Entry-level status vs. Credit Card

Entry-level status vs. Credit Card

There seems to be an ongoing debate on FlyerTalk regarding whether there is any benefit to achieving entry-level status with an airline when many credit cards offer similar benefits.

In my opinion, having entry level status affords a flyer much more than that offered by a credit card.  Rather than simply taking my word for it, let's examine the benefits of status and credit cards for the various airlines.  This analysis will mostly deal with domestic travel.

Of note, I am skipping Southwest in this discussion, as their card does not convey any benefit other than the earning of miles.

American Airlines

Citi AAdvantage Card

	Gold Status	Credit card
Bonus Miles	25% miles flown	2 pts/$ on AA
500 Mile minimum	Yes	No
More Low Awards	No	10% back
Priority Boarding	Yes	Yes
Security Priority	Yes	No
Free Checked Bag	Yes	Yes
Baggage Handling	No	No
Preferred Seating	Yes	No
Upgrades	Yes	No
Companion upgrades	Yes	No
25% In-flight savings	No	Yes

As shown above, there are couple of nice perks come out of carrying the Citi AAdvantage card that Gold status simply doesn't offer.  At the end of the year, you receive a 10% refund of all redeemed miles, meaning if you spent 100,000 miles on a trip to Europe, at the end of your year you would receive 10,000 back.  Not a bad deal

Delta Airlines

AmEx Delta Gold Card

	Silver Status	Credit card
Bonus Miles	25% miles flown	2 pts/$ on Delta
500 Mile minimum	Yes	Yes
More Low Awards	Yes	Yes
Priority Boarding	Yes	Yes
Security Priority	No	No
Free Checked Bag	Yes	Yes
Baggage Handling	No	No
Preferred Seating	Yes	No
Upgrades	Yes	No
Companion upgrades	Yes	No
20% In-flight savings	No	Yes

These two align quite closely, and Silver appears to convey a lot of the same benefits as the AmEx gold card.  The 20% savings makes a cup of boxed wine and a fruit and cheese plate cost only about $13 as opposed to $17, which is nice on some of the longer flights in Y.  Additionally, you can purchase 1-time passes to the SkyClub for only $25 with this card (usually $50).

United Airlines

Chase United MileagePlus Explorer

	Silver Status	Credit card
Bonus Miles	25%	2 pts/$ on United
500 Mile minimum	Yes	No
More Low Awards	Yes	Yes
Priority Boarding	Yes	Yes
Security Priority	Yes	No
Free Checked Bag	Yes	No
Baggage Handling	Yes	No
Preferred Seating	Check-in	No
Upgrades	Unlimited	No
Companion upgrades	Unlimited	No
In-flight savings	No	No

The United MileagePlus Explorer offers no in-flight savings, but supposedly does expand award availability and comes with 2 club passes per year..

US Airways

BarclayCard US Air Premier Card

	Silver Status	Credit card
Bonus Miles	25%	2 pts/$ on US Air
500 Mile minimum	Yes	No
More Low Awards	No	5,000 mile discount
Priority Boarding	Yes	No
Security Priority	Yes	No
Free Checked Bag	Yes	No
Baggage Handling	No	No
Preferred Seating	Booking	No
Upgrades	Unlimited	No
Companion upgrades	Unlimited	No
In-flight savings	No	No

This card has a great redemption benefit, saving as much as 20% on redemptions, but offers little in the way of in-flight benefits.  Some other perks of this card are the Companion Certificates, which cost $99 each and you may use 2 per year.

Is a credit card good enough?

In short, I think status trumps a credit card alone any time.  All of the cards are missing perks regarding seating.  Economy comfort, economy plus, and preferred seating can all help make a long trip considerably more enjoyable.  These perks can be purchased, but may cost you up to $79 each way for longer trips.  With all of these programs, upgrades to first are offered if you carry low-level elite status.  No credit card conveys this, and these upgrades may not even be purchasable.  Although upgrades are uncommon for low-level elites, it is a very nice perk.

The other main disadvantage of simply using a credit card to convey some perks with an airline is the lack of priority during IROPs can really hurt.  Having flown quite a bit through the northern half of the US this winter, I can attest to the fact that you are rebooked sooner when problems arise.  This means that when there is limited space on upcoming flights, you will have a much better chance of getting that space compared with others in the same situation.

What to do now?

Delta SkyMiles MQM Bar 

If you don't have status with an airline but fly enough to get it, try to focus your efforts on getting there.  I would also probably (depending on your financial situation and level of comfort with credit cards) get an affiliated credit card to help make the experience a bit better.

If you don't have status and don't fly enough to get it, you will probably do fine to just get an affiliated card, as you'll get a handful of helpful perks and will earn extra miles towards an award flight.  This assumes that you fly enough to care about these things.

What if you already have status, then what?  I would probably get the affiliated credit card.  Why?  Extra miles, extra bags (some airlines stack the benefits), and some discounts.

Notes

I do not have links to sign up for any of the credit cards listed above, as there are many of offers available for much more lucrative sign-up bonuses than I could ever offer.  Please feel free to contact me if you want to know where to go to find good bonuses.