

Have you wished you could earn elite status on United faster? Well, if you have it appears that United has been listening because they have upped the ante for their frequent flyer program double the PQM’s for premium seats.

American Airlines drastically changed AAdvantage in 2015, with revisions that would come up in stages. AAdvantage made a transition to a partially revenue-based earning scheme, but unlike Delta, American Airlines was introducing the changes gradually. This days, the carrier continues making updates to its loyalty program.

Cathay Pacific is a member of the OneWorld Alliance and transfer partner of three U.S.-based airline travel programs: American Express Membership Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Citi ThankYou. That makes collecting Cathay Pacific miles relatively easy, so if you often fly to Asia, you may want to consider attaining elite status on Cathay Pacific.

British Airways Executive Club is structured a bit differently from many other airline elite programs, mostly because Avios — the airline’s currency — are points, not miles.

United Airlines Elite Status: How to Reach it and What’s in it for You

Soon after Delta announced the revenue component to its frequent flyer program, so did United. The new United Mileage Plus program requires you not only fly certain amount of miles, but also spend a predetermined amount of money to reach elite status.

Delta Air Lines completely reshuffled its program in 2014, turning its earning component into a revenue game. If you are chasing elite status, being in that seat is not going to be enough — you also have to pay more for the ticket. A lot more in fact.

Frequent flyer programs used to award miles to members based on the distance they’ve flown, but most programs have now moved to a revenue-based model. That means the number of miles you’ll earn on a flight is determined by the cost of the ticket, but elite status can multiply that. The details of how that works depends on the airline. Let’s take a look at United’s policy.

With a few exceptions which we’ll deal with later, United flights booked through the airline’s website will earn award miles based on the price of the ticket and your elite status.  If you’re not sure where to go, read our article on how to find the best places to use the MileagePlus miles you have or plan to earn.

MileagePlus elite members score free baggage allowance on United Airlines flights, but that’s not the only way to avoid these onerous checked bag fees. Let’s take a look at the ways you can save money by getting your bag checked for free on your next United flight.

American Airlines is changing how you earn miles and qualify for elite status, as well as adjusting some of its redemption rates for award flights. These changes, which have been rumored for months, will hit the AAdvantage program starting in March 2016.

In our last post on stopovers, we talked about how to use United’s free stopovers to see two places in Europe for the same amount of miles as a roundtrip. In this post, we’ll discuss how to visit two destinations on two continents using United stopovers.