The rewards games

Airline, hotel elite status harder to get (or keep) in 2023

For the past couple of years, hotel and airline loyalty programs have extended elite status in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in 2023, that’s coming to an end. A tsunami of downgrades will wipe out some travelers’ elite status because pandemic-era offers are expiring and loyalty programs are upping the qualification requirements.

Why are loyalty programs cutting off elite status in 2023?

1

Most of 2019’s elites had their status extended over the past few years. Meanwhile, a natural flow of new elite status earners continuously has entered the pipeline. That combination has generated an unsustainably high number of elites.

“Where traditionally, a percentage of people would naturally be downgraded every year, that hasn’t happened,” says Mark Ross-Smith, CEO of Status Match, an online service that helps people apply to match their existing elite status with status in other travel loyalty programs. “Some earned status and others retained it, creating today’s inflated database.”

That has led to issues for airlines, hotels and travelers. Airlines and hotels have to pay out promised benefits and clamp down on policies that might have extended the exclusivity.

Travelers now face fiercer competition for seat or hotel room upgrades. And benefits that purportedly offer express service, like VIP check-in lanes, get bogged down if too many elites use them.

2 For existing elite status holders: even more rewards

Elite status holders represent at least 30% of airline cabin revenue, according to Status Match data.

Thus, airlines are offering more benefits to the biggest spenders. For example, American added more benefits to distinguish even bigger spenders. In 2023, it’ll start doling out rewards like high-end electronics from Bang & Olufsen for earnings up to 5 million points — well past the old rewards ceiling of just 200,000 points.

How to cope with the 3 downgrade

Ross-Smith recommends looking for promotions to help retain status. For example, Alaska Airlines is offering a 2023 Fast Track where elite status holders who were downgraded can earn back their status by reaching a mileage-earning threshold before April 13.

For people who travel less now, hotel and airline-branded credit cards can help, as some offer automatic elite status as a benefit. Typically those credit cards have annual fees, but the fees are usually a fraction of the spending otherwise necessary to earn status through travel alone.

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Want to suggest a personal finance topic that Quick Fix can address? Email apmoney@ap.org